Hundreds of people from the towns of Mendi and Gimbi, western Ethiopia, are rounded up and taken to Senkele Police Training Center in Ambo. Special forces surrounded these towns after the residents started holding protests demanding the removal of Meles Zenawi and Junedin Sado. The protests were held after an unknown group distributed a pamphlet asking the people to rise up against Junendin Sado, “the Grazianni of Oromia.” Eyewitnesses who escaped arrest told Ethiopian Review that the protest will continue after the special forces leave the towns for other areas. They said the towns’ police are with the people. Similar protests are going on in Bale, southern Ethiopia, since last week. ER is trying to get more details.
The Houston Chronicle — While the West celebrates the joys of Christmas, Africa’s oldest independent nation, Ethiopia, is submerged in apocalyptic violence sponsored by the regime.
The Daily Telegraph of London recently described repression of the opposition and the media as exceeding anything in the recent history of the continent of Africa, including that of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and the apartheid era of South Africa.
According to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, paramilitary units continue to use random searches, beatings, mass arrests and lethal force against peaceful protesters. In Ethiopia, a crime against humanity is unfolding while the world either vacillates or lacks the will to stop it.
In the face of threats, escalating violence by government forces — and without the protection of coalition forces — 26 million Ethiopians voted for the candidates of their choice last May. Unfortunately, many if not most of these duly elected representatives are in jail charged with treason, primarily for running in opposition to the regime.
The charge is nothing more than an attempt to silence the opposition that won more than 80 percent of the popular vote in May.
The regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has launched what the Daily Telegeraph correspondent describes as “a systematic onslaught against the majority of the Ethiopian people,” save his Tigrean minority tribe in the north, after the Ethiopian people overwhelmingly rejected his regime in the last election.
U.S. policy toward Africa is paradoxical. This country wants Africa’s mineral resources and huge market potential, but ignores serious human rights abuses. It harbors dictators like Meles of Ethiopia to the detriment of its long-term interests. These interests include more than 100,000 U.S. jobs and an emerging market of 700 million consumers.
The Bush administration’s rhetoric about democracy is confined to the sands of Iraq and to the mountains of Afghanistan. In Africa, even the rhetoric for democracy is subdued.
Like the Clinton administrations before it, the Bush administration has failed to see that lack of human rights and democracy endanger Africa’s economic potential and world stability. Clinton tried to wine and dine Africa’s dictators to nudge them to move toward democracy, but he was disappointed. The Bush approach is worse; there is a near-total disregard for human rights and crime against humanity in Africa. Washington’s response is lukewarm compared to that in Europe.
The lack of a comprehensive global policy to fight terrorism and to foster democracy bedevils U.S. foreign policy, forcing it to turn a blind eye to tremendous crimes against humanity in Darfur, Ethiopia and other places in Africa and Asia.
Since the May election Ethiopia — once a stable U.S. ally — has been racked with violence and turmoil. According to European Union research and investigation, the ruling Ethiopian Revolutionary Democratic Front lost the May election but decided to cling to power at any cost. The resulting cost to the Ethiopian people has been tremendous suffering. As random killings, beatings, lootings and mass arrests continue, the country is gripped in fear. The joy of a 90 percent voter turnout last May is turning into a nightmare.
To add insult to injury, the independent media have been banned; state-owned television has shown pictures of journalists on the air as criminals wanted for treason for pieces they wrote against the regime’s excess and oppressive conditions.
So far, 89 people have been shot at point blank range for participating in peaceful street demonstrations and close to 70,000 have been arrested as possible foes and put in remote prisons, where the death toll is mounting. According to the British newspaper The Observer, a number of people have died while in custody of government forces.
Ethiopia, with more than 70 million people, has become a prison camp while the world has turned a blind eye. Prior to the recent crackdown and election fraud, Meles was even touted as one of Africa’s rising leaders. His nemesis, Isias Afeworki of Eritrea, has also been listed as one of them. The United States recently placed sanctions on Eritrea.
Both Isias of Eritrea and Meles were the one-time darlings of Jimmy Carter and other well-known Western leaders. This has given way to inertia in the West in stopping this crime against humanity from unfolding.
If left untended, Ethiopia will implode, and the result will be a nightmare for the United States in its efforts to fight terrorism in the region, as well as for U.S. economic interests across Africa.
The Bush administration needs to rein in Meles — not only for the sake of human rights, or democracy — but also to preserve its own strategic interest and to stop terrorism from spiraling out of control in the Middle East and in Africa.
The student protest that was started last week in Gonder is now spreading to Addis Ababa, western Shoa and other regions of Ethiopia.
Yesterday and today, high school students in Addis Ababa are staging protest rallies demanding the release of CUD leaders and all political prisoners who are detained in concentration camps.
Meles Zenawi’s Federal Police and Agazi troops have surrounded the schools.
Boston, Massachusetts — In a jubilant and colorful night, on Saturday, December 17, 2005, in the presence of statesmen and Ethiopians from all walks of life, young and old, men and women in Boston, Artist Tamagn Beyene was received “Man of the Year” Award in North America in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the struggle for democracy in Ethiopia.
Tamagn is an organizer, founder and member of two important non-profit organizations: “Ene Le Hagere” and “Friends of Ethiopian Journalists.” Through Ene Le Hagere he has supported grass-root democratic organizations advancing the struggle for democracy in Ethiopia. Friends of Ethiopian Journalists organization has been playing critically important advocacy role in defending and promoting free and independent media in Ethiopia. The award signifies the valuable support of Ethiopians to those who uphold the banner of liberty in the fight for the establishment of democracy and the rule of law in Ethiopia.
Bostonian Ethiopians were extremely happy on successfully organizing and bringing together the community. The success of the event was achieved as a result of the entire community involvement and the hard work delivered by the organizing groups.
A report on this grand event will be released soon for the community. The proceeds obtained from this grand occasion will be sent to Ethiopia to support families of the victims of Meles Zenawi’s brutal dictatorship.
Statement for the Record
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell
December 20, 2005
Mr. President, I rise to speak on the disturbing reports of political chaos in Ethiopia. With allegations of vote tampering and emerging pictures of large-scale human rights abuses taking place in Ethiopia, that the Administration must impress upon Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and other global neighbors, that severe consequences follow actions which undermine democratic ideals.
Ethiopia held its first ever democratic elections on May 15, 2005. Revelations since then of violence and mass detention of Ethiopian citizens by the Meles government are not only alarming and disconcerting to me and the American people, who have supported the country in its effort to advance the cause of democracy. It is regretful to have to witness a regress in democratization.
Roughly 90 percent of Ethiopia’s populace turned out for the democratic election. Rather than a sentiment of accomplishment or progress, the mood of the country remains nihilistically somber. According to international human rights observers, increased repression of the Ethiopian people is connected to the seeming loss of power from the ruling Meles government to the opposing party, the Coalition for Unity & Democracy (CUD) – as shown by early vote counts during the election. With the Meles government accused of voting irregularities, it is not surprising that the people of Ethiopia protested the unofficial election results.
Recent reports of human rights abuses in Ethiopia range from arrest and intimidation by government authorities and illegal arrests of innocent people, including ranking members of the CUD party and media representatives, to the loss of life. For example, some 14,000 people were detained when riots ensued following the election. Among other journalists, Getachew Simie, former editor of the Amharic-language weekly, and Leykun Dngeda, former publisher of the Dagim Wonchif Weekly, have been given jail sentences for covering the anti-government protests. Even Prime Minister Meles reported that 48 people were killed last month in relation to the unrest caused by the alleged fraud in the May polls.
Prime Minister Meles must fulfill his good faith commitment to human rights. With any successful transition to democracy, civil society requires the firm accountability of its government authorities. Until the Meles government brings an end to the intimidation of its people, political unrest will remain high and America’s support for the democratization of Ethiopia will be muted by concern for the country’s political instability.
