Kinijt International Leadership (K.I.L.) expresses our earnest delight and enquan des alen to our gallant and towering elected leaders, their families and all Ethiopians.
The release of our leaders after 20 months of illegal incarceration is a result of their unwavering stance to uphold Kinijit’s peaceful ideals for Ethiopia’s renewal. The protracted negotiations and the terms of their release also reflect our leaders’ tenacity, magnanimity, vision and undaunted spirit in the march towards true democracy and the rule of law for our long suffering country.
Our leaders fully understood and accepted the potential risks and tribulations they individually, as a group and indeed all our people faced when they launched Kinijit and set it on the difficult journey towards unity, freedom and democracy. The unjust suffering they endured over the past 20 months has abundantly demonstrated the need for even more resoluteness in once and for all firmly establishing the rule of law in our country.
The rule of law is the paramount pillar upon which freedoms and human rights are protected, democracy is anchored and a society and all the individuals within it develop economically, socially, politically and indeed spiritually. That is why the firm and transparent establishment of the rule of law were paramount in the negotiating positions put forward by our leaders during the fateful months prior to their incarceration in November 2005.
To that end we call on our members, supporters and our people at large, to renew their commitment to liberty and justice, so that none of our citizens unjustly suffer the loss of their personal and societal freedoms and indeed inalienable human rights.
We firmly believe that the freedom of our leaders is a triumph not just for them, their families and Kinijit, but a true victory for our country. A victory that we earnestly hope will pave the way towards true peace & reconciliation. Peace and reconciliation upon which we can together build the legal, social, political and economic infrastructure that will once and for all pull our country from the grips of socio-political malaise and abject poverty.
We say it IS POSSIBLE to move forward and move quickly towards achieving these goals. We have seen many around us empower millions of their citizens economically, socially and politically by working together and by upholding fundamental freedoms. We again call upon the ruling regime to embrace true national reconciliation. Together, let us say never again to denying our people their freedoms, never again to denying them opportunities on the basis of their political beliefs, NEVER EVER AGAIN to arbitrarily take away their legal and fundamental human rights.
We sincerely thank the individuals and groups who partook in the testing negotiations to secure the release of our leaders and all democratic forces in the international community who stood and worked on the side of liberty.
We again call for a sustained effort by all Ethiopians and all forces freedom and democracy everywhere to stand hand in hand with us in the continuing struggle to firmly set our country on the path to unity, liberty, democracy and prosperity for all.
Kinijit for Unity and Democracy Party
Kinijit International Political Leadership Secretariat
P.O.Box 14701 Silver Spring MD, 20911 USA
Fax Voice Mail. 1 206 203 3974
www.kinijitethiopia.org
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced Friday that 38 of his country’s top opposition leaders were being released from prison after being convicted on sedition charges in a trial that critics labeled a sham and that sparked an international outcry.
At a news conference, Meles said the prisoners would be pardoned. He said their letter to the government requesting a pardon was equivalent to them taking some responsibility for violent protests that followed the country’s 2005 elections.
“I hope this conveys the message that people are given a second chance as long as they seek it,” the prime minister said.
Moments later, three minibuses left Kaliti Prison with the newly freed on board, the Associated Press reported. Dozens of family members and supporters outside the facility shouted in joy and whistled. Some of the politicians in the buses made the victory sign, which is also the symbol of Ethiopia’s opposition.
The prisoners were among an estimated 30,000 people arrested in a widespread crackdown on opposition supporters following Ethiopia’s 2005 elections, when the opposition made major gains despite accusations that the vote was flawed.
Most of those arrested were quickly released but the top leadership of the country’s main opposition party, along with journalists, an elderly professor and the Addis Ababa mayor remained jailed.
While Meles accused the opposition leaders of inciting violent protests following the elections, a government report later found that the protesters were unarmed and that Ethiopian security authorities had used excessive force, spraying crowds with bullets, targeting protesters with sharpshooters and hunting others down in their homes.
At least 193 people were killed during the crackdown–some shot once in the head, execution style.
Charges of attempted genocide were thrown out during the 14-month trial, but the prisoners were convicted last month of charges including “outrage against the constitution” and “inciting armed opposition.”
The prosecution recommended the death penalty. On Monday, a judge instead sentenced 30 of the defendants to life in prison and gave eight other prisoners terms of one to 18 years. The defendants were also stripped of their right to vote and to run for office.
But Meles said at Friday’s news conference that, as part of the pardon, the defendants will not be stripped of those rights.
U.S. officials — urged on by the Ethiopian immigrant community — had negotiated behind the scenes for the prisoners’ release. Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-N.J.) sponsored a bill in Congress calling for the unconditional release of all Ethiopian political prisoners
But some of the prisoners’ relatives said U.S. government efforts were compromised because of the Bush administration’s reliance on Ethiopia in fighting terrorism in the Horn of Africa.
Special correspondent Kassahun Addis contributed to this report from Addis Ababa, and staff writer Debbi Wilgoren contributed to this report from Washington.
Not that we needed any confirmation of Liya Kebede’s top model status, but, this week Forbes released its list of the 15 most highly paid models in the world, and none other than Ethiopian beauty, Liya Kebede made the list with her staggering annual earnings of $3.5 million.
Liya is also the only model of African descent on that list. All those endorsement deals with H&M, the Gap, Anne Taylor and Givenchy are paying off. Read the full story at forbes.com Photo: Louis Vuitton Campaign
Meles Zenawi said at a press conference today that the released leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) cannot take their seats in parliament. He said that their seats have expired and that they can participate in the next election. Watch the press conference:
Meles Zenawi said at a press conference today that the released leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) cannot take their seats in parliament. He said that their seats have expired and that they can participate in the next election. Watch the press conference:
Ethiopia’s opposition leader has hit out at the government just hours after being pardoned and released from a life sentence in jail.
Hailu Shawel said he had signed a document admitting to organising violent election protests in 2005 and asking for clemency “under duress”.
The government had come under strong international pressure to free Mr Hailu and 37 others to help reconciliation.
But Prime Minister Meles Zenawi warned that the pardons were conditional.
“The government expects them to stick to their promises,” Mr Meles said, adding that those freed must respect the rule of law and government institutions.
Mr Hailu said he had not been tortured but had signed the apology because among those jailed were people with small children.
He also dismissed talk of reconciliation.
“I can’t see how we can reconcile if the guy in power can’t reconcile,” Reuters news agency quotes him as saying.
He also repeated charges that the 2005 general election had been rigged.
The government denied charges of ballot-rigging and points out that it introduced multi-party elections to Ethiopia.
‘Shameful’
The 38 were taken from prison in three minibuses, while Mr Meles announced the pardon to journalists.
They included 30 Coalition for Unity and Democracy leaders such as Mr Hailu, the mayor-elect of the Addis Ababa Berhanu Nega and several other MPs and local councillors from the capital.
Eight other were also freed after being convicted of links to the protests at alleged vote-rigging, in which some 193 people were killed – mostly demonstrators.
Five others were convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison.
But anti-poverty campaigners Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie remain in detention after refusing to sign the government’s document.
Mr Meles said the right to vote and contest elections would be restored to those pardoned.
But he said the MPs had boycotted parliament for two years and so may be unable to reclaim their seats.
‘Farcical’
Mr Meles denied that he was succumbing to US pressure to issue the pardons.
“The Ethiopian government isn’t willing and is unable to be run like a banana republic from Capitol Hill. Some individuals appear to be entertaining such illusions,” he said.
He also said that some of the international pressure on his government had been “shameful”.
The prime minister said the pardons showed the government had “no sense of revenge”, and that the “sorry saga” was now “fully behind us”.
The head of the European Union 2005 election observers in Ethiopia had condemned the life sentences as “farcical” and “inhumane”.
After prosecutors called for the death penalty, the US urged the government to “promote reconciliation” in the final sentence.
“I hope this conveys the message that people are given a second chance as long as they seek it,” the prime minister said.