Treason trial reduced to video show

By A Mesfin

Addis Ababa, May 31, 2006: The treason and genocide trial of leaders of the CUDP, journalists, human rights campaigners and members of the civil society has continued with the prosecutors trying to build a flimsy case by showing full length videos of meetings, interviews and opinions. In what appears to a trial full of farcical absurdities, the government’s lawyers have been allowed to continue showing legally recorded party and public meetings including a debate on whether to boycott parliament or not.

On Monday, May 29, 2006, the prosecutors bored the accused to death by screening a video which showed Ing. Gizachew Shiferaw discussing the pros and cons of joining parliament. The next day, another video, that showed Dr Hailu Araya, Dr Berhanu Nega and Artiste Debebe Eshetu holding a public discussion with residents of Addis on the same topic, was screened. Since the start of the trial the prosecutor’s have not submitted concrete evidence that substantiate its fictitious genocide and treason charges against the accused.

Cloned ONC fires its creator

By A Mesfin

Addis Ababa, May 31, 2006: Private Tolossa Tesfaye, who cloned the Oromo National Congress (ONC) to unseat Dr Merera Gudina, has been removed from his chairmanship. Private Tolossa has been fired by the new executive committee on grounds of misconduct and untrustworthiness. He set up the party last year with the help of the ruling party and the National Election Board of Ethiopia which granted him certificate of recognition.

In a press conference they held yesterday at the Genet Hotel, the five ‘executive’ committee members said Tolossa, in collaboration with the ruling party, has been trying to undermine the struggle of ONC. The executives have also announced that they banned Ms Almaz Seifu, another leader of the cloned group, from the party’s membership.

Dr Merera, who was one of the founders of the ONC, is still trying to regain legal recognition was snatched from him by NEBE . It has not yet been clear whether the new group is inclined to work with Merara and other ONC leaders. Over thirty elected members of parliament led by Dr Merera have entered parliament despite the fact that they have been declared illegal deputies when their party’s legal recognition was revoked.

The executives further announced that Teferra Legesse was appointed chairman of an interim committee mandated to lead the party until a permanent leadership is put in place.

The tyrant defying the popular will

By Kahsay Berhe

The Ethiopian people have always been observant of their responsibilities in supporting the state and any opposition force that promised them a better life. They have always borne all the costs caused by the bureaucracy hoping to get education, medical care, and an improvement in their living conditions. They defended the country with all they possessed including their lives. However, Ethiopia has become an example of poverty, civil wars, famine, AIDS and Malaria epidemic, violations of human and democratic rights. The long and bloody struggle for liberty and a better life has not yet produced the desired results, which still has not discouraged the people from pursuing the same goals.

Today, a proxy rules over Ethiopia. A syndicate of 'donor ambassadors' runs the internal and external affairs of the nation through the surrogate regime of Meles Zenawi. The Prime Minister often borrows foreign diplomats to represent Ethiopia. Ethiopia does not have a government that stands for the strategic interests of the country. The "achievement" of the TPLF regime consists in the dismemberment of the country and in the status of being a land- locked country and ceding the national navy to Eritrea. It helped Eritrea build its army, militia and air force and thereby changed the balance of power in favor of the latter.

The task of the native regime headed by Meles Zenawi is to look after the interests of foreign forces. Our impotence to solve our internal problems brought us to dependence and foreign intervention, which again exacerbates our internal problems. Several millions of Ethiopians live on handouts even at the best of times. Foreign forces determine the fate of our people and territories. Ethiopia's domestic and foreign policies are subjected to national security interests of foreign forces. In the recent elections, the Ethiopian people rejected Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his party. They repeated their verdict in the streets by protesting the election fraud and the crack down on the opposition, the media and the entire people.

The reforms initiated at the beginning of the twentieth century in the country did not go further. The Ethiopian peasants had to bear the burden caused by the military and civil bureaucracy and the diplomatic activities. Land owned by the peasants was given to thousands of civil and military bureaucrats as a reward for their service to the state and the Emperor. Thereby, millions of peasants lost their land and subsistence. Dissatisfaction was mounting in the peasantry.

Moreover, the central government deprived most of the regions of their traditional autonomous status. The Eritrean federation was abrogated. Integration of the various religious and ethnic groups was neglected. Social unrest and ethnic dissidence were spreading all over the country. The students and the revolutionary intellectuals emerged as strong political opposition forces to the regime. However, these revolutionary forces showed little interest in Ethiopian history and values. What they had in mind was to replace the old values and relations by a new ideology and doctrines such as socialism or Western values.

The demand of the peasants to regain the right to their land was one issue until the mid 1970s. The revolutionaries who spearheaded the struggle rarely took the peasants as partners. The revolutionaries' idea was to nationalize the land and organize the peasants in party affiliated mass organizations that enable the state to exercise full control over the people and their produce. There were various forms of land holding systems in Ethiopia. The people were not allowed to decide what form of land holding system they wanted.

The ethnic question, in Ethiopia known as national question, was another issue the revolutionaries wanted to settle. The revolutionary intellectuals discovered that Ethiopia was the 'prison house of nations'. It was alleged that Ethiopia was forced into being by feudal warlords a century ago. They sought the solution in socialism. It runs, ?self-determination up to and including secession?. So began the parting ways.

The internal divisions and squabbles among the Ethiopian political elite virtually invited foreign intervention. It was not a surprise that the first ever secessionist movement in Ethiopia was formed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The Egyptians and the Arab Baath states of Syria and Iraq saw a chance for their scheme in the Ethiopian internal confusion. They helped Eritrean dissidents to launch a secessionist movement in Ethiopia. There were several regional uprisings in the regions of Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, etc. but all were dissidents who demanded more freedom and fair taxation. The ELF was the first ever secessionist movement in Ethiopia.

Strategy of the Egyptian and other forces on Ethiopia was, largely, accomplished with the secession of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1991. Reduced and weakened land-locked Ethiopia was no longer able to build up a naval power and become a factor of stability in the region. Weak or failed states around Ethiopia could easily be made underlings in the service of Egyptian and other foreign forces against Ethiopia. Therefore, and by controlling Ethiopia's foreign trade, the Egyptians have the whip to prevent Ethiopia from being a stabilizing factor in the region and from utilizing its resources. The present predicaments are mostly home made. Fortunately or unfortunately, we have the means either to heal or deepen our wounds. How to heal them? I think we need to stop talking about each other and to begin talking to each other to find out how we should build a democratic and prosperous motherland in equality, security and stability.

My book, Ethiopia: Democratization and Unity (Muenster: Verlaghaus Monsenstein & Vannerdat, 2005, pp. 331), was published in May 2005. The elections confirmed my point of view that the MLLT/TPLF/EPRDF does not have the nature to accept the verdict of the people. It also proved that without liberty and freedom of the people, votes and other formal democratic routines do not count. See the forward to the book by Tesfay Atsbeha at www.ethiomedia.com/newpress/democratization_and_unity.html

In the face of this state of affairs, what should we do? Following my introductory statements, I will forward some theses and suggestions for discussion among my compatriots. I will discuss the 2005 elections, the question of the incarcerated political leaders and other activists, the power base of Meles Zenawi, the political elite (multiethnic parties and ethnic parties in Tigray and Oromia) and I will finally make an attempt at final observation.

The 2005 Elections

Elections are genuine where the people are not coerced to elect somebody they do not want or prevented from electing somebody they want to; and when the people possess institutional means to enforce their verdict.

The struggle of the Ethiopian people for democracy and equality in the past fifteen years is entering its decisive stage. The Ethiopian people opted for change and elected the opposition in the May 2005 elections. Nevertheless, every step of the election processes revealed the hypocrisy of those who made up the Ethiopian Constitution of 1994 and the shortcomings of the party system in the country.

With the growth of the opposition, especially the multiethnic political groups, the TPLF and its marionettes in the EPRDF resorted to stir up inter-ethnic hostilities. The Prime Minister himself told the people and the world that genocide on the Rwandan dimension would take place in Ethiopia if the EPRDF loses power. The Rwandan genocide was carried out by the Interhawme Militia supported by the state. Genocide could be carried out by governments directly or by proxy forces. The CUD is made up of various multiethnic political groups such as AEUO, EDUP (Medhin), EDL and Rainbow Democracy and Social Justice. It recently formed an all-Ethiopia party, CUDP. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was quick to condemn it as Amhara chauvinists without even touching the program and the ethnic composition of the leadership and its constituency. For the TPLF not all political parties with political programs for all-Ethiopia are welcomed.

The UEDF is one of the major contending parties in the May 2005 elections. Most of its member organizations are ethnic based. The main members of the UEDF with national programs, such as the EPRP and the MEISONE, are denied recognition by the state and therefore not registered as political parties in Ethiopia. Many members of their leadership are in Ethiopian jails for more than a decade. The Ethiopian regime did not recognize the TAND, also a member organization in the EUDF. It means many leading members of the EUDF could not run for their parties in the recent elections.

The TPLF has never accepted free elections whether during the armed struggle nor as a ruling party. The former members of the Central Committee of the TPLF who were purged by Meles Zenawi in 2001, later admitted that the TPLF leadership drew a lesson from the 1978 internal organizational crisis and decided to prevent any person who entertains a different opinion from the leadership from being delegated to a congress and elected to the Central Committee unless he/she repents (Hizbawi, May 2004, volume 7)

Free and fair elections cannot be conducted under a dictatorship. The opposition and the Ethiopian intelligentsia have been demanding for the reform of the ENEB and admittance of domestic and international election observers until the eve of the elections. The Prime Minister rejected the reform of the ENEB and the admittance of domestic election observers to "avoid embarrassment". He did in fact reluctantly accept to invite international election observers knowing he was very well able to manipulate the election any way.

The 2005 election was challenging. The opposition groups demonstrated maturity and skills. Many small groups closed ranks to form two big election alliances against the ruling party. They won international support to press the Prime Minster to allow international election observers. They organized mammoth demonstration rallies at home. They were also able to organize Ethiopians in exile in support committees and task forces for their cause. They successfully challenged the party of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Despite the unfavorable structural problems, the opposition decided to take part in the elections. The overwhelming majority of the Ethiopian people made use of their rights, long over-due, to elect their leaders. To begin with, the election results for Addis Ababa were, surprisingly enough, made public. More than 85% of the votes in the capital went to the opposition winning all the seats. Members of the ruling party in high government positions like the minister of information and the minister of defense as well as the Vice Prime Minister and many more lost the votes to the opposition candidates in the regions. In order to lay the ground for manipulation the ruling party immediately declared itself the winner before the NEBE received the results. The ruling party thus rigged the election and the filing of grievances by both the ruling and opposition parties followed.

The dispute was supposed to be handled by the NEBE. The members of the NEBE were handpicked by Meles Zenawi a decade ago. The massive turn out at the polls and the ignominious defeat of the TPLF/EPRDF rendered the NEBE almost unfit to cover the fraud by the ruling party. So the NEBE accepted only 10% of the grievances filed by the opposition while it accorded more than 90% of the ruling party. It became very evident that the NEBE is none other than an organ of the ruling party.

The next step for the opposition was to take the case to the court. Courts are supposed to be neutral and independent. However, the court and the NEBE are closely connected. The chairman and the Supreme Court is at the same time the chairman of the NEBE. All attempts by the opposition in the court failed. The proceedings exposed the dependence of the judicature of the ruling party and few Ethiopians could expect to obtain justice. It is becoming increasingly clear to all that the courts in Ethiopia are not neutral and independent.

Meles Zenawi refused to admit defeat and give up power; he also rejected the offer by the opposition to share power and finally he blocked parliamentary opposition too. He introduced new parliamentary rules whereby one needs a majority of the parliamentarians to put forward a bill for deliberation. This rule denies parliamentary opposition parties any meaningful participation. It was an indication that the so-called People's House of Representative is nothing but a branch of the TPLF/EPRDF.

Thousands of Ethiopians in many parts of the country took to the streets to protest the rigging of the elections and to show their solidarity with the opposition. The people reaffirmed their vote for the opposition at the polls through massive demonstrations in the capital and in several regions of the country. The regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi mowed the peaceful demonstrators down en masse and banned tens of thousands of them to pest-infested remote areas of the country. Further, Meles Zenawi put many leaders of the CUD and the editors of the free press in jail and he is hunting the dissidents. He shamelessly accused them of treason and genocide. (See part two).

The 2005 election came to a conclusion with the constituting of the 'new parliament', election of the Prime Minister and appointment of his ministers. The regime told the elected members of the opposition that they did not have a status of a fraction and their party (CUDP) did not exist. These manipulative activities shattered all democratic rhetoric of the TPLF. The party that boasts to have introduced democracy in Ethiopia shamelessly imprisoned almost the entire leadership of the opposition, many of whom are elected parliamentarians. It also imprisoned almost all editors of the major newspapers, and news magazines and banned demonstrations.

The elections were a referendum on the 14-year reign of the TPLF/EPRDF, which is characterized by deepening poverty, bloodshed, wars, loss of territories and loss of access to international waters. The people of Ethiopia rejected the Prime Minister and his politics. Now, the TPLF seems to go back to the early 1990s and raise the issue of Amhara domination and chauvinism as a common enemy. It wanted to reinvigorate its ethnic political mobilization against 'Amhara domination'. This policy will not serve the interests of Meles Zenawi because more people are aware of his sinister motives

The writer can be reached at: bkahsay@aol.com
 

To be continued

CUDP sets up international leadership

May 21: The imprisoned leaders of the CUDP have appointed a new international leadership to fill the vacuum created by their imprisonment. In a joint letter they sent from Kality jail, Engineer Hailu Showel, Ms Birtukan Mediksa, Mr Muluneh Eyuel and Dr Berhanu Nega said the struggle would lose its momentum if the present state of leadership vacuum is not addressed.

“In spite of the imprisonment of the top leadership of the CUDP in early 2005 and the subsequent massive repression throughout the country by the EPRDF, the Ethiopian peoples struggle for freedom and self government has continued.

“After consultation with each other, we, the jailed leaders of the party have recognized that the formation of an International Committee to fill the leadership gap is imperative,” they said in statement.

Accordingly, they decided that the designated Committee will be an overarching body whose responsibility is to direct and lead KINIJIT organs, Continental Chapters and Support Groups.

The jailed leaders appointed, KINIJIT International Leadership comprising: Major Yoseph Yazew, Mr Andargachew Tsige, Dr. Moges Gebremariam, Ato Berhane Mewa, Ato Daniel Assefa and Dr. Gebriye Wolderufael

The new leadership will identify and add three more individuals to be part of it.

Full text (English PDF)

Full text (Amharic PDF)

Parliament petitions against VOA, Deutsche Welle

Addis Ababa, May 20- Documents of petition collected in opposition to unbalanced and destructive reports on Ethiopia by the Amharic Services of the Deutsche Welle and VOA were handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for delivery to the legislatures of the countries hosting the two media organizations.

The Foreign, Defence and Security Affairs and the Culture and Information Affairs Standing Committees of the House of Peoples' Representatives documented the petitions collected and apended their resolutions with the documents .

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will ensure the delivery of the petition documents to the countries in question through their embassies here.

Chairman of Culture and Information Affairs Standing Committee Dawit Teferra said at the hand over of the documents that the Amharic Services of Duetche Welle and VOA have been disseminating reports aimed at smearing the image of Ethiopia and marring the ongoing democratization.

The petitions had been collected by various sections of the society across the nation and submitted to the House, which in turn assigned the task of formalizing the petitions to the two standing committees, he said. The petitions oppose strongly to the propoganda being transmitted by the stated media organizations.

The two committees thus investigated the issue and proved that the stated radio services have operated in violation of their own charters, he said.

Since 1983 E.C, especially following the Ethiopian elections in May last year, the two radio services have been fomenting propoganda potentially destructive to the democratization of the country as well as the prevailing peace and unity.

The documents urge the respective countries to inquire into the matter and keep the services from being vehicles to further individual and political party whims, and to produce unbiased and balanced reports, he said.

Advisor with the American and European Affairs Directorate Kassa Gebre-Yohannes after receiving the documents said the mentioned radio services collaborating with anti-peace forces have been engaging in activities aimed at pulling back the democratization in Ethiopia.

He said the documents will be delivered to the U.S. and German legislatures.

(Source: ENA)

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Editor's note: It is a great pity to see that the “parliament” is being used once more as a tool of repression. When defenceless citizens, including children and women, are being murdered, jailed, tortured and suffer all kinds of injustice, the “parliament is nowhere to voice its concern. Given the closure of all independent media and the level of censorship, the only voices that reach millions are VOA and Deutsche Welle. It is despairing to see that a “parliament” is part of the criminal repressions which are illegal and unconstitutional. This case, parliament working against the core interests of the people including freedom of expression, vindicates those who refused to be part of such an institution, which has not yet showed us that it represents the people, not a tyrant.

No progress in border talks

By Les Neuhaus

Addis Ababa- Talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea on resuming the demarcation of their common border ended on Thursday without any progress after Eritrea refused to lift restrictions on United Nations peacekeepers, an Ethiopian official said.

The talks, which opened on Wednesday in London, were intended to break a deadlock between Ethiopia, Eritrea and the international Boundary Commission, which is charged with marking the border between the two Horn of Africa nations. Ethiopia had refused to accept the commission's decision to award the town of Badme to Eritrea, while Eritrea protested by placing restrictions on peacekeepers operating along the border.
 

An official in Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity because the talks were secret, that the Ethiopian delegation attended the talks with "an open mind and in a flexible manner".

"Eritrea failed to show any flexibility on its part by not lifting the restrictions placed on the United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea's operations," the official said.

Eritrean officials were not immediately reachable for comment. The Boundary Commission was also not immediately available for comment.

International mediators, who witnessed the Algiers Peace Agreement that ended the two-year border war between the two countries in 2000, told Eritrea that talks on marking the border could not continue until the restrictions on the peacekeepers were lifted, the official said.

"Eritrea has been asked by the witnesses to lift the restrictions they imposed on the movement of UNMEE in full by Monday, May 22," the Ethiopian official said. "The next meeting will be June 15."

Last day in Ethiopia

By Doug Karr

May 18: On the morning of May 12th, I awoke in my bed at the Taitu hotel in Addis Ababa to the very proximate sound of a large explosion. At the time I thought that maybe a constructions worker at the building site across the street had dropped a wheelbarrow full of bricks from a few stories up. It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that a taxi driver told us that nine synchronized blasts had rocked Addis that morning and that one of them was in the Piazza neighborhood, a stone’s throw from our hotel. 

A little over two weeks since the Dahab Bombings, the terror had finally caught up with us on our last day in Ethiopia. “The government wants to turn our country into another Rwanda or Somalia.” Exclaimed our distraught driver, who went on to describe how the situation in Ethiopia was going from bad to worse. 

Over the last few moths--since the election that they lost--the local government has imprisoned any vocal members of their opposition (i.e. they arrested and incarcerated the guys who the population voted in) and the army has killed dozens of protestors. The bombs 6 days ago, which killed four innocent civilians, were only the latest in a recent series.

On the plane over the United Arab Emirates that evening, Sierra says that we’re just experiencing culture shock, coming from our peaceful cocoon in Canada, but I find the proximity of murderous terror rather unnerving and painful.

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Doug Karr blogs on http://livingroomwar.blogspot.com/

May 17, ( BBC)The governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea are being represented at talks in London over their disputed border.

The United States has been heavily involved in trying to end the deadlock over the issue, and is joined at the talks by United Nations officials.

Some 80,000 people died in the war between 1998 and 2000 over the issue.

After a peace deal, an international tribunal ruled on where the border should run, but Ethiopia has refused to let the new frontier be marked out.

Scholars to examine chaos under Africa's twin despots

May 12 (AV) Leading development and political analysts including Professor Christopher Clapham will debate the crisis in Eritrea and Ethiopia in a seminar at the Law Faculty of the University of Oslo. The seminar, to be held under the them "From bilateral war to internal conflicts", 31 May to 1 June 2006, will examine the state both countries under two of the most complex African twin tyrants, who speak the same language and share a lot in common.

Professor Clapham of Cambridge University,  is scheduled to present a paper entitled "Post-war Ethiopia the trajectories of the current crisis." The Professor is expected to analyze Ethiopia's failed transition which has brought in more repressions and gross human rights violations.  Two other scholars, Lovise Aalen and Kjetil Tronvoll, will also present papers entitled “The 2005 Ethiopian elections: democracy curtailed” and  “From voting to violence in Ethiopia: reversing the abertura” respectively.

According to the organizers, the seminar will offer an in depth analysis of the development of the post-war political crisis in Eritrea and Ethiopia and its regional implications. "We will also deliberate on what role international development aid plays in such complex political transitions, and whether it has a mitigating or negative influence on the developments," said a press release. (More/PDF)     

"But many analysts are skeptical that the ruling E.P.R.D.F. party would allow such power sharing. Theodore Vestal, a board member of the Ethiopian Research Council notes that Ethiopia's leaders are mostly members of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front.  He says, "These are Tigrayans who are veterans of the Marxist-Leninist league of Tigray. They use party discipline. They use all of the dirty tricks of the Marxist-Leninist regime to stay in power and discourage other people from trying to share in the power. So until those people are somehow removed, I don't think there is really much hope for democracy -- as we would understand it in the West -- really taking hold." Read on

Listen to Zlatica Hoke's Focus Report (MP3)                    
Zlatica Hoke's Focus Report (RA)
May 11- One year ago [May 15] Ethiopia held its third multi-party general ballot, which attracted a record voter turnout. The elections started peacefully, but turned into turmoil when the government and the opposition disagreed about the results.

Ethiopians at home as well as abroad are preparing to observe the first anniversary of the landmark May 15, 2005 elections. Members of 35 parties, many of them in coalitions, competed for 524 parliamentary seats. Ninety percent of the electorate turned out.

Both the government and the opposition claimed victory at the polls, in what observers say was the most competitive election at the nation's history.

Imru Zelleke is a former Ethiopian ambassador who fled the country in the 1975 when Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed and now lives in the United States. He says, "Twenty-five million people voted. There were three hundred or maybe four hundred foreign observers. There were about 1500 local observers. And there was no question that the opposition won the majority of seats."

Many Ethiopian ex-patriots worldwide will observe the first election anniversary as Ethiopian Democracy Day, the day, they say, when the opposition's Coalition for Unity and Democracy, or C.U.D., defeated the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Both Parties Victorious?

But the ruling party, Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, or E.P.R.D.F, also claimed victory in last year's elections. Months of political wrangling culminated in early November when the opposition's call for a national strike triggered a government backlash. In the post-election violence, more than 70 people were killed and thousands were arrested, among them many elected opposition party members, journalists and civic leaders.

At the intervention of international donor countries, on whose aid the impoverished Ethiopia depends, most of the detainees were released. But more than a hundred are now on trial for treason.

Robert Guest, a journalist for The Economist magazine and author of a book on Africa titled: The Shackled Continent, is one of many observers who say the charges are unfounded.  He says, "They've even accused them of planning a genocide, which is preposterous. The information minister said that had they not stepped in to stop these demonstrations, there might have been a genocide that would have made Rwanda's look like child's play."

The arrest and trial of some opposition leaders has prevented them from taking their seats in parliament and others have boycotted their seats in solidarity.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi made another unpopular decision recently (May 9) when he appointed an interim mayor to run the capital city of Addis Abbaba, where the opposition won an overwhelming majority.

The United States and other donor countries are urging talks among the parties, including the detainees, but have not disputed the official election results. Some analysts, including George Ayitee, President of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington, says the West has allowed the crisis to fester.

According to Ayitee, "The opposition C.U.D is a large coalition of several opposition groups. So it's a political force to be reckoned with and it should not be taken lightly. This type of electoral dispute and tension needs to be diffused as rapidly as possible because many, many African countries have been destroyed because of disputes over election results."

Ethnic Violence

One danger, some analysts warn, is the eruption of ethnic violence between the Tigrayan minority, which is in power, and other groups.  Some observers say neighboring Eritrea, which has a border dispute with Ethiopia, may be willing to support the opposition in a possible armed conflict with Ethiopian government.  Analyst George Ayitee says that to avoid a conflict, the international community should urge Ethiopia to follow the South African path to democracy.

Ayitee says, "You hold a conference of all political stakeholders in Ethiopia -- not just the government, but also the opposition, also church leaders, also trade union leaders, also traditional leaders. Put all of them together. That's what South Africa did. They (would) hammer out the way to move the country forward democratically. Whatever decision they come up with must be sovereign in the sense that everybody agrees with that particular decision. Nobody can overrule it."

But many analysts are skeptical that the ruling E.P.R.D.F. party would allow such power sharing. Theodore Vestal, a board member of the Ethiopian Research Council notes that Ethiopia's leaders are mostly members of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front.  He says, "These are Tigrayans who are veterans of the Marxist-Leninist league of Tigray. They use party discipline. They use all of the dirty tricks of the Marxist-Leninist regime to stay in power and discourage other people from trying to share in the power. So until those people are somehow removed, I don't think there is really much hope for democracy -- as we would understand it in the West -- really taking hold."

Some analysts argue that even though Ethiopia has drifted away from democracy since last year's election, the current government is an improvement from the Marxist regime of dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam, which Prime Minister Meles Zenawi helped depose in 1991.

British journalist George Guest suggests that Ethiopia should look for democratic models beyond the African continent.  He says, "South Africa has a tremendously advanced infrastructure and Botswana is mono-ethnic, more or less. So their problems are not the same. I don't think they should necessarily be looking at other African countries. They should be looking worldwide and saying: 'Look, countries where you allow your citizens more freedom are richer and happier places then where you try to keep a lid on it.'"

Many analysts note that democracy is a process that takes time to develop, but they are optimistic that the winds of democratic change that have swept Ethiopia cannot be contained.

Fuel crisis hits Ethiopia

Addis Ababa May 11 (AV) The Meles regime has announced a huge increase in the price of gasoline and petroleum products worsening the nationwide economic hardship for the poor.

According to the new increase, the price of petroleum will double from $0.48 per liter to $0.95 (over eight birr), diesel from $0.50 to $0.55 per liter and kerosene will cost $ 0.40 per liter. Shortage of fuel has recently caused long queues in Addis Ababa.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a press statement that the huge fuel price increase was prompted by “unprecedented global price hike.” It said the price increase will be effective for the next three months as of May 10.

In an unprecedented move, the regime also warned businessmen and traders against increasing prices of consumer goods. It threatened that they would be prosecuted if they are found putting up prices on commodities.

However, the threat appears to defy the laws of economics as the huge increase in fuel cost, which directly affects transportation, has a pervasive impact on the cost of living and the health of the already ailing aid economy.

After the Meles regime surrendered the nation’s multi-million dollars oil refinery plant at Assab and all its outlets to the sea to its former Eritrean ally, it is not only importing refined petroleum products, which is more expensive than crude oil, but is also squandering a huge amount of the nation’s meager hard currency on ports injecting significant amount of money to Djibouti and even to Somali warlords. The government claimed that it has been subsidizing the cost of fuel to stabilize fuel prices.

One of the immediate causes of the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution was a similar price hike on fuel that made the lives of the poor much more unbearable. The new fuel crisis is expected to aggravate popular discontent across the nation.

Courtroom drama continues

May 10-May 10 (AV) The Second Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court trying the leadership of the CUD and prominent political and human rights activists has continued to hear the prosecution’s evidence. Ato Shimelis Kemal presented yesterday videos showing opposition rallies including a protest rally called jointly by UEDF and CUD to oppose Meles Zenawi’s 5-point peace plan with Eritrea. According to Mr Kemal the speeches of some of the accused including Engineer Hailu Shawel’s were intended to incite the people to rise up against what he called the “constitutional government.” Legal observers say that the charges of genocide and treason has proved flimsy and unsubstantiated as Shimelis produced his best shots and started the hearing with opinions expressed by leaders of opposition parties. 

CUD MPs walk out in protest against city takeover  

ADDIS ABABA May 10, (Reuters/AV)) - Members of the main opposition stormed out of parliament yesterday in protest against a decision preventing the party from running Ethiopia's capital in spite of its victory in city elections last year.

Sixty parliamentarians from the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) walked out after Prime Minister Meles Zenawi decided to appoint an interim administration led by Ato Birhanu Deressa to run Addis Ababa for the next year.

"The appointment of a provisional administration indicates that the rights of the people of the city have been snatched from them by the ruling party," CUD parliamentary whip Temesgen Zewdie said. "This is a terrible defeat for democracy."

His Honourable Temesgen strongly argued that the crisis should have been resolved through dialogue and a goodwill to release those elected detainees to administer the electorate. Temesgen told that the sad day marked a defeat of democracy not only to the people of Ethiopia but also to those who are committed to it throughout the world.

Meles Zenawi, who ridiculed the request for the release of leader of the CUD as a child's game, said on his be half  that those who have been detained would not be released as the case being being dealt at what he called a "court of law."

The CUD captured all the Addis city council seats in last year's election in a symbolically powerful victory.

Both council and parliamentary polls were held on May 15 last year and the opposition made huge gains despite losing overall to Meles' ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

The arrest and treason trial of leaders of the CUD has prevented many from taking their seats in Addis, delaying the appointment of a mayor.

"We have been asking the government to seek a political solution and free our leaders in jail so that the people of the city would be governed by the people they voted for," Temesgen told reporters.

The trial of 75 CUD leaders, civil society activists and journalists is in progress in Kaliti, 20 km (13 miles) east of Addis Ababa.

Their arrest and prosecution followed the deaths of at least 80 people in clashes between protesters and security forces over election results that the opposition said were rigged.

The arrests have tarnished Meles democratic credentials and prompted donors to halt direct budgetary aid to the Horn of Africa nation.

Temesgen said the walk-out was symbolic and that the MPs would return to their seats.

Meles said earlier that CUD members elected to Addis Ababa council could not constitute a quorum to take over the administration by April 18 in accordance with the decision of parliament.

"Under the circumstances, there was no option but to appoint a provisional administration which would administer the city for one year," he said.

Meles appointed Berhanu Deressa, who served as a senior official during Emperor Haileselassie and Derg era as well as the World Bank, to serve as mayor.

Watch latest parliamentary drama

Ethiopia opposition accused of emulating Eeastern Europe

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian opposition leaders charged with plotting to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi were accused on Monday of emulating east European pro-democracy demonstrators.

In a trial that has outraged rights groups, 75 opposition leaders, journalists and civil society activists stand accused of treason, inciting violence and attempting to commit genocide.

"The evidence will show how the opposition leaders were haranguing the public to emulate the Ukrainian and Georgian revolution and bring down the constitutional government in Ethiopia," lead prosecutor Shimeles Kemal said.

The 75 were charged in December after two separate outbreaks of violence in which at least 80 people were killed in clashes between protesters and security forces over results from an election last May that the opposition say were rigged.

The post-election crackdown tarnished Meles' democratic credentials and prompted donors, including Britain and the European Union, to halt direct budgetary aid to sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous nation.

The prosecution opened its case on Monday in a hall converted into a tribunal in Kaliti, 13 miles (20 km) north of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

Prosecutors began by showing videos -- including five hours of two news conferences by the Coalition for Unity and Democracy

-- which they said proved the opposition's illegal intentions.

"The evidence will show how leaders of the opposition were attempting to subvert the public so that it would not have confidence in the May 15, 2005, parliamentary election", Shimeles said.

The defendants have refused to enter pleas in what is Ethiopia's biggest court case since the genocide trial against former Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam and henchmen began 14 years ago.

CPJ demands justice for journalists as treason trial resumes

New York, May 5, 2006—Initial proceedings in the treason trial of 14 Ethiopian journalists have reinforced concerns that the defendants may not get a fair trial, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Prosecutors are due to start presenting evidence on May 8 against the journalists and dozens of opposition leaders accused of conspiring to overthrow the government.

“CPJ has analyzed a sample of the journalists’ writing which prosecutors have collected and found no merit to the charges,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “We will be watching the proceedings very closely, and call again for these journalists to be released immediately and unconditionally.”

The journalists are charged with “outrage against the constitution,” “impairment of the defensive power of the state,” and “genocide,” charges which could bring a possible death sentence or life imprisonment. They have been jailed since November and denied bail. CPJ was able to meet with some of the jailed journalists and with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi during a recent visit to Ethiopia.

For more information, see CPJ’s special report released April 28.

U.S. accused of supporting warlords

May 6, STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Somalia's president said Wednesday he believes the United States is financing an alliance of warlords fighting radical Islamic militias in his country and said the U.S. should be working directly with his government instead.

"We think it is true. They are supporting the warlords," Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed said during a two-day visit to Stockholm.

Rumors of U.S. support for the alliance, which includes members of the interim Cabinet and armed businessmen, have been rampant in Somalia lately.

The United States has said only that American officials have met with a wide variety of Somali leaders in an effort to fight international terrorists in the country.

Ahmed told The Associated Press in an interview that he believes the American government is supporting the warlords-turned-politicians as a way of fighting several top al Qaeda operatives that are being protected by radical clerics.

"They really think they can capture al Qaeda members in Somalia," he said. "But the Americans should tell the warlords they should support the government, and cooperate with the government. ... We are the legitimate government, and we will help you fight terrorism."

He said U.S. support for the warlords could undermine the government's efforts to bring stability to the region.

"These groups, they really do not want Somalia to become a stabilized country," he said. "They do not want the government to function."

Somalia has not had an effective central government since clan-based warlords overthrew the government in 1991 and then began fighting each other.

A transitional government headed by Ahmed was formed in October 2004, but its members quickly split over what the government's priorities were and where it should be located.

Several key warlords in the new government have formed an alliance with the stated aim of capturing al Qaeda members in the country. The Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism was formed after a fundamentalist Islamic group began asserting itself in the capital and portrayed itself as an alternative to warlords.

Fueling suspicion that the group is receiving outside aid, the alliance has become one of the most powerful militias in Somalia in a matter of months.

Residents of alliance-held areas report trucks full of new weapons, and Somalis with connections to the alliance have said U.S. officials have frequently visited alliance leaders.

Ahmed said his government is committed to fighting terrorism, but that it can only be effective if it first gets help from the international community "to build the country up from scratch."

"In order to fight this, we really need to build up our own military force, and we have to reconcile the different factions," he said. "We have to isolate these (terrorist) groups, they are only small groups."

He also said he would not object to employing Ethiopian peacekeepers in Somalia help pacify the country, a parliamentary proposal that has met strong local opposition as the two countries fought a bitter war in 1977 over control of Ethiopia's Ogaden region.

"I do not oppose that, but we need to be careful because that is something that could cause more rifts," he said. "But without peacekeeping forces, we cannot build our country."

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Ethiopian anti-fascist patriots demand compensation

Addis Ababa (Reuters)- Ethiopians who fought against Italy's invasion in the 1930s urged the United Nations on Thursday to force Rome to pay compensation for the 500 000 lives lost at the hands of Fascist forces.

Seventy years on, memories are still fresh in Ethiopia of the 1935 invasion ordered by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, whose forces used mustard gas and other chemical weapons on Ethiopian troops in the country then known as Abyssinia.

When Addis Ababa fell a year after the invasion, Ethiopia formed part of Italian East Africa with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland until its liberation by World War Two allies in 1941.

Italy paid Ethiopia $5 million in war compensation after a 1947 peace treaty, although the then government of Emperor Haile Selassie had demanded $600-million.

"We appeal to the United Nations secretary-general to force the current Italian government to pay the amount demanded by Emperor Haile Selassie," said Wrokineh Tegegne, vice-president of the Ethiopian Patriotic Association.

Former resistance fighters plan to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the victory against Italian Fascist forces on Friday.

Wrokineh said Mussolini's troops torched 2 000 churches and killed five million cattle, 70 million sheep and goats, one million mules and horses, and 700 000 camels during the campaign.

He also described how in one incident in 1941 Italian soldiers in Addis Ababa ordered 30,000 people to enter their homes before setting them on fire.

"The amount they paid was not commensurate with the loss of lives," Wrokineh added.

There was no immediate comment from the Italian embassy in Addis Ababa

Intimidation impede democratic progress in Ethiopia: US

Press Statement
Sean McCormack, Spokesman of US Department of State
Washington, DC
May 4, 2006
The United States is concerned by the increasing harassment and intimidation of opposition politicians and their supporters in Ethiopia. Opposition extremists as well as ruling party cadres and government officials have been responsible for these unacceptable actions.

Ethiopia’s absurd trial condemned

Jeannie Shawl

May 3-[JURIST] A group of 111 opposition politicians, rights activists, aid workers and journalists went on trial Tuesday in Ethiopia on charges of treason, inciting violence and attempting to commit genocide, despite calls from human rights groups for their release. If convicted, the defendants could receive the death penalty. The trial began Tuesday with the prosecution promising to show that the defendants intended "to overthrow and dismantle the duly established government through violence." The charges relate to mass demonstrations in the wake of Ethiopia's May 2005 elections and alleged attacks on ethnic Tigrayans during protests against ballot fraud. Only three defendants agreed to participate in the proceedings Tuesday with the remaining questioning whether they would receive a fair trial. Several defendants said Tuesday they had been abused during their detention and the presiding judge ordered prison officials to investigate the allegations.

In a report Tuesday, Amnesty International condemned the charges as absurd. It siad the "prisoners of conscience" have not used or advocated violence and expressed concern about the fairness of the trial. Amnesty urged the Ethiopian government:

·  To release immediately and unconditionally, with charges withdrawn, the political opposition leaders, human rights defenders and journalists, who are prisoners of conscience and have not used or advocated violence;

·  To ensure that all elements of fair trial are afforded to the defendants, including the right to be tried by a competent and independent court; to guarantee the presumption of innocence, including by ensuring that the burden of proof rests on the prosecution, and to ensure the "equality of arms" between prosecution and defendants, including by ensuring adequate time and facility for those having legal counsel to prepare a full defence and effective examination of witnesses;

·  To exclude the application of the death penalty, which is a violation of the right to life and a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment;

·  To establish independent and impartial investigations into any allegations of torture or ill-treatment made by defendants, and to ensure that evidence obtained as a result of torture or ill-treatment is not admitted in the proceedings, and that officials suspected of having committed acts of torture or ill-treatment are brought to justice;

·  To ensure that defendants are treated humanely in custody in accordance with international and regional standards for the treatment of prisoners, such as the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, with particular regard to medical treatment, family visits and communications, reading materials and writing materials for communications with families and legal representatives;

·  To recognize and implement the right to freedom of opinion and association for political parties and civil society groups, including freedom of the media, as set out in the Ethiopian Constitution [text] and international and regional human rights treaties to which Ethiopia is party, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights;

·  To respect and protect the legitimate role of human rights defenders and civil society activists, in conformity with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

Last week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour also expressed concern at the human rights situation in Ethiopia and said that prison conditions for detainees - including the defendants in the present case - were "rudimentary" and "harsh".

Ethio-Eritrean border talks postponed

ADDIS ABABA, April 28 (Reuters/DPA/AV) - Ethiopia said on Friday talks with neighbouring Eritrea over their disputed border scheduled to start in London on Friday have been postponed to May as the head of an independent boundary panel was ill.

The two Horn of Africa nations, who fought a 1998-2000 war that cost 70,000 lives, had agreed to abide by a ruling on their territorial limits from the Boundary Commission.

But Ethiopia later rejected that, insisting on further talks, prompting an angry Eritrea to impose restrictions on U.N. peacekeepers patrolling the tense border region.

The talks, which would have been the second round in London this year, were designed to break the impasse.

"The meeting has been postponed upon the decision of the Boundary Commission because the president of the commission (Elihu Lauterpacht) has been indisposed," an Ethiopian Foreign Ministry official said. "The meeting is rescheduled to be held around May 17."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Thursday that talks on the disputed border with Eritrea, scheduled for late this week, were crucial if the peace process - stalled for three years over the demarcation of the border - was to get back on track.

He said the International Boundary Commission under whose auspices the London meeting, had asked the parties to name their respective special advisors to the commission and also to come with specific proposals for demarcating the disputed border.

It was the Hague-based original International Boundary Commission, which decided on demarcation of the border in 2002, that invited the two sides to meet with commission's members in London.

The meeting was being convened at the behest of the United States after the one held a month ago in London, at experts' level with international mediators, failed to make a breakthrough on marking on the ground the disputed border in line with the decision of the Boundary Commission.

'We consider the London meeting to be important, and we're going there with an open mind,' Meles had said at a press conference Thursday

Meles regime targets Diaspora

London, April 27 (AV) The Meles regime has drawn a new strategy to discredit what it called chauvinists who are opposed to its tyrannical rule, the Indian Ocean Newsletter reported. In its latest edition, ION ran an article based on a liked document from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

According to ION, in an attempt to limit dissent, including support for armed struggles, among the Diaspora, Ethiopian diplomats are to wage an aggressive propaganda campaign to sideline the opponents in exile who support radical positions.

“A memorandum dated February 2006 from the ministry for foreign affairs in Addis Ababa sent to its embassies abroad illustrates this strategy. This fifty page document includes a series of instructions for the implementation of what it calls “an aggressive multi-faceted campaign” of public relations abroad, using various means such as public meetings, forums, seminars and the use of sympathetic radio stations,” ION reported.

ION also reported that the government called for the identification of the most “hard-line opponents” so that powerful targeted propaganda campaigns can be initiated against staunch dissidents in order to discredit them by all possible methods. “The infiltration of “anti-peace” forces was also recommended. The minority ethnic groups should be approached by someone from the same ethnic group so they can be kept distinct and separated from “chauvinists”, a term generally attributed to Amhara nationalists,” ION said.  

ION went on to say 'opportunists' should be attracted by government promises for trading licences, houses and opportunities to invest in Ethiopia.

Donors urge dialogue to end political stalemate

ADDIS ABABA, 26 Apr 2006 (IRIN) - Representatives of Ethiopia's donors have reiterated their call for dialogue between the government and the opposition in order to nurture the democratic process and end political recriminations in the Horn of Africa country. The ADG also called for the release of 111 Ethiopians in custody on charges ranging from conspiracy to treason and genocide - their trial is set to resume on 2 May.
 

Nineteen diplomats and representatives of four multilateral organisations - who have come together under the umbrella Ambassadors' Donors Group (ADG) - urged the government and the main opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), to resolve the political deadlock that led to bloody election-related civil unrest in 2005, claiming at least 84 lives. They also called for the release of jailed opposition politicians.

"We urge reconciliation and dialogue among all those engaged in the democratic process. Tolerance of dissenting views is a hallmark of democracy," the diplomats said in a statement released in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Monday. "As partners engaged in helping Ethiopia's long-term development, we continue to support the peaceful democratic process for the country, and the strengthening of the pluralistic multiparty system."

Ethiopian authorities welcomed the statement, saying it was the desire of the government to encourage democracy. "It is a positive statement that the government accepts, because supporting the democratic process is something the government is engaged in," an official at the information ministry, who asked not to be named, said.

The CUD is still divided on whether it should take charge of the capital's administration, a responsibility the party rejected in protest of the alleged rigging of parliamentary and local council elections in May 2005. The CUD has until the beginning of May to take charge of Addis Ababa's municipal administration.

"We continue to advocate for the release of imprisoned CUD leaders and representatives of the media and civil society," the ambassadors' statement said. "All elected leaders should be given a chance to take part in the political reconciliation process," it added.

Those in custody were arrested last November following deadly clashes between demonstrators protesting alleged electoral fraud, and security forces.

The ADG comprises Austria, Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, the African Development Bank, the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank

New CUD receives legal recognition

25 April (Addis Ababa) The Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) announced yesterday that it received certificate of legal recognition from the National Electoral Board, according ENA.

CUD Provisional Coordinating Committee has reportedly said the legal recognition certificate would help it continue its peaceful struggle.

The party has retained its programme, statute and logo as they had been endorsed by the four parties, the committee said.

The coalition formed by All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP), All Ethiopian Democratic Party (AEDP)-Medhin, Rainbow Ethiopia: Movement for Democracy and Social Justice and Ethiopian Democratic League were not able to receive legal certificate for certain members of AEDP-Medhin opposed the formation of the coalition, it said.

The failure on the parts of the coalition to submit the necessary document and procedures was the other factor for not getting the certificate of legal recognition, the committee said.

However, the move is believed to be orchestrated by the ruling party to divide the party.