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ETHIOPIA’S TROUBLED SITUATION

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN 

RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

MARCH 28, 2006

Serial No. 109–165

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman 

JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, 

Vice Chairman 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

PETER T. KING, New York 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

RON PAUL, Texas 

DARRELL ISSA, California 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia 

MARK GREEN, Wisconsin 

JERRY WELLER, Illinois 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

THADDEUS G. MCCOTTER, Michigan 

KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

TOM LANTOS, California 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

BARBARA LEE, California 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon 

SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

ADAM B. SCHIFF, California 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota 

BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky 

DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel 

ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL

OPERATIONS

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

MARK GREEN, Wisconsin 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, 

Vice Chairman 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

BARBARA LEE, California 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota 

EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon 

MARY M. NOONAN, Subcommittee Staff Director 

GREG SIMPKINS, Subcommittee Professional Staff Member 

NOELLE LUSANE, Democratic Professional Staff Member 

SHERI A. RICKERT, Subcommittee Professional Staff Member and Counsel 

LINDSEY M. PLUMLEY, Staff Associate 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

The Honorable Donald Y. Yamamoto, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau 

of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State ..................................................... 10

His Excellency Fesseha A. Tessema, Charge ́ d’Affaires, Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ................................................................. 25

Mr. Andargachew Tsege, Member, Central Council, Coalition for Unity and 

Democracy Party .................................................................................................. 60

Meqdes Mesfin, M.D., Daughter of Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam, Ethiopian 

Prisoner of Conscience ......................................................................................... 63

Mr. Obang Metho, Director of International Advocacy, Anuak Justice Council 70

Ms. Lynn Fredricksson, Advocacy Director for Africa, Amnesty International .. 89

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from 

the State of New Jersey, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Africa, Global 

Human Rights and International Operations: Prepared statement ................ 4

The Honorable Donald Y. Yamamoto: Prepared statement ................................. 12

His Excellency Fesseha A. Tessema: Prepared statement ................................... 31

Mr. Andargachew Tsege: Prepared statement ...................................................... 62

Meqdes Mesfin, M.D.: Prepared statement ........................................................... 67

Mr. Obang Metho: Prepared statement ................................................................. 75

Ms. Lynn Fredricksson: Prepared statement ........................................................ 93

APPENDIX 

The Honorable Betty McCollum, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Minnesota: Prepared statement ...................................................................... 113

Mesfin Mekonen, on behalf of the Ethiopian-American Council and the Ethiopian National Congress: Statement for the record ............................................ 113

Oromo Liberation Front Delegation: Statement for the record ........................... 115

Mr. Andargachew Tsege, Member, Central Council, Coalition for Unity and 

Democracy Party: Statement for the record ...................................................... 118

Responses from the Honorable Donald Y. Yamamoto to questions submitted 

for the record by the Honorable Donald M. Payne, a Representative in 

Congress from the State of New Jersey ............................................................. 135

(1)

ETHIOPIA’S TROUBLED SITUATION 

TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2006

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS

AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS,

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:05 p.m. in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. Smith 

(Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. The Subcommittee will come to 

order, and we will be joined shortly by my good friend and colleague, Ranking Member Don Payne. But because I know Deputy 

Assistant Secretary Yamamoto has to make a flight and will be 

going to Ethiopia from here, we will begin the hearing. 

Ethiopia is one of Africa’s most populous and influential nations, 

and has for centuries been the home to numerous diverse religious 

and ethnic populations. 

Last May the East African nation held elections which promised 

to be a big step forward for Ethiopia’s democracy. The election 

process started out more open than previous elections, with the political opposition able to campaign more freely than ever before. 

Unfortunately, the window of opportunity presented for democracy 

closed in a wave of government harassment of opposition parties 

and ethnic hate speech. 

Although there were other problems in the election process, the 

biggest issue was the delayed release of the vote results. Preliminary results indicated that the opposition did much better than in 

past elections, increasing the number of Parliamentary seats won 

from 12 to nearly 200. 

However, opposition party coalitions charged that fraud had been 

committed in many of the races that they did not win. Because the 

government had failed to release results in the weeks after the 

election, suspicions rose that the victory by the opposition had been 

stolen. 

The controversy surrounding the 2005 Ethiopian election is a result of a number of factors that created a perfect storm of political 

discontent, and that created tragic conditions in Ethiopia. The European Union election monitoring team reported serious irregularities, but its impartiality was questioned after the leak of a preliminary EU report which indicated that the opposition parties would 

win a majority in Parliament based solely on the results in the capital of Addis Ababa. 

2

Periodic statements released by the EU election team were then 

undercut by statements from the EU diplomats, much as I experienced in my visit to Addis with Greg Simpkins of our Subcommittee last August. 

The Government of Ethiopia, by refusing to release all relevant 

information regarding the election in a timely fashion, created fear 

that the election had been stolen. International donors worked behind the scenes with the government to create a mechanism to resolve election disputes. However, that mechanism pitted the ruling 

party and the government-appointed national election board 

against the opposition parties. 

As a result, the opposition lost 90 percent of the challenges it 

filed, and the government missed its own July 8 deadline for release of election results, furthering the frustration and suspicion. 

As for the political opposition, its leaders contributed to this crisis by failing to provide necessary evidence of election fraud in all 

too many cases. It is not that this evidence may not have existed, 

but the parties appeared to be unprepared to effectively document 

what the problems were. Moreover, their refusal to take many of 

the seats that they won in the election prevented many issues from 

effectively being addressed in the Parliament, including the appointment of judges and guarantees of freedom of the press. 

The suspicions regarding the election were exacerbated by the 

government’s mass arrest of students in Addis in June. Protests 

were met with gunfire by government forces. It is estimated that 

as many as 40 persons identified as political activists were killed 

by government sharpshooters in the capital alone. Broadened arrests put tens of thousands in jail without charge or adequate contact with families or legal counsel. 

Further demonstrations in November resulted in at least another 

40 persons killed by government forces, this time including those 

not connected with the political opposition. 

The release of the State Department human rights report on 

Ethiopia is scathing in its description of what is taking place in 

Ethiopia, stating that, and I quote: ‘‘The government’s human 

rights record remains poor, and worsened in some areas.’’

Among the human rights problems reported by the State Department were limitation on citizens’ right to change their government, 

unlawful killings including alleged political killings, and beatings, 

abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by 

security forces; poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrests and detention of thousands of persons, particularly those suspected of sympathizing with, or being members of, the opposition; detention of 

thousands without charge and lengthy pretrial detention. Government infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, and frequent refusal 

to follow the law regarding search warrants. 

Government restrictions on freedom of the press, arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical 

of the government, and self-censorship by journalists. 

Government restrictions on the freedom of assembly, including 

denial of permits, burdensome preconditions, or refusal to provide 

assembly halls to opposition political groups. And at times, use of 

excessive force to disperse demonstrations, and government limitations on freedom of association. 

3

Approximately 16,000 people were released from jail earlier this 

year, but there is uncertainty about how many more prisoners remain behind bars without being charged, or while awaiting trial 

whose date has not yet been set. 

During my visit to Addis last August I met with Prime Minister 

Meles and asked him why he had not investigated the June shootings of demonstrators by agents of his government. His response 

was that the investigation might require the arrests of opposition 

leaders, and didn’t want to do that while the bi-elections were still 

scheduled. 

He went on to tell me that he had dossiers on all of the opposition leaders, and could arrest them for treason whenever he wanted. As a matter of fact, he boasted about that. Thus, the arrests 

were all but certain, even before the events that ostensibly led to 

their being incarcerated. 

Reportedly, the investigation of the government shootings of 

demonstrators is now belatedly underway, and we will wait and 

see. The shootings by government forces and delayed investigations 

are reminiscent of an earlier incident, the massacre of Anuaks in 

southwestern Ethiopia beginning in 2003, and continuing until 

May 2004. 

The farming Anuak minority predominate the Gambella Region 

of Ethiopia, but there have been periodic disputes with the highlanders, who are of the Tigrean and Amaran ethnic groups. According to a Human Rights Watch report at the time, government 

forces joined with highlanders to kill at least 400 Anuaks in December 2003 alone, and participated in the rape and torture of 

Anuaks. 

Genocide Watch and Survivors Watch International, Rights 

International, confirmed the events ascribed in the Human Rights 

Watch report. 

The Government of Ethiopia announced last year that trials of 

government forces responsible for 13 of the Anuak killings had finally begun. However, there is no word yet on the result of those 

trials. While the government is engaged in such efforts, one hopes 

it will also investigate reports of the killing last year of 24 members and supporters of the Oromo National Congress and other allegedly politically-motivated killings by government forces in 2005. 

Ethiopia has been an important ally of the United States in Africa. And the stability of one of Africa’s most populous nations is critical to American policy, especially in the important Horn of Africa 

region. 

However, the violations detailed in the State Department human 

rights report and in other accounts of independent human rights 

organizations will only make this nation more vulnerable to civil 

war, or to a foreign-supported insurgency. 

Yesterday a series of explosions in Addis led to the death of one 

person and the wounding of three others in a blast on a crowded 

minibus. This is part of a wave of attacks that began in January, 

and included three explosions earlier this month that wounded 

three persons at a restaurant, a market, and outside of a school. 

America’s commitment to promote respect for human rights 

around the world demands that we examine the current situation 

in Ethiopia, and that we prevail upon our ally to live up to its 

4

international human rights commitments while this situation can 

still be salvaged. The discussions the Government of Ethiopia is 

conducting with its political opposition and with our Government 

are perhaps good signs, and maybe there is going to be some positive movement. 

Other humanitarian gestures, for example the Iber Operation the 

government has reportedly authorized for opposition leader Hailu 

Shawel are also important steps in the right direction. However, 

the current situation calls for more than small steps taken slowly. 

If a crisis in Ethiopia is to be averted, and they are already in 

crisis, reforms investigations and trials must proceed with all deliberate speed. That is why we have convened this hearing today, and 

why I have introduced H.R. 4423, the Ethiopian Consolidation Act, 

which we intend to mark up next week. 

As I have said many times, friends don’t let friends commit 

human rights abuses. I believe this is a perfect example of why we 

must follow that dictum. 

I yield to Mr. Payne. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY AND CHAIRMAN, SUB- COMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

Ethiopia, one of Africa’s most populous and influential nations, has for centuries 

been the home to numerous diverse religious and ethnic populations. Last May, the 

East African nation held elections, which promised to be a big step forward for Ethiopia’s democracy. The election process started out more open than previous elections, with the political opposition able to campaign more freely than ever before. 

Unfortunately, the window of opportunity presented for democracy closed in a wave 

of government harassment of opposition parties and ethnic hate speech on both 

sides. 

Although there were other problems in the election process, the biggest issue was 

the delayed release of vote results. Preliminary results indicated that the opposition 

did much better than in past elections, increasing the number of parliamentary 

seats won from 12 to nearly 200. However, opposition party coalitions charged that 

fraud had been committed in many of the races they did not win. Because the government had failed to release results in the weeks after the election, suspicions rose 

that a victory by the opposition had been stolen. 

The controversy surrounding the 2005 Ethiopian election is the result of a number 

of factors that created a ‘‘perfect storm’’ of political discontent that has created tragic conditions in Ethiopia. 

The European Union election monitoring team reported serious irregularities, but 

its impartiality was questioned after the leak of a preliminary EU report which indicated that the opposition parties would win a majority in Parliament based largely 

on results in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Periodic statements released by the 

EU election team were then undercut by statements from EU diplomats, much as 

I experienced in my visit to Addis last August. 

The Government of Ethiopia, by refusing to release all relevant information regarding the election in a timely fashion, created fear that the election had been stolen. International donors worked behind the scenes with the government to create 

a mechanism to resolve election disputes. However, that mechanism pitted the ruling party and the government-appointed National Election Board against the opposition parties. As a result, the opposition lost 90% of the challenges it filed, and the 

government missed its own July 8th deadline for release of election results, furthering the frustration and suspicion. 

As for the political opposition, its leaders contributed to this crisis by failing to 

provide necessary evidence of election fraud in all too many cases. It isn’t that this 

evidence may not have existed, but the parties appeared to be unprepared to effectively document what the problems were. Moreover, their refusal to take many of 

the seats won in the election prevented many issues from effectively being addressed in the Parliament, including the appointment of judges and guarantees of 

freedom of the press. 

5

The suspicions regarding the election were exacerbated by the government’s mass 

arrest of students in Addis in June. Protests were met with gunfire by government 

forces. It is estimated that as many as 40 persons identified as political activists 

were killed by government sharpshooters in the capital alone. Broadened arrests put 

tens of thousands in jail without charge or adequate contact with families or legal 

counsel. Further demonstrations in November resulted in at least another 40 persons killed by government forces—this time including those not connected with the 

political opposition. 

The recently-released State Department human rights report on Ethiopia is scathing in its description of what is taking place in Ethiopia, stating that ‘‘the government’s human rights record remained poor and worsened in some areas.’’

Among the human rights problems reported by the State Department were:

• limitation on citizens’ right to change their government;

• unlawful killings, including alleged political killings, and beating, abuse, and 

mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces;

• poor prison conditions;

• arbitrary arrest and detention of thousands of persons; particularly those suspected of sympathizing with or being members of the opposition;

• detention of thousands without charge, and lengthy pretrial detention;

• government infringement on citizens’ privacy rights, and frequent refusal to 

follow the law regarding search warrants;

• government restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical of the government; selfcensorship by journalists;

• government restrictions on freedom of assembly including denial of permits, 

burdensome preconditions or refusal to provide assembly halls to opposition 

political groups, and at times use of excessive force to disperse demonstrations, and

• government limitations on freedom of association.

Approximately 16,000 people were released from jail earlier this year, but there 

is uncertainty about how many more prisoners remain behind bars without being 

charged or while awaiting a trial whose date is not yet set. 

During my visit to Addis last August, I met with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, 

and I asked him why he had not investigated the June shootings of demonstrators 

by agents of his government. His response was that the investigation might require 

the arrest of opposition leaders, and he didn’t want to do that while by-elections 

were still scheduled. He went on to tell me that he had dossiers on all the opposition 

leaders and could arrest them for treason whenever he wanted. Thus, their arrests 

were all but certain even before the events that ostensibly led to their being incarcerated. Reportedly, the investigation of the government shootings of demonstrators 

is now belatedly underway. 

The shootings by government forces and delayed investigation are reminiscent of 

an earlier incident: the massacre of Anuaks in southwestern Ethiopia beginning in 

December 2003 and continuing until May 2004. 

The farming Anuak minority predominate the Gambella region of Ethiopia, but 

there have been periodic disputes with the highlanders, who are of the Tigrayan and 

Amharan ethnic groups. According to a Human Rights Watch report at the time, 

government forces joined with highlanders to kill at least 400 Anuaks in December 

2003 alone and participated in the rape and torture of Anuaks. Genocide Watch and 

Survivors’ Rights International confirmed the events described in the Human Rights 

Watch report. 

The Government of Ethiopia announced last year that trials of government forces 

responsible for 13 of the Anuak killings had finally begun. However, there is no 

word yet on the result of these trials. While the government is engaged in such efforts, one hopes it also will investigate reports of the killing last year of 24 members 

and supporters of the Oromo National Congress and other allegedly politically-motivated killings by government forces in 2005. 

Ethiopia has been an important ally of the United States in Africa, and the stability of one of Africa’s most populous nations is critical to American policy, especially in the important Horn of Africa region. However, the violations detailed in the 

State Department human rights report and in other accounts of independent human 

rights organizations will only make this nation more vulnerable to civil war or a 

foreign-supported insurgency. 

Yesterday, a series of explosions in Addis led to the death of one person and the 

wounding of three others in a blast on a crowded minibus. This is part of a wave 

6

of attacks that began in January and included three explosions earlier this month 

that wounded three persons at a restaurant, a market and outside a school. 

America’s commitment to promote the respect for human rights around the world 

demands that we examine the current situation in Ethiopia and that we prevail 

upon our ally to live up to its international human rights commitments while this 

situation can still be salvaged. The discussions the Government of Ethiopia is conducting with its political opposition and with our government are good signs that 

some positive movement is possible. Other humanitarian gestures, for example, the 

eye operation the government reportedly authorized for opposition leader Hailu 

Shawal, are also an important step in the right direction. 

However, the current situation calls for more than small steps taken slowly. If 

a crisis in Ethiopia is to be averted, reforms, investigations and trials must proceed 

with all deliberate speed. This is why we have convened this hearing today and why 

I have introduced H.R. 4423—the Ethiopia Consolidation Act, which we intend to 

mark-up next week. 

As I have said many times, ‘‘Friends don’t let friends commit human rights 

abuses.’’ This is a perfect example of why we must follow that dictum.

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much, and let me thank the Chairman for calling this very important hearing. And as we know, Ethiopia is one of the important countries in the world, and indeed in 

Africa. And so I look forward to this important hearing and, as we 

indicated, to legislation which will be coming up in the next week 

or two. 

I certainly think that this important hearing is at the right time, 

because there is a crisis in Ethiopia going on as we sit. And we are 

also in a region where there are forgotten people in Somalia, for 

example, where a government is attempting to put itself together, 

but is being ignored by most of the world leaders. They are asking 

for guidance as, once again, warlords have taken to the streets of 

Mogandishu. 

And so the Horn of Africa is indeed an area where there is a tremendous amount of problems. It is an area that is very important; 

however, generally neglected. It is an area that really became the 

killing fields in the United States’ war against communism, which 

was a noble war, where the USA was fighting against the Warsaw 

Pact countries of the Soviet Union. However, unfortunately, the 

only killings were primarily in Africa, except for the later conflict 

that escalated into war in Vietnam. 

But in African country after African country you had to pick your 

side. You had to be with the United States or with the Soviet 

Union. And as countries gained their independence, they then had 

to make a choice that had absolutely nothing to do with their 

progress, whether you were for the allies, or whether you were for 

the Warsaw Pact nations under USSR. 

And so as a result, democracy was thwarted. Somalia’s dictator 

changed from United States to Soviet, or Soviet to United States. 

The Government of Ethiopia went from pro-United States to proSoviet under Mogandishu. And so unfortunately for Africa, many of 

the problems that they are confronted with today, first of all there 

was long-time colonization, although, as we know, Ethiopia was 

never colonized. As a matter of fact, Ethiopia was the first African 

country to defeat a colonizer, and it gave many of us African-Americans a great deal of pride that an African nation, which did not 

have the weapons of war that the European power had, was able 

to fight and keep its independence. 

And so there is a tremendous amount of interest, even AfricanAmericans, during that war, participated. Many tried to join the 

7

armies of Ethiopia, but were restricted by our Government. It was 

even, unfortunately there were race riots between Americans and 

Italians in New York because of the invasion of Italy to Ethiopia 

there. It was Colonel John C. Robinson, the Brown Condor, who 

helped establish the Ethiopian National Air Force, an AfricanAmerican who went there, and Colonel Herbert Fauntleroy Julian 

called the Black Eagle, awarded the Abyssinian citizenship and 

rank of Colonel by the Emperor, Haile Sellasie, in the 1930s, where 

he flew the Emperor around with substandard planes bought from 

European countries. 

And so there is a tremendous interest in Ethiopia. It is not phone 

calls of some constituents or what group is most vocal in this town 

or another town at this time, Atlanta or Houston or in Washington. 

It is not about friends who may be business people who you know, 

and who come with a one-sided issue. 

And so I hope that as we deal with Africa in general, that we 

will be able to look at the overall picture. My first visit in 1973, 

when I went to Walu Province up in Desi to try to help feed the 

people in that unknown famine that happened when I was supposed to meet with the Emperor, but he was unable to make the 

meeting. And a good friend, Mr. Destu Germa who worked for the 

YMCA of Ethiopia, was taking me around as we tried to feed the 

people. 

And so my interest in Ethiopia with the deposing of the Emperor, 

and the putting-in head of state, His Excellency Necha Nmecatcha 

Mekonen, who tried to lead the country but was executed with 59 

other people as the Government of Gamingus took over. And so, as 

we take on this issue, I think that the more thorough we are about 

the overall situation, I think the better that we are. 

I certainly would like to recognize the tireless work of Donald 

Yamamoto and his team at the State Department. Mr. Yamamoto 

has been very actively engaged on multiple fronts to ensure peace 

and stability in the region, where he will be heading out perhaps 

even before I finish my statement, I hear. But maybe wait, and I 

will try to rush through. I would like to commend you for the work 

that you have done, not only in Ethiopia, but in Iatria and the entire Horn. 

I would also like to welcome the other witnesses and thank in 

particular Dr. Meqdes Mesfin, the daughter of Professor Mesfin, 

who is currently suffering in prison. I thank you, Ms. Mesfin, for 

accepting our invitation to testify with such short notice. 

Why do I care about Ethiopia and Africa in general? As I mentioned, Ethiopia has a strong history that I am proud of and respect. Let me be clear. I did not get involved in African affairs because of constituency demands or interests, but Africa has been a 

passion to me of many decades. As I mentioned, not only there, but 

we are celebrating next year the independence of Ghana, which 

was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to become independent 

50 years ago. 

After all, this is one place where I feel at home, when I visit 

Ethiopia, a country, as I mentioned, that has a proud history of 

never being colonized, and has been a strong ally through the years 

to the United States. And actually, the Emperor, in his address to 

the League of Nations in 1933, was one of the outstanding speeches 

8

that we see on the History Channel, and should make all of us 

proud. 

The people of Ethiopia have suffered for decades, even under the 

Emperor. And today, millions live in abject poverty and difficult 

conditions. The deterioration of human rights conditions in Ethiopia is not limited to the capitol, Addis. Conditions in other regions, including Somalia, the Somalia region and Oromo regions 

are also very bad. 

The attention in the United States has been focused on the illegal and violent attacks against civilians last year following the 

elections in Ethiopia, where dozens of people were killed and many 

more wounded. Thousands were detailed; though many released, 

hundreds still remain in prison. More than 100 elected members of 

the Parliament, human rights activists, journalists, and prominent 

leaders were arrested. The same people the government was negotiating with weeks earlier are now charged with treason and genocide. Some of these people I have known for years, and I have met 

a number of them last year in my visit to Ethiopia. 

Let me say a few words about two people I know well, and are 

now languishing in prison. The first person is Professor Mesfin. 

I met Professor Mesfin over a decade ago in his office in Addis. 

A well-respected human rights advocate, Professor Mesfin founded 

the Human Rights Council in the early 1990s. He stayed in Ethiopia under difficult conditions for decades to help his people. Unfortunately, the reward at his old age is imprisonment. 

The second person is a businessman named Mr. Alazar. I heard 

about Mr. Alazar from a friend, an internationally respected banker. At the request of the government, he returned to Ethiopia to reform the banking sector. He has been in prison for 5 years. 

On several of my visits I visited him in prison, the last time 2 

years ago, to assure him that we are with him, and to also see the 

conditions in the jail where many others are languishing. A few 

weeks ago he was once again brought before the court, only to be 

told that the judge resigned. He left a family and his newborn child 

here in the United States to try to assist the Government of Ethiopia, and as a result he still languishes in prison. This is unfortunate, and it is wrong. 

Last May the elections in Ethiopia in general were better organized, more competitive and transparent this time, certainly compared to the election, the two past elections, although there were 

definitely some problems. It is important to recognize this important development and advances made, and show our appreciation 

to those Ethiopians who pushed for such elections, and who dedicated their time and resources for such an outcome. 

As a matter of fact, the opposition I think went from about 15 

seats to close to 200, which indicated that there was certainly, in 

some areas, pretty fair elections, because you would not have seen 

that tremendous increase, especially in Addis. The negotiations between the government and the opposition led to such an important 

outcome. 

I introduced a bill with my colleagues to push for electorial 

transparency. And I visited Ethiopia two times last year, both 

meeting with the opposition, all of the opposition groups, encouraging them to take their seats in Parliament since people went out 

9

and elected them, and felt that the responsibility of the opposition 

was to go into Parliament and to make their voices heard. 

The government mishandling of the post-election period and the 

brutal killings of demonstrators and imprisoning of their leaders 

diminished the gains made earlier. While the majority of the elected parliamentarians have taken their seats and important measures have been taken in recent months, the prisoners must be released, and a transparent investigation into the killings should be 

undertaken immediately. 

We must remember that governance responsibilities and democracy do not rest solely on the government. The opposition must also 

play a constructive role and peaceful role, as with all opposition, 

and keep pressure on the government in a lawful manner. That 

will make democracy flourish. 

Ethiopia faces tremendous challenges. Peaceful implementation 

of the Algiers Agreement is vital. The war against HIV and AIDS, 

poverty, and recovering humanitarian crisis are certainly areas 

that need our continued strong engagement. Peaceful resolution of 

unresolved conflicts is key, especially in the Oromo and Somalia regions. I recognize the prime ministers and the OLF’s statement for 

dialogue, and this is a positive step. And we have to have dialogue 

in order to avoid conflict. 

In conclusion, our priorities should always be to help the suffering; to try to end poverty, to prevent war, and to promote democracy and respect for human rights. Excessive use of force, rhetoric 

about a revolution from a distance, while ignoring the plight of 

other Ethiopians, and attempting to frustrate and intimidate Members of Congress will not solve the problems that exist in Ethiopia. 

The little we do as individuals go a long way. Helping the families of those killed and wounded, visiting prisoners, and striving for 

the long-term stability of the country are pivotal. 

It is important to write letters in protest and pass legislation. 

But what really matters most is what happens there in Ethiopia. 

Whether the quality of life will improve for a child, whether employment will be gained for a person, whether housing will be improved, and sanitation and clean water. These are the real measures of the quality of life, and those are the things we need to 

strive for, for the people of Ethiopia. 

We would not be discussing this today if it was not for those who 

died and those who are currently languishing in prison. Let us not 

forget them, as many of us here in this country enjoy the luxuries 

and the benefits and the freedom that we have here. But really let 

us not forget those who are languishing in prison, and who are 

really having a very, very difficult time. 

I would like to ask for unanimous consent to enter into the 

record the questions from Congressman Honda, who is Chair of the 

Ethiopia Caucus. And I ask the Chairman if he would allow that 

to occur. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection. 

[The information referred to follows:]

DEAR CONGRESSMAN DONALD PAYNE, As Chair of the Congressional Ethiopia and 

Ethiopian American Caucus, I offer these questions to be asked at the Hearing of 

the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations 

‘‘Ethiopia’s Troubled Internal Situation’’ on my behalf. This is in addition to your 

prepared questions, and I hope that you find them helpful.

10

1. The Ethiopia Consolidation Act HR4423 would require the U.S. Agency for 

International Development (USAID) to re-write its development plan for 

Ethiopia. How would this requirement impact current U.S. assistance programs? What development assistance programs may be eliminated as a result of this legislation?

2. To what extent have Ethiopian Americans influenced the political environment in Ethiopia? How can the federal government better coordinate with 

Ethiopian Americans to nurture peach and economic growth in Ethiopia?

This is a critical time for Ethiopians and the Ethiopian Diaspora. Your leadership 

is critical to resolving the current crisis, and I thank you for your commitment. I 

look forward to working more closely with you. 

Sincerely, 

MICHAEL M. HONDA

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you. We will go right to our 

witness, and anybody who has an opening statement we will go 

back to that because Mr. Yamamoto does have a flight to catch to 

Ethiopia and must leave around 3 o’clock I understand. 

Donald Yamamoto currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs. Previously he 

served as U.S. Ambassador in 2000 to 2003. His assignments included U.S. Embassy Beijing, as Ambassador Staff Aide and 

Human Rights Office during the Tienanman Square demonstrations. He has served in Eritrea Charge ́ d’Affaires. And we are so 

glad to have him. During his foreign service career he has received 

four individual superior honor awards and two group awards. 

Mr. Secretary, please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DONALD Y. YAMAMOTO, 

DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Thank you very much, Chairman Smith, Congressman Payne, honored Members of the Subcommittee. It is a 

great pleasure to testify before you today. And I also want to express my deep personal appreciation to you personally, Mr. Chairman and Congressman Payne and others, for your commitment, 

and for your engagement. 

I have submitted a longer official version of this testimony for 

the record. 

The May 15, 2005, elections were historic, and the pre-election 

assessment was impressive. 25.6 million people registered to vote, 

48 percent of which were women. In total, 85 percent of all eligible 

voters registered, marking a significant increase over the last election in 2000. 

Elections for the lower house featured 1847 candidates competing 

for 547 seats. This was an 80-percent increase over 2000. 

On election day and during the post-election period, there were 

reports of intimidation and harassment, and in some areas ballot 

boxes had not been properly secured. There was a general transportation strike in Addis Ababa June 6 to 8, and violence led to the 

deaths of three dozen and the arrests of over 3,000 people. The 

United States condemned the violence, and it cautioned that hate 

messages directed against any ethnic group could further fracture 

the delicate balance within Ethiopia. 

We supported a brokered agreement on June 10 between the opposition and the ruling parties to enhance political engagement. We 

11

actively reached out to the opposition party leaders from all of the 

opposition groups, as well as to bridge the political divide separating them from the ruling party. We also engaged the Ethiopian 

diaspora here in the United States. 

The unexpected political gains inspired confidence in the opposition to insist on more political control of the process, and they 

pressed for a review of 299 seats that they lost to the ruling party. 

I would like to add, Mr. Chairman, that the diaspora here and 

in the opposition who have demonstrated so vigorously in front of 

the State Department, on Capitol Hill, and in front of the White 

House, that we also call upon them to also engage in a constructive 

dialogue and a responsible dialogue with governments. We all need 

to build confidence to bring about a peaceful resolution of all differences. And that this we will continue to encourage. 

Under the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia process, the 

Complaints Review Board received 380 complaints of election irregularities, and identified 178 cases for investigation. It was unclear 

why some were rejected. 

The NEBE clearly requires significant assistance as it works to 

build capacity and forge a constructive dialogue between the parties. On the disputed seats, the Carter Center recommended that 

the opposition refer these cases to the higher court for adjudication. 

We commend the work of the Carter Center, and note the important work of the European Union, carried out under very difficult 

conditions. 

On the overall assessment of the election, we agree with the 

Carter Center report that the elections had credibility, and that the 

majority of the constituency results, based on the May 15 polling 

and tabulation, are credible and reflect competitive conditions. 

The United States remains deeply concerned, however, about the 

31 seats that went to a re-vote on August 21. The ruling party won 

all 31 seats, even among constituencies where the oppositions had 

a clear and significant majority on May 15. 

Of greater concern was the violence that erupted on June 8 and 

November 1, and led to the arrest of thousands of people. And after 

the election, the detention of 128 CUD and civil societal leaders. 

We objected strongly to the violence and detentions both publicly 

and in several press statements, privately and publicly to the government and to the opposition. 

The electoral process of May 15 was historic and considerably enhanced the democratic consciousness of the people of Ethiopia, a 

much-improved election over 2000 and 1995. The United States is 

committed to ensuring that the 2010 elections build on this 

progress, that Ethiopia moves toward transparent elections, responsive government, and greater power-sharing. 

Since the election, we encouraged the opposition parties to continue their political dialogue with the government on reform. On 

the detainees, the Administration has called on the government to 

ensure fair, transparent, and speedy trials for those who have been 

charged, release of those who have not been charged, and protection of human rights, health and safety of all detainees while remaining under detention. 

The opposition and ruling parties have agreed to review parliamentary procedures on capacity of the NEBE, media law, and 

12

rule of law. The Ethiopian Government has also agreed to review 

domestic political institutions by outside experts, from Germany, 

India, Great Britain, and Canada. The United States will review 

the media law, and we are working with the European Union to 

encourage elected opposition officials to take their seats in Parliament, and many are. 

The United States has also engaged with the newly-elected Addis 

Ababa city councilors and the NEBE to enable the opposition to 

take over city halls. We pressed the Ethiopian Government to conduct an independent investigation of the violence and the arrests 

of thousands of civilians in 2005. 

The completed report from this commission appointed by the Parliament is expected soon. And that is thanks to you, Mr. Chairman, 

for your work on this effort. 

The Administration is also working to ensure the return of the 

International Republic Institute, the National Democratic Institute, 

and IFES, all of which were expelled prior to the May 15 election. 

These organizations are critical to building political reform. 

The United States is committed to good governance and the primacy of democracy. We believe Ethiopia is headed in the right direction. And in order to ensure positive momentum, the United 

States and the international community need to work with Ethiopia to cultivate and nurture this process. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Yamamoto follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DONALD Y. YAMAMOTO, DEPUTY

ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

INTRODUCTION

Chairman Smith, members of the subcommittee, I am honored to testify before 

you today on the internal political situation in Ethiopia. As Africa’s second most 

populous nation, Ethiopia has an important part to play in enhancing the stability 

of East Africa. 

The United States believes that democracy is the best form of government for stability—in Africa and beyond. Free and transparent elections are the best vehicle for 

citizens to express their wishes and hold their governments accountable. Democracy 

should be anything but a zero sum game. 

Over the last year, Ethiopians have been tempted by the twin promises of freedom 

and fairness. Expectations were high during last year’s campaign season. This 

marked the first, true multiparty election in Ethiopia’s 3,000 year history. Results 

have been mixed, and hopes for progress have been chilled, as the government has 

clamped down on individuals’ right to assemble and journalists’ ability to report 

events. Meanwhile, several elected opposition officials refused to take their seats in 

Parliament and have been arrested and charged with capital offenses. 

In calling for last May’s election, Prime Minister Meles moved his country forward. However, the intolerance that followed in the wake of the results and the opposition’s response show that the country has more work to do in progressing toward true, mature democracy. 

HOPE FOR DEMOCRACY

Speaking at the Freer Gallery before the G–8 summit last June, President Bush 

remarked that, ‘‘The whole world will benefit from prosperity and stability on the 

African continent. And the peoples of Africa deserve the peace and freedom and opportunity that are the natural rights of all mankind.’’

The Administration firmly believes in the primacy of democracy. So do the American people and this Congress. Democratic governments will naturally reflect the 

local cultures and traditions of voters, but this form of government is the single best 

way to account not only for the needs and wishes of large groups of people, but also 

for those holding minority viewpoints. 

13

Liberty improves lives, and fair elections and personal liberty protections are universal values. Our goal is to encourage all governments to be responsive to their 

people and respectful of human dignity. The United States raises these points in 

the spirit of partnership. 

There is every reason to believe that Ethiopians want responsive leadership, and 

the U.S. Government supports the efforts of students and activists to have their 

voices heard. As President Bush said in the same speech last June, ‘‘All who live 

in Africa can be certain, as you seize this moment of opportunity, America will be 

your partner and your friend.’’

A NEW CHAPTER

The May 15, 2005 elections were momentous and offered the people of Ethiopia 

the prospect of an important step toward democratic rule and responsive government. The pre-election assessment was impressive. Nearly 26 million people registered to vote, 48% of which were women. In total, 85% of all eligible voters registered, marking a significant increase over the last election in 2000. 

Elections for the lower house featured 1,847 candidates competing for 547 seats. 

Compared to 2000, this was an increase in participation greater than 80%. Election 

observers from the United States (U.S.) and European Union (EU) recognized the 

National Electoral Board for its excellent job registering voters and candidates, and 

preparing for the elections. Even the state-managed media coverage was considered 

fair, giving the opposition 56% of the airtime exposure, according to the EU report, 

while the ruling party received 44% of the coverage. 

The opposition parties, much to their own surprise—and the shock of the ruling 

party—earned the keys to Addis Ababa’s City Hall on election day. The ruling party 

acknowledged its loss in the capital, as well as losses in most of Ethiopia’s other 

urban centers. The opposition managed to capture 170 seats, mostly in urban areas. 

This was significantly more than the meager 12 seats it won in 2000. This success 

is tempered only by the fact that most Ethiopians reside in rural areas. 

The United States hailed the outcome of the May election as an affirmation of 

Ethiopia’s political development. For the first time in their long history, Ethiopians 

had a democratic choice. 

ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL TENSION

The great hope inspired by this election soon gave way to political turmoil. On 

election day and during the post-election period, there were reports of intimidation 

and harassment and that in some areas, ballot boxes had been improperly secured. 

From June 2–8, the opposition raised questions about the results for 299 seats. 

There was a general transportation strike in Addis Ababa June 6–8, and violence 

led to the deaths of three-dozen and the arrest of over 3,000 people. 

The United States condemned the violence and cautioned that hate messages directed against other ethnic groups could further fracture the delicate ethnic balance 

within Ethiopia. The U.S. Ambassador in Addis Ababa, Ambassador Aurelia 

Brazeal, worked with her colleagues from the British, Austrian, EU, and other embassies to broker an agreement on June 10 between the opposition and ruling parties to enhance political engagement and resolve seats under dispute. 

Since the departure of Ambassador Brazeal, our Charge, Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, and the U.S. Embassy staff have continued actively to reach out to opposition party leaders from the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), Coalition 

for Unity and Democracy (CUD), and Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement 

(OFDM). U.S. Embassy staff is working to bridge the political divide separating the 

opposition parties and the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front 

(EPRDF). The State Department has also engaged the Ethiopian diaspora in the 

United States, and the chief opposition leaders, Hailu Shawel, who heads the CUD, 

and Petros Beyene, head of the UEDF, who have been in the United States. 

On numerous occasions, the Assistant Secretary sent me to Addis Ababa to work 

with the Ethiopian Government and opposition groups in support of U.S. Embassy 

efforts to encourage a reconciliation of differences between the opposition and the 

ruling parties, and to discuss ways to improve the political process with the Ethiopian government. We encouraged the opposition parties to take their seats in the 

Ethiopian Parliament and use their positions as parliamentarians to press for continued political reform and a greater voice for the opposition. 

The opposition’s stance evolved after May 15, 2005. Their unexpected political 

gains inspired the confidence to insist on more political control of the process, and 

they pressed for a review of the 299 seats they lost to the EPRDF. The Administration has encouraged dialogue between the government and opposition parties to resolve the dispute. U.S. government officials have repeatedly stressed that responVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
14

sible discussions would help enhance confidence and bring about a peaceful resolution. The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), which did a notable job in 

pre-election efforts, was overwhelmed by post-election tasks. The NEBE clearly requires significant assistance, as it works to build capacity and forge a constructive 

dialogue between the parties. 

Under the existing NEBE process, the Complaints Review Boards (CRB) received 

380 complaints of election irregularities and identified 178 cases for the Complaints 

Investigations Panels (CIP) to investigate. It was unclear why some cases were rejected. The European Union report on the elections asserted that over 90% of the 

CUD complaints were rejected as opposed to only 30% for the ruling party. It seems 

clear that the CRB/CIP process did not prove an adequate means for a fair resolution of all electoral disputes. 

According to the Carter Center, which monitored the election process along with 

the European Union, in one-third of the investigations they observed, witnesses appeared frightened or intimidated, and there was credible evidence of intimidation 

and harassment including beatings and briberies. It is clear that the CRB/CIP is 

an ad hoc mechanism to review electoral complaints, rather than a reliable process 

for resolving the Parliamentary seat dispute. The Carter Center recommended that 

in this instance, and until the NEBE gains the maturity to resolve political disagreements, the opposition refer these cases to the High Court for adjudication. 

We commend the work of the Carter Center and note the important work that 

the European Union carried out under difficult conditions. On the overall assessment of the elections, we agree with the final report, which noted that the elections 

had credibility and that majority of the constituency results based on the May 15 

polling and tabulation are credible and reflect competitive conditions. Our own assessments support this view. 

Despite our belief that elections results overall were generally credible the United 

States was deeply concerned about the 31 seats that went to a re-vote on August 

21. The ruling party won all 31 seats, even among constituencies where the opposition had won a significant majority during May 15 balloting. Election observers 

noted that voters were perplexed as to why there was a re-vote and noted a dearth 

of information and increased presence of security forces at polling stations. Of even 

greater concern was the violence that erupted on June 8 and November 1, 2005 that 

led to the arrests of thousands of people after the elections and the detention of 128 

CUD and civil society leaders. We objected strongly to the violence and the detentions both publicly through several press statements and privately to the government and the opposition. 

Of particular concern to the United States are the early-November arrests of 

much of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) leadership, along with prominent members of civil society, journalists, editors, and publishers. After seven weeks 

in detention, the Ethiopian government charged 131 individuals with capital offenses of ‘‘outrages against the constitution and constitutional order,’’ and, in several cases, ‘‘treason’’ and ‘‘attempted genocide.’’ Charges were recently dropped 

against 18 of the defendants, including five American citizen staff members of Voice 

of America, who, with five others, were charged in absentia. 

In addition to these leaders, Ethiopian authorities detained over 14,000 demonstrators holding them for as much as nine weeks in detention camps far away 

from Addis Ababa. While public protests aimed at destabilizing the country are objectionable, there is no excuse for mass arrests and the use of lethal force against 

civilians who wish to express their opposition to their government. 

GLIMMERS OF HOPE

The electoral process of May 15, 2005 was historic and considerably enhanced the 

democratic consciousness of the people of Ethiopia. It was a much-improved election 

over 2000, which had been a great improvement over the 1995 election. The United 

States is committed to ensuring that the 2010 elections build on the progress of the 

2005 elections, in moving toward transparent elections, responsive government, and 

greater power sharing. 

That said, the post-2005 election problems point to the need for capacity building 

and further reform. The Ethiopian government and opposition agree on that score. 

We are working to help both sides forge a common commitment to work collaboratively toward a shared goal of developing a more democratic political process. We 

recognize the need for capacity building to strengthen the electoral commission, foster international exchanges that broaden exposure to other political systems, enhance the open and transparent political process—particularly with regard to Parliamentary procedures that ensure equal participation for opposition members, offer 

15

clear and detailed guidance regarding the electoral process, and encourage greater 

political debate and participation by members of the Ethiopian public. 

Over the last year, we have encouraged the opposition parties to continue their 

political dialogue with the government about the necessity of reform. The Ethiopian 

citizens who have been detained without charge are of vital concern, and the Administration calls on the Government of Ethiopia to ensure a fair, transparent, and 

speedy trial for those charged, release of those who have not been charged, and protection of the human rights, health, and safety of all detainees while they remain 

in detention. 

With the engagement of the EU and the Ethiopian government, the opposition 

and ruling parties have agreed to review parliamentary procedures, the capacity of 

the NEBE, media law, and the rule of law. The Ethiopian government has also 

agreed to reviews of domestic political institutions by outside experts from Germany, India, Great Britain, and Canada. The United States will review the media 

law, and we are working with the EU to encourage elected opposition officials to 

take their seats in Parliament, and many are. The United States has also engaged 

with the newly elected Addis Ababa City Counselors and NEBE to enable the opposition to take over City Hall. 

We pressed the Ethiopian government to conduct an independent investigation of 

the violence and the arrests of thousands of civilians in 2005. The completed report 

from the commission appointed by Parliament is expected soon. We continue to urge 

the government to apply expeditiously and justly the procedures of the Ethiopian 

legal process to the cases of the remaining 111 detained CUD and civil society leaders. Resolution of the detention issue would fortify Ethiopia’s developing democratic 

process. 

The Administration is also working to ensure the return of the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and IFES, all of which were 

expelled before the May 15 election. These organizations can help with capacity 

building and political reform. 

All of these actions have been undertaken in support of good governance and the 

primacy of democracy. We believe Ethiopia is heading in the right direction; in order 

to ensure positive momentum, the United States and the international community 

needs to work with Ethiopia to cultivate and nurture this process. 

CONCLUSION

Ethiopia is currently at a crossroads; it can continue to move forward, or it can 

lapse into the sort of government that’s best encountered in history books. It is incumbent upon Prime Minister Meles, his government, and the various elements of 

the multifaceted opposition to demonstrate to the world, but, more importantly, to 

Ethiopians, the sincerity of their professed commitment to democracy through their 

actions as well as their words. The United States has a role, as a partner and 

friend, to help Ethiopia’s leaders to choose the right path to secure peace, stability, 

freedom, and democracy for the Ethiopian people. 

Some interested groups, both within and beyond Ethiopian borders, seek to undermine what is best for the nation of Ethiopia, in favor of what they perceive to be 

the best for themselves. They cast stones at their adversaries, while engaging in the 

very acts they accuse their rivals of pursuing. 

The challenge for the United States is to share with our Ethiopian partners—the 

government, the opposition, civil society, and the broader public—the lessons of 

America’s own democratic experiment and impede the subversive effects of those 

who put their own objectives above those of the Ethiopian people. Through diplomatic persuasion, the United States has succeeded in bringing together the government and some opposition groups for dialogue to establish a more equitable political 

environment that includes respect for the rule of law. U.S. engagement has helped 

convince the vast majority of opposition Members of Parliament-elect to take their 

seats, so that they can challenge the political system from within to improve lasting 

institutions and make tomorrow better. The United States has supported efforts 

through which opposition members elected to the Addis Ababa city council sought 

to assume control of the capital city, in accordance with their electoral mandate. 

The United States government remains hopeful that Ethiopia can achieve the 

democratic and development ideals that its people espouse. I am hopeful that Ethiopia’s leaders will allow this to happen, and Ethiopia’s friends in the United States 

stand by ready to help.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Secretary, thank you very much. 

And I think it is worth noting at the outset that it was almost a 

year to the day, on March 30, that NDI and IRI and the other orgaVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
16

nization were ousted just prior to the elections, which sent a very 

clear and ominous signal as to what was almost a harbinger of 

what was to come. 

And as you know, we are calling for them to be allowed back. It 

is contained in H.R. 4423 as part of our findings and recommendations. And my hope is that the sooner they get back there, the better. All three of those organizations do exemplary work. 

Let me ask just a couple of questions, first beginning with the 

detainees. Do we have a sense as to how many detainees there are? 

Have our Embassy personnel been able to visit? I know the ICRC, 

I think I read somewhere in one case had one visit, and that is all 

they were allowed. 

And very importantly, what is the evidence on the use of torture? 

There have been allegations that torture has been used to extract 

confessions from detainees. What is our take on that? 

And I would just say to my colleagues that I plan to initiate a 

letter to Manfred Nowak, the Special Rapporteur on Torture. When 

I met with him last year in Geneva and asked him if he would be 

willing to receive requests from Members of Congress on what to 

look into, he said yes. So we are planning, as a result of this hearing and the ongoing concern about the detainees and all of those 

who are unjustly incarcerated, to initiate such a letter to have him 

take a look at the torture situation. But if you could begin on that. 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It is the 

priority for this government to look into and to follow the detainees 

very carefully. 

Our Ambassador and the Embassy have been extremely aggressive in following the trials, and also in following the health and the 

safety of the detainees. Eighteen were exonerated during the recent 

court case, and the charges were dropped against them. There are 

about 111 remaining. 

We have followed the conditions of the detainees very carefully, 

even from bringing medications to the detainees. Again, the priority for us is to follow how the detainees are being treated. And 

again, until we have resolution of this issue, it becomes an obstacle 

to moving forward. 

But also, Mr. Chairman, I want to equally emphasize the importance of the political dialogue that must take place between the opposition and the government. The issue on torture and other maltreatment, this is an issue that we follow very closely. And again, 

we refer you to the human rights report on the cases that we have 

investigated. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Let me ask you with regards to one 

specific case, Keefa Kenye Abate, who has been held apparently 

under Penal Code 238, attempting to overthrow a Constitution. 

Like others, it is being used, we think, as the charge that will be 

lodged against him. 

And would you say parenthetically—and I say this because I 

know we will be hearing from the Ethiopian Ambassador right 

after your panel—that all-sweeping ‘‘attempting to overthrow the 

Constitution’’ language is reminiscent to many of us to the slander 

against the Soviet State, or some of the other catch-all phrases that 

are so often used, and used with great impunity, by countries, and 

17

very often by dictatorships, in order to put people behind bars. And 

in this case, they can be put behind bars up to life imprisonment. 

But in the case of Mr. Abate, and I would note parenthetically 

that his wife, Dr. Carmella Green Abate is a very, very prominent 

and very aggressive NGO leader, helping Ethiopian children, destitute Ethiopian children. So she is there on the ground, working 

day in and day out to help people who have little kids who are in 

dire straits. And now her husband is imprisoned. 

And I just would note also that two courts so far have looked at 

the evidence and dismissed the complaint. As a matter of fact, on 

December 28 the court ruled that there was no evidence to justify 

his arrest, and that his case should be dismissed and that he 

should be released. On December 29 the Court of Appeals reiterated the initial finding there was no justification for his arrest, and 

that the case should be closed. And the prosecutor just turned a 

blind eye and a deaf ear to those findings, which raises serious 

questions about the rule of law and the lack of, at least from an 

independent judiciary point of view, whether or not they have the 

ability to say something and have it carried out by the Executive 

Branch. 

He is only one of many, but I would just raise his case as another 

example of what appears to be a grossly unjustified incarceration 

by the Meles Government. What is your take on that? 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Mr. Chairman, you raised a very good point on 

the capacity-building within the judicial process in Ethiopia. That 

is an area that we have focused on through our Good Governance 

and Democracy Program, and also that we are committed to ensuring that there is capacity-building and that there is improvement. 

And that we are working not only with the Ethiopian Government, 

but also with civil society and with the people. 

And your case, specifically, we will give you a response to the 

specifics on his case. But just to assure you, Mr. Chairman, that 

we have met with the family members of the detainees. I have 

done so in my several visits to Ethiopia, and I will do so again this 

time. And our Embassy has done so, as well. 

And this is of high concern to have their loved ones who are detained, and also the treatment that they are receiving. Those are 

extreme concerns and high priority for us, and we will continue to 

follow it. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I appreciate that. Now, I would ask 

you, if you could, on his specific case, if you would look into that. 

Keefla Tigna Abate. And I will give you the information before your 

departure. His wife again works for this organization. She is an 

American, Dr. Carmella Green Abate. And they work for Catholic 

Relief Services, but above all she is trying to help young children. 

I wonder if you could tell us, maybe you could do this on the 

record or get back to us, on whether or not our Embassy has visited him. 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. I will have to get back to you, sir, on that. 

[The information referred to follows:]

WRITTEN RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM MR. YAMAMOTO TO QUESTION ASKED DURING

THE HEARING BY THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

While officials from the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia have not been able to visit Mr. 

Abate, a non-U.S. citizen, they do maintain regular contact with his wife, Dr. 

18

Carmella Green Abate. Mr. Abate has not reported being subject to any abuse during his detention. U.S. Embassy personnel have raised Mr. Abate’s detention and 

trial with Ethiopian Government officials and actively follow developments in his 

case. Despite being unable to visit Mr. Abate directly, U.S. Embassy personnel meet 

regularly with others who have seen or met with Mr. Abate to monitor his condition.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Sure. Finally, I do have other questions. But let me, in the interest of your time, yield to Mr. Payne 

for his questions. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony. 

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have consistently reported about human rights and violations in Ethiopia. 

What is your assessment of human rights condition in general? 

And how many demonstrators were killed in June and November 

in demonstrations, approximately? And how many people were 

killed last year throughout Ethiopia? 

We would like to see what the government’s involvement is, and 

who are those who are perpetrating these, initiating this violence. 

And if you know approximately, I mentioned two people in prison, 

do you know how many are currently in prison? And perhaps an 

overview of the human rights conditions, particularly in the Oromo 

and the Somali regions of Ethiopia. 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. As far as the total number of killings, et cetera, 

and related to the elections, thanks to Chairman Smith, of course, 

and your good work, Congressman Payne, the government has set 

up a commission to investigate. And that report should be coming 

out soon. That we will be following up very closely. 

The specific numbers of deaths, again to have any specificity, is 

very, very difficult. As we said, in the June 8 timeframe there were 

three dozen deaths. And of course, a couple of dozen as well in the 

November timeframe as well. And even one death alone is unacceptable. And that is something that we have protested, and also 

need to work to ensure that there is a compassionate manner in 

which demonstrators are dealt. 

As for the total number of deaths and torture throughout the 

country, I refer you to the human rights report. Again, those are 

issues and questions that are very difficult to answer. We do, as 

stated, highlight issues that have been ongoing in Gambella last 

year and the previous year, and Oroma, and those have been highlighted. But as far as specificity on numbers, I would defer to the 

experts who have been on the ground investigating. 

Just to say that we are investigating these cases and others, we 

work very closely with the NGOs, and also with the government 

and the opposition groups and other civil society groups, to investigate and to prevent these from happening again in the future. 

On overall human rights, I think you can say that there are 

questions, as very clearly outlined in our human rights report. But 

these are areas that we are focusing on, and trying to work 

through the judicial reforms, through political reform to improve 

the condition. And in this context, to work with civil society, and 

also the people of Ethiopia, because it is their government, it is 

their country. 

Mr. PAYNE. Just quickly, since you have to leave and the other 

Members might want to ask questions, sort of the same area about 

the freedom of the press. The government controls the radio, although they did allow opposition people to have broadcast authorVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
19

ity during the election, to some degree. They control radio, they 

control television, most major media outlets, although there is a 

small private press active in Addis. 

But over the past several years, dozens of journalists and editors 

have been incarcerated by the government or left the country. The 

same sort of question. 

What is your assessment in general about the freedom of the 

press in Ethiopia? And why is the government arresting journalists 

and editors? 

Also, the government is reportedly in the process of issuing licenses for private radio, for radio and perhaps television. What do 

you expect from the private radio or television? Do you believe that 

there will be an opportunity for free and independent radio and television under this new initiative from the government? 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. And then you cite a very good point. During the 

pre-election period, 56 percent of the air time on TV and radio was 

given to the opposition, 44 percent to the ruling government parties. And that was according to the European Union report. 

The arrest of journalists after the election is an issue that we 

had raised in our press releases, and also in our private discussions, that it was not acceptable. 

The issue, of course, is we continue to follow judicial reforms, and 

this is of great importance to us. In this context and our negotiations and discussions with the government, they have agreed and 

allowed us to review and work with them on the media law. And 

you can be assured, Congressman Payne, that we will be working 

very diligently and very assiduously with the government and civil 

society and journalists to ensure that we have the best possible 

media law. 

Mr. PAYNE. And just last, NDI, IRI and IFES were expelled. 

When I met with the prime minister, I made a request that these 

organizations be allowed back in, just a verbal request. But has 

there been a formal request by the organizations? And what is the 

position of the government? 

As we do know, the Carter Center was allowed to stay. The EU 

were allowed to stay. They seem to be selective about who they 

would allow in and out. 

What is the current situation with those three groups? 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Right now, we are discussing this with the government and also directly with these groups, because we do have 

funding for them. And we want them to spend that funding in 

Ethiopia on capacity-building. So it is ongoing. And we will report 

to you as developments occur. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you. I will yield. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ms. Lee. 

Ms. LEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for your leadership, for calling these hearings. And thank you, Mr. Secretary, for 

being here. 

Let me just first say a couple things. The use of excessive force, 

the killing of students and innocent civilians by the Ethiopian security forces is totally unacceptable. And the election that took place 

of course left a lot to be desired. 

20

And in terms of our country’s efforts, and I appreciate your diplomacy in indicating your negotiations and our protest, but quite 

frankly, I think we do need to do more now than protest. 

And so, Mr. Chairman, I am glad that we are working on H.R. 

4423, and hopefully we will be able to get that together so that all 

of us can have a good bill to move forward out of this Committee. 

Because certainly with the gross human rights violations now, and 

the lack of democracy, I think the United States Government needs 

to rev up its actions, and needs to do more. 

A couple things I would like to ask you with regard to the opposition groups. Could you just kind of lay out the fundamental issues 

that you see at least as dividing the political parties? And is reconciliation possible? That is the first thing. 

Then could you just bring us up to date on the Ethiopia/Eritrea 

border conflict. And finally, let me just ask you about HIV and 

AIDS. As you know, I visited Ethiopia a couple of years ago, and 

learned that at least 10 percent of the population is infected. And 

supposedly the numbers we got was about 2.9 million Ethiopians 

are living with HIV and AIDS. 

So I want to know what more—we weren’t doing much 2 years 

ago. And I want to see what more we are doing to help, and what 

measures need to be taken on our behalf to help stop the spread 

of the infection. 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Thank you very much for your questions. On the 

reconciliation, the discussions are ongoing. I have been sent over 

a half a dozen times over the past year, especially in concern with 

the good governance and democratization process. 

On the opposition, our position is that we want the opposition 

and the government to reconcile differences, to work together not 

only to reform the political system, but also to work together on the 

future elections. And specifically the local elections, which are coming up. And that is a decision that both the ruling party and the 

opposition party must take in order to ensure that these elections 

are free, fair, transparent, and open, and reflect the true will of the 

people of Ethiopia. 

The opposition parties have raised the issue of 299 seats under 

dispute. President Carter and the Carter Center, in their investigation, said a couple things. And we discussed this with the opposition and the government. And that is to have a responsible discussion of how many of these seats are valid. 

Just ask the government how many of the 31 seats that went for 

re-vote, those are issues that we have raised. Is that really in keeping with political reform, good governance, et cetera. 

And so the where the reconciliation process stands right now is, 

and that is one of the reasons I am heading off to Ethiopia right 

now, is to follow up just on the developments and the progress we 

have made. But we must also be mindful, as the Chairman and as 

Congressman Payne and as you have stated, on how we can resolve 

the detainee problem. 

Just very quickly on Ethiopia/Eritrea Boundary Commission. We, 

the United States, are very much committed to this process. We 

just held meetings in London. This is the first time the Ethiopians 

participated in quite a long time. That, in itself, is a major step forward. 

21

What we need to do is to keep up the pressure, to keep up the 

impetus on both parties to come to conclusion and resolve this border dispute. And that is what we are going to be doing through the 

United Nations, the witnesses, and future meetings in London. And 

again, another reason for the trip today to Ethiopia and to Eritrea 

is on the border. 

The issues on HIV/AIDS, and here I want to just express our 

deep appreciation to you, Congresswoman Lee, for your involvement and engagement on this really critical issue in Africa. And 

you are quite correct. In the last 2 years that Ethiopia has been 

partnering with the Presidential Initiative on HIV/AIDS, we are 

developing programs and projects, and working with civil society 

and with the government to pinpoint and to work effectively to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to work to meet the needs of 

those who have HIV/AIDS. 

And I think in the next couple years you will see, I believe, as 

we have in other areas where the Presidential Initiative has been 

implemented, progress and development. 

Ms. LEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just hope we see more 

funding as it relates to humanitarian assistance directed toward 

this HIV and AIDS pandemic. Because it could spiral out of control 

in Ethiopia. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ms. McCollum. 

Ms. MCCOLLUM. Thank you, Mr. Chair. First I would like to 

state for the record, I strongly support the people of Eritrea, along 

with many of the Ethiopian-Americans and Oromo-Americans in 

my district, and will continue to stand with them on their very 

challenging efforts to overcome extreme poverty and food insecurity. 

But I also stand with the people of Ethiopia on their effort to 

have their voices heard in a free and democratic society. 

Unfortunately, the current leadership, political repression, massacres, and extreme human rights abuses clearly demonstrate a 

government that is not on the path to democracy, but committed 

to retaining power at any cost. 

I believe that American people reject the notion that a regime 

that massacres innocent citizens can be called a friend and a true 

partner of the United States. So I am a little troubled by the comment Ethiopia is heading on the right track. 

I know from reading your biography of the work that you did in 

China as a human rights officer during Tienanman Square. And 

now we have a similar case in Ethiopia, pro-democracy demonstrators being massacred, not once, but twice, by government security 

forces. Thousands more being beaten, arrested, tortured, and the 

government is just getting around to maybe investigating itself 

now. 

Now, with all due respect, your comments about right track and 

capacity-building and further reform bother me a little bit, because 

innocent people were murdered. Thousands of innocent people, prodemocracy demonstrators, were arrested and beaten. And what 

about the need for full justice and accountability for those political 

leaders that are responsible for these atrocities? 

22

Is a policy of oppression going to be condemned by the Bush Administration, openly condemned? Will the same standard of human 

rights and accountability that I hear in this Committee all the 

time, that the United States held to China in the Tienanman 

Square massacre, we used to hold the Ethiopian Government for 

the Ababa massacres and imprisonment. 

And then my other question for you, sir, is, does the State Department consider the Oromo liberation front a legitimate public 

entity that should be allowed to participate fully and peacefully in 

Ethiopia’s political life? 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Thank you very much, Congresswoman. You 

raise very cogent arguments and statements. 

Let me just, on a personal note, I have been involved now for 10 

years just on Ethiopia and Eritrea issues. And it is heartbreaking 

to see the situation that occurred after the elections, as far as the 

violence that occurred on June 8 and November 1. And I received 

hundreds and hundreds of emails, and I responded to each and 

every one of them. And some of them were very, very heartbreaking, of people whose family members were killed on those 

days. 

And the issue is, how do we address those? How do we assure 

that that doesn’t happen again? And that, I think, is what we must 

dedicate ourselves in working on. And that is what I know I am, 

and my team, and what we in the State Department are trying to 

do, so that doesn’t happen again. 

As far as the progress, there has been progress made. And this 

is in a political sense. In other words, from 2000 and 1995, the 

elections in 2005 were much better than those two previous elections. 

Yes, there are many problems. Yes, there is irregularity, and 

more needs to be done. And I think we, as a government and as 

a people, when we see that there has been some progress, we need 

to make sure that that continues. And to work not only with the 

government, but the people and the civil society and journalists, 

and to make sure that they have their voices heard, as well. And 

to ensure that is why we have been working so hard with the opposition groups, to work on political reform, because we want their 

voices to be heard. We want them to be heard in the Parliaments 

of Addis Ababa and in Ethiopia, so that they could get their voices 

and their words heard. 

We believe that negotiation is the best route for issues on the 

OLF. And that is an area that we have supported with the OLF, 

the government. And I know that, and I defer to my colleague from 

the Government of Ethiopia, on what steps they are taking on negotiations. 

But for our part and for the part of the international community, 

is that we are supporting discussions and talks between them and 

the government. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much. I know you 

will have to leave momentarily, and a number of us have additional 

questions we would like to submit for the record to you. 

I would like to ask you very briefly, in this year’s request for 

funding there is an increase called for in IMET, as well as for forVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
23

eign military financing, to go from $594,000 to $640,000 for IMET 

and $1.98 million to $2 million in foreign military financing, which 

to me seems very contrary, given the state of affairs, to any concern that we would express rhetorically about human rights, when 

their military is getting support from us in a very tangible way. 

And secondly, if I could very briefly raise the issue of the widespread intimidation of defense attorneys, which is a device so often 

used in dictatorships to try to stifle defense, and to completely obliterate anything that even looks like the rule of law. 

What is your sense on the number of people by name who are 

being held, who are defense attorneys, and others who are being 

intimidated? 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. On the reason for the increase in the IMET and 

the foreign military financing is Ethiopia is a major peacekeeping 

operation country. And to try to get well-trained groups is very difficult. And Ethiopian troops are being used. They are used in Burundi to stabilize that area, and Liberia, and in other areas. They 

are the third-largest group right now. 

And so what this is for, training specifically for peacekeeping operations. 

The other issue of course is civil affairs, which is to use the military as a force for supporting natural disasters. And we give 

courses on good governance and democracy and other issues. And 

so it is helpful. 

And the foreign military financing is in support of those peacekeeping operations and others. We can give you a breakdown in 

greater detail later. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Before you go to defense, does that 

training also include anti-human trafficking initiatives? They are 

the fifth-largest contributor of troops, UN peacekeeping. 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Yes. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. It does? 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Yes. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Okay. And on defense attorneys? 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. It is not only defense attorneys, we are talking 

the family members. Family members, lawyers, religious groups, et 

cetera. 

And any type of restrictions on one group is an affront to all 

groups. And so therefore, we have to keep focused on this issue. So 

I agree with you 100 percent, sir. 

Mr. PAYNE. I would like to amplify what the Chairman said in 

regard to IMET. I know that IMET is training and attempting to 

have discipline, human rights, supposed to try to make the military 

understand the role of military, et cetera. And we definitely need 

to have more peacekeepers. Sudan should have three times as 

many, but there is the difficulty in getting them. So you are kind 

of betwixt and between that you don’t want to reward a country 

that has used its military against its people. Where by the same 

token, the work that is being done in peacekeeping and other 

places is commendable. 

So I would hope that the money is, if it is going, it is not used 

for special forces, for intelligence-gathering, which means it is 

condoning torture and that kind of thing. Sharpshooters who are 

used many times to quell crowds. 

24

The other quick point is that I am glad that there is additional 

talks that may be going on in regard to the border dispute. I do 

feel that Ethiopia made the agreement in Algiers to accept the border agreement. And you know, in a border there can’t be two winners, so someone was not going to win, according to them. And so 

I think that it was totally irresponsible for the government not to 

accept the border decision. 

I do think that the U.S. should have been more engaged in trying 

to force the acceptance of agreement that was made. I mean, that 

is why you have an impartial mediator that comes up with an answer. 

So I would hope that the new spirit that there has been some 

leeway given. As a matter of fact, I think the prime minister mentioned about a year ago that he accepted the agreement in principle. This was the first time he ever mentioned any kind of acceptance, and said he would also participate in the cost of sharing border costs. 

I think that we should work with that acceptance, at least in 

principle, and get it from in principle to reality. But I do hope that 

there is a breakthrough so that the border issue, and I think that 

President Isaias, I met with both of them twice last year just in 

regard to the borders. Because with guns facing each other, they 

need to be turned into plowshares, as a matter of fact. They don’t 

need guns at all, they need butter and food. 

But I think that if skillful negotiations can go on and perhaps 

get both of them off the hard line, in particular Ethiopia did say 

in principle. And I know that many of the new people elected are 

hard-liners that say don’t negotiate, we ought to go back to the 

board. So it is a tough situation there. But I hope that you can 

press forward so that that issue can be resolved. 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Thank you very much. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Secretary, if you could provide 

for the record, because I remember we had a very bitter experience 

with Kapuas in Indonesia and training by United States military 

of people who we had very strong reason to believe actually fired 

on people during the Suharto regime, and some of the training they 

got was urban guerilla warfare from the United States, we never 

got the answer as to whether or not we trained those Kapuas 

agents or military special forces. 

If you could get back to us with who we trained, when and 

where, that would be very helpful to this Subcommittee. And I 

know you are late for your flight, so thank you so much. 

Mr. YAMAMOTO. Thank you very much. 

[The information referred to follows:]

WRITTEN RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM MR. YAMAMOTO TO QUESTION ASKED DURING

THE HEARING BY THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO ETHIOPIA

The United States has provided Ethiopia with non-lethal training and assistance 

to improve the professionalism and capacity of Ethiopia’s military to more ably contribute to international peacekeeping efforts and resist extremist Islamic terrorism. 

In Ethiopia, FY05 International Military Education and Training (IMET) funded 

the development of a language lab, logistics executive development, combined logistics captain career courses, a course on intelligence for combating terrorism, a 

squadron officer school, a senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) academy course, 

25

and creation of a civil-military strategy for international development in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Plans for FY06 IMET funding include attendance at U.S. schools, including the 

National War College, r Command and General Staff College, intelligence officer 

basic and advanced training, airborne instructor training, pathfinder, airborne aerial delivery, international special forces training, military justice training, a joint 

transition course, peacekeeping for decision makers, and an international military 

law development program. The programs funded by IMET include human rights 

training. Of note, personnel attending IMET courses are routinely vetted for human 

rights abuses.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. In keeping with the order, I will turn 

to my colleagues. Ms. Lee, do you have an opening statement? 

Ms. LEE. No. I will just ask for unanimous consent for it to be 

put into the record. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection. 

Ms. LEE. Thank you. 

[The information referred to was not submitted prior to printing.] 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Dr. Boozman, do you have an opening statement? 

[No response.] 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Okay. I would like to now ask our 

second witness to join us at the witness table. And that is Ambassador Fesseha Tessema, who is the Charge ́ d’Affaires for the Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic, and the newly-appointed 

Ethiopian Ambassador to Israel. 

Ambassador Tessema served as head of the Ethiopian Embassy’s 

political and economic session since 2002. Prior to that posting, he 

was the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the 

United Nations, which I would note parenthetically Mr. Payne and 

I just spent the day at yesterday. 

Mr. Ambassador, please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF HIS EXCELLENCY FESSEHA A. TESSEMA, 

CHARGE ́ D’AFFAIRES, EMBASSY OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members 

of the Subcommittee. I have submitted my remarks, my full remarks, to the Subcommittee. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection, your statement 

will be made a part of the record. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman and 

distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. I appreciate this opportunity to present the views of the Government of Ethiopia regarding the topic of the hearing. 

Our perspective is far more optimistic than the title given to this 

hearing may suggest. Yet this optimism is grounded in the experiential reality of life and politics in Ethiopia today. 

Indeed, I reject the notion that Ethiopia faces a troubled internal 

situation. While I do not wish to play the role of Pollyanna and 

suggest that all is well and can never be better, I do wish to emphasize that the growing pains of an emerging democracy should 

not be mistaken for tyranny, which is the exaggerated picture that 

opponents of Ethiopia’s constitutional government want this Committee to believe. 

Let me divide my comments into three main sections. First, I will 

give some historical perspective. Second, I will look at the current 

26

situation. And third, I will present reasons for optimism for the future of Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia and the United States have a friendship that has lasted 

more than a century. The Ethiopian/American friendship and partnership in pursuit of common interests was interrupted only by the 

brutal dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam, who came to power 

in a bloody military coup in 1974. He was deposed 17 years later 

through the collective sacrifice and determination of the Ethiopian 

people, who persistently fought his reign of terror. 

Mr. Chairman, almost exactly 20 years ago, on the other side of 

Capitol Hill, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United 

States Senate held a hearing on this topic: ‘‘Ethiopia Update: 

Forced Population Removal and Human Rights.’’ In introducing the 

hearing, Senator Nancy Kassebaum, who was presiding in the absence of the Chairman, said, and I quote:

‘‘Our concern for saving Ethiopian lives last year led to a massive United States Government and private-sector effort to provide food and relief supplies to Ethiopia. Today, however, we 

find that the threat to Ethiopian lives comes not from famine, 

but from the Ethiopian Government.’’

A few minutes later Senator Rudy Boschwitz made a fitting historical analogy. ‘‘Very frankly,’’ he said, ‘‘it sounds to me that what 

is happening in Ethiopia is more like the 1920s and 1930s in the 

Soviet Union, when they collectivized farms and upward of 30 million people were killed, including about a third of the Ukrainians. 

Now it appears that something similar to that is happening in 

Ethiopia.’’

Mr. Chairman, I offer this short history lesson to describe the situation from which present day Ethiopia emerged. 

When our country was liberated from the Mengiste dictatorship 

15 years ago, our people had little idea of what self-government 

meant. We had even less experience exercising it. The transition 

from dictatorship to democracy was complex. The 1995 Constitution marked a transition toward multi-party democracy. It provided 

for a Federal state structure with nine member states making up 

the federation. It enshrined fundamental principles aimed at ensuring a democratic order and a political community founded on 

the rule of law. 

Democratization has taken a center stage in the development discourse of today’s Ethiopian politics. We recognize that there can be 

neither development nor stability without democracy. It is on the 

basis of such conviction that the Ethiopian Government has put in 

place a conducive legal, political, and administrative framework 

that have completely helped to implant and nurture democracy in 

the last decade. 

Since 1991 Ethiopia adopted a multi-party system, and has so far 

held three periodic elections which over the course of time have 

demonstrated significant improvements. 

This brings us to the events of the past year, events which 

brought us into this hearing room to discuss Ethiopia’s internal situation. We are here because of what happened after last May’s 

highly successful parliamentary and local government elections, 

which increased the number of opposition party members of ParVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
27

liament from 12 to 172, and gave opposition parties all but one seat 

on the Addis Ababa city council. 

The third national and regional elections held on May 15, 2005, 

represent a milestone in the advancement of democracy in Ethiopia. More than 27 million people were registered for the election, 

out of which 90 percent cast their votes. Seventy-seven political 

parties and 575 independent candidates contested for seats in the 

Federal Parliament and the State Councils. Over 300 international 

observers and tens of thousands of local observers monitored the 

election process. 

International and domestic observers of the election agreed that 

the elections were conducted in a fair, free, and transparent manner. For example, the Carter Center sent a delegation of observers 

that concluded, and I quote:

‘‘In contrast to previous national elections, the 2005 elections 

were sharply contested and offered Ethiopian citizens a democratic choice for the first time in their long history. The ruling 

party took the initiative to negotiate with the opposition and 

level the playing field, and agreed to a number of important 

electoral reforms that created conditions for a more open and 

genuinely competitive process. The early negotiations between 

parties were, in and of themselves, a step forward for the democratization process in Ethiopia. 

‘‘The National Election Board of Ethiopia implemented these 

reforms and adopted other important measures to increase 

transparency and responsiveness to political parties. Civil society organizations contributed greatly to the electoral process by 

organizing public forums, conducting voter education training, 

and deploying domestic observers. 

‘‘As a result of these efforts and others by diverse Ethiopian 

actors and institutions, the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians had the opportunity to make a meaningful choice in the 

May 15 elections. This significant accomplishment has the potential to lead to further democratization, and to consolidate 

multi-party competition.’’

The Carter Center report continues to say that, while some complaints about individual constituency results were credible, the majority of the constituency results based on the May 15 polling and 

tabulation are credible, and reflect multiparty competition. 

The U.S. State Department statement of 16 September 2005 recognized the election ‘‘to stand out as a milestone in creating a new, 

more competitive multi-party political system.’’

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, as experienced 

candidates and political leaders, you know that no election is flawless, even in a mature democracy. I need not remind you of the controversy surrounding the 2000 Presidential elections in the United 

States. 

Ethiopia is learning through experience how to become a better 

democracy. We are pleased the international observers, such as 

those from the Carter Center, agree that Ethiopia is on the right 

path. The fact that opposition parties increased their seats in Parliament from 12 to 172 is evidence of progress, since a robust democracy depends in large part on the participation of an active and 

28

loyal opposition engaging the majority party in debate, respectfully 

challenging the positions of the prime minister and his cabinet, and 

helping to hone proposed legislation into good, strong, and effective 

law for the benefit of all the people. 

Let me add that despite protestation and calls for boycott by the 

Coalition for Unity and Democracy, a coalition of four political parties, more than 89 of its elected representatives have taken their 

seats in Parliament, seats that they won in fair, competitive elections. That number appears to be growing as constituents tell their 

elected representatives that a boycott is nothing but being on the 

outside looking in, rather than on the inside making a difference. 

A few days after the elections took place, a group of opposition 

leaders asserted that fraud or vote rigging had taken place in a 

number of constituencies, and they insisted that the results be nullified. The independent National Election Board set up a transparent complaint review mechanism, which was also endorsed by 

the major opposition parties. 

The board investigated all the cases, something that severely 

taxed the board’s resources. It concluded that in 31 cases there was 

sufficient evidence of fraud or other illegalities, and new elections 

were ordered. The Carter Center, in its final report, noted, I quote: 

‘‘Within the universe of seats impacted by the complaint process, 

many of these cases lacked sufficient evidence to warrant challenging the results.’’

If only such an anecdote represented the worst of what happened 

in the weeks following the election. Unfortunately, in June and 

again in November people were killed and injured during attempted insurrections in Addis Ababa and other places. This much 

is true. 

What is not often reported in the news media is that demonstrators came armed with clubs and grenades and guns. Policemen 

were killed and injured, too, while trying to keep the peace. In addition, a significant amount of public, as well as private, property 

was destroyed and looted by the so-called demonstrators. 

These public insurrections were unfortunately called by hardcore elements of the CUD, who rejected the outcome of the elections, and vowed to disrupt the constitutional order. They persistently engaged themselves in fomenting riots and inciting violence. 

Incidents such as those we experienced last June and last November, as much as they are regrettable, are not unique to contemporary times. Other democracies have experienced similar incidents 

like those as they developed, grew, and matured. 

In the aftermath of last year’s violence in Ethiopia, a number of 

individuals were arrested. Of these, the majority were released 

after an investigation. There are fewer than 170 people in custody 

today who are charged and are awaiting trial. 

In every case, they are ensured access to legal counsel, and are 

able to communicate with their families. My government respects 

the due process of law, and wants to see justice satisfied in every 

one of the cases that resulted from the violent actions of the past 

few months. We firmly believe that the true measure of democracy 

is its dispensation of justice. Hence, we urge everyone to let the judicial process take its course. 

29

Moreover, in an effort to prevent such violence from occurring in 

the future, Parliament has established an independent inquiry 

commission consisting of religious leaders, jurists, and civic activists. This commission is not only looking into the root cause of the 

violence, but examining the behavior of both the police and security 

forces. 

Drawing lessons from the last election, the government is now 

taking measures to reform the procedure and code of conduct of the 

House to enhance the implementation capacity of the National 

Election Board and review and enhance the media laws. Accordingly, the government has hired foreign consultants to undertake 

studies and present a comparative analysis in light of the experience of four countries with rich democratic traditions. That is Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, and India. We believe that this 

approach would not only pave the way to adapt the experience of 

other countries to our objective reality, but would also ensure that 

views of all stakeholders are taken on board. 

It is my humble view that this process would help narrow the 

difference among political parties, and promote a healthy competitive and cooperative spirit. 

At this point I would like to address what should be expected of 

the political opposition in Ethiopia, individuals and groups whom 

we hope understand what it means to be loyal opposition, as that 

term is used in mature parliamentary democracies such as the 

United Kingdom, Germany, and India. 

Some of you may have seen an article that appeared in the wellrespected London-based newsletter, Africa Confidential, last 

month. The article said, in part, and I quote:

‘‘The coalition that is the CUD refused to take its parliamentary or council seats as a protest against election abuses. Splits 

have since weakened its members’ resolve, but there is still no 

city government in Addis. Most members of the CUD Central 

Committee opposed a boycott, but with strong support from exiles in the United States, Chairman Hailu Shawal, who firmly 

opposed participation, outmaneuvered them. 

‘‘Most CUD MPs—that is, 92 out of 109—are busy organizing 

party caucuses to allow full legislative participation. The government has met some opposition demands. Consultants from 

Canada, Germany, India, and Britain are reviewing parliamentary procedures; others are reviewing the press law and the 

National Electoral Board.’’

You have no doubt heard the expression—I think it was expressed in the first Spiderman movie, but that does not diminish 

its truth—that ‘‘with great power comes great responsibility.’’ Political influence and political activism also entail great responsibility. 

Our concern that some opposition groups in Ethiopia, whether 

because they are fighting among themselves or because they are 

working purposefully to undermine the constitutional order of our 

country, is shared by United States officials, as well. 

It is worth noting that at a news briefing last December 5, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, stated, and I quote:

30

‘‘I must say also that it is the responsibility of the opposition 

as well, because when the opposition takes stones and pelts the 

police forces, they have to respect the rule of law when they 

are demonstrating freely. 

‘‘And so I think that the responsibility—this is true of Ethiopia, but it is true across Africa—there is responsibility that 

has to be there for both the opposition and for the government. 

Whereas we hold the government even more accountable because they are supposed to be the upholders of the rule of law, 

we still must say when the opposition goes out of bounds as 

such. 

‘‘And this is a very diverse opposition in Ethiopia. There are 

some who are demonstrating to sit in Parliament to create 

greater democratic space. There are others who are demonstrating to overthrow the government. That is true that 

there are differences of opinion, there are some who want to 

reclaim Eritrea. So this opposition, there are democrats within 

the opposition, and there are non-democrats within the opposition.’’

Mr. Chairman, the overarching ramifications of Dr. Frazer’s remarks about the importance of the rule of law are taken very seriously in Ethiopia. I can assure you, Mr. Chairman and Members 

of the Committee, that the Ethiopian Government and the Ethiopian people are both equally committed to respect for the rule of 

law and to seeing that all those accused of crimes are accorded full 

due process of law, no matter what they are charged for. 

Mr. Chairman, here are the reasons for optimism. While the political situation in Ethiopia gives us much to ponder, I remain convinced that there are reasons to be optimistic about the future. Let 

me briefly mention just a few of these reasons. 

First, democratization has taken a center stage in the development discourse of today’s Ethiopian politics. Despite the challenges, 

Ethiopia is moving in the right direction toward democratization. 

A second reason for optimism is that Ethiopia is experiencing 

strong economic growth. Our gross domestic product grew by 11.5 

percent in 2004, and by 9 percent in 2005. Despite drought, in 

some parts of the country the agricultural sector has grown by 15 

percent, and exports have grown by 24.5 percent in the past year. 

Primary school education enrollment rate, which was 61 percent 

in 2001, grew to 79 percent in 2004/2005. Coverage of health services at about the same time grew from 52 to 70 percent. Infant 

mortality rate for under age 5, which was 167 per thousand in 

2002/2003, declined to 97 per thousand this last year. 

There is a construction boom in our capital and other cities, with 

residences, offices, retail shops, and manufacturing facilities being 

built at an unprecedented rate. 

Third, despite increasing tensions between religious groups elsewhere in Africa and in many other countries of the world, the 

major religions live in harmony in Ethiopia, so much so that we 

humbly offer our experience as a model for other religiously pluralistic countries. 

A fourth reason for optimism is the recent United States diplomatic initiative to bring about a permanent settlement for the 

Ethiopia-Eritrea border conflict. The situation is still delicate, but 

31

with commitment and cooperation from the other side, we envision 

the demarcation of the border in an orderly fashion that assures 

lasting peace between our two countries. Success, however, depends 

on the support of the international community, and assurances of 

confidence from friends like the United States. 

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would like to return to my opening remarks about the close friendship between Ethiopia and the 

United States. This is not simply a diplomatic friendship between 

distant states. No. It is in many ways a relationship of kith and 

kin. 

There are, according to the best estimates, about half a million 

people of Ethiopian descent living in the United States. This includes not just recent immigrants, but the children and grandchildren of immigrants, as well. Some 100,000 Ethiopian-Americans live in the Washington metropolitan area alone. I am sure 

that each Member of the Subcommittee can number EthiopianAmericans among your constituents. In fact, I am certain you have 

heard from some of them in the days leading up to this hearing. 

We are not claiming to have a perfect multi-party democracy in 

Ethiopia today, but we believe that we are on the right track. And 

we are making progress. We are hopeful that the U.S. Government 

will continue to provide us support and assist us in our democratization endeavors. 

I can say with confidence that neither the Government of Ethiopia nor the people of Ethiopia desire any action or event that will 

jeopardize our friendship with the Government and people of the 

United States. We highly regard our reciprocal relationship, the 

way in which we share cultural, social, and spiritual values; our alliance in the global war on terrorism, which threatens civilization 

at its roots; our trade and investment ties. 

I trust that the Members of this Committee and all Members of 

the United States Congress hold our friendship in the same high 

regard. 

Thank you for the opportunity to allow me to participate in this 

hearing. I hope I have shed some highlights about the current situation in Ethiopia and will be happy to answer any questions that 

you may pose to me. 

[The prepared statement of Ambassador Tessema follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HIS EXCELLENCY FESSEHA A. TESSEMA, CHARGE ́

D’AFFAIRES, EMBASSY OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA

Mr. Chairman and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee: 

I appreciate this opportunity to present the views of the Government of Ethiopia 

regarding the topic of this hearing. Our perspective is far more optimistic than the 

title given to this hearing may suggest, yet this optimism is grounded in the experiential reality of life and politics in Ethiopia today. 

Indeed, we reject the notion that Ethiopia faces a ‘‘troubled internal situation.’’ 

While I do not wish to play the role of Pollyanna and suggest that all is well and 

can never be better, I do wish to emphasize that the growing pains of an emerging 

democracy should not be mistaken for tyranny, which is the exaggerated picture 

that opponents of Ethiopia’s constitutional government want you to see. 

Let me divide my comments into three major sections: First, some historical perspective; second, a look at the current situation; and third, reasons for optimism in 

the future. 

32

1Lawrence Person, ‘‘Exit the Dictator, Stage Left: Ethiopia After Mengistu,’’ Terra Nova, Vol. 

1, No. 1, p. 103. 2 Ibid., p. 101. 

3 ‘‘Ethiopia Update: Forced Population Removal and Human Rights,’’ Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninety-Ninth Congress, Second Session, 

March 6, 1986 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986), p. 1. 4 Ibid., p. 14.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Ethiopia and the United States have a friendship that has lasted more than a 

century. The two countries first established diplomatic relations in 1903. At the 

time, Ethiopia was one of only two independent countries in Africa (the other being 

Liberia). Ethiopia had been able to maintain its independence despite the relentless 

efforts of European colonizers to carve up the African continent like pieces of a postprandial pie. 

The Ethiopian-American friendship—and partnership in the pursuit of common 

interests—was interrupted only by the brutal dictatorship of Mengistu Haile 

Mariam, who came to power in a bloody military coup in 1974 and who was deposed 

17 years later through the concerted sacrifice and determination of the Ethiopian 

people who persistently fought his reign of terror. One writer characterized 

Mengistu as someone ‘‘who held the singular distinction of being the most brutal 

tyrant on a continent known for brutal tyrants,’’ 1 explaining that Mengistu distinguished himself not only by his ruthless imposition of Marxist dogma on an unwilling populace, but also for the opulence of his ruling party’s lifestyle in the midst 

of the decade’s worst famine.’’ 2 His military regime reoriented the government and 

the national economy from capitalism to Marxism. It maintained a monolithic government and party structure, which kept a tight rein on the economy and society. 

The Workers’ Party of Ethiopia, organized according to the Leninist principle of 

‘‘democratic centralism’’, was the sole legitimate party in the country. It was a system that outlawed and suppressed political dissent and pursued policies, which are 

of authoritarian in nature and hostile to democratic governances. 

Mr. Chairman, almost exactly 20 years ago, on the other side of Capitol Hill, the 

Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate held a hearing on the 

topic: ‘‘Ethiopia Update: Forced Population Removal and Human Rights.’’ In introducing the hearing, Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum, who was presiding in the 

absence of the chairman, said:

In late 1984, the Ethiopian Government initiated a policy of resettling Ethiopians from the northern drought-stricken areas where liberation movements 

have been waging war against the central government for some 20 years, to the 

fertile, less densely populated southern and Western regions of the country. 

The Government’s goal is to relocate approximately 1.8 million people. To 

date, an estimated 600,000 have been moved. . . . 

According to sources both in Government and out, there is reason to believe 

that 100,000 human beings have died as a direct result of the resettlement program. The American people have responded generously and without concern for 

the ideology of the Marxist government of Ethiopia, when hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians were suffering from drought and famine last year [1985]. 

Our concern for saving Ethiopian lives last year led to a massive United 

States Government and private sector effort to provide food and relief supplies 

to Ethiopia. Today, however, we find that the threat to Ethiopian lives comes 

not from famine but from the Ethiopian government.3

A few minutes later, Senator Rudy Boschwitz made a fitting historical analogy:

Very frankly, it sounds to me that what is happening in Ethiopia is more like 

the twenties and thirties in Russia when they collectivized and upward of 30 

million people were killed, including about a third of those being Ukrainians. 

Now it appears that something similar to that is occurring in Ethiopia.4

And then Senator Paul Trible spoke of his own observations from his trip to Ethiopia:

I have walked the feeding camps of Ethiopia. I met with the principals of the 

Mengistu government. And I think it is very clear what Comrade Mengistu is 

about. His is a ruthless government. He is far more interested in maintaining 

power than he is in improving the woeful condition of these people. 

33

5 Ibid., pp. 17–18.

6 Ibid., p. 46.

7 Richard Joseph, ‘‘Africa, 1990–1997: From Abertura to Closure,’’ in Larry Diamond and Marc 

F. Plattner, eds., Democratization in Africa (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 

1999), p. 8. 8 Hans Binnendijk, ‘‘Authoritarian Regimes in Transition,’’ reprinted in Brad Roberts, ed., The 

New Democracies: Global Change and U.S. Policy (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1990), pp. 219–

220.

At best, the Mengistu regime has evidenced a most callous disregard for life. 

At worst, Mengistu has carried out a march of death, a conscious policy of genocide.5

Finally, one of the witnesses at that hearing, Jason W. Clay of Cultural Survival, 

Inc., ‘‘a non-profit human rights organization located in Cambridge, Massachusetts,’’ 

testified:

Since 1980, our interviews with refugees from each of the major ethnic groups 

in Ethiopia indicate that the present government is attempting to systematically destroy culturally distinct groups within the country. This systematic destruction appears to be based on the goal of creating a strong central state upon 

which each local community is dependent.6

Mr. Chairman, I offer this short history lesson to indicate the situation from 

which present-day Ethiopia was forced to emerge. The Mengistu regime oppressed 

the people and repressed civil society. When our country was liberated from the dictatorship 15 years ago, our people had little idea of what self-government meant and 

even less experience of it. 

What we faced in 1991 was succinctly explained by political scientist Richard Joseph of Emory University:

Ethiopia’s new government, led by Meles Zenawi, was left with the task of 

satisfying a number of competing imperatives—conducting democratic 

elections . . .; reassuring international donors of his regimes commitment to 

democratic pluralism . . .; and respecting freedoms of assembly, organization, 

and expression in a country that had never previously enjoyed them (and in 

which many political groups preferred to settle disagreements by resort to 

arms). Since 1991, the new regime has achieved a high degree of presentability 

and has overcome or defused many of these challenges.7

The transition from Communist dictatorship to emerging democracy was not immediate. Several steps had to be taken along the way. We first had to deal with 

what Hans Binnendijk of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London 

called ‘‘revolutionary restructuring’’ in an article that, despite being written in 1987 

(four years before Mengistu was driven from power), seems to be a remarkably prescient description of what actually occurred in the early years of the new Ethiopia:

Transition in a revolutionary situation need not always lead to a complete collapse of society. Once the autocrat is off the scene, a transition can bring a restructuring of the government within the institutions of the old society. This 

type of transition generally promotes a more stable outcome in the long-term 

and can in fact lead to strengthened ties with the United States

The revolutionary restructuring model generally includes street confrontations between supporters and opponents of the autocrat, but the transition itself 

is usually relatively bloodless. The autocrat usually flees the country or is arrested. Many of the existing economic, social, and political institutions remain 

basically intact. New political leaders emerge to run the government, and elements of the former military leadership either share power or acquiesce in civilian leadership. The new leadership is more pragmatic than ideological, less inclined to seek or hold power through violent means, and generally has some 

government experience.8

As I have indicated, the transition from dictatorship to democracy was complex. 

Immediately after the fall of the military regime a Transitional Government, composed of the then active political parties in the country was established. Pursuant 

to the mandate entrusted to it through the Transitional Charter, the Transitional 

Government laid the necessary conditions that led towards the adoption of the 1995 

Constitution. 

The 1995 Constitution marked a transition towards multiparty democracy. It provides for a federal state structure with nine member states making up the federation. It enshrined fundamental principles aimed at ensuring a democratic order and 

34

9 U.S. Department of State, ‘‘Background Note: Ethiopia,’’ January 2006; found at http://

www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2859.htm. 

a political community founded on the rule of law. It is important to note here those 

principles such as Sovereignty of the People, Supremacy of the Constitution, the inalienability and inviolability of Human and Democratic Rights and the establishment of Accountability of Government. 

Democratization has taken a center stage in the development discourse of today’s 

Ethiopian politics. We recognize that there can be neither development nor stability 

with out democracy. It is on the basis of such conviction that the Ethiopian Government has put in place conducive legal, policy and administrative frameworks that 

have concretely helped to implant and nurture democracy in the last decade. 

In fact, establishing a democratic order is a long process that presupposes the 

building up and strengthening of institutions of democratic governance in the country. In this regard, Ethiopia has so far taken a series of measures to develop and 

strengthen democratic institutions that play important roles in monitoring 

misadministration, ensuring the protection of human rights and guarding against 

corruption. Accordingly, it has statutorily established the Ombudsman Office, the 

Human Rights Commission and the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. Ethiopia is also a party to major international and regional human rights treaties and is duly discharging its treaty obligations. The ongoing justice sector reform 

is also worth noting in this regard. 

Democracy also implies the existence of a multi-party system and the holding of 

periodic elections. Ethiopia has come a long way in this regard. Since 1991, it adopted a multi-party system and has so far held three periodic elections, which over the 

course of time have demonstrated significant improvements. The U.S. Department 

of State summarizes this period nicely in its latest ‘‘Background Note’’ on Ethiopia, 

published just two months ago:

In Ethiopia, President Meles Zenawi and members of the [Transitional Government of Ethiopia] pledged to oversee the formation of a multi-party democracy. The election for a 547-member constituent assembly was held in June 

1994, and this assembly adopted the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in December 1994. The elections for Ethiopia’s first popularly 

chosen national parliament and regional legislatures were held in May and 

June 1995. Most opposition parties chose to boycott these elections, ensuring a 

landslide victory for the EPRDF. International and non-governmental observers 

concluded that opposition parties would have been able to participate had they 

chosen to do so. The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was installed in August 1995 . . . 

Political parties include the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic 

Front (EPRDF), the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), and other small parties. Suffrage is universal 

at age 18. 

In 2003, Ethiopia continued its transition from a unitary to a federal system 

of government. The EPRDF-led government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi 

has promoted a policy of ethnic federalism, devolving significant powers to regional, ethnically based authorities. Ethiopia today has 9 semi-autonomous administrative regions and two special city administrations (Addis Ababa and Dire 

Dawa), which have the power to raise their own revenues.9

THE CURRENT SITUATION

This brings us to the events of the past year, events which brought us into this 

room to discuss Ethiopia’s internal situation. We are here because of what happened 

after last May’s highly successful parliamentary and local government elections, 

which increased the number of opposition party Members of Parliament from 12 to 

172 and gave opposition parties all but one seat on the Addis Ababa city council. 

The Third National and Regional elections held on May15, 2005 represents a 

landmark in the advancement of democracy in Ethiopia. More than 27 million people were registered for the election, out of which 90% casted their votes. 77 political 

parties and 575 independent candidates have contested for seats in the Federal Parliament and State Councils. Over three hundred international observers and tens 

of thousands of local observers monitored the election process. 

International and domestic observers of the elections agreed that they were conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner. For example, the Carter Center sent 

a delegation of observers who concluded:

35

10Final Statement on The Carter Center Observation of the Ethiopia 2005 National Elections, 

September 2005; found at http://www.cartercenter.org/documents/2199.pdf. 11 Ibid. 

The May 15 parliamentary elections were Ethiopia’s third national elections 

following elections in 1995 and 2000. The 2005 elections took place in a highly 

contested environment and in a diverse country where regional considerations 

are influential and with the majority of voters in rural areas. 

In contrast with previous national elections, the 2005 elections were sharply 

contested and offered Ethiopian citizens a democratic choice for the first time 

in their long history. The ruling party took the initiative to negotiate with the 

opposition and level the playing field, and agreed to a number of important electoral reforms that created conditions for a more open and genuinely competitive 

process. The early negotiations between parties were, in and of themselves, a 

step forward for the democratization process in Ethiopia. 

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) implemented these reforms 

and adopted other important measures to increase transparency and responsiveness to political parties. Civil society organizations contributed greatly to the 

electoral process by organizing public forums, conducting voter education training, and deploying domestic observers. Most importantly, the Ethiopian public 

demonstrated their commitment to democracy through their active and enthusiastic participation in the May 15 poll. As a result of these efforts and others 

by diverse Ethiopian actors and institutions, the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians had the opportunity to make a meaningful choice in the May 15 elections. This significant accomplishment has the potential to lead to further democratization and to consolidate multiparty competition.10

The Carter Center report continues to say that, while some complaints about individual constituency results were credible, ‘‘the majority of the constituency results 

based on the May 15 polling and tabulation are credible and reflect competitive conditions.’’ 11

The U.S. State Department in its statement of 16 September2005 recognized the 

election ‘‘to stand out as a milestone in creating a new, more competitive multiparty political system’’. 

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, as experienced candidates and 

political leaders, you know that no election is flawless, even in a mature democracy. 

(For instance, in 2004 the Washington state gubernatorial race was forced into a 

recount and many weeks of court hearings and rulings by judges about the validity 

of ballots and complaints about the process. This past December, the state of Virginia carried out a recount for its state’s Attorney General contest. And I need not 

remind you of the controversy surrounding the 2000 presidential election in Florida.) 

Ethiopia is learning, through experience, how to become a better democracy. We 

are pleased that international observers, such as those from the Carter Center, 

agree that Ethiopia is on the right path. The fact that opposition parties increased 

their seats in Parliament from 12 to 172 is evidence of progress, since a robust democracy depends in large part on the participation of an active and loyal opposition, 

engaging the majority party in debate, respectfully challenging the positions of the 

Prime Minister and his cabinet, and helping to hone proposed legislation into good, 

strong and effective law for the benefit of all the people. 

Let me add that, despite protestation and calls for boycott by the Coalition for 

Unity and Democracy (CUD), a coalition of four political parties, more than 89 of 

its elected representatives have taken the seats in Parliament, seats that they won 

in fair, competitive elections. That number appears to be growing as constituents 

tell their elected representatives that a boycott is nothing but being on the outside 

looking in, rather than on the inside making a difference. 

The new MPs have been embraced by their fellows. The Speaker of the House of 

Peoples Representatives made special effort to provide the necessary support for the 

newly elected legislators. He has made sure that members of opposition parties are 

included in delegations to international parliamentary conferences. All Members are 

invited to participate in debates over the issues of the day and proposed legislation 

that will affect the lives of their constituents. 

Our country’s parliamentary elections were followed by violence and demonstrations instigated by some groups and individuals who became disgruntled when their 

preferred outcome was not the same as the result on Election Day. 

A few days after the elections took place, a group of opposition leaders asserted 

that fraud or vote rigging had taken place in a number of constituencies and insisted that the results be nullified. Following the submission of complaints by the 

36

12 ‘‘Conscription Crisis of 1917,’’ Wikipedia, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConscriptionlCrisislofl1917. 13 ‘‘Haymarket Square riot,’’ Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001–05, at http://

www.bartleby.com/65/ha/Haymarke.html. 14 ‘‘Pullman Strike,’’ Wikipedia, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PullmanlStrike.

contending political parties, the independent National Election Board of Ethiopia 

(NEBE) set up a transparent complaint review mechanism, which was also endorsed 

by the major opposition parties. The NEBE investigated all of the cases—something 

that severely taxed the board’s resources—and concluded that in 31 cases, there was 

sufficient evidence of fraud or other irregularities that new elections were ordered. 

What was odd about the list of 299 constituencies against which complaints were 

filed, however, was that it included some districts in which the opposition parties 

had fielded no candidates and others in which the opposition candidates had won 

the election! It was clear that the list had been drawn up prior to election day with 

the intention that it would be used to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the electoral 

process, regardless of the actual outcome of the vote. The Carter Center in its Final 

report noted, ‘‘Within the universe of seats impacted by the complaint process, many 

of these cases lacked sufficient evidence to warrant challenging the result.’’

If only such an anecdote represented the worst of what happened in the weeks 

following the election. Unfortunately, in June and again in November 2005, people 

were killed and injured in public insurrections in Addis Ababa and other places—

this much is true. What is not often reported in the news media is that demonstrators came armed with clubs and grenades and guns. Policemen were killed and injured, too, while trying to keep the peace. In addition, a significant amount of public 

as well as private property was destroyed and looted by the ‘‘demonstrators.’’ These 

public insurrections were unfortunately called by hardcore elements of the CUD, 

who rejected the outcome of the election and vowed to disrupt the constitutional 

order and persistently engaged themselves in fomenting riots and inciting violence. 

I would like to make another historical point, this time drawn from the histories 

of other countries besides Ethiopia. Incidents such as those we experienced last 

June and last November are not unique to contemporary times. Other democracies 

have experienced incidents like those as they developed, grew and matured. 

For example,

• in 1918 in Canada, there were protest demonstrations against a new military 

conscription law. On April 1 of that year, four men were killed when the army 

opened fire on a crowd in Quebec City. The coroner’s inquest would later 

show that these men were pedestrians who had not been involved in the protests.12

• in May 1886 at Haymarket Square in Chicago, there was a demonstration by 

laborers and their supporters who were demanding an eight-hour work day. 

When policemen attempted to disperse the meeting, a bomb exploded and rioting ensued. Seven policemen and four other persons were killed, and more 

than 100 persons were wounded.13

• in May 1894, federal troops were sent to break up a strike by Pullman car 

workers in Illinois. President Grover Cleveland sent 2,000 soldiers and by the 

end of the strike, 13 strikers were killed and 57 were wounded. An estimated 

$80,000 worth of property was damaged.14

These were all regrettable incidents. They are inexcusable but they are lessons 

from history that show how it is possible to learn from mistakes. 

In the aftermath of last year’s violence in Ethiopia, a number of individuals involved in the violence were arrested. Of these, a huge majority was released without 

being charged. There are fewer than 170 people in custody today. They are charged 

and awaiting trial. 

In every case, those arrested and charged have access to legal counsel and are 

able to communicate with their families. My government respects the due process 

of law, and wants to see justice satisfied in every one of the cases that resulted from 

the violent actions of the past few months. Those who are acquitted will be free to 

return to their homes and businesses, while those who are found guilty will be sentenced according to the law. 

We firmly believe that the true measure of democracy is its dispensation to justice. Hence we urge everyone to let the judicial process take its course. 

Moreover, in an effort to prevent such violence from occurring in the future, Parliament has established an independent inquiry commission, consisting of religious 

leaders, jurists, and civic activists, which is not only looking into the root causes 

of the violence, but examining the behavior of the police and security forces. We unVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
37

15 Christopher Lingle, ‘‘Strategies of Participation,’’ Southern African Freedom Review, Autumn 1989, p. 1. 16 Ibid., pp. 4–5. 17 Ibid., p. 5. 

derstand that, as Ethiopia develops into a more mature democracy, public demonstrations of sentiment in favor of an issue or against another will become more 

frequent. We want such demonstrations to be peaceful in their goals and in their 

practice. 

Drawing lesson from the last elections, the Government is now taking measures 

to reform the procedure and code of conduct of the House, to enhance the implementation capacity of the National Electoral Board and review and enhance the media 

laws. Accordingly, the Government hired foreign consultants, to undertake studies 

and present a comparative analysis in light of the experiences of four countries with 

rich democratic traditions, i.e. Germany, United Kingdom, Canada and India. We 

believe that this approach would not only pave the way to adapt the experience of 

other countries to our objective reality, but would also ensure that views of all 

stakeholders are taken on board. It is my humble view that this process would help 

narrow the differences among political parties and promote a healthy competition 

and cooperative spirit. 

Concerning the Rules of Procedure and the code of conduct of the House of Peoples Representatives, the consultants have now completed their study. And it is expected that the political parties in the House would soon start negotiation on the 

basis of the study with a view to reforming the rules of procedure and codes of conduct of the House. 

The foreign consultants have also finalized and submitted their report on the reform and enhancement of the capacity of the National Election Board of Ethiopia. 

Once the Plan of Action is finalized, the matter will be presented for discussion for 

the political parties in the parliament. After the necessary revision of the election 

law, it is expected that the House in accordance with the Constitution will appoint 

a new electoral board. 

The review of the media law is indeed in progress. We hope it will be finalized 

in the coming few months. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the United 

States Government for its support in this process. 

At this point I would like to address what should be expected of the political opposition in Ethiopia, individuals and groups whom we hope understand what it means 

to be the ‘‘loyal opposition’’ as that term is used in mature parliamentary democracies such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and India. 

As you know, whether owing to internal disarray or a purposeful attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the Ethiopian government, some political figures chose to 

boycott Parliament even after they were elected to serve their constituents. 

In addressing a similar situation some years ago, Professor Christopher Lingle of 

the University of Natal pointed out the irresponsibility of such a stance:

It would seem apparent that those who endorse . . . election boycotts have 

not examined the issues fully. In all events, the call for [a] boycott has occurred 

without offering a fully articulated, coherent set of alternatives. It is certainly 

the case, for a variety of reasons, that the issues related to the boycott have 

not been aired openly . . . As a consequence, a strong argument is made that 

the most likely result of continued rejection of the use of existing political structures will be violent upheaval.15

It must be understood, not least by supporters of the mass democratic movement, that participation in democratic structures necessarily involves bargaining and compromise—not to be confused with co-optation. In the worst of 

all possible worlds, continued non-participation simply insures that the least 

principled and most unscrupulous individuals will be able to take what power 

there is and benefit materially from political office. By allowing the more readily corruptible to occupy political space, non-participation is counterproductive: 

instead of progressive leaders developing inroads to advance the objectives of 

the mass democratic movement, less scrupulous elements set about to line their 

own pockets.16

As a practical matter, Professor Lingle points out, participation in public office 

brings with it increased access to the media, legal protections associated with holding public office, ‘‘and a means to develop and expand a political power base.’’ Refusal to participate fully in electoral politics, he argues, results in ‘‘real costs which 

hinder the desired outcomes. The costs of refusal to participate are well defined. 

New strategies must be developed to avoid or minimize these costs.’’ 17

38

18 ‘‘Ethiopia: Waiting but not Sitting,’’ Africa Confidential, Vol 47, No. 4, 17 February 2006. 19 ‘‘Africa Update: Democracy and Human Rights,’’ Briefing at Foreign Press Center, December 5, 2005, at http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/2006/59842.htm.

One of these costs has been international ridicule. Some of you may have seen 

an article that appeared in the well-respected, London-based newsletter, Africa Confidential, last month. The article said, in part:

Nine months after May’s controversial elections, Addis Ababa’s councillors 

have still not taken their seats. The four-party opposition Coalition for Unity 

and Democracy (CUD) won the capital by a landslide, taking 137 of 138 council 

seats and all 23 of the region’s parliamentary seats. The coalition (All Ethiopia 

Unity Party, AEUP; Kestedamena (Rainbow Ethiopia); Ethiopian Democratic 

League, EDL; and United Ethiopia Democratic Party, UEDP-Medhin) then refused to take its parliamentary or council seats, as a protest against election 

abuses (AC Vol 47 No 1 & Vol 46 No 23). Splits have since weakened its members’ resolve but there’s still no city government. 

Most members of the CUD Central Committee opposed a boycott but, with 

strong support from exiles in the United States, CUD Chairman Hailu Shawal, 

who firmly opposed participation, outmanoeuvred them. Hailu was aiming to 

turn the coalition into a single party, in which his own AEUP’s majority would 

give it control. The CUD’s other main component, UEDP-Medhin, walked out. 

It now has a new chairman, Lidetu Ayelew, and almost all its members of parliament have taken their seats. 

Most CUD MPs—92 of 109—have decided to do the same and are busy 

organising party caucuses and new leaderships for AEUP and Rainbow, to allow 

full legislative participation. The government has met some opposition demands. Consultants from Canada, Germany, India and Britain are reviewing 

parliamentary procedures; others are reviewing the press law and the National 

Electoral Board (NEB).18

You have no doubt heard the expression—I think it was expressed in the first Spider-Man movie, but that does not diminish its truth—that ‘‘With great power comes 

great responsibility.’’ Political influence and political activism also entail great responsibility. Our concern that some opposition groups in Ethiopia, whether because 

they are squabbling amongst themselves or because they are working purposefully 

to undermine the constitutional order of our country, is shared by U.S. officials, as 

well. It is worth noting that, at a news briefing last December 5, Assistant Secretary 

of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer stated:

I must say also that it’s the responsibility of the opposition as well because 

when the opposition takes stones and pelts the police forces, they have to respect the rule of law when they’re demonstrating freely. And so I think that 

the responsibility—this is true of Ethiopia but it’s true across Africa—there’s responsibility that has to be there for both the opposition and for the government. 

Whereas we hold the governments even more accountable because they are supposed to be the upholders of the rule of law, we still must say when the opposition goes out of bounds as such. 

And this is a very diverse opposition in Ethiopia. There are some who are 

demonstrating to sit in parliament, to create greater democratic space. There 

[are] others who are demonstrating to overthrow the government. And that’s 

true that there are different—there are some who want to reclaim Eritrea. 

So this opposition—there [are] democrats within the opposition and there are 

non-democrats within the opposition.19

The overarching ramifications of Dr. Frazer’s remarks about the importance of the 

rule of law are taken very seriously in Ethiopia. Ethiopians share a reverence for 

the rule of law, and of due process of law. We share the view of law professor Daniel 

D. Ntanda Nsereko of the University of Botswana, who wrote in Human Rights 

Quarterly: 

Law is the antidote to anarchy. It recognizes personal rights and imposes duties 

on citizens. It also regulates the relations between citizens among themselves and 

between the citizens and the community as a corporate body. In general, the law 

prescribes what is acceptable conduct for the society it governs.

Observance of the law, particularly law that is consonant with the principles 

of human rights, is essential to the continued existence of civil society and to 

societal harmony. The blessings of life under a civil society would doubtless be 

jeopardize, if not lost, were the law not observed. Fortunately, the majority of 

citizens will normally observe the law voluntarily, since they appreciate the imVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
39

20Daniel D. Ntanda Nsereko, ‘‘The Police, Human Rights, and the Constitution: An African 

Perspective,’’ Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 3 (August 1993), pp. 465–66.

portance and the advantages of so doing. However, there will always be a minority of citizens who, out of carelessness, selfishness, or social maladaptation, 

will flout the law, disrupting relations within and causing suffering to the community. As a preventative, civil society establishes mechanisms for dealing with 

these disruptive elements. The mechanisms are used to remind or coerce these 

elements to conform with the accepted standards of conduct or simply to deter 

them from their unacceptable conduct, and generally to secure safety and security for all citizens.20

I can assure you, Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, that Ethiopia’s government and people are both equally committed to respect for the rule of 

law and to seeing that all those accused of crimes are accorded full due process of 

law, no matter what they are charged with. 

My government believes that peaceful resolution of political differences is the best 

for Ethiopia. We believe that the ruling and loyal opposition parties should not be 

viewed as adversaries. Rather they should be viewed as political forces that work 

in harmony for the betterment of the lives of all Ethiopians. It is in this same sprit 

that the government has also been engaging itself with the civil society in the democratic process of the country. 

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

While the political situation in Ethiopia gives us much to ponder, I remain convinced that there are reasons to be optimistic about the future. Let me briefly mention just a few of these reasons. 

First, democratization has taken a center stage in the development discourse of 

today’s Ethiopian politics. Despite the challenges, Ethiopia is moving on the right 

direction towards democratization. 

A second reason for optimism is that Ethiopia is experiencing strong economic 

growth. Our gross domestic product grew by 11.5 percent in 2004 and 9 percent in 

2005. Despite drought, the agricultural sector has grown by 15 percent and exports 

have grown by 24.5 percent in the past year. Primary school enrollment rate, which 

was 61 percent in 2000/2001 grew to 79 percent in 2004/2005. Coverage of health 

services at about the same time grew from 52 to 70 percent. Infant mortality rate 

(under age five), which was 167/1000 in 2002/2003, declined to 97/1000. There is a 

construction boom in Addis Ababa and other cities, with residences, offices, retail 

shops, and manufacturing facilities being built at an unprecedented rate. 

Third, despite increasing tensions between religious groups in many countries of 

the world, the major religions live in harmony in Ethiopia—so much so that we 

humbly offer our experience as a model for other religiously pluralistic countries. 

A fourth reason for optimism is the recent U.S. diplomatic initiative to bring 

about a permanent settlement for the Ethiopia-Eritrea border conflict. The situation 

is still delicate, but with commitment and cooperation from the other side, we can 

envision demarcation of the border in an orderly fashion that assures lasting peace 

between our countries. Success, however, depends on the support of the international community and assurances of confidence from friends like the United 

States. 

In conclusion, I would like to return to my opening remarks about the close 

friendship between Ethiopia and the United States. This is not simply a diplomatic 

friendship between distant states. No, it is in many ways a relationship of kith and 

kin. There are, according to the best estimates, about half a million people of Ethiopian descent living in the United States. This includes not just recent immigrants, 

but the children and grandchildren of immigrants as well. Some 100,000 EthiopianAmericans live in the Washington metropolitan area alone. I am sure that each 

Member of this subcommittee can number Ethiopian-Americans among your constituents—in fact, I am certain you have heard from some of them in the days leading up to this hearing. 

We are not claiming to have a perfect multi-party democracy in Ethiopia. But we 

believe that we are on the right track. And we are making progress. We are hopeful 

that the US Government will continue to provide its support and assistance in our 

democratization endeavors. 

I can say, with confidence, that neither the government of Ethiopia nor the people 

of Ethiopia desire any action or event that will jeopardize our friendship with the 

government and people of the United States. We highly regard our reciprocal relationship—the ways in which we share cultural, social, and spiritual values; our alliance in the global war on terrorism, which threatens civilization at its roots; our 

40

trade and investment ties. I trust that the Members of this subcommittee, and all 

Members of the United States Congress, hold our friendship in the same high regard. 

Thank you for this opportunity to participate in this hearing. I hope that I have 

sufficiently addressed your concerns and will be happy to answer any questions you 

may wish to pose.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much 

for your testimony. 

Let me just begin by reading a statement that Amnesty International, which the Amnesty Director for Africa, Lynn 

Fredricksson, will make in the third panel. And she makes the 

point that Amnesty International is increasingly concerned that the 

Government of Ethiopia is systematically violating its citizens’ 

most basic human freedoms. 

She goes on to say that the security forces have committed serious human rights violations with impunity against demonstrators 

and political detainees. 

How do you respond to that? Is that true? Is that not true? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I haven’t seen 

the particular report that you are referring to. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Well, just that statement. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. First, regarding the detainees who have 

been in jail since the June and November crises, Mr. Chairman, I 

can assure you, and there are other international organizations, including representatives from these civil societies, that are visiting 

these detainees and prisoners. There is not any way there is foresight, abuse or lack of access to their lawyers, to their family. 

We have extensively brought to the attention of the Members of 

Congress that this is not the case. If there is any specific allegation 

then I can look into, but there are no grounds for such. They are 

treated in the best way we are able to do given that overall our 

prison system is not up to the levels of international standards. 

But there are no grounds for lack of access to health care or anything like that. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Let me ask you then, if we will be 

asking Manfred Nowak, I will initiate a letter today to the Special 

Rapporteur on Torture. We will ask him to visit Ethiopia and to 

visit specific individuals and sites in Ethiopia. Are you prepared to 

say that your government would accept and allow him unfettered 

access under his terms and conditions? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. No, sir, I am not in a position to say either my government will or will not accept him there. I am here 

to present to you what has transpired in the last 1 year. Mr. Chairman, as you know, when this request comes either through your office or through any other government office, my government will 

respond to it at that time. 

You are putting me on the spot as if I have——

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Well, I am following up on your 

statement a moment ago. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. I am not even aware of under what circumstances a Special Rapporteur on Torture will go to Ethiopia. As 

you know, I was at the United Nations for 10 years. And under the 

United Nations Procedures, a special rapporteur to particular countries are assigned under different circumstances. So if there is a request, I will be more than happy——

41

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. The special rapporteur has an ability 

to initiate an investigation that he deems necessary. Obviously the 

host government needs to allow him to have access under his terms 

and conditions. And part of those terms and conditions always is 

that people do not have, or are not retaliated against who speak 

out, and that he has the ability to go where he wants to go, and 

visit who he wants to visit with. 

And I ask that because in your response to my first question, you 

talked about the access issue, and that people do have access to the 

prisoners. We seem to have a very different set of information on 

that, because my understanding is that there is a difficulty that 

people have access to people in the prisons. Some perhaps, but family members, human rights organizations, do not have unfettered 

access. 

And so that request will be made to him. Whether or not he follows up on it will remain to be seen. But I would hope that you 

would say today but of course. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Mr. Chairman, as I said, I can assure you 

my government has nothing to hide. There are no grounds for allegations of torture. Our government has assured your office and others that these allegations are untrue. What I said was that I am 

not sure under what circumstances, under what terms of reference, 

you are asking me that I can accept or reject——

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Let me ask you. Amnesty International again in their statement, and I will just read one declarative statement that they make in their opening testimony: ‘‘The security forces have committed serious human rights violations with 

impunity against demonstrators and political detainees.’’

Is that true or false? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. It is false. Amnesty International cannot 

back that up, and we are very willing to clarify to your office with 

all the details once we know which specific allegations they are 

talking about. 

I have seen Amnesty International reports, and with all due respect to the organization, sometimes they cannot substantiate their 

allegations, sometimes they do. But I can assure you, such allegations are not true. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Well, I hope you will stay for the 

third panel and listen to their statement. Because if you would 

like, we could call you back at that time to ask you to respond to 

their testimony. 

Let me ask you as well, the statement is made again by Amnesty 

that they hold that the charges of treason, outrages against the 

Constitution, organizing and inciting armed rebellion, and acts of 

genocide levied against 131 CUD leaders, human rights defenders, 

and journalists, most of whom were in physical custody, have no 

merit. How do you respond to that? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Can you repeat that question? What allegations? 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Amnesty International holds, and I 

quote, that ‘‘Charges of treason, outrages against the Constitution, 

organizing and inciting armed rebellion, and acts of genocide levied 

against some 131 CUD leaders,’’ they footnote that and say it is 

now 115 since charges were dropped against 18, ‘‘human rights deVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
42

fenders and journalists, most of whom were in physical custody, 

have no merit.’’ How do you respond to that? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Sir, these cases are back in the courts. I 

think, as you know, Mr. Chairman, rule of law is a fundamental 

principle of a democratic society. These cases are in the courts. The 

defendants have their lawyers representing them in the courts. 

Why would anybody want to prejudge? Unless there is a general 

bias against the court system. Some detainees have been released, 

some remain in detention. 

We have to wait and see. The government has pressed charges, 

and the courts are doing their duty. I think it is better to leave it 

at that and see what happens. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. When Secretary Yamamoto was here 

I raised the case of Mr. Keflee, who two courts found him, or the 

charges lobbed against him, as being without merit. And yet the 

prosecutor and the government continued to hold him without justification. How do you respond to that? 

So here the courts stepped in, did what they were supposed to 

do: Adjudicate a matter of law and a charge, and they found him 

to be without blemish and without having committed an infraction. 

And yet, he is still in prison. We find that very baffling. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. I have no specific knowledge of the case 

you are mentioning. I am really baffled by the situation you raised, 

Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. The distortion? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. No. Unless the special prosecutor has the 

legal basis to appeal, there is no way that this person would stay 

in jail just because the government prosector has said he should remain in detention. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Can you guarantee us today he will 

be released immediately? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. I can’t guarantee a release. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Will you personally, now that you 

know that there is a concern here about his case and others——

Ambassador TESSEMA. I can only look into this matter and get 

back to you. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I would appreciate that very much. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. How could I, in my capacity as a civil 

servant, go over the jurisdiction of the courts and ask the courts 

to release him? I don’t think that is realistically expected of me. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Let me ask you with regards to torture, inhumane, cruel, and degrading treatment, all of the items 

that are mentioned and proscribed in the convention against torture. Have any of the detainees been subjected to any cruel, inhumane, degrading, or torture treatment? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. None whatsoever, Mr. Chairman. On the 

record, none whatsoever. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Let me ask you with regards to the 

89 members you point out have taken their seats in Parliament. It 

does strike me that that means that if you don’t take your seat in 

Parliament, you take your seat in the jail: You get incarcerated. 

Let me just point out, and maybe you could explain this, there 

are parliamentarians around the world who get elected and don’t 

take their seats because they have an objection. In the case of 

43

Northern Ireland, for example, members of the Sinn Fein party get 

elected, but because the oath of office requires them to swear oath 

and allegiance to the Queen, which they don’t recognize, they do 

not take their seats in Parliament. Now, that is their prerogative, 

but they are not arrested, they are not incarcerated, and they are 

not cruelly mistreated as a result of that. 

Those who decided not to take their positions, you know, not the 

89, but the others, why is it that they were rounded up and put 

into prison? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Mr. Chairman, there is no single person 

that I know of in Ethiopia who is incarcerated because they refuse 

to sit in Parliament. There are elected parliamentarians who have 

chosen not to join the Parliament. They are living peacefully. There 

are those who joined the Parliament, doing their share. And there 

are those who, as far as the government is concerned, have conspired and participated in trying to overthrow the government, to 

bring genocide to the country by pitting one group against the 

other. That issue is in the courts. None of these people have been 

put in jail just because they refuse to join the Parliament. 

Not only that. The government is now trying to convince the opposition to take over the Addis Ababa city administration. The opposition won 137 seats, and none of the opposition candidates are 

in jail, sir. This is not true that we put people in jail because they 

refuse to go to Parliament. That is completely not true. Many of 

the opposition have not joined the Parliament, and it is their 

choice. It is not illegal not to join Parliament. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. You said with great power comes 

great responsibility. You point out our concern over some opposition groups in Ethiopia, whether because they are squabbling 

among themselves or because they are working purposefully to undermine the Constitution of our country, shared by United States 

officials as well. 

My question is, based on all of the available information that my 

staff and I have been able to glean from multiple sources, especially reputable human rights organizations and our own U.S. Department of State, which just released their most recent country reports on human rights practices—it just came out, as you know—

all of it paints a very, very bleak, and I think very poor, picture 

of human rights in Ethiopia. 

In my opening statement, I was very critical of President Meles 

as well as the mistreatment of the detainees. What I have said 

here today, would that land me in prison if I were in Ethiopia 

today? As violating the constitutional order? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. No, sir. We are talking about Ethiopian 

opposition groups that want to have it the most. They want to go 

through the legal way of changing a society, pursuing a democratic 

order in the country. But whenever they don’t find it necessary, 

they want to go through illegal trials and what-have-you, which 

was the history of our country unfortunately for some time. 

If, in fact, anyone who wants to help us go through this democratization process, one way or the other put us on the right track, we 

do understand the relationship between power and responsibility. 

But if, in fact, our friends, supporters, Mr. Chairman, like yourself, 

and the Committee that has the intention of helping Ethiopia go 

44

through these hard times, we seek and ask for your understanding, 

for your balance. That just because the government—and we take 

our responsibility very seriously. 

Just because at one time in history, at one time in an election 

process one party in power does not necessarily mean all responsibility lie on it. Loyal opposition, all others have also. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Ambassador, this is what strikes 

us as so damning of the Government of Ethiopia. 

Besides all of the detainees that we have spoken about, some of 

the individuals—and Amnesty International lists more than half a 

dozen in their testimony—one of whom was the UN Special Envoy 

and former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for 

Rwanda, Dr. Hilawarin is the recently-elected Mayor of Addis. I 

mentioned Mr. Keflee. 

It just strikes us, the former Chair of the Ethiopia Human 

Rights Council is in prison, and a prisoner of conscience. And you 

testify to us that there is nothing wrong here with these people 

being held against their will in jail. 

And we are not talking about how sordid the actual physical 

presence of that jail is. Any detention, even the most pristine jail, 

would be wrong for prisoners of conscience. It is that they are being 

held against their will. That is why we are so concerned about 

human rights in Ethiopia. 

I mean, you have seen the list, at least I hope you have seen the 

list that Amnesty has compiled. And they are not the only ones. 

Our own government has compiled one, as well. These are eminent 

citizens. And yet, because they disagree, they are in prison. 

I have to say with all due respect, Mr. Ambassador, this is doing 

grave injury to our relationship as a country. We are delighted that 

so many people showed up at the ballot box to cast their vote in 

favor of the candidates of their choice. What followed thereafter, as 

well as what happened on the day of the election, according to the 

EU monitors at least—you keep quoting the Carter Center, you 

don’t quote the EU monitors—was very significant and very disconcerting to all of us, but if you could, why these prisoners of conscience? You know, I find it appalling that these people are being 

held. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Mr. Chairman, not only do I know the list, 

I also know the individuals. It does not give me pleasure that professors and human rights activists are in jail. That is not the issue. 

I am also, as an Ethiopian, I am also a member of that family. 

But we generally believe justice has to be served equally. If we 

are going to list people based on their past history, I don’t think 

we are asked to push democracy in Ethiopia. As painful as it is, 

because you know this individual, because they have served us, 

how about the seven police officers that were also killed in one single day trying to keep the peace? How about the family property 

that were destroyed? 

Yes, I can understand. But we are talking about rule of law. 

That is what they are. I think you have to give the due process the 

benefit of the doubt. Some who are found guilty have to serve their 

sentence, despite their old age, despite their reputation as academicians. Otherwise we would only be going after anybody who has 

45

committed a crime, if we are going to satisfy people by their experience. 

This I understand very clearly, because I live in Washington and 

I know about who you are referring to. But we can assure you, 

these people are not there because they are human rights activists. 

They are not there because they are journalists. The government 

has a case against them. The court system is working. They have 

reports. Their lawyers are presenting their cases. I don’t think I 

can say more than this. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Let me just finally say that the use 

of violence to jail and to intimidate the opposition in my view does 

not represent progress, but regression. And you keep saying the 

rule of law; it is the rule of just law. 

When there are catch-all phrases, as I mentioned earlier, that we 

have seen in places like Vietnam, the Soviet Union, the Peoples Republic of China, that are used to dragnet, to get people into prison 

where there has been no infraction. They simply were trying to exercise their democratic rights, freedom of speech or assembly, and 

for that they are accused of treason. 

I was frankly, and I believe Greg was, as well, taken aback by 

the sense of malicious intent that I came away with when I met 

with President Meles. He was just waiting with baited breath, just 

waiting to arrest and incarcerate. 

When we met with some of the opposition leaders in Addis, those 

opposition leaders were followed by the secret police, who made 

really very little secret about their effort to intimidate. They were 

meeting with me. And there they are, following them around, and 

I, no doubt, was followed, as well. So there is a real concern about 

the rule of just law not existing. 

Finally, when I read about this hearing tomorrow, and I will 

read the print and the broadcast transcripts, will the news story 

be fair and objective? Or will I read just your side of the story, as 

told? Because I will read it. And I will do a speech on the floor. 

And I give you my word, I will talk about whether or not it was 

a free and a balanced approach taken by the media. Will I read all 

about your testimony to the exclusion of those who criticize? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Mr. Chairman, are you asking me? 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Yes, I am asking you. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Are you asking me if it will be fair? 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Yes. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Could you repeat your question? 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Tomorrow when I read the news accounts of today’s hearing——

Ambassador TESSEMA. Where? 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. In your country, in Addis. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. All right. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Will I read an honest portrayal of 

what occurred here, or will I just get the government’s side of the 

story? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Mr. Chairman, I want you to know there 

are over 80 private publications in Ethiopia today. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. And they are never harassed? Honestly, I am asking you. 

46

Ambassador TESSEMA. No. The newspapers are still being published and produced, they are still working. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. No, not working. Are they harassed? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. No. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Is the content of what they write in 

any way dictated by the state, through harassment or intimidation? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Well, Mr. Chairman, can I answer that? 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I want you to. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. There is no harassment because of what 

they write. There is no censorship because of what they write. They 

can write whatever they please. 

Some of the newspapers are read here in town. You can ask your 

staff, and maybe they can be translated. And if you look at them, 

when they cover issues on Ethiopia, it all depends which paper is 

printing. Some will be fair to me, and some won’t be fair to me, 

and the same to the Chairman and others. 

I couldn’t tell you what newspapers in Ethiopia will say tomorrow, because I don’t have any control over them. They are a private 

press. And I don’t even know what the government’s own media 

will say. I have to wait and see. I will be more than happy to compare notes sometime on how it is covered in Ethiopia. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ranking Member Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. I, too, have a question regarding, as I mentioned in my testimony, Mr. Alazar, who I visited in 

prison, a person who was invited to come to Ethiopia, an Ethiopian 

who left Ethiopia and resided in the United States, and is still in 

prison. He has been in prison for 5 years. He has not yet been able 

to have a trial. A week ago he was brought to the court, but he 

was told that the judge that was going to hear his case resigned. 

And therefore, a new judge would have to be assigned. 

I wonder if you could have your authorities look into the specific 

case again to find out when Mr. Alazar will be able to have a trial. 

It has been 5 years without a trial. And as I have indicated, I have 

visited him in prison. And this is unjust. 

And could your Embassy respond to my office to find out, or the 

Committee, what will, and when, a trial will be held for Mr. 

Alazar? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thank you, Congressman Payne. I will. 

From what I understand, Mr. Alazar was charged with corruption 

in the banking system in Ethiopia. It has nothing to do with, as 

you know, anything related to the election in November. As you 

know, it was a long time ago. 

I have not followed the details of the case, but I will get back to 

you. I have to find out where his case stands. 

Mr. PAYNE. All right, thank you. As we indicated earlier, NDI, 

IRI, and IFES were expelled from the elections in Ethiopia. And I 

am wondering, we heard some justification which seemed not to 

make any sense. I don’t know, did you follow that closely? And 

what was the rationale for these organizations? They said they 

weren’t registered properly. One of the problems they weren’t registered properly was that they had been there for months and 

months, and each day went to try to be registered, but they were 

always told you have to come back the next day. 

47

So I wonder if you know whether these organizations will be invited back again to be registered so that they can do work that 

they would like to do in Ethiopia. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thanks again, Congressman. I think 

when things like this happen they continue to be problematic to us 

and to organizations. As a matter of fact, the National Democratic 

Institute has participated in two elections. They were working in 

Ethiopia. They come for observation. There is a process that they 

have to go through. They are not there all the time. 

For some reason that can only be explained by the organization 

itself, this time around NDI didn’t go through this election process, 

this registration process, which is what every sovereign country 

does, either for permanent status, or for 3-month status. We have 

to know, they have to be certified. 

As I said, we have heard from them that they were told verbally 

from some authorities that they may not need to register, or they 

need to register, or they were in the process of registering, even 

though they were there for months. Therefore, they were asked to 

register. This was the right process, and we were ready to receive 

them once they come through that registration process. 

I have received communication from the Chairmen of both organizations that they will, in the next election, look forward to coming. They will contact us whenever they want to formalize going to 

Ethiopia, and we are ready to accommodate them. It is a simple 

procedure, and there are no other issues. 

They did not go through the legal registration process, and we 

asked them to do that. They functioned for over 4 months illegally. 

They were asked to leave the country. There wasn’t anything that 

has to do with the election, with their views. It was simply what 

was done. Except these were organizations we came to know are 

very influential organizations. So the point was taken more than 

what it should be. 

They are asked to do that. They were expelled, they come back, 

they apply for registration, they continue their work. There is no 

need for other procedure. All we ask of them is to do what they do 

in other countries either through the Embassy or through the justice system, and we look forward for their interest and application 

to come. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you. Their comments were a little bit different. They were attempting to be registered, but each time they 

went they were thwarted. And of course, at a particular time they 

were told you are not registered, and you can’t operate in the country not being registered. Which is true. If you go to a country, you 

need to register. 

However, if you close down each time you try to come to register 

then, you know, it seems like the responsibility is on the government. But I would hope that, you see, one of the things that becomes confusing is that the registration of the people of Ethiopia 

was outstanding; 90 percent of the people were registered, 85 percent of those registered came out to vote. You saw 15-percent increase in the number of seats in Parliament, going from 12 to 170. 

So you look at some things as being very positive. All the seats 

in Addis won by the opposition, except one. Of course, maybe the 

mayor wishes he didn’t win because he is in prison right now. 

48

But on one hand, and I met with the commission, the electoral 

commission, which seemed to be honorable people, well-qualified 

and so forth. So on one hand there was evidently some fair election 

going on, if you went from 12 seats to 170 seats. Of course, you are 

still only a third of the seats. However, something had to go right, 

or somebody really messed up for that many people to get elected. 

But then, on the other hand, you turn around and eject organizations that are there to monitor the election. So you start on one 

hand with the massive voter registration effort, and then, though, 

with the rerun of the 33 seats or 31 seats, whichever it was, 31 or 

33, in areas where the opposition was strong, all of a sudden those 

reruns though all turn out that no one from the opposition won the 

rerun. So once again, it seems like there is an intent to do the right 

thing, and then there seems to be a drastic shift that isn’t logical. 

You lose every single contested seat? Something sounds that it just 

doesn’t seem to add up. 

Is there any explanation for what the shift was so drastically in 

the contested elections, that the opposition did zero in those elections? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. I think it will be very difficult, given the 

time constraints, to extensively elaborate on what happened. The 

constituency with the ruling party was strong. The opposition was 

strong. But you know, in most cases—and again, I allude to the 

Carter Center report—you have to go to the oppositionist complaint. There were 299 incidences that the opposition felt should be 

looked into. 

In many of the complaints, the opposition did not even have a 

candidate. It was simply prepared, even before the outcome of the 

polling. In some of the contested elections, the opposition had already won, and they still have submitted the 299 incidences to be 

looked at by the National Election Board. And this was verified in 

the presence of international observers during the investigative 

process, where, as I said in my remark, only 31 of them were found 

to be qualified for reruns. 

Therefore, you have the urban centers, the rural areas, where 

the ruling party has stayed longer, it has much more presence, 

completely won by landslides. In urban areas the competition was 

first, and the conjecture was that if the opposition won 100 percent 

in Addis, so it should go for the rest of the country. That was not 

the case. That is not true. That is one of the conclusions that led 

us to this crisis. 

As I indicated earlier, the opposition won 137 of 138 seats in the 

city council, and 23 seats for the national Parliament. The government is still today waiting for the opposition to take over the Addis 

Ababa city council. It has in fact postponed the decision for another 

4 or 5 weeks until they come. Therefore, the dynamics of the country, it is a very complex country. You have different nationalities, 

independent areas. And there are organizations that are running 

at the regional level, at the national level. 

As far as I can understand it, the voting was great by any standard, was by the ruling party, by the government, by the opposition 

standard, by international observers. What happened post-election 

is what I tried to explain. Some extreme elements of the opposition 

were already committed, long before the voting, that they decided 

49

if this government is defeated by ballot box, they are going to take 

over. If not, they have to get rid of one or the other. This is a reality, and this is what is considered the core of this. Not all of 

them. 

To this date we have members who have joined the Parliament, 

that most of the opposition have joined the Parliament. Of 172, 150 

are in Parliament. And yet, including their constituents in Washington, is day in and day out condemning them for being stakeholders and participating in the Parliament. 

Therefore, it is not something that is not unexplainable. It is in 

the nature of our infant democracy that political organization may 

win, strong in one region or one area, and completely in the other. 

Given the political nature of the opposition, that was committed, as 

I say, the emotional kind, we were dragged down to this, where we 

should be celebrating the outcome of the election. 

Mr. PAYNE. Well, let me just conclude once again by indicating 

my disappointment of some of the information that has been 

brought to my attention: The behavior of the government to some 

of the media, the harassment of the press, the lack of timely trials, 

the expulsion of the independent political NDI and IRI and the others, IFES. 

I would hope that you would take back to your government what 

has been said here. The information that we have raised is a matter of record, and we would want to hear a response from the government. 

We believe that Ethiopia is an important country, as I indicated 

before about my personal relationship with Ethiopia. However, we 

do believe it is on the wrong track. We do believe that much better 

can happen. If you have a 13- and a 9-percent increase in the GDP 

over a course of 2 years, there is a move going on in the right direction. 

However, the government needs to, and I might say that your 

prime minister is a person who can’t say he doesn’t understand, because he has read every book about American democracy when in 

his office, and he had more books than I have. And the difference 

was that he read them. So he knows what is expected. You can’t 

say that he came from the bush and didn’t understand the government. 

I think that much reform has to be done in order for Ethiopia 

and its people to take its rightful place. I think that it would be 

important to have them as allies for the war on terror and for 

peacekeeping in the world. 

However, the country is going in the wrong direction, and we are 

going to keep the pressure on. Like I said, I don’t necessarily listen 

to groups that make phone calls or email. I listen to them, but that 

doesn’t necessarily sway me one way or another. The facts are 

what sway me. Sometimes newcomers get swayed when they come 

in with large numbers. 

We want to see the people of Ethiopia have a quality of life 

which they deserve. And we are going to keep pressure on. I would 

hope also that your government would certainly reconsider its 

agreement made in the Algiers Accord to accept the decision of the 

Borders Commission. And for it not to accept it after it found it had 

50

a decision it didn’t like was not in the best interest of peace and 

prosperity. 

And so I did appreciate the prime minister finally saying that in 

principle, he may consider that perhaps we can move from the inprinciple, and have some discussions, because President Isaias is, 

I think, willing to once—and I met with both of them four times 

on this issue, each at the same period of time. I think there can 

be negotiations once it is agreed to, not in principle, but there is 

an agreement made. And that is what President Isaias said, that 

once the agreement is recognized, then there can be negotiations. 

But for a President to not support a decision that was made to 

him would make him an irresponsible leader for his country. And 

so President Isaias is right. And I have heard him criticized for 

being inflexible. He is inflexible sometimes, I must say. 

However, on that point, when he was awarded the decision, it 

would almost be irresponsible for him to say well, let us do it all 

over again. And that is what some people were alluding to. Even 

the UN sent a special rapporteur to say, ‘‘Well, let us have some 

more discussion.’’ The decision was made. Eritrea lost the decision 

with the Yeman on the islands. They thought they were right. They 

went to arbitration. Arbitrators said Ethiopia-Eritrea, these islands 

do not belong to you, and therefore you must leave. They belong 

to Yemen. 

And Eritrea got up and left. They thought they were right. The 

decision was that you were wrong, and they left. That is the same 

kind of experience on Badume that the Borders Commission said. 

And so I would hope that would be reconsidered so that that element of potential conflict between the two countries can be put to 

rest, and we can go on to try to see improvement of the people’s 

quality of life in Ethiopia, which is sorely lacking at this time. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ms. Lee. 

Ms. LEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And let me welcome you 

again, Mr. Ambassador, and just say in advance to the next panel 

I apologize because I have to race over to the floor right now. 

But I wanted to ask the Ambassador. And as I was looking 

through some testimony of the next panel, especially Amnesty 

International, I just wanted to mention a couple of things. 

First of all, you said over and over during your speech, which I 

agree with, that the transition to democracy is difficult. It continues, of course, to be difficult here in our own country, in the 

United States. But that doesn’t mean that you kill demonstrators. 

And we in the United States continue to try to form this more perfect union. 

And so let me just say I am as tough on our own country as I 

am on any country, as it relates to human rights violations and the 

clamp-down of opposition groups. And really, putting obstacles in 

front of any country, any groups of people as they move toward this 

democracy that we all are trying to seek. 

Now, I want to ask you with regard to these charges of treason. 

And your Constitution says, and I am quoting directly from what 

Amnesty is saying in their testimony, that the charges of treason 

which constitute outrages against the Constitution organized and 

inciting armed rebellion and acts of genocide, these charges have 

51

been levied against I guess about 131 of the Coalition for Unity and 

Democracy leaders, human rights defendants, and journalists. And 

of course, these charges carry possible death sentences. 

Now, I, for one, again going back to the United States, have consistently been against the death penalty. And minimally, we should 

call on a moratorium as it relates to the death penalty. 

What in the world, in terms of Ethiopia, how are you going to 

address this? And would you consider refraining, or could you communicate to your government that the death penalty in these instances just seems to be a bit much in terms of these trials. And 

of course, I personally think, just as I believe here in our own country, there should be a moratorium on death penalties. But now I 

see what the charges are, and that these leaders could possibly get 

a death sentence, don’t you think that is a bit extreme, in terms 

of political prisoners for the most part? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thank you. First of all, if you are asking 

me my personal opinion on what death penalty charge should be 

or should not, it is not relevant to this Committee hearing. Those 

are my personal views. 

In as far as the Ethiopian Constitution is concerned, these people 

that are charged with unconditionally overthrowing the government with intent of committing a genocide, trying to foment ethnic 

hatred among Ethiopians, one group against the other, these are 

serious, serious crimes. 

If they speak or not, it is not ultimately to see, as I said earlier. 

But as far as the terms are concerned, we cannot continue to democratize Ethiopia if we are going to allow what happened in 

Rwanda. They are Africans like us. Therefore, we want to establish 

a rule of law. 

If the government’s allegations are just allegations for political 

purposes, we will see what happens in the court system. The court 

system, the judicial system, has proven its independence time and 

again for the last 10 years. It is building its capacity. 

Therefore, even if you have to say it is too much of a charge or 

too big a charge, it is the law. It is Ethiopian Constitution. We 

have to wait until the Parliament abolishes or amends the Constitution. But if they are found guilty, they have to face the justice. 

If they are not just because the government is bringing charges 

against them, that does not mean they are going to be subject to 

such kinds of punishment. 

Ms. LEE. Well, Mr. Chairman, I think that this discussion with 

regard to the death penalty is very appropriate here because of the 

charges that have been brought with these individuals. And the 

fact that you used the word genocide, we have witnessed what happened in Rwanda. We know what is happening in the Sudan, we 

know what has happened around the world as it relates to genocide. 

And so I am wondering if you think that what is taking place in 

Ethiopia constitutes genocide, and what, in fact, is your definition 

of genocide. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. From some of the charges that I read, and 

I was talking in general terms, from some of the charges that I 

read on public information level, on the media, on the Internet, 

52

some of these people are going to be charged with attempted genocide. 

What it is, I am not a lawyer. How it is going to be seen by the 

courts, we have to wait and see. But I think it says from high 

crime to misdemeanor, almost all those that were charged with 

minor charges were released. But of those that are in jail, the special prosecutor is making his case, and he says high crimes, including conspiracy to change a government, attempted genocide, whathave-you. 

I was talking generally. If these are found to be doing this, the 

law does allow it. But I am not talking about any specific charges 

on particular people. 

Ms. LEE. Yes, Mr. Ambassador. But we are talking genocide is 

a very powerful, strong term. And we are talking about genocide. 

And we know the history of genocide in terms of killing an entire 

group of people, systematic killings. 

Do you think that that is what is taking place now in Ethiopia 

as it relates to those individuals who have been charged with 

these——

Ambassador TESSEMA. No, there was no systematic, organized 

killing that can be called genocide. We have charged the previous 

government leaders now in jail for that crime. 

Ms. LEE. Then why are you calling it genocide? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. I am saying some of the charges that I 

have read state attempted genocide. What it entails, how it is interpreted, as I said, I am not a lawyer. We have to wait and see, 

we can get back to you. But you asked me that if somebody has 

committed a genocide, is the death penalty appropriate. Yes. 

Ms. LEE. Well, Mr. Ambassador, with all due respect, genocide 

requires international attention immediately. And I believe that, 

from what I know and from what we are hearing, that these 

human rights violations that we are witnessing that are taking 

place in Ethiopia, and the demonstrators and the people who have 

been charged with treason and genocide, for the most part, really 

gives me reason to pause, and Mr. Chairman, gives me reason to 

say we need to get this bill fixed very quickly and move it forward. 

Because I think the world has got to begin to know, and our country has to get on the right side of history on this. And Mr. Chairman, I think we need to hurry up and finish these negotiations and 

move it forward. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much. And I do welcome your support for the bill, too, I really do. 

Let me just say to my friend, if he will continue yielding, that 

I can’t for the life of me think that Amnesty International would 

be here today, or issuing reports defending people who have committed genocide, whether by threat or by actual implementation, of 

trying to destroy a people, in whole or in part, which is the definition of the genocide convention. It is appalling to even suggest that 

individuals in Amnesty today, by name, as a group and with individuals culled from the larger group, would be here defending people who have committed the heinous act of genocide. It is just inconceivable. 

Ambassador Watson. 

53

Mr. PAYNE. Right. Would you yield also on that, when we were 

discussing when you did mention genocide, as we indicated, during 

the Rwanda genocide, it was even difficult, when 800,000 people 

were killed, for the Administration to even use the word genocide. 

It is a word that is rarely uttered. 

We are in debate with the African Union on whether it is high 

crimes or genocide. We believe it is genocide, and therefore you 

alter the pattern of a people when you have genocide. You try to 

eliminate an entire body of people. 

And so I think that one death is wrong. But when you almost 

trivialize a term that is so emotional, a term that in 1916 to 1921 

in Armenia, no one looked when the Young Turks, as a matter of 

fact, they were called, under the Ottoman Empire, tried to eliminate an entire group of people. Hundreds of thousands were killed. 

And in Nazi Germany we saw genocide. That was genocide. It 

was a holocaust. It was genocide that went on there. And in Cambodia, and in Rwanda. And what is happening in Darfur. 

But to say that people even out of power, usually it is those who 

are in authority. It is very difficult to create genocide when you are 

not in authority. It is almost an act of the state. And so I, too, 

think that there should be a reexamination of that term that many 

of us are very emotional about, the use of it, because of what it is. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ambassador Watson. 

Ms. WATSON. First I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing. It is very, very important, because for many 

months I have been concerned with the domestic situation in Ethiopia. And just this last Saturday I had a group of the Ethiopian 

community in, where we talked about the current situation, or particularly the situations that took place after the elections. 

And I was speaking to one gentleman who was in a high level 

of government, who came over to visit your government because of 

the incarcerations of his friends, his families, and et cetera. And we 

saw the numerous problems that happened as a result of the parliamentary elections last May. 

And I want you to know I feel very close to this country, and I 

thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for being here. Because on my birth 

certificate, born in Los Angeles at Los Angeles County Hospital in 

the year of blah-blah-blah, it said Ethio. And so I checked with my 

mother, because I found my deceased sister’s birth certificate—she 

was older than I—said Ethio as well. 

And I said if we were all sent back to Africa, would I go to Ethiopia? And she talked about Haile Sellasie. 

So I want you to know, my kinship to your country is a lifetime 

one. And that is why I am so concerned. And I have to join my colleagues as they ask to have an understanding about what your government is doing to address the issues that Amnesty International 

has raised, that the Carter Center has raised. Prestigious organizations worldwide are now looking to see how democracy is developing. And I think, as you said, there is still hope for democracy 

in Ethiopia. 

And so I have several recommendations that I am just going to 

read, and see if you can respond to them. And is Ethiopia looking 

at immediately releasing the political prisoners that are still in the 

54

jails? And I heard your explanation about the charges, and I want 

to know, does the rule of law exist, and is it transparent, as it relates to the political prisoners? 

And I would like to see you reform the media laws to permit free 

dialogue from your opposition, as well as from your support. And 

are you ready to reform the parliamentary rules to make sure that 

opposition has a voice in the new Parliament? 

And will you sit down with the opposition to discuss how Ethiopia’s political parties can stop the hateful propaganda, and have a 

peaceful dialogue about the future of your country, this great nation on the continent, and where it intends to go? 

And so I am very troubled with what I see at this point. And believe me, I know a perfect model of democracy is not there yet. We 

don’t have a perfect democracy in America, but we strive for it. 

That is the reason why I am in the field of politics, so I can continue to be a decision-maker on the values and principles that support representative government, where all sides in that government 

have a voice. And I am worried that progress is rather slow toward 

these goals or that goal. 

And democracy evolves. It is very hard to just pick it up and implant it in other countries that have not lived it for decades. The 

rule of law rises, though, as one of the principles that will make 

this democracy grow. 

So can you respond to the recommendations that I would have? 

And again, I want to thank our Chair for putting the bill out, 4423. 

We will hope to be able to negotiate over what should be included, 

amendments that should be included; make it a better bill that will 

address the formation of democracy. And we certainly appreciate 

working with you, and we will continue to work with you on that. 

Mr. Ambassador, if you will respond, we would appreciate it. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thank you. I will be very pleased to respond to your recommendations, and in fact some of them are already being done by my government. 

In terms of your first query about those that are in jail, political 

prisoners. As you know, following the November crisis, the riots in 

Addis, the government did imprison many people. Some of them directly participated in the riots, others, in terms of preventing further bloodshed and loss of property. Almost all of them are released 

as of today. 

As I said in my remarks, of the 10,000-plus people that were at 

that time under the security forces, there are only 170 people. And 

these are not considered political prisoners. These are, they are 

charged, they have cases that are in the courts. And as I said earlier, we have to wait and see what the court system will speak. 

This is in relation to what we were discussing earlier. Some of 

them are alleged to have committed heinous crimes, and others 

may not so heinous crimes. 

So these are not political prisoners. Those that by many international observers and friends were considered to have something 

to do with the riots. They are political prisoners. There are many 

of them. They are already released. Some of them were released 

within 24 hours, others 3 days. But as of today, we don’t have that 

many people in jail. These are only charged people, about 170 of 

them. 

55

The media law, which was one of the issues that was raised before the election. The new Parliament, including the opposition, has 

now retained consultants, foreign consultants, that will look into 

the draft law. And it is expected to be presented to the Parliament 

by June. There will be interaction between the different parties in 

the Parliament, and we are in fact working with the U.S. Government trying to help us get experts who will have an input in reforming the media law. 

The parliamentary procedures, this was also discussed by all political parties. This is one of the reasons that we have tried to bring 

to the attention of this Committee. All those issues in this draft bill 

H.R. 4423 are being implemented, being looked into. The parliamentary procedures and the code of conduct, as soon as the Parliament opened last November it was agreed that it should be revised. That experts from Canada, India, United Kingdom, and Germany were retained. 

These experts have finalized their report. They have presented 

the draft report to the Parliament. And now it is being discussed 

among the different political parties. And then, some time down 

the road, it will be enacted as a law. This is one of the reasons it 

was delayed was it has to take into account the new members of 

the Parliament that are members of the opposition. 

As far as we are concerned, this is a done deal. We have to really 

see how the legislation will come out. But as far as the process is 

concerned, this was what was also recommended by some Members 

of Congress, that we need to have consultants. The opposition and 

the ruling party need to discuss it. Both inside the Parliament and 

outside the Parliament we are doing that. 

In terms of the government sitting with other members for what 

you said in the other issues, we are doing that. It is not something 

that has put for the future. The different political parties in the 

Parliament are discussing how to change the atmosphere of what 

we went through last November, how to work and bring reconciliation among the current political groups. 

Some may disagree that to bring those that are responsible in for 

this kind of disappointment by the people of Ethiopia have also to 

be brought to justice. It is part of the reconciliation process. 

As far as those that are in Parliament, the opposition is concerned, the government is working 24 hours to rectify what has 

happened. It has IRS responsibility, and they are shareholders. 

They are in the Parliament, they are legislation, they are debating. 

Of course, it will take some time to get over some of the problems 

that had manifested during the election, after the election, especially given the crisis that we went through. But the dialogue is 

going on. 

And I appeal to Members of the Committee, I really appeal to 

this Committee, not only to hear from the government’s representatives and members of their constituency, but really to send experts, 

and even visit the country. And most of the things that are in here, 

i.e. Hungary suggests that they do not reflect the reality. I don’t 

mean to say all of this, but there are so many progress that is 

going on in the country. Unfortunately what is bringing it to our 

attention is only the negative aspects of it. 

56

We are working day in and day out to bring real democratic reconciliation to the country, through the Parliament and through 

civil society. 

Ms. WATSON. This particular hearing, there will be a transcript. 

And we are going to monitor very closely the responses that you 

just made, and see. And maybe we should take a codal over in light 

of what the Ambassador has just laid out to see if they are actually 

following through, because I didn’t hear you make reference to the 

killings of innocent civilians by the Ethiopian authorities in June 

and in November, and who is being held accountable in those 

cases. And we want to know who gave the orders to use live ammunition to control what was considered a peaceful protest. 

So we are going to look very closely to your responses that you 

have made to Members here in the Committee today. And then we 

would hope that we could see evidence that the government has followed up. 

We are not just going to go away through wishful thinking. I 

think it is our responsibility as an oversight committee, and since 

we have had good relations over the years, to follow up on the 

things that you say are being done, and to support the progress 

that is being made, and to offer constructive criticism of those 

areas that we think need attention. 

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. And Ambassador, thank you so 

much. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. If I may clarify, Mr. Chairman. I welcome 

your monitoring. I welcome checking what we are doing inside the 

country. 

As I said, on the four issues that you raised, on the media, on 

the Parliament, on the dialogue, we agree with that. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Great. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. You mentioned that I did not refer to the 

June and November crisis. 

Ms. WATSON. I heard you say something about crisis. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. I did say that in my original remarks, yes. 

I would also refer that yes, innocent people were also caught in this 

crossfire. I did say the recent investigation commission that is not 

only looking on how to go forward, also it will come out with if the 

government had used excessive force. That is what the Parliament 

mandated it. Who is behind this insurrection. 

Therefore, it is really sad that we have to have people to die after 

the election. It is also true there is responsibility on both parties. 

The government has to take some responsibility, but those also 

who organized and who are responsible for this. 

Therefore, what I did not say was who is going to be responsible 

for any of this. It is up to the commission that has been mandated 

by the Parliament. And that is what I said. Let us wait and see 

what the commission’s recommendation is, and the course of action 

are going to be. 

And I thank you. I will also provide any detailing information as 

far as you——

Ms. WATSON. We will look forward to receiving that. Thank you. 

57

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Tessema, I would just note that 

there was crossfire, and I assume that that was crossfire with the 

police and themselves, because the protesters were not shooting. 

And let me also point out that the investigative commission you 

mentioned—and maybe correct me if I am wrong—but to the best 

of my knowledge it does not include noted international investigators, as well. Even the United Kingdom, in some of the more damaging killings that went on in Northern Ireland, particularly in the 

case of Patrick Finucane, we have asked there that there be international investigators. 

And very often people are brought in from other countries to be 

part of an investigative team. So that it not only enhances the 

credibility of the findings, but it also significantly enhances what 

actually happens. It is not just a matter of public relations, it is 

a matter of the actual work of investigating. 

And so I would hope that that would be considered, if that has 

not yet been. 

And let me just say in terms of political prisoners, and you have 

indicated there are no political prisoners. It has been my experience, and I have been in Congress now for 26 years. It doesn’t 

make me an expert, but it gives me hopefully at least some insight 

in working on human rights issues in virtually most countries, if 

not every country of the world, where they have been violated. 

And during the years of the Warsaw Pact, I will never forget, 

and including Romania, I remember when Nicolae Ceausescu, who 

was then the dictator in Romania and had the much-feared 

securitate. He made a grandiose statement that there will no 

longer be political prisoners. And then everybody else who was arrested for political reasons were arrested for other things. 

So it became a distinction without a difference, but he could say 

there are no political prisoners. And I say that with respect, but 

also with deep concern. 

Noted international organizations do believe, and this Committee 

and this Chairman believe, that there are political prisoners. There 

are people held simply because they have a difference of opinion, 

sought to express it, did so in a very, very effective way in many 

cases—a lot of them got elected—and now they find themselves in 

the jailhouse. 

You mentioned, in answer to Ambassador Watson, that outside 

groups had found that there were no political prisoners. Which 

groups? Which human rights groups made such a finding? 

Ambassador TESSEMA. The State Department does not consider 

anyone in Ethiopia to a political prisoner, as far as we understand 

it. I can refer you to the——

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. The U.S. State Department. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. The U.S. Government, yes. These are people that are charged, that have stayed in courts. None of them are 

in prison because of their political thinking. Therefore, they are 

considered prisoners——

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Well, I think you are twisting the 

U.S. State Department’s findings, because it is replete with names 

of individuals who are being held. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. I am talking about those that were detained during the November crisis. None of them are considered poVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
58

litical prisoners. I will bring you the report, I will refer you to 

the——

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I will ask the State Department to 

clarify their view. But meanwhile, note that groups like Amnesty 

and others have found otherwise. 

Thank you for being here, and——

Ambassador TESSEMA. Wait. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. We do need to move on to the next 

panel, but if you have something to add. 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Simply to clarify one thing. 

First of all, I, as you said earlier, I am here only to, as I said, 

only to communicate what my government positions are. We appreciate you giving us this opportunity. 

I want to assure you that Ethiopia is not in any way similar to 

some of the countries that were mentioned during this hearing. 

Yes, we have shortcomings. Yes, we are a new country for democracy, an old country in all aspects. 

And also true that the November violence in Addis was not police 

officers shooting at police officers. It was also violence by those that 

were armed with grenades, that burned city buses, police vehicles, 

killed seven police officers in 1 day. And yes, there was a crossfire 

when they have guns. 

Therefore, when the security forces were trying to defend the 

population, there were others that were armed that were attacking 

the police officers. And that is what I said, innocent civilians were 

also caught in this crossfire. I just want to clarify that. 

We look forward to providing you additional information. If in 

fact this Committee finds it necessary that such will be considered 

at this time, it is its prerogative. But we hope it will continue to 

give Ethiopia the support that it needs. At the end of the day, it 

is for the benefit of all Ethiopians. In this particular time, it happens to be there is a particular party in government. 

I again reiterate my appreciation, especially that we were able 

to present the government’s view, even though it was at the last 

minute. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you. And Mr. Ambassador, 

just for the record to be very clear, on page eight of the country 

reports on human rights practices for 2005, under the title Political 

Prisoners, the statement is made by the U.S. Department of State, 

‘‘The total number of political detainees during the year was estimated to be in the several thousands.’’

[Applause.] 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Mr. Chairman, I just said after the outbreak of the November crisis, there were over 10,000 people that 

the State Department considered they were political prisoners because of the political crisis in the country. 

I am talking about today, when I testified to the Congress. We 

have only 170 people of these 10,000 currently detained. And for 

the record, the best of my recollection, the State Department does 

not consider any of these 170 people political prisoners. They have 

been charged, they will have their say in court. This is the context 

that I was trying to put. 

59

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. We will ask Mr. Yamamoto to comment on that in particular. Let me just finally say, and then go to 

our next panel, that Ethiopia and Ethiopians are a great and noble 

people. But it is government actions that we are concerned about. 

And that is what, in a bipartisan way, we tried to express to you 

today. 

And frankly, despite the fact that charges have been leveled 

against those 170 people you mentioned, it would be a tremendous 

gesture of friendship to democracy and to all those who believe in 

democracy to release them. And I would press you respectfully to 

do that. 

[Applause.] 

Ambassador TESSEMA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I invite to the witness table our third 

panel. And thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for being here. And beginning with Mr. Tsege, who is currently a member of the Central 

Council for the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party in Ethiopia. 

After being born and reared in Ethiopia, he left in 1979, after a 

failed attempt to start or join rebel movements against the then 

military regime. After the EPRDF came to power in 1991, he returned as a member of that party, and was elected the General 

Secretary of the Council of the region that included the city of 

Addis Ababa. 

Having failed to convince the Ethiopian people’s revolutionary 

democratic front of its severe shortcomings with regards to respect 

for human rights, he resigned in 1993, and returned to England for 

the next decade, where he was able to complete his book titled The 

Liberator Who Has No Notion of Liberty. In 2005 he returned to 

Ethiopia to join the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, or CUD, 

one of the two main opposition party coalitions. 

We will then hear from Mr. Obang Metho, who is the Director 

of International Advocacy for the Anuak Justice Council. Mr. 

Metho has testified in front of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, and has worked closely with many United 

States Senators and Representatives, as well as officials from the 

U.S. Department of State, regarding the human rights abuses in 

the Gambela region of Ethiopia. 

We will then hear from Ms. Lynn Fredricksson, who is Advocacy 

Director for Africa for Amnesty International USA. Her research 

has focused on human rights and nationalist self-determination 

claims in Africa, focusing on the Great Lakes Region and the Horn. 

Prior to Amnesty, she worked with human rights organizations in 

Africa and Southeast Asia, and diaspora organizations in the 

United States. 

Then finally we will hear from Dr. Meqdes Mesfin, who is the 

daughter of Ethiopian human rights activist Professor Mesfin 

Wolde Mariam, who is one of the prisoners of conscience being held 

in prison by the Government of Ethiopia. He stands accused of inciting students to demonstrate against the government. 

Dr. Meqdes is a medical doctor and program developer for Cambridge Medical Association in Massachusetts. 

Mr. Tsege, if you could begin. 

60

STATEMENT OF MR. ANDARGACHEW TSEGE, MEMBER, CENTRAL COUNCIL, COALITION FOR UNITY AND DEMOCRACY 

PARTY 

Mr. TSEGE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, distinguished Congressmen and Congressman. 

In addition to the statement, I have supporting documents, all of 

which I would like to have inserted into the record. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection, the documents 

will be made a part of the record. 

Mr. TSEGE. Thank you. Thank you for the invitation to testify at 

this important hearing. I hope my testimony will be useful in adding value to the proposed bill, H.R. 4423. 

My association with the current government in Ethiopia began 

long before EPRDF took power. In 1991 I came back from exile in 

London to help the Government of Meles Zenawi. In 1992 I was 

asked by EPRDF to stand for election for the city council. It was 

not an election. Anyway, I was elected to General Secretary of the 

City Council at Addis Ababa. 

At this time I began to sense that all was not right. I realized 

that all they cared of talk about democracy was a sham. The leaders were just pretending democrats. I resigned. 

I left the country in 1993. In March 2005, to fulfill a promise I 

made to help the election effort, I returned to Ethiopia. I worked 

hard as an organizer, campaigner, and election observer. The campaign itself went well. Of course, people were beaten, imprisoned, 

and killed. But our hope for democracy made us think that these 

problems were small. We didn’t realize it would get much worse. 

Meles’ party lost the election. But the day after election they declared itself the winner, and started banning civil and democratic 

rights. People came out into the streets. On June 8, the government murdered innocent people in cold blood. Thousands were imprisoned. I became one of the thousands. 

Soldiers came to my father’s house. I was beaten badly. My left 

eye was smashed with a rifle butt. I ended up in the Zewai concentration camp. 

In prison, soldiers used common razor blades to shave the heads 

of detainees. Many prisoners were HIV-positive. Imagine that disregard for life. 

Like many of my fellow prisoners, I contracted malaria. But the 

worse aspect of my experience was witnessing the nasty ethnic dimension of the whole operation. Something new and strange was 

happening in Ethiopia. 

After the stolen elections, the voters of Ethiopia asked city leaders not to join a corrupted Parliament. In fact, I am one of those 

who wrote a lengthy article demanding the same thing what the 

people were demanding at the time. But let us not change parliamentary rules so as to make any minority party completely ineffective. The CUD presented an eight-point precondition to join Parliament, but EPRDF refused to negotiate. Because I know it was 

a precondition, if they were implemented, a democratic party like 

EPRDF wouldn’t have a chance to get back to power again. 

But EPRDF refused to negotiate, and instead they charged CUD 

leadership with treason, an offense which carries the death penalty. Mass arrests and killings, house-to-house searches and robVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
61

bing people of their life savings begun. Especially the last part, robbing people of their life savings is not reported a lot in the Amnesty International’s report on the Human Rights Watch. But for 

Ethiopia, where most of the people are losing their life setting is 

a bereavement itself. It is serious business. 

The scale of repression has exceeded Ethiopia’s darkest hours 

during the military dictatorship. The entire leadership of the CUD, 

independent journalists, and civic society leaders have been imprisoned with trumped up charges of treason and genocide. I am 

charged in absentia with the same crimes as are others in this very 

room. 

Hidden from the eyes of the international media and community, 

Ethiopia’s rural farmers have suffered the brunt of the repression. 

Silent evenings in rural Ethiopia have been replaced by the heart 

wrenching cries of peasants tortured by EPRDF cadres. Their only 

crime was really to believe in democracy. 

Earlier we talked about human rights abuse in the region of 

Oromo and Somalia. But what we did not mention is there is a lot 

of human rights abuse going on now in the rural areas in a place 

like the Uganda region and other parts of Ethiopia as well and in 

the southern national areas as well, in Gurage and Walayta. 

I know these men in power, because it is not only that I served 

them but I started knowing them from my early university days as 

a freshman. In fact, I wanted to join them in the rebel movement, 

so my knowledge of them is more or less perfect, I could say. As 

the world rejoiced the end of the Cold War the EPRDF was lamenting the loss of the Soviet Union as a power. I recall the first congress held in 1992. The EPRDF presented a paper explaining that 

they managed to stick to the plan of delaying economic reform by 

deceiving the Americans. I sat there and I heard it. 

Today in Ethiopia, political and economic power is held by a 

small clique of people within the ruling party. That is one of the 

reasons for no democratization in that country. This is why I believe the legislation as that proposed by Chairman Smith is essential. Legislation must have the necessary proposals to fight the continued illegal accumulation of wealth and power by a few tyrants. 

It deals with the need to change attitude and practice to bring 

about genuine democratization and economic liberalization. The 

question that remains is how to break EPRDF’s ideological resistance to make the hopes of the bill a reality. I believe this is the 

most central point. 

Before I conclude I would like to mention one important issue. 

These days the attitude of America toward Meles Zenawi has become a subject of discussion among Ethiopians. Why is America not 

supporting us? Why not condemn the Meles regime as the United 

States has condemned the tyrants of Zimbabwe, Uganda and 

Belarus? Most Ethiopians believe that Meles is not interested in 

defending the values that the terrorists want to attack. He does not 

believe at all in liberal values. 

Ethiopians believe that their imprisoned leaders would do a better job than the Meles regime. The CUD leadership is made up of 

individuals who have lived, studied and worked in the West. They 

do not pretend to be antiterrorism, they are. And they are the victims of terrorism. These leaders rightfully won the May 2005 elecVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
62

tion because voters believed in political and economic reform and 

these reforms were liberal. They have the mandate and support to 

defend those liberal values. 

These leaders and people are the true allies of the American people. Meanwhile, the current regime prepares to receive China’s embrace. In fact, to get those after China, to balance the American influence as our foreign policy was designed in 1991 when I was 

working with the government, I believe it is both moral and strategically imperative that America’s leaders demand immediate release of all political prisoners without condition. The continued support for this tyrant will prolong the misery of Ethiopia. I thank you 

and look forward to answering the Committee’s questions. Thank 

you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Tsege follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MR. ANDARGACHEW TSEGE, MEMBER, CENTRAL COUNCIL, 

COALITION FOR UNITY AND DEMOCRACY PARTY

Thank you Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you distinguished Congresswomen and Congressmen. 

Thank you for the invitation to testify at this important hearing. 

I hope my testimony will be useful in adding value to the proposed bill: HR4423. 

1—My association with the current government in Ethiopia began long before 

EPRDF took power. In 1991, I came back from exile in London to help the government of Meles Zenawi. 

In 1992 I was asked by EPRDF to stand for election for the city council. It was 

not a real election. I was elected the general secretary of the city council. 

At this time I began to sense that all was not right. I realized that all the EPRDF 

talk about democracy was a sham, the leaders were pretend democrats. 

I resigned. 

I left the country in 1993. 

In March of 2005 to fulfill a promise I made to help the election effort I returned 

to Ethiopia. I worked hard as an organizer, campaigner, and election observer. 

The campaign itself went well. Of course, people were beaten, imprisoned, and 

killed. But our hope for democracy made us think those problems were small. We 

did not realize it would get much worse. 

Meles’s party lost the election. But a day after election day, it declared itself the 

winner and started banning civil and democratic rights. 

People came out into the street. On June 8th, the government murdered innocent 

people in cold blood. Thousands were imprisoned. 

I became one of the thousands. Soldiers came to my father’s house. I was beaten 

badly, my left eye smashed with a rifle butt. I ended up in the Zewai concentration 

camp. 

In prison, soldiers used a common razor to shave the heads of detainees. Many 

prisoners were HIV positive. Imagine the disregard for life. 

Like many of my fellow prisoners, I contracted malaria. But the worst aspect of 

my experience was witnessing the nasty ethnic dimension of the whole operation. 

Something new and strange in Ethiopia. 

2—After the stolen elections, the voters of Ethiopia asked CUD leaders not to join 

a corrupted Parliament. Meles had changed Parliamentary rules so as to make any 

minority party completely ineffective. The CUD presented an eight point pre-condition to join parliament. But EPRDF refused to negotiate. Instead, they charged 

CUD leadership with treason, an offense which carries the death penalty. 

Mass arrests and killings, house to house searches, and robbing people of their 

life savings began. The scale of repression has exceeded Ethiopia’s darkest hours 

during the military dictatorship. The entire leadership of the CUD, independent 

journalists, and civic society leaders have been imprisoned with trumped up charges 

of treason and genocide. I am charged in absentia with the same crimes. As are others in this very room. 

Hidden from the eyes of the international media and community, Ethiopia’s rural 

farmers have suffered the brunt of the repression. Silent evenings in rural Ethiopia 

have been replaced by the heart wrenching cries of peasants tortured by EPRDF 

cadres. 

3—I know these men in power. 

63

As the world rejoiced the end of the cold war, the EPRDF was lamenting the loss 

of the Soviet Union as a power. 

I recall the first congress held in 1992. The EPRDF presented a paper explaining 

that they had managed to stick to the plan of delaying economic reform, by ‘‘deceiving the Americans.’’

Today in Ethiopia, political and economic power is held by a small clique of people 

within the ruling party. 

4—This is why I believe that legislation such as that proposed by Chairman 

Smith is essential. 

Legislation must have the necessary proposals to fight the continued illegal accumulation of wealth and power by tyrants. 

It deals with the need to change attitude and practice to bring about genuine democratization and economic liberalization. 

The question that remains is how to break EPRDF ideological resistance to make 

the hopes of the bill a reality. 

5—Before I conclude, I would like to mention one important issue. 

These days, the attitude of America towards Meles Zenawi has become a subject 

of discussion among Ethiopians. 

Why is America not supporting us? 

Why not condemn the Meles regime as the United States has condemned the tyrants of Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Belarus? 

Most Ethiopians believe that Meles is not interested in defending the values that 

the terrorists want to attack. He does not believe at all in liberal values. 

Ethiopians believe that their imprisoned leaders would do a better job than the 

Meles regime. 

The CUD leadership is made up of individuals who have lived, studied, and 

worked in the West. They do not pretend to be anti terrorism. They are. And they 

are the victims of terrorism. 

These leaders rightfully won the May 2005 election because voters believed in political and economic reform. They have the mandate and the support to defend those 

Liberal values. 

These leaders and people are the true allies of the American people. Meanwhile, 

the current regime prepares to receive China’s embrace. 

It is both a moral and strategic imperative that America’s leaders demand the immediate release of all political prisoners, without preconditions. 

The continued support of this tyrant will prolong the misery of Ethiopia. 

I thank you and look forward to answering the committee’s questions.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Tsege, thank you so very, very 

much and I would like to now ask Dr. Meqdes if you would mind 

going and then we will proceed from there? 

STATEMENT OF MEQDES MESFIN, M.D., DAUGHTER OF PROFESSOR MESFIN WOLDE MARIAM, ETHIOPIAN PRISONER OF 

CONSCIENCE 

Dr. MEQDES. Thank you. I also have material that I will be submitting. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection, all of the other 

material will be made a part of the record. 

Dr. MEQDES. Thank you. Chairman Smith, Congressman Payne 

and Members of the Committee, I thank you for your close and serious attention to the matter before you today and all you have 

done prior——

Mr. PAYNE. Excuse me, have you pushed the button on the 

microphone? Okay, maybe start again if it is on and if it is not 

working, maybe you can share one of the others. It did not sound 

like it was on. 

Dr. MEQDES. Thank you. More than 30 years ago when I was 

only 11 my father, Mesfin Wolde Mariam, failed to show up home 

at the end of the day. It turned out that he had been arrested for 

a talk he had delivered regarding his assessment of the land tenure 

system that was failing the Ethiopian peasant and subjecting them 

64

to extreme vulnerability. Our lives were never normal since. Following a couple of years of uncertainty and upheaval for my family, 

the military revolution took place. Eventually the military communist dictatorship of Mengistu summarily executed scores of the 

Emperor’s officials and my father was appalled. He worked at the 

Institute of Development and Research at the Addis Ababa University until his retirement in 1987. During this time his publications 

and research output, none of which was pleasing to the government, was met with continued threats and intimidation to all of us. 

At the same time, the recruitment of young people by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party, an opposition to the regime, was 

so heavy that most of the students beyond middle school were 

somehow involved or associated. The regime executed what it 

called Red Terror against these children on the streets. 

The most significant memory of my high school days is my effortless stellar academic performance declining when my only real 

competition was snuffed away. Nardos Fisseha was an ardent 

EPRP supporter and we were both 15. I will spare you the details 

of what happened to her as we heard about it the Monday following 

the Friday massacre. It was normal for the streets to be littered 

with bodies of children and all sorts of egregious statements on 

posters attached to them just about every day. 

During all of this the civil war, of course, endured and even 

spread to many parts of the country. No young man was safe from 

conscription. The streets in major cities were eventually filled with 

disabled young men and the hallways of hospitals with gangrene 

and extensive and gruesome infected war injuries in cots and fold 

up beds. 

After the fall of the Mengistu regime, recognizing the need for an 

independent, nongovernmental human rights monitoring organization, my father founded the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, 

EHRCO, in 1991. The EPRDF then seized power and announced its 

being open to membership to all human beings except those who 

are members of any organization with a military wing. 

EHRCO was founded on three fundamental and inseparable objectives. To struggle for the establishment of the democratic process, to promote the rule of law and due process, to encourage the 

respect for and monitor violations of human rights in Ethiopia. 

In the introduction of its publication, Human Rights, Rule of Law 

and Democracy: Rhetoric and Practice, EHRCO stated that it 

stands against systems of dictatorial rule and oppression, injustice 

and inequity, not against individuals or groups. EHRCO’s founding 

was also meant to help shape the present transition and ensure a 

better future. Referring to the initiation of the prosecution of the 

previous regimes officials who undoubtedly were responsible for the 

loss of thousands of lives, the same text reads, and I quote:

‘‘The most important consideration is that this exercise in legality must not seem to be vengeance in legal garb. Justice and 

the rule of law must serve equally the defeated, those who 

were once powerful and ruthless. Moreover, those presently in 

power and eager to judge those that have fallen must find time 

to reflect on their own actions. In order to make good on their 

moral indignation against the excesses of the Dergue, the 

present rules must also have the courage to see their own exVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
65

cesses. Sincerity demands that present conditions of human 

rights and the rule of law be beyond reproach. It is only then 

that there will be a moral ground for judging the excessive action of the Dergue regime. If the exercise is only an act of 

vengeance, then the atrocities will be repeated tomorrow under 

different circumstances . . . The only way that confidence in 

the rule of law can be established is when the victors who are 

violating the law are brought to justice. When the same law is 

blind to the violations of the victors but exaggerates the violations of the vanquished justice loses its essence.’’

Over 15 years EHRCO has investigated, documented and reported on human rights violations. In addition, it has successfully 

educated the public with regard to the universality of these fundamental principles. Its accomplishments are all registered under circumstances of extreme duress. The harassment and intimidation 

suffered by its staff and members for carrying out this work is immense. My father, as its founder and chairman for many years, has 

been arrested, charged and released on bail several times. His last 

arrest and detention with Berhanu Nega in 2001 took place on the 

anniversary of the killing in broad daylight of Executive Committee 

member Assefa Maru. The case is still pending, yet EHRCO enjoys 

membership of the International Federation of Human Rights Organizations and an observer status with the African Commission of 

Human and People’s Rights. EHRCO’s staff has been under extreme duress since June 2005. 

Along with many others my father has now been incarcerated 

since November 2006. I would also refer you to a cartoon in a state 

run paper in 1997 where my father, as EHRCO, was depicted 

standing in front of an audience where international media such as 

the BBC are holding up their microphones. One of the hands that 

is extended, however, is holding a gun at him. The caption reads, 

‘‘EHRCO, committing suicide??’’ And this from a government that 

purports to need to hold a leash on the independent media. 

After his release in 2001, my father began to work on the possibility of starting up a political organization, Rainbow-Ethiopia, 

Movement for Social Justice and Democracy. Groundwork for the 

Coalition for Unity and Democracy has also been done and nonsectarian and non-parochial organizations joined in forming it. This 

allowed for the coming together of all non-ethnic based Ethiopian 

organizations to come together. The ethnic basis for the formation 

of most political groups has always been a serious concern to him 

as a force that could jeopardize the nation’s integrity. 

I am quoting here:

‘‘The fact that the venom of tribalism meant for others twisted and turned to take an unexpected route to show its ugly 

face between Eritreans and Tigres, vicious and tragic as it is, 

shows how insidious and tortuous tribal conflict can be. Its 

consequence has gone so far as creating division even among 

Tigres. Although the concern is focused on the actions of the 

Oromo Liberation Front, tribalism blossoming in various parts 

of Ethiopia is clear to all who follow developments in the country. Youngsters nurtured in tribalism are growing into adulthood, almost constituting a generation by themselves.’’

66

Another concern was the abridgement of freedoms.

‘‘How can a people of any given country succeed in life unless 

they struggle and act to ensure that a country and sovereignty 

is theirs as a matter of right? For almost 2,000 years we have 

been doing nothing more than blaming everything on the different regimes and supplicating God, the angels and all the 

saints for the solutions of our problems. The stifled physical, 

mental and spiritual potential will only be released when people are liberated and become a sovereign power with confidence in themselves and in the law. And it is only then that 

they can become the true agents of their own lives.’’

So as this party came into being with almost simultaneous establishment of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy in the fall of 

2004, since the groundwork had already been carried out at the 

same time, clearly there had been the vision that along with these 

constituent parties, they shared the platform of national unity and 

were not engaged in armed combat. Any differences could be 

worked on through trust and a democratic process-based lively political discourse which would consistently uphold the rule of law. 

That there are various articulations of the basis for the creations 

of this coalition and its current implementation or the decision to 

merge is simply because the founders and the democratically elected leaders of the CUD are indisposed and therefore not available 

to set the record straight. 

Honorable Members, for more than three decades my personal 

and family life has been impacted by what my father has committed in his faith and belief that the government belongs to the 

people and that these fundamental freedoms that we all seek are 

a necessary element in allowing democracy to flourish in an environment where the rule of law is supreme. I consider myself 

blessed in many ways, not the least of which is the fact that, unlike 

most of my compatriots, I have witnessed or endured only a limited 

amount of brutality considering what others have had to. Regardless, we are all conditioned to, at best, tolerate egregious behavior 

or participate in it more than we are to question and challenge it. 

Mesfin and his compatriots have effectively changed that norm 

and the public has accepted that normative change. It is not up to 

humanity to stand firmly on the side of the people and do its utmost in creating the conditions that would compel the unconditional and immediate release of prisoners of conscience that are paraded through the legal system. To call for their supposedly fair 

and speedy trial is a travesty. 

During every step of the way after the election I had a fair sense 

of what the opposition might do, such as challenging the election 

results in court or refusing to participate in the current court proceedings regarding the charges of treason and genocide. You see, 

in addition to my personal knowledge and understanding of my father, I also share and understand the respect for these processes 

and the means that he would employ to that end. Their current incarceration is not an end to the people’s quest for their basic rights. 

I am terribly concerned about a couple of things. The first is with 

regard to the rule of law and the democratic process that would ensure a peaceful and united Ethiopia. The eight point set of preVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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conditions presented by the elected officials of the CUD are fundamental to the rule of law and the democratic process in any society. 

I submit if the CUD were to be presented with such a demand by 

an opposition that it would repress or malign, the demand should 

be granted. I know that my father would stand for the principles 

and not for the party. If the enormous respect that this movement 

has gained is any indication, this is true for the public, too. The 

focus is on principles and not the players. 

Compromising these principles would only jeopardize the 

strength of any legislation, enabling the arbitrary suspension of the 

democratic process and the rule of law as needed. In other words, 

the attempt at institutionalizing power in establishing the democratic process would have failed. It would make no difference what 

party is in leadership if the election board, media and judiciary are 

not independent and if the violence last June and November are 

not investigated independently and all political prisoners are not 

released unconditionally. 

In spite of EHRCO’s best and consistent efforts in the most difficult of circumstances, justice will still belong to the mighty victor 

of the time. Moreover, the integrity of the nation will be in serious 

jeopardy. 

In conclusion, I respectfully urge the continued attention to these 

points I’ve mentioned in considering the most meaningful legislative steps to take, not just because Mesfin is my father but also because of the strength of his commitment, his track record as a 

peaceful advocate of the people during three successive regimes, his 

exemplary academic and social contribution and his faith in the 

democratic process and the rule of law. My biggest wish is that this 

man, who will turn 76 in a few weeks, will live to see the empowerment of his people. 

I will close by sharing with you, though sheltered from most of 

the realities of the atrocious oppression, a photograph of a drawing 

that my 4-year-old daughter made. That will also be submitted in 

the record and it is about a man behind bars. I thank you very 

much. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Meqdes follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MEQDES MESFIN, M.D., DAUGHTER OF PROFESSOR MESFIN

WOLDE MARIAM, ETHIOPIAN PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE

Chairman Smith, Co-Chairman Payne and Members of the Committee, I thank 

you for your close and serious attention to the matter before you today, and for all 

you have done prior and during this crisis in Ethiopia, on behalf of the citizens of 

this second most populous nation on the continent. 

More than thirty years ago, where I was only eleven, my father, Mesfin Wolde 

Mariam failed to show up at home at the end of the day. It turned out that he had 

been arrested for a talk he had delivered regarding his assessment of the land tenure system that was failing the Ethiopian peasant and subjecting them to extreme 

vulnerability. Our lives were never normal since. Following a couple of years of uncertainty and upheaval, for my family, the military revolution took place. Eventually, the military communist dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam summarily executed scores of the Emperor’s officials, my father was appalled. He worked at the 

Institute of Development and Research at the Addis Ababa University until his retirement in 1987. During this time, his publications and research output, none of 

which was pleasing to the government was met with the continued threat and intimidation of all of us. At the same time, the recruitment of young people by the 

Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party, an opposition to the regime was so heavy 

that most of the students beyond middle school were somehow involved or associVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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ated. The regime executed what it called Red Terror against these children on the 

streets, and the opposition also retaliated similarly. 

The most significant memory of my high school days is my effortless stellar academic performance declining when my only real competition was snuffed away. 

Nardos Fisseha was an ardent EPRP supporter and we were both 15. I will spare 

you the details of what happened to her as we heard about it the Monday following 

the Friday massacre. It was ‘‘normal’’ for the streets to be littered with bodies of 

children all sorts of egregious statements on posters attached to them just about 

every day. 

During all of this the civil war of course, endured and even spread to many parts 

of the country. No young man was safe from conscription. The streets in major cities 

were eventually filled with disabled young men and the hallways of hospitals with 

young men with gangrene and extensive and gruesome infected war injuries, in cots, 

and foldup beds. 

In the summer of 1990, at the International Conference of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, my father presented a call for peace, describing the degree of deterioration in the respect for the sanctity of life, and the integrity of the nations. He described how dire the situation was and urged all players to denounce violence and 

embark a political challenge where issues could be debated and presented to the 

public, who of course would have the ultimate say. He extended a specific recommendation where all stakeholders would engage in a political process, and called 

on Mengistu Haile Mariam to try and uphold the nation’s interest rather than his. 

Though almost 300 prominent individuals had signed on to this, each of the major 

contenders namely Mengistu and the TPLF leadership accused my father of selling 

out to the other, failing to see the tyranny in themselves. 

Recognizing the need for an independent, non governmental human rights monitoring organization, my father then founded the Ethiopian Human Rights Council 

(EHRCO) IN 1991 after the EPRDF seized power and announced its being open to 

membership to ‘‘all human beings’’ except those who are members of any organization with an military wing. 

EHRCO was founded on three fundamental and inseparable objectives.

• To struggle for the establishment of the democratic process;

• To promote the rule of law and due process;

• To encourage the respect for and to monitor violations of human rights in 

Ethiopia.

In the introduction of its publication, Human Rights, Rule of Law and Democracy: 

Rhetoric and Practice, EHRCO states that it stands against systems of dictatorial 

rule and oppression, injustice and inequity . . . not against individuals or groups. 

EHRCO’S founding was also meant to ‘‘help shape the present (transition) and ensure a better future’’. Referring to the initiation of the prosecution of the previous 

regimes officials who undoubtedly were responsible for the loss of thousands of lives, 

the same text reads, ‘‘The most important consideration is that this exercise in legality must not seem to be vengeance in legal garb. Justice and the rule of law must 

serve equally the defeated, those who were once powerful and ruthless. Moreover, 

those presently in power and eager to judge those that have fallen must find time 

to reflect on their own actions. In order to make good on their moral indignation 

against the excesses of the Derg, the present rulers must also have the courage to 

see their own excesses. Sincerity demands that present conditions of human rights 

and the rule of law be beyond reproach. It is only then that there will be a moral 

ground for judging the excessive action of the Derg regime. If the exercise is only 

an act of vengeance, then the atrocities will be repeated tomorrow, under different 

circumstances. . . . The only way that confidence in the rule of law can be established is when the victors who are violating the law are brought to justice. When 

the same law is blind to the violations of the victors but exaggerates the violations 

of the vanquished justice loses its essence, its very meaning. 

Over fifteen years, EHRCO has investigated, documented and reported on human 

rights violations. IN addition, it has successfully educated the public with regard 

to the universality of these fundamental principles. Its accomplishments are all registered under circumstances of extreme duress. The harassment and intimidation 

suffered by its staff and members for carrying out this work is immense. My father 

as its founder and Chairman for many years has been arrested, charged and released on bail several times. His last arrest and detention with Berhanu Nega in 

2001, took place on the anniversary of the killing in broad daylight of Executive 

Committee member Assefa Maru. The case is still pending. Yet, EHRCO enjoys 

membership of the International Federation of Human Rights Organizations and obVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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server status with the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights. 

EHRCO’s staff has been under extreme duress since June 2005. 

My father along with many others has now been incarcerated since November 

2006. I would also refer you to a cartoon in a state run paper in 1997 where my 

father, (as EHRCO), depicted as standing in front of an audience, where international media such as BBC, are holding up their microphones. One of the hands 

that is extending is however, is holding gun at him. The caption reads, ‘‘EHRCO, 

committing suicide??’’

After his release in 2001, my father began to work on the possibility of starting 

up a political organization, and Rainbow-Ethiopia, Movement for Social Justice and 

Democracy came into being. The groundwork for the formation of the Coalition for 

Unity and Democracy (CUD) had also been done, and non sectarian and non parochial political organizations joined in forming it. This allowed for the coming together of all non ethnic based Ethiopian organizations to come together. The ethnic 

basis for the formation of most political groups was a serious concern to my father, 

as a force that could jeopardize the nation’s integrity.

‘‘The fact that the venom of tribalism meant for others twisted and turned to 

take an unexpected route to show its ugly face between Eritreans and Tigres, vicious and tragic as it is shows how insidious and tortuous tribal conflict can 

be. Its consequence has gone so far as creating division even among Tigres. Although the concern is focused on the actions of the Oromo Liberation Front, tribalism blossoming in various parts of Ethiopia is clear to all who follow developments in the country. Youngsters nurtured in tribalism are growing into adulthood, almost constituting a generation by themselves.’’

Moreover, the systematic and gradual erosion of any hope for a democratic system 

of governance has been of great concern to him, as stated below:

‘‘How can a people of any given county succeed in life unless they struggle and 

act to ensure that the country and the sovereignty is theirs as a matter of right? 

For almost 2000 years we have been doing nothing more that blaming everything 

on the different regimes and supplicating God, the angels and all the saints for 

solutions to all our problems. . . .’’

‘‘Although the forms of the regimes are different, the suffering of the Ethiopian 

people continues to be the same. Those who are hungry and greedy replace those 

who are satiated. In both cases, what was, and is lacking is a healthy doubt 

about themselves, good will and moral courage. What was and is glaringly visible in both cases is the lack of willingness to accommodate others who happen 

to excel them in various fields.’’

‘‘So far I have seen three regimes coming to a disgraceful end. I had foreseen 

the downfall of the two and publicly expressed my opinions and feelings before 

the fact. The present regime is on an altogether different nature. Unless it takes 

time to think and rectify its ways in due time, its downfall will be quite different 

from those of the past, because it may also ruin the country.’’

‘‘. . . It seems to me, our problems have always been two. First, we have been 

guided by the law of the jungle throughout the course of our long history. We 

have failed to develop any other alternative to the use of force for administrations. We differentiated ourselves between those who are superiors and inferiors, 

between those who have rights, and those who have obligations as masters and 

servants in an uncomfortable relationship. We failed to devise a system based on 

equality. We are now in 1996 (2003 Gregorian) without learning to institutionalize power. Institutionalizing power is the mark of a civilized community. 

We have been successively suffering under regimes that rule with jungle law. One 

of the secrets lf growth and development lies in the capacity to institutionalize 

power; it is to found power on equality through the rule of law.’’

. . . ‘‘The stifled physical, mental, and spiritual potential will be released only 

when the people are liberated and become a sovereign power with confidence in 

themselves and in the law, it is only then that they can become true agents of 

their own lives.’’

So, as Rainbow Ethiopia eventually came into being, with the almost simultaneous establishment of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, (CUD) in the fall of 

2004, since the groundwork had been carried out at the same time. Clearly, there 

has been clear vision that, as long as these constituent parties shared the platform 

of national unity, and were not engaged in armed combat, any differences could be 

worked on through trust and democratic process-based lively political discourse, 

which would consistently uphold the rule of law. That there are various articulations of the basis for the creations of this coalition, its current implementation, and 

decision to merge, is simply because the founders and the democratically elected 

70

leaders of the CUD are indisposed and therefore not available to set the record 

straight. 

Honorable Members, for more than three decades, my personal and family life has 

been impacted by what my father has committed in his faith and belief that government belongs to the people and that these fundamental freedoms that we all seek 

are a necessary element in allowing democracy to flourish in an environment where 

the rule of law is supreme. I consider myself blessed in many ways, not the least 

of which is the fact that unlike most of my compatriots, I have witnessed or endured 

a limited amount of brutality considering what others have had to endure. Regardless, we are all conditioned to, at best, tolerate egregious behavior or participate in 

it, more than we are to question an challenge it. Mesfin and his compatriots have 

effectively changed that norm and the public has embraced that normative change. 

It is now up to humanity to stand firmly on the side of the people and do its utmost 

in creating the conditions that would compel the unconditional and immediate release of prisoners of conscience that are paraded through the legal system. To call 

for their ‘‘fair and speedy trial’’ is a travesty. 

During step of the way after the election in May, I had a fair sense of what the 

opposition might do, such as challenging the election results in court, or refusing 

to participate in the current court proceedings regarding the charges of ‘‘treason and 

genocide’’. You see, in addition to my personal knowledge and understanding of my 

father, I also share and understand the respect for these processes, and the means 

that he would employ to that end. Their current incarceration is not an end to the 

people’s quest for their basic rights. I am terribly concerned about a couple of 

things. The first is with regard to the rule of law and the democratic process that 

would ensure a peaceful and United Ethiopia. The eight point set of preconditions 

presented by the elected officials of the CUD are fundamental to the rule of law and 

the democratic process in any society. I submit, if the CUD were to be presented 

with such a demand by an opposition that it would repress or malign, the demand 

should be granted. I know that my father would stand for the principles and not 

for the party. If the enormous respect that this movement has gained is any indication, this is true for the public too. The focus is on principles and the players. Compromising these principles would only jeopardize the strength of any legislation, enabling the arbitrary suspension of the democratic process and the rule of law as 

needed. In other words, the attempt at institutionalizing power and establishing the 

democratic process would have failed. It would make no difference what party is in 

leadership if the Election Board, the media and the Judiciary are not independent; 

if the violence last June and November are not investigated independently and all 

political prisoners are released unconditionally. 

In spite of EHRCO’s best and consistent efforts in the most difficult of circumstance, justice will still belong to the mighty victor of the time. Moreover, the 

integrity of the nation will be in serious jeopardy. 

In conclusion, I respectfully urge the continued attention to these points I have 

mentioned in considering the most meaningful legislative steps to take. Not just because Mesfin is my father, but also because of the strength of his commitment his 

track record as a peaceful advocate of the people during three successive regimes, 

his exemplary academic and social contribution and his faith in the democratic process and the rule of law, my biggest wish is that this man who will turn 76 in a 

few weeks, will live to see the empowerment of his people. 

I will share with you though sheltered from most of the realities of the atrocious 

repression; we also have children that are deeply impacted by all of their grandfather’s continued incarceration. I leave you with a copy of an unsolicited drawing 

by my four year old daughter last January. 

Thank you very much.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Dr. Meqdes, thank you very much. 

Your father must be very, very proud. Thank you. Let me now introduce our next witness. Mr. Obang Metho, if you would proceed, 

please. 

STATEMENT OF MR. OBANG METHO, DIRECTOR OF 

INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY, ANUAK JUSTICE COUNCIL 

Mr. METHO. Thank you. I hope everyone can hear me okay. Mr. 

Chairman Smith, I really thank you personally for your work and 

I thank Mr. Donald Payne. The first time I met you was on May 

71

16, 2004. I would ask for my whole statement to be submitted into 

the record entirely. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Without objection, your full statement will be made a part of the record. 

Mr. METHO. So thank you. I think we are given 5 minutes and 

I will try to really make it the best I can. I think what I really will 

be talking about would not take me 5 minutes, more than 50 minutes, you know, 50 days. So it is really good that Tessema was here 

and I am sitting on the chair where he was sitting. That is good 

and he did not mention about the Gambella, he did not mention 

about the Anuak. And that is one of the things that I am going to 

talk about and it is too bad that he is not here. But even if he were 

here, I do not know if he would do anything. 

So my statement, what I am going to do is that I will talk today 

about the Anuak. I am not going to read, because I am living with 

this since December 13, 2003. I am an Anuak. I grew up in 

Gambella. I will talk about it and again, please bear with me if I 

become emotional. I will try to not make it emotional. 

As I am saying, most of you may look at my face today and most 

of you would say that I am not Ethiopian. To some of the Ethiopian, I could pass for German. I have been excluded, even today. 

The only person who mentioned the word Anuak was Mr. Smith. 

Together we can make a difference. So the point I am going to 

make is I am talking not as someone who is an expert, not a scholar. I am talking as a human being. As a human being I am entitled 

to live here until the day I die. I belong to this ethnic group, 

Anuak. The Anuaks belong in Ethiopia. They are Ethiopian citizens. Our ancestors’ land was divided by the British and we became part of Ethiopia. There is nothing we can do about it now. 

Ethiopians have to accept that reality. 

For many years, if I can make it very clear, we are a very tiny 

minority. There are no more than 100,000 Anuaks. That is including me before you. So going back to this. The voice I am going to 

say today, for most of you who are sitting behind me, Mr. Smith, 

please take this home. It is the voice of my people. Four hundred 

and twenty-four men were killed in 3 days and since then, again, 

over 1,600 people were killed. Because my name is Obang, I have 

the picture, the picture cannot lie and that’s the message that I 

wanted to get across. 

This is now almost 3 years and justice has never been done. Mr. 

Donald Payne, I raised this issue to you before and I am not going 

to blame you. When you talk, you mentioned about the Somalia region and other regions. You did not mention Gambella. You did not 

mention the Anuak. You have the responsibility. Too bad that our 

African-American brothers and sisters are not here. We are here 

and we are dealing with people who 20 years ago had been enlisted 

as people who are endangered, like birds. Twenty years ago, if 424 

can be killed in 3 days, please be the judge. I am not a calculator 

of that. 

I wanted you to take this with you. Right now the Anuak has 

lost hope, the international community has failed. Ambassador 

Tessema did not mention it and that is very good. So the point I 

am going to make is this is the voice of those people who died. 

These are the voices of not only the Anuak. I am not, you know, 

72

representing any political group. These are the voices of those who 

have been killed on December 13 who cannot speak for themselves. 

I am speaking as the voice of those CUD leaders who have been 

locked up. I met with Mr. Hailu Hauel. By then it gave me hope 

that maybe things will change and justice will come and when he 

was locked up, my hope was taken away. 

I am here as voice of the Tigreans who disagree with their government because they are Tigreans. I am here as the voice of those 

who are oppressed. I am the voice of the Ethiopian who are wanting their birth right and it has been denied. Please take that with 

you. 

So the point I am going to make, is Ethiopia really a true democracy? I cannot find that. I went to school. I took politics. There 

were Democrats who were the ones that I am interested in, because at some point, I am thinking that I will go back to contribute. And again, when the Ambassador was here, I could not 

really think of anything. It just reminded me like of people who 

stole something and go to a mirror and look at yourself. You did 

a good job, Mr. Smith. You were very blunt and he will live with 

it today. 

So should we really work with Ethiopia? The U.S. Government, 

I am not here, I do not have any political interest. I really want 

justice. Justice is what I am hoping for. But Ethiopia, the prime 

minister, what they have done on December 13, 2003, it did not 

make a big deal, people do not talk about it. But we are human 

beings. It was not until the election that this got out. But I wanted 

you to know that and it has been going on. 

In July 2002, 200 human beings were killed in Awassa. Again, 

Meles was the mastermind, he denied it, he delayed it. And just 

to delay is just to deny and again, that went unnoticed. Within 

Gambella, it divided the people. Anuak, people who are just like us, 

like me exactly, and he succeeded. Nobody has done anything. And 

then on December 13, 2003, the killing took place. Nothing has 

been done about it until today. 

What happened? Most of us who are a family, if you have a job, 

who is playing with the lighter, if you do not tell them to stop 

then? One day they will put the building on fire and the building 

will collapse. And Meles has been playing now with the lighter and 

the flame is getting hot. Soon it will burn Ethiopia. If you talk 

about unstable, Ethiopia has already been unstable under this 

man. This man has never done anything. 

Again, please do not mind me, I am not talking for political reasons. I am talking and what I am saying today, Meles may try to 

find and put another black face on the Ethiopian TV tomorrow to 

deny it. That does not matter to me now. What matters to me is 

the truth, and all of you are in this position. Truth, no matter how 

much and what the cost may be. That is what we tell our children, 

to stand with the truth, and we should do it. 

And again, I am not begging you. I am challenging you. You have 

been put in this position to do what is right, but here it is. On December 13, 2003, a car was ambushed 20 kilometers outside 

Gambella. Most of the people died. Again, nine people were killed 

including the driver, who was an Anuak. People in Ethiopia, we 

have lowland and highlands. Lowland is a guy like me who, even 

73

until today, some of my Ethiopian brothers cannot accept me. 

There was one Ethiopian driver in Washington who asked me 

where I came from and I asked him where do you think? He named 

almost all of Africa except Ethiopia. Again, we Ethiopians have to 

do this ourselves. 

When these people were killed, some of them were people close 

to Meles. They went to collect the bodies. The bodies were mutilated, brought to Gambella. When it was brought inside it and the 

people who were highland, again, me, like my brothers. And what 

happened? From that day on a commander of Ethiopian Defense 

Force with the chief of police went and took the bodies to the regional government office. They put them there. They told the governor, who was an Anuak, I want you to bring these people back 

to life before we take them to highland. You know that, that is impossible. They took the bodies in front of almost 200 people. From 

that day on, the commander ordered the killing. They went on killing, they had a dead list. They were looking for Anuak men from 

home to home. They took those Anuak in front of their families, 

their children and wife, they were shot dead. Some of them were 

axed with machetes by some of the civilian highlanders. 

But again, some of the highlander people are the ones, without 

them, maybe there would have been more than 424 killed that day. 

These people were killed in such a brutal way. Imagine I was there 

5 months before that. The first list came to me, 424. I knew 317. 

Some of them I shook hands with them. They are my family members. They are my uncle, my brother, my classmates. The people 

I have been working with, 17 of them. Six were my classmates who 

were very close to me. That affected me, affected me in such a way 

that this is something I never told my family but I will tell you 

today because it will matter. I had two choices. To kill myself so 

I could go with my people or to speak up, because those died and 

I am the one left. I have done it and I have been doing it since. 

I wanted you to know that the world we live in is not really a 

perfect one and indeed, every one of us, Mr. Smith, a saying in Africa, that a tree called kasava. That tree does not have a seed. You 

have to cut it by piece and you put it in the ground. By the work 

that you have done, if you could be cut, right now I would cut you 

to pieces and plant you to multiply. 

Again, do your work. This world needs people like you and again, 

everyone who is hearing me today, take responsibility. Life is too 

short and once somebody’s life is taken, it is you now who can 

speak for that person. What happens after that, nothing. Justice 

has never been done for them. I went and talked to the UN. They 

have never done anything. I went and talked to Mr. Payne. I never 

heard anything since then. 

The government of Ethiopia has never arrested anybody and instead they arrested most of the Anuak men. Over 10,000 Anuak 

have gone to the Sudan. The word Sudan should say to you it is 

not a place to run. Until today, there are still there 5,000. I just 

came from there a couple of months ago and the conditions they 

live in are horrible. These people have been forgotten. Again, keep 

in mind they are groups who have been put on the endangered list. 

No one has done anything. Where is the international community? 

74

To be honest with you, the international community, I realize that 

it is me for my people. 

What could the Ethiopian Government have done? They appointed an inquiry, again by Commander Kinfe. Who is Commander Kinfe? The guy who is the right hand of Meles. Again they 

say that only 13 people were killed by the troops, six, and what 

happened? After that, those guys were the guys. I have them now 

with me. They were deserting Ethiopian soldiers. Most of them belong to the Oromo tribe. Please be the judge. 

After massive genocide, the Anuak today in Gambella, and this 

is the thing that I am going to stress, there is a report that is going 

to be released soon. There is an entire generation of Anuak children that are going uneducated. Before December 13, 2003, there 

were 136 schools. Right now, 27 are functioning. There were 119 

water wells. Five are functioning. There were 37 medical clinics. 

Two. In the Anuak District, people are allowed to go only twice a 

week. Over 2,000 Anuak men are in prison until today. 

These men were talking about the economic group, he was talking about improvement in Ethiopia. Really, we realized, what can 

we do? We thought that the international community abandoned us 

that we set up an International Justice Council to protect the right 

of the Anuak wherever we are, because now we know that our very 

survival is like the birds that are being listed. Even the panda bear 

in Washington had a baby. So to be honest with you, the report 

was whitewashed and we demand the international community to 

do something about it. U.S. Government, if they are supporting 

Meles just because they are relying on terror, change your mind. 

This guy is terrorizing his own people. 

If they think that he will change, a chameleon will change his 

color, but he will always be a chameleon. Most of the people who 

are teenagers, when they are having a meeting, there are lots of 

women and men. They say that you know what, once a cheater is 

a cheater. And for beauty, no one will ever say that I am a beauty, 

because the beauty is like a flower. Everyone knows how beautiful 

the flower is and you do not have someone to describe it. Ethiopians, who are they in Ethiopia are the ones who are living it and 

they know what is going on in Ethiopia. What the man who was 

sitting here was saying is not Ethiopia now. 

If I have a pen in my hat and I tell you I have a pen, would you 

listen to her or would you listen to me? Please, I wanted you to 

bear that in mind. You will never know how good the person is 

until you live with them in the same house. The Ethiopians should 

know and you should believe Ethiopians. 

To summarize my points, Anuak were killed on December 13, 

424 men, educated men. And the reason why I am here and talking, these men were killed because they were Anuak. I am Anuak. 

These men that were killed were educated. I am educated. These 

men were killed because they asked for political rights. I do ask. 

Again, if I was not in Gambella, my name would be on this list. 

I have 27 lists of those people who were killed and I have the pictures to back them up with. I am an Anuak, I survived. But again, 

Meles is running after the ones who are educated, because there 

is a saying in Africa, when you cut off the head of the snake, part 

of the snake is not dead. 

75

Most of you who are here right now, if you were in Ethiopia, you 

would be in jail. If you were in Gambella and you were Anuak, you 

would be dead. And this is the world that we live in. This is what 

is going on. So I do not want to make it very long, but again, justice has been denied for the Anuak. It has never been too late. 

Mr. Payne, I will tell you, I hope from now on we will work together. I met you on May 14, 2004. I never heard from you. I hope 

that you take this with you. You take those Anuak as your brothers. You take them as your neighbors. You take them, above all, 

because they are human beings. They cannot speak for themselves. 

We can speak for them. 

Again, thank you to come before you. Before I leave, my last remark, I am not an expert. I am saying this because my people were 

literally butchered in front of their families. Please read my statement entirely because you will know what is going on. We have 

been excluded and again, the example was here today. The whole 

time we were here, Mr. Smith was the only person who mentioned 

the word Anuak. Please, we are in the same world. We are in the 

same world and we should be there for each other. What I am asking for the Anuak, I would do it for the Amharas, I would do it for 

the Tigreans, I would do it for anyone who is a human being because my life is too short. I am here to protect others and other 

people will protect me. That is the point I want to leave with you. 

Again, the exclusion I am talking about within this bill we have 

nothing mentioned about the Anuak and I am not going to ask you 

what you would do about that. But the exclusion I am talking 

about, nothing has been mentioned there. There is a demand. 

Again, 2,000 Anuak are in prison today. Five thousand refugees are 

still in the Sudan and these people, again, we need not include 

them. For my Ethiopian brother behind me, please, again, accept 

me and I will open my hand and together we can make the place 

we are wanting to be a peaceful place. Thank you. 

[The statement by Mr. Metho follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MR. OBANG METHO, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL

ADVOCACY, ANUAK JUSTICE COUNCIL

‘‘THE ANUAK MASSACRE OF 2003: THE ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT ATTACKS AN ETHNIC

GROUP LISTED BY CULTURAL SURVIVAL IN 1984 AS ENDANGERED!’’

Mr. Chairman Smith, Chairman Leach, members of the subcommittees, 

Thank you for inviting me to testify on Ethiopia today. I would also like to thank 

you for organizing this hearing and your work over the years to bring a just, lasting 

peace in Ethiopia. I request that my statement be submitted into the record in its 

entirety. 

My remarks will focus on the massacred of 424 educated Anuak men and gross 

human rights abuses and repressive measures Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, and 

his ruling EPDRF have initiated in recent years, the considerable progress made by 

Ethiopia’s opposition despite these abuses, and on the positive potential impact of 

increased United States support for a democratic future for Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s May 

2005 elections highlight how far that country is from being a free and open multiparty democracy. 

My name is Obang Metho. I am an Anuak. I grew up in Gambella. I am not here 

as part of a political party. I am not here as an expert. I am here as a witness and 

human rights defender to speak up for the 424 educated Anuak who were massacred on December 13, 2003 and who can no longer speak up for themselves. I am 

here for the children who lost their fathers on that day. I am here as the voice of 

the woman who lost her husband or son and for the grandparent who lost their 

grandchild. I am here to speak for the families whose husbands, sons and fathers 

76

have been in prison for years with little hope of release. I am here for the four thousand Anuak refugees in Pochalla, Southern Sudan who still cannot return home. 

I am not here to speak about something I do not know, for I am one of these people. I grew up with it and it made me. They are my family members, my classmates, 

my friends and my people. 

The first time I encountered injustice by the government was twenty-five years 

ago when I was in fourth grade and was at school. I witnessed an Ethiopian police 

officer beat up an Anuak student just because he looked at him in the wrong way. 

I saw his blood and wondered why a government who was supposed to protect its 

people could do this? This image stuck with me. I grew up with it and made me 

want to defend the right. I am doing this now because of my people. I am doing 

this now because if I had been there during the massacre of the Anuak on December 

13, 2003,. I would have been one of the 424 killed. My name would have been on 

that list as I meet all the requirements. I am Anuak. I am educated and I would 

have been one of those to speak out. 

But, I am not only here today for the Anuak. I am here for the Tigrayans who 

disagree with their own government. I am here for the Oromo, the Somali, the Afar 

and for any in other ethnic groups throughout Ethiopia who have been oppressed. 

I am here for the Ethiopian woman whose son or daughter was shot dead on the 

streets of Addis Ababa after the national elections. I am here for the CUD leaders 

and young student protesters who have been taken away from their families and 

put in prisons and detainment centers. I am here for those courageous prisoners of 

conscience, languishing in prisons throughout Ethiopia. 

The voice you are hearing is not just my voice, but the voice of those crying for 

help. I hear their voices and am bringing them before you this day. The Prime Minister will deny what I am about to say. Who will you believe—these voices calling 

from the dark or his? I am speaking to each person on this committee. I ask you—

please listen to these voices as if they were coming from your own sons or daughters, as if they were coming from your neighbors and friends who are calling for 

help from freedom and peace loving people like yourself. Take these words with you 

and nurture them, not only for the Anuak and other Ethiopians, but also for any 

human oppressed in this world. These people want you to know what they have 

gone through and for you to do something about it! 

What’s Troubling Ethiopia? 

Ethiopia—a democracy? Prime Minister Meles Zenawi—a prime example of a new 

breed of African leaders? The current ruling party of the Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Republic Front (EPDRF)—too strategic to America’s War on Terror to chance 

anything different??? 

How about the charges of genocide against CUD party members? Or, what should 

one think about the tens of thousands of Ethiopians imprisoned for being anti-government? What should our response be to the May 15, 2005 national elections??? 

Was the current ruling party really elected? How about the violent aftermath of the 

elections, when student protesters and others were shot and killed by EPRDF 

troops—was this defensible? 

What about the Ethiopian people? Are they so hopelessly divided in ethnic conflict 

that they ‘‘need to be controlled’’ or chaos and killing, reminiscent of the Rwandan 

genocide, will erupt and spin out of control? Why were Ethiopians able to live in 

greater harmony under Mengistu than under Meles? What explains such widespread poverty and hardship under Meles despite the billions of international dollars being poured into the country? What explains the human rights abuses being 

reported amongst almost every ethnic group? 

Perhaps, the ‘‘golden glow’’ of progress and democratic governance in Ethiopia, 

along with the denial and repression of any information to the contrary, is simply 

a marketing strategy, adeptly and charmingly propelled in the public arena by the 

current chief broker, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. However, in order to know the 

truth, you might need to go elsewhere. Oftentimes, the larger truths can more easily 

be seen and understood in the microcosms of real life situations and people. 

The Case of the Anuak 

Repression, arrests and violence are well known to the Anuak of the Gambella 

region of southwestern Ethiopia. However, when this violence occurred openly in the 

national capital, it awakened the world to the real nature of this regime. It was a 

shocking indication of what had been going on in the rural areas of Ethiopia, beyond 

the penetrating eyes of the international observers. The killing of peaceful student 

protesters in Addis Ababa following the national election as well as the imprisonment of CUD opposition leaders on trumped up charges, have been methods of suppression and control used for years against the Anuak. 

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The EPDRF government of Prime Minister Meles and its regionally controlled implementers at the district level, have brutally repressed the Anuak using violence, 

imprisonment, loss of property, loss of government jobs and other such means of 

control as a way to silence Anuak who protested against the federal control over 

regional affairs or against blatant violations by the government of the basic human 

rights of the Anuak. Additionally, any Anuak who called for regional involvement 

in the decisions involving the extraction of the vast oil reserves in the area, were 

seen as ‘‘anti-government elements’’ needing to be punished. 

This ongoing undercurrent of oppression finally culminated in the December 2003 

massacre of 424 educated Anuak leaders. These ethnic atrocities were witnessed by 

countless others and the facts provide incontrovertible evidence of an ethnically 

based massacre by agents of the Zenawi regime. Acts of this scale, were previously 

unknown in Ethiopian culture. 

This genocide against the Anuak was incited and carried out by none other than 

the EPDRF Defense Force, Gambella Regional Police and the decision makers behind the scenes. Human Rights investigators have uncovered information indicating 

that members of the EPDRF cabinet were aware of and involved in this massacre. 

In fact, witnesses have revealed information about secret high level meetings in 

Addis Ababa, beginning in September of 2003, where the shameful plan was laid 

out for the removal of those Anuak who were standing in the way of the government’s plan to exploit the area of its vast natural resources, in particular, its oil. 

The oil rights to the area had already been given to Petronas of Malaysia who 

contracted with the subsidiary, the Chinese firm, Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration 

Bureau (ZPAEB) who was ready to set up the sites for drilling. At the same time 

of the massacre, Ethiopian government troops moved into Gambella to protect the 

oil company workers from any local resistance. It has been learned that part of the 

agreement with the oil company was that the government would have to pay 

$25,000,000 (US) should any oil worker be killed; thus requiring high levels of security so as to ensure that the Chinese and Malaysian workers would stay. When 

these workers travel outside their compound, no wonder why 20 to 30 EPDRF 

troops accompany one Chinese or Malaysian. 

Who are the Anuak? 

The Anuak are part of a small indigenous ethnic group numbering about 100,000 

worldwide, including me who is before you today. We have lived in the Upper Nile 

region of southwestern Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan for hundreds of years. Our 

name means, ‘‘people who share.’’

The Anuak were not originally an Ethiopian tribe, but in 1902, the British ‘‘accidentally’’ cut Anuak country into two or three parts, now dividing them between 

Sudan and Ethiopia. The Anuak from either side of the border, have had to flee to 

the other side in order to find safety as outside threats from the west, the civil war 

in Sudan, and now from the east, the current government of Ethiopia, have threatened their survival. 

In a January 2006 report by a branch of the UN, yet unreleased, it has been indicated that the Anuak people and their culture are threatened with the possibility 

of completely disappearing and may likely disappear from the Gambella region in 

the next 10–15 years unless immediate and substantive intervention is made on 

their behalf by the international community. Even twenty years ago, in 1984, a US 

based organization called Cultural Survival, identified the Anuak as being an endangered people group. The continuing atrocities and manmade humanitarian crisis 

over the last two years, severely worsens their prospects for survival. 

The Anuak and others, who live in the area, are considered different from other 

Ethiopians. They are black Africans as opposed to most other Ethiopians, called 

‘‘highlanders’’, who were of lighter color. The Anuak are ethnically, culturally, linguistically, historically and religiously different from most other Ethiopians. Their 

indigenous land is totally different from anywhere else in the country in both climate and geography. The Gambella region is hot and tropical with rich, fertile, wellwatered soil coming from the rivers originating in the mountains of the highlands 

where there is a much cooler, dryer climate. The difference in geography has separated Ethiopians into distinctive categories of ‘‘lowlanders’’, such as the Anuak and 

other indigenous groups in the area, as opposed to the ‘‘highlanders’’ who comprise 

the vast majority of the population of Ethiopia, such as Amharas, Oromos, 

Tigrayans and others. 

It is believed that the central government does not consider the Anuaks to be 

‘‘true Ethiopians’’, but does value the vast resources that exist in the area. As a result, the Anuak and other indigenous people from this area have significantly less 

access to basic services such as clean water, health care and education. However, 

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until more recently, the Anuak have lived in harmony with highlanders who have 

resettled in this area, even intermarrying with them. 

Historically, this area has always been marginalized since the British leased this 

area to Ethiopia on October 15, 1956. During the time of Mengistu, the Anuak were 

mainly valued as fighters, resulting in hundreds of young men, as young as fourteen 

or fifteen, being forcibly taken from their school classrooms in order to fight in a 

war against Eritrea. Most never returned. Others returned without legs and with 

other severe injuries, but were never compensated. Meles repeated this during the 

war with Eritrea in 1998. The Anuak became convinced that their only value to this 

government was to be exploited as a commodity of war. Now the ruling government 

has taken it further. They are killing Anuak in order to gain access to their land, 

oil and untapped resources. 

The Anuak Massacre of December 13, 2003

Over two years ago, on the morning of December 13, 2003, unknown assailants 

ambushed a vehicle 20 K away from Gambella town, killing nine persons, including 

an Anuak driver. Without investigation, the Anuak were immediately blamed for 

the killings. Testimony from a highlander police officer, present at the site, revealed 

that offers to pursue possible assailants into the bush were rejected. Instead, 

Tadessa Selassie, Chief of the Gambella Police and Major Tsegaye Beyene, the 

EPDRF Defense Force Commander, ordered them to mutilate the bodies. 

Okello Ochalla, the former governor of Gambella at the time, reported that Major 

Tsegaye Beyene and Tadessa Haile Selassie then brought the dead bodies of the ambushed refugee workers to the regional government office, looking for Governor 

Okello. When Okello was not there, they waited about twenty-five minutes until in 

apparent frustration; Selassie shot three bullets into the wall of the regional government cafeteria. Witnesses reported that Selassie then told them that Governor 

Okello was going to have to bring these highlander corpses back to life. He then 

went to the police station where he left the bodies in the car while he met with 

other highlander police who would later be involved in the massacre. 

The mutilated bodies, with the exception of the Anuak driver, were then displayed 

in front of the regional hospital. Within a very short time, many converged on the 

location; federal troops in their vehicles, including the federal commander of the 

forces, as well as highlanders, prepared with machetes and other weapons in their 

hands. Nearly 250 people came. One highlander businessman brought two bags full 

of machetes to the scene. As highlander women cried for the dead, witnesses report 

that Chief Selassie and Major Beyene were openly and loudly laughing. Finally, the 

commander shot into the air and said, ‘‘That’s it! Go!’’ At this point, the people dispersed to various areas of Gambella town and the massacre began. 

Tadessa Selassie, the defense forces, other police officers and some highlander civilians choosing to join, went to the Omininga area of Gambella where most Anuak 

lived. These Ethiopian Defense troops, police and highlander militia groups then 

went home to home in Gambella town, pulling out Anuak men from their homes. 

One of the first on the list was a devout middle-aged pastor, Okwier Oletho, 

whose church was growing in the community and also the father of my sister-inlaw who I have known since I was a child. His wife was returning from visiting a 

sick relative when soldiers and highlander militia came to his home during a prayer 

meeting. After they set his hut on fire, he jumped out a window. As he ran he was 

hacked and mutilated with the highlander’s machetes before being shot in the back 

by Ethiopian soldiers in uniform. His wife witnessed his death along with the death 

of other male relatives and attendees of the prayer meeting. Choir members at the 

church were also killed that day. Human Rights Watch gives further details of his 

death in their report. Please see http://hrw.org/reports/2005/ethiopia0305/ . 

When she was told this past week about the opportunity to present the case of 

the Anuak genocide at this congressional hearing, she could not speak. She finally 

explained :

I’m crying. This is the beginning of a long journey to justice. My people and 

I who have lost our husbands and loved ones on December 13 and after, have 

been weeping in the dark with no one seeming to hear. Someone has finally 

heard our voices coming from the dark and will now know how my husband was 

axed with machetes and clubbed into pieces in front of me. Now that they have 

heard it, they will make sure it will not happen to another woman’s husband. 

My husband was a pastor who knew and loved God. This is what he would 

want—to teach people to not do this kind of cruel thing to another human 

being—to love each other—to be one of the people to stop this kind of thing!

As the killing went on in an orgy of violence, Ethiopian soldiers stood by, cheering 

and laughing with members of the highlander militias, as these civilian militias 

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brutally hacked the Anuak victims with machetes in front of their mothers, wives 

and children. As the victims attempted to run, the troops then shot and killed them 

in their backs. 

Mary, a young mother with a baby, witnessed her husband’s death. She reports:

On December 13, 2003, my husband, who worked for the regional government 

was killed. He was one of first men to be killed. He was a well-educated man 

and openly opposed the Ethiopian government’s policy of taking over control of 

the local government from the local people. He had brought attention to the fact 

that the government was not following the Ethiopian Constitution in this matter. 

I remember first hearing the sounds of gunfire starting about 12:45 in the 

afternoon, when the shooting started in front of the regional hospital in 

Gambella town. My husband and I heard from others that they were killing 

Anuak men so my husband and I quickly went inside our house. Almost immediately, I heard the sounds of approaching Ethiopian defense soldiers walking 

towards our house yelling, ‘Kill them!’ ‘Whenever you find an Anuak man, kill 

him.’ ‘Today is the day for killing Anuak.’ All of us heard it. My husband wanted to get out of the house and face them, but I pushed him back and blocked 

the door so he could not leave. 

The troops came inside our fence...and set the house on fire. They began to 

repeatedly shoot at the house. My six-month-old baby started choking on the 

smoke because it was so thick we could not breathe. I held my baby as I 

crawled down low through the door to the outside of the house. 

The troops started shooting inside the smoke filled open door and my husband was shot in the stomach, chest and right arm, but he did not die. He kept 

telling me, ‘Mary, go!’ ‘Go with the baby!’ ‘Let them kill me!’ After my husband 

was injured, I jumped on top of him to protect him while I was still holding 

the baby with my other arm. I begged them to please not kill my husband. A 

highlander then grabbed me and pulled me off of him and made my husband 

stand up. I heard my husband say, ‘Just kill me!’ I was screaming and the baby 

was crying. They started beating me with the barrel of their guns on my back 

and on my head. One of defense forces said, ‘You say this is your land? After 

today, there will not be any more Anuak or Anuak land!’ He pointed his finger 

at me and demanded, ‘Shut up! Just wait and see! Today we will do to you what 

was done to the Jews during the holocaust!’

Eight soldiers were around my husband—repeatedly hitting him. He kept 

saying, ‘Please shoot me.’ The soldiers stopped for a minute and then highlander militia started hitting him on the head with machetes and clubs. As he 

tried to defend himself with his hands, three militiamen then slashed him with 

machetes on his head, neck and face. They repeatedly hit him with a large club 

on his forehead and face until his face was smashed. He finally fell down, face 

forward towards me. Another highlander then hit him on his temple. He opened 

his eyes a bit and closed them again before his body started jumping. I stopped 

crying because I could not believe what was happening. I was numb. Then they 

all left me, alone with my husband and baby. 

I went to my husband. As I was holding him and my baby, an older Anuak 

woman came to me along with two boys, one nine and the other twelve. My husband was opening and closing his mouth. I could hardly recognize him as his 

face was so bloody and his nose was missing. My husband’s body started jumping. When the soldiers saw the Anuak boys and woman come, they came running back shouting, ‘Kill them! Kill them!’ The old woman grabbed my baby and 

my hand and started running with us. My only comfort is my husband died before I ran away. I never saw him again. I don’t know where his body is. The 

Ethiopian army did something I will never forget. How could a human being 

do this to another?

Women and young girls were raped, at times in front of the men before they were 

killed, while the perpetrators taunted them with the slogan, ‘Today is the day for 

killing Anuak,’ and telling the victims of rape, ‘Now you won’t have Anuak babies.’ 

They then set their homes and crops on fire, leaving countless widows, children and 

elders with almost no means of support. 

One Anuak woman told the AJC that when she recently saw Saddam Hussein in 

Court on CNN, that it strangely gave her hope. Two years ago, she witnessed her 

husband killed in front of her on December 13, 2003 by Ethiopian defense troops 

and highlander militia. Several days later, she was raped by seven Ethiopian defense troops, carrying their uniforms on their arms. They took turns with her, raping her for four hours.

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She states, ‘‘They ripped me apart. I will never be the same. When I look at 

myself, I think of myself as ‘dirty.’ I feel helpless. I am not going to forget these 

people. What the Ethiopian troops have done to me is what some people call 

‘crimes against humanity’. They say these people could be brought to court, not 

today, but in some years. Now when I see Saddam on TV, someone who was 

at the top of the government, being held responsible for what his government 

did, it gives me hope. 

Meles was the one who gave these men the authority to do this. He is not 

less accountable than those men who did it. Those men may disappear, but 

their leader will never disappear. He will be tracked down and found wherever 

he goes, like the African snake that leaves its trail of dirt for you to follow. 

There may be many holes nearby, but as long as there is dirt on the ground, 

the trail of the vicious snake will identify which hole he is in. We, the Anuak, 

who have survived this unthinkable evil attack, will be like the dust that shows 

the trail of the snake through Anuakland. There will always be one of us who 

will be able to tell the tale of those who did not make it, to those who will carry 

on.

The highlander militias, police and Ethiopian Defense troops roamed the streets, 

looking for any men, young or old, which they then viciously attacked. Between two 

and three thousand Anuak took refuge in the Mekane Yesu Church compound and 

the Catholic Church compound that was run by westerners. Many highlanders, 

Nuer and other ethnic groups did not participate. Some were real heroes, warning 

Anuak, hiding them in their homes and standing up for them as friends or fellow 

human beings. A Tigrayan highlander was recently interviewed by the AJC. He and 

his Tigrayan neighbors were some distance away where the killing took place, but 

for hours, they could hear the gunshots, the screams from the victims and see the 

smoke from the burning Anuak huts. He reports:

About four hours after it started, we saw two Anuak men in their late 

twenties running into the Tigrayan area, being chased by highlander civilians 

with machetes and clubs. I ran to them, telling them to quickly come to my 

house. I then looked for something sharp with which to defend myself and found 

an axe. My neighbors joined me, backing me up. When the civilians arrived, I 

said I would not allow them to kill any human being! I told them, ‘Leave, or 

you will have to kill me first.’ They stood there until the police came with guns 

and asked where the Anuak were. I said they were in my house with my wife 

and my children and that they would have to kill me first! I told them, ‘I was 

a Tigrayan during the time of Mengistu. My family members were taken away 

and never seen again. I was taken away from my land and was displaced in 

Gambella. Now this is my home. Because of this treatment done to me and to 

my family, I will never allow it to be done to anyone else. I was oppressed because of people like you! Being a Tigrayan, we were singled out as a government enemy by our own government. We were stopped for no reason, interrogated, beaten up or killed. I know what it is like and I will not allow it even 

if Tigrayans are in charge. I would rather choose to be killed than to be part 

of it or it will never end.’ I was ready for the police to kill me, but they did 

not. They left.

In less than three days, at least four hundred and twenty four persons were 

slaughtered in a well-calculated plan utilizing a prepared list of the names of educated Anuak men and leaders. As the killing subsided, men from other indigenous 

ethnic groups were forced to collect the bodies. A Nuer man gave the following testimony to the AJC. He reported:

Some of us Nuer were forced to collect bodies of the dead Anuak. In front of 

the Gambella Secondary School, we picked up the bodies four or five Anuak 

men. One man’s whole face was smashed, his right arm was broken in about 

five places. I knew he tried to defend himself. His face, nose and upper and 

lower jaw were missing. My body started shaking. Another man had fallen on 

his back and I could see his face. He was still talking, quietly asking me, ‘Please 

help me—please help me.’ I didn’t know what to do. 

One of the defense troops asked me what was wrong. I told him that this one 

was still alive. He told me to put him in the truck. I couldn’t look in the face 

of the dying man. As I carried him, he opened his eyes and said, ‘Please help 

me or kill me.’ He then closed his eyes and died. 

That minute, my body stopped feeling. I had no more emotion. I felt like I 

was collecting rocks—not human beings. I stopped feeling like I was one myself. 

My hands worked like a machine, but it was like I was not there. There were 

about twenty bodies piled on top of each other and we were told to take two 

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more bodies into the truck before unloading it outside the town. I took a breath 

and saw blood pouring down from the truck as it started to move. I looked in 

the back of the truck and the bodies were going in all directions. I realized 

these Anuak had been alive four or five hours before and now looked like fish 

in the back of a canoe. With all the human blood on me, I smelled like one of 

those fish. I could hear gunshots and knew more Anuak were being killed. I will 

never be the same person anymore. I cannot go on like this. 

We, the Anuak and Nuer, have been fighting for many years, but we never 

have killed each other in this way. Now, like it or not, I have become part of 

it. I cried for some time before going to the river to wash off the blood. I then 

went back to my family. I have never told them what I did. You are the first 

person I have ever told. I do not want to remember. Sometimes I wish I were 

one of those guys in the truck. Why? Because those guys will never remember, 

but I am here and I am dying every day. I don’t know why human beings do 

these things. Thank you for wanting to know. If others want to know so they 

can help stop this from happening to others, it gives me the reason why I remained behind instead of being one of those guys in the truck who can no 

longer speak.

Many bodies were never identified and were buried in one of three mass graves. 

The exact locations are unknown although it is known that the bodies were subsequently moved from one of these mass graves and burned on February 4, 2004. Most 

of the bodies have never been returned to their families for a proper burial. Although the government alleges that only 65 persons were killed, we have the names, 

ages and pictures of most every one of the 424 victims. 

Similar actions were taken by Ethiopian troops in many of the rural towns in the 

Gambella district, causing many more victims and much more destruction of homes, 

crops, property and granaries. In addition to those killed in Gambella town, it is 

estimated that over fifteen hundred more people have been killed since that time. 

Preceding and following the incident, over a thousand other Anuak were arrested, 

imprisoned without charges and tortured. The sick have been denied medical treatment. Two years later, thousands of Anuak men and some women still remain in 

crowded and unhealthy conditions in prison, many still subject to torture. Their 

court cases are continually delayed for ‘‘another six months’’ despite most never 

being charged a crime and essentially being innocent prisoners of conscience. The 

Ethiopian government reports 111 Anuak as being incarcerated; however, the AJC 

has obtained only a partial list of names and that list includes well over 800 persons. 

Nearly ten thousand Anuak fled to Sudan for refuge. Approximately four thousand remain today, afraid to go back home, as it is still unsafe. Many who have 

returned, have been arrested or killed. Therefore, they remain in the refugee camp 

where they are living in horrible conditions, without clean water, adequate food, 

education for their children and any health services. Others have been internally 

displaced and as they have slowly returned home, they face hardship and conditions 

they had not seen for fifty years. 

Anuak men and some women continue to be subject to harassment, arbitrary arrests, beatings, detentions and extra judicial killings. Rape of Anuak women remains widespread, and while it is greatly unquantifiable, human rights investigators have concluded that Anuak women throughout the region have almost universally suffered from this crime against their person by Ethiopian Defense Troops. 

During the last two years, human rights violations were committed against the 

Anuak by the same government who was supposed to defend them. It is the worst 

kind of betrayal—like a child who is killed by his own father. As typical in a culture 

where citizens are terrorized, some Anuak colluded with the central government, 

gaining access to power, protection and privilege. Others became increasingly passive, losing hope of a better future. Some escaped, leaving for Sudan and Kenya, 

until stability returns to the area. Understandably, as political expression led to intimidation, imprisonment and death, some Anuak decided to join resistance movements, attempting to defend themselves, their families and their endangered fellow 

Anuak. 

The extent of the genocide probably could have been reduced had the Anuak not 

been disarmed by the government, leaving them unable to defend themselves. The 

goal of most of these resisters is in reaction to this and has been an attempt to bring 

a halt to the continuing extra judicial killings, beatings and rape. 

However, unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, some scattered rogue groups of 

Anuak have gone beyond defending themselves, retaliating in pent up anger against 

some innocent highlander citizens and fellow Anuak who have collaborated with the 

government. In response, Ethiopian Defense Troops have arrested, beaten or killed 

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Anuak farmers or other easily found, but innocent Anuak targets. In fact, even before the massacre, it had been common practice for the government controlled police 

or military to go into villages where suspected assailants were thought to be hiding, 

and for them to randomly kill uninvolved Anuak men, women and children. 

Other Anuak are trusting that God will ultimately provide justice for their loved 

ones. An elder woman reported to the AJC:

‘‘It is God who is giving me hope and strength to remain here and watch over 

the graves of my two sons, my grandson, my son-in-law and my nephew. We 

have nothing left. I am an elder and I am not going to run from death anymore, 

but will be a witness to those who want to ask about them. I have no hope in 

finding justice for them except that I have a very strong hope in God. It is He 

who is giving me the assurance that justice will be done. This is what allows 

me to carry on despite this unthinkable thing that the Ethiopian government 

has done to me and to my people. Like a person who plants a crop in their yard, 

they will not forget to water it. Like a mother who gives birth to a child, she 

will not fail to nurture, protect and raise their child to be a respectful human 

being. But there is someone who is far more loving and powerful than any of 

these and who will never forget to nurture the Anuak and that is God.’’

The Ethiopian Government’s Plan: ‘‘Operation Sunny Mountain’’

Almost simultaneously with the beginning of the human rights abuses, an oil company from China, Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau (ZPAEB) began working in the Gambella area to set up extraction of oil reserves that are purported to 

be of major size, perhaps even exceeding those in southern Sudan. The Ethiopian 

government gave the Gambella oil rights to Petronas of Malaysia. Petronas then 

sub-contracted with ZPAEB. It is in this backdrop that these human rights atrocities began and continue today. 

Information uncovered by human rights investigators indicate that these crimes 

were part of a government-instigated plan with an actual name, Operation Sunny 

Mountain, with the objective of eliminating any resistance to federal government 

control over the vast natural resources found on the indigenous tribal land of the 

Anuak, particularly the oil. 

Since the initial genocide, the Ethiopian military has continued to perpetrate 

these crimes against the Anuak with impunity. Human Rights Watch released a report on March 24, 2005 that documents systematic and widespread atrocities committed against the Anuak by Ethiopian Defense Forces, Gambella Regional Police 

and some highlander militia groups. In their report, HRW indicates that these acts 

meet the stringent definition of crimes against humanity. (Please see http://

www.anuakjustice.org ). 

Oil Development in the Gambella Area 

The Chinese Petroleum Company, Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau 

(ZPAEB), contracted by Petronas, the Malaysian company, will start drilling the 

first exploratory well in the Gambella concession in February 2006 now that the 

major operation has been set up. The Ethiopian government signed an agreement 

to explore and develop the oil reserves in Gambella. Reports indicate that they are 

on or ahead of schedule and should complete the first well within the dry season 

ending in May. As donor countries threaten to withdraw their funding to Ethiopia, 

profits from the oil could supplement what is lost, weakening the effect of this financial pressure. 

Ethiopian defense troops are returning to the Gambella area in order to ‘‘ensure 

stability’’ during this process. With the return of the troops, Anuak fear the return 

of the daily killings, rape, harassment, torture and disappearances of Anuak who 

simply are involved in the basic chores of their lives, but are found by troops in the 

wrong place and at the wrong time. 

The government and the oil company have essentially pushed the Anuak aside 

and moved onto land previously considered to be the indigenous tribal land of the 

Anuak. Ethiopian troops have turned local Anuak farmers into ‘‘slave-laborers’’ as 

they are forced to build and to set up their military camps to protect the Chinese 

and Malaysian workers. The Anuak farmers receive no remuneration despite the 

fact that this is the time of year when the farmers would have been preparing their 

land for the planting their crops. These camps have amenities such as electricity 

and clean water, while a parallel economy exists in nearby Anuak villages, where 

there are no such advantages. 

As Anuak see the central government in Addis working directly with the oil company, making all the decisions regarding the oil without any consultation with regional authorities, in violation of international and Ethiopian law, they are realizing 

83

that they will never have a share in any of the benefits of this resource unless substantive action is taken. 

Aftermath of the Genocide: 

The Ethiopian Defense Troops left a trail of destruction that has wreaked havoc 

on the already limited infrastructure of the Anuak community. Many Anuak say it 

is as if the progress made over the past years by community members, development 

organizations, churches and other contributors, has essentially disappeared. They 

are forced to live under conditions reminiscent of life under Emperor Haile Selassie. 

In addition, in most Anuak districts, freedom of movement is restricted by the Ethiopian government to two days per week, on Mondays and Fridays. 

A primary loss was access to clean water. Before December 2003, there were 119 

water wells in Anuak areas. Currently only five wells are in working condition. 

Previously, there were 136 schools in operation in Anuak areas, now there are 27. 

The Anuak rates of school attendance in the Gambella region show that fewer than 

8% of Anuak boys and 4% of Anuak girls are attending school in two Anuak districts. The attendance rate of children from other ethnic groups in the area is much 

greater, being 50% for boys and 30% for girls. The same report previously mentioned that was completed but not released by a UN entity, warns that an entire 

generation of Anuak children are going without an education. 

A recent visitor to the area viewed some of the vacated Anuak schools. In plain 

view inside these schools were piles of charred hardware from the desks, tables and 

chairs that had been used as firewood by Ethiopian troops who had occupied the 

schools, using them for barracks. Nothing of any value was left in these schools, including books and supplies. 

Due to ongoing human rights abuses in the rural areas, many of the schools in 

operation have few or poorly trained teachers, as many of the teachers were targets 

of the massacre. Of those who lived, a majority either escaped to Sudan following 

the genocide or since that time, have moved to Gambella town where they are safer 

and not subject to arbitrary killings and arrests. Gambella, as the largest town in 

the region, is in the public eye and therefore is safer. The government has deceptively used the relatively better conditions and stability in Gambella as their proof 

to outsiders of the stability in the area. 

Ethiopian troops also took over health clinics, again using them as barracks. Previously, 22 health clinics were functioning, now there are only 7 left. Most of the 

clinics have no supplies, medication or equipment left. 

Malnutrition is a continuing major crisis. Anuak in one of the three refugee camps 

in the region have suffered disproportionately in comparison with other refugee populations. Within the internally displaced Anuak population in the refugee camp, the 

rate of acute malnutrition earlier in the year has been estimated to be 36.5% and 

continuing to rise. (Acute malnutrition in children under five years of age is 11% 

in Ethiopia.) This is astonishing considering that the Anuak have most always been 

able to support themselves due to their fertile land. 

The rates of malnutrition outside the camps, in the rural communities, may be 

even higher due to Ethiopian Defense force interference with farmers. Rates of disease, malnutrition and susceptibility to disease, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis 

and malaria are extremely serious. According to one medical official, the prevalence 

of TB amongst the Anuak is eight times what is considered to be an epidemic. 

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS amongst the Anuak of the Gambella region is over 

19%, whereas the rate in Ethiopia is much lower. Due to the widespread incidence 

of rape of Anuak women, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS will certainly increase. In addition, many of the women have untreated sexually transmitted diseases due to the 

lack of health services in the area. 

Anuak Justice Council 

The Anuak realized that they had to take action to protect their small and endangered ethnic group. As a result, the Anuak Justice Council (AJC) was formed for 

this purpose. It is an umbrella organization for Anuak that formed following the 

genocide and crimes against humanity. The AJC’s goal is to find a non-violent solution to the widespread human rights crimes being perpetrated against the Anuak 

in the Gambella region of Ethiopia by Ethiopian Defense Forces. The AJC’s approach to restoring peace, justice and the rule of law to this area is by means of 

international advocacy. The AJC is a non-profit, non-political organization representing Anuaks in Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and in the Diaspora. 

The AJC cannot protect the Anuak and save them from extinction without help 

from the international community and policy makers such as you. Please join with 

the AJC to work towards procuring justice and peace for the Anuak so they can live 

in harmony with the rest of Ethiopia and the global community. 

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Reasons why justice for the Anuak of Ethiopia cannot be found 

Those who were involved in the planning of the massacre of the Anuak and the 

continued repression of the Anuaks in Gambella are currently in high-level positions 

within the federal government of the EPDRF. In the Gambella region, these federal 

leaders continue to exert nearly total control over regional matters through the use 

of handpicked pro-government sympathizers from the various ethnic groups, including the Anuak. Omot Obang Olom was one of these who collaborated with the Minister of Federal Affairs, Abay Tsehaye, the Minister of Federal Security, Barnabas 

Gebre-ab and the Head of Security for the Gambella Regional State, Almaw 

Alemeraw in planning the massacre. It is well known that it was he who provided 

the list of educated Anuak leaders who disagreed with the ruling party’s plans for 

the region prior to the incident. He was just recently (September 2005), in a reportedly rigged election, given the position of governor of the Gambella region. 

Human rights investigations and local witnesses indicate that Barnabas Gebreab and Almaw Alemeraw were so heavily involved in the massacre and cover up 

that they are referred to by some as the ‘‘Ministers of Genocide.’’ Alemeraw continues to be the power behind the current regional government in the Gambella region. He actually ran the region from the time of the massacre until September of 

2005. 

Gebre-ab was transferred to another position within the government, possibly due 

to being repeatedly mentioned by witnesses in the human rights investigations. 

These men were also allegedly repeatedly involved as the two masterminds in fomenting ethnic conflict between the Anuak, the Nuer, the Majenger and the highlanders. They reportedly justified the assumption of increasing levels of power in 

the region as they instigated the instability. 

On January 28, 2004, the US Ambassador to Ethiopia, Aurelia Brazeal, held a 

special private meeting in Gambella with some Anuak, Nuer and highlanders where 

they felt empowered to speak the truth. Ambassador Brazeal later issued a public 

statement urging the Ethiopian government to ‘‘bring the perpetrators of these 

crimes to justice, wherever they are found, even from the highest offices.’’ She called 

the Gambella region, with its vast natural resources, ‘‘the conscience of Ethiopia’’ 

after she learned that the Ethiopian government had realized that the fastest route 

to economic prosperity was from the untapped natural resources in the area. 

Following the Ambassador’s public statement, Tadessa Selassie, the Chief of Police in Gambella, and an active organizer of the massacre was arrested since witnesses repeatedly mentioned him in the meetings. However, shortly thereafter, he 

was released and has now resumed his job as the current chief of police of the entire 

Gambella region.. 

It was also then that six innocent men from within the ranks of the Ethiopian 

Defense Force, were arrested. However, information has been received that they 

were not even stationed in Gambella until months after the massacre. 

Over two years later, not even one of the perpetrators of these ‘‘Crimes Against 

Humanity’’ has been held accountable. A Gambella police officer, from another ethnic group, was asked how many people had been arrested from the many who had 

been involved in the killing of the Anuak. He said, ‘‘None, one hundred percent were 

never arrested. The only people arrested are the people who had nothing to do with 

the killings!’’

Anuak have been threatened and intimidated to not reveal the identity of the real 

perpetrators even though some are living nearby or even next door to the perpetrators of these crimes. Some highlanders are taunting the Anuak saying, ‘We killed 

you like dogs! It’s been two years now. What have you done?’ In other words, you 

thought you would find justice, but the government is still here and so are we! 

The Ethiopian government’s investigation—a whitewashed report! 

When an Ethiopian parliamentarian presented a bill to Parliament asking for a 

government inquiry into the massacre of December 13, the Speaker of the House 

rejected it before it was heard, indicating it was senseless to vote on it because the 

Ethiopian defense forces were not involved and instead, it was another incident of 

ethnic conflict between the Anuak and Nuer over the land. 

However, when the Ethiopian government continued to receive significant pressure from the international community and when foreign aid was linked to completing an independent investigation, the executive branch of the government of 

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, finally appointed their own commission, without ever 

bringing it before the Parliament. The head of this commission was the head of the 

Supreme Court, Kemal Bedri. It is not surprising that he was also appointed to be 

the Chairman of the Electoral Board during the May 2005 national election. 

The report is full of flaws, inconsistencies and lacks detail. In addition, reports 

from participants and witnesses to the interviews indicate that the commission 

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closely controlled and suppressed information from eyewitnesses of the massacre. A 

full international investigation is necessary, as this report is so biased that it is useless in establishing the facts and in holding anyone accountable for the crimes. 

The Commission’s report bases the cause of the massacre as ethnic violence between the Anuak and the Nuer, accusing them of vying for political power and resources in the region. It then refers back to ethnic incidents in 1995 and 1996. It 

does not address on what basis they purport that the massacre was ethnic violence 

when all of the victims were Anuak, not Nuer. 

Ethnic conflicts have occurred between the Anuak and the Nuer. These conflicts 

usually occurred as the pastoral Nuer moved into the traditional land of the Anuak, 

looking for more land for their cattle from the Anuak who are mainly farmers. However, these conflicts were usually settled according to their cultural traditional ways 

until the EPDRF government became adept at fomenting conflict between them. 

They perfected this approach through utilizing preferential treatment in services 

and opportunities, through resettlement practices that encroached on established 

Anuak land, by ignoring or punishing legitimate complainants and by disarming the 

Anuak and conversely, supplying guns to the Nuer or others that were ultimately 

used against the Anuak with impunity. 

As the Anuak stood up for their constitutional rights, they were intimidated, arrested or oppressed. The government usually found indirect means and trumped up 

reasons to justify this repression of legitimate self-determination. In fact, we purport that the Ethiopian government was the main contributor to the ongoing strife 

in the region prior to December 13, 2003, which then gave them an excuse for taking increasing control of the region. 

It is appalling that even though the report does admit that some police, highlander militias and defense troops were involved, none of these have been held accountable. Instead, in their list of perpetrators being held on charges, most all of 

them are Anuak even though none of the witnesses in their own report ever accuses 

an Anuak in their statements. In the conclusion of their report, they indicate that 

the cause of the Anuak massacre are the Anuak and that the heroes of the incident 

were the defense forces, with the exclusion of the few who they report killed thirteen 

persons. This report from the Commission of Inquiry does not meet even minimum 

international standards for investigative practice. 

Has Ethiopia become a ‘‘Vampire State?’’

Manmade destruction can tear down years of work towards the development of 

the area. We can see the poverty and hardship amongst people who usually can provide for themselves through their own hard work. We can see how denying food, 

health care, clean water and education has and is being used to oppress these people and further jeopardize their lives—in a passive form of genocide. Under this 

backdrop, providing humanitarian need becomes a huge black hole unless the manmade source of the problem is confronted. 

George Ayittey, a highly respected African economist from American University 

in Washington DC, convincingly points out that the corruption by governmental 

leaders of what he calls ‘‘vampire states’’, has created a climate where investment 

and development cannot take place because their leaders’ own objectives, of exploiting the people and resources for their own power and gain, lead to taking over and 

subverting every key institution of government in order to serve their own interests. 

He states in his article, ‘‘Down and Out! Who Broke Africa?’’ that they have their 

hands so steeped in blood and their pockets so full of booty that they are afraid that 

all their past gory misdeeds will be exposed if they are removed from office, so they 

cling to power at all costs, implementing only the barest minimum cosmetic reforms 

that would ensure continued flow of Western aid.’’

Ethiopian Justice System: A Judge’s Testimony 

A judge interviewed by the AJC gave the following testimony:

‘‘You ask if there is justice in Ethiopia and my answer to you is, none. Even 

in the wild jungle there is more justice than what we have here! There is no 

name for what we have! The bylaws and articles we have in the Constitution 

are meaningless. We have been ordered like dogs, to go do one thing, and then 

we are ordered to do the opposite—all the time. The federal system interferes 

all the way, even to the district level.’’

‘‘I am giving this testimony because I am sick of living with this kind of justice. I breathe it each morning and day and it is haunting me down! Maybe by 

getting this out today, if I die tomorrow, I will feel I have contributed to bringing justice to these people who are not guilty of anything but being an Anuak.’’

‘‘I went to law school as a young man, thinking I would try to stand up for 

those people who have no voice—to fairly judge based on my conscience that my 

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family taught me; to live on a good moral base that respects humanity! What 

I am now instructed to do now, is not what I was instructed to do when I 

began!’’

‘‘Justice for those who were massacred on December 13th, will not prevail unless an independent body investigates who ordered the killing, who participated 

in the decision and who carried out the actual killing of the people! It must be 

handed over to an independent justice system who will carefully analyze it, 

bring it to court and in a fair trial, let them who did these crimes, be found 

guilty and put it all to an end!’’

‘‘It is only then that people can heal from their pain and reconcile with each 

other. This is not possible in Ethiopia as long as this government is here. What 

is happening in Gambella is happening all over Ethiopia! Having hope in finding justice in Ethiopia is useless! Justice only applies to those who have a political position.’’

‘‘Since December 13th, every day I have been feeling what Socrates said, ‘that 

a life not examined is not worth living.’ Since that, I have examined my own 

life and realized what is wrong, but I have had no way of correcting or changing 

it. I am doing what I am doing to support my family and sometimes when I 

think about it, it is no different than stealing money to support my family. This 

is what I deal with—even my own wife does not know!’’

‘‘I am giving this information because it may bring justice beyond my bench 

and court. I have been a prisoner of this bench and of my own thoughts! My 

own mind is a prison! This will release me! What I am saying may cost me my 

own life, but it will enrich other people’s lives who will not be haunted by their 

own thoughts as I am.’’

‘‘I hope it will do justice wherever it reaches. If I speak up or refuse to do 

what I am instructed, I will end up behind bars like those imprisoned across 

the country. I will leave it to God! My only hope is that the end is not far away 

and that justice will come to Ethiopia!’’

Why is it imperative that the US take immediate action? 

The current government of the EPDRF has been in power for more than 14 years. 

During much of this time, they have been actively involved in violations of the 

human rights of its subjects, particularly in the rural areas, such as in Gambella, 

where disempowered and silenced people are on land endowed with natural resources. Since May 2005, the repressive nature of this regime intensified not only 

in the rural areas, but also in the capital city of Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian people 

are now being exposed to barbaric and arbitrary killings, torture and mass incarceration on an incredible scale. 

US military aid is being used against Ethiopian citizens as a means of prolonging 

the life of this regime. Consequently, the suffering of the intended beneficiaries of 

the aid is also being prolonged. American taxpayers should protest having paid for 

the US military aid to Ethiopia that funded the purchase of American made weapons used in the killing of innocent Anuak in the genocide of December 2003. Evidence of that was found in the area. Despite Prime Minister Meles’ public statement 

calling the large scale genocide ‘‘fiction,’’ US Marines saw evidence to the contrary. 

Three days after the massacre began; they rescued US citizens from Gambella. 

They could see smoldering huts, still burning after being set on fire. They could see 

bloodstains on the streets of Gambella. They heard the testimony from US citizens 

who had directly witnessed the killings. 

Ethiopia is considered to be strategic to the US in its fight against terrorism, but 

our ‘‘partner’’ may not be whom we expected. The government of the EPDRF can 

be best known by their actions. Instead of being partners in stabilizing the Horn 

of Africa, they are a government deeply entrenched in the use of terroristic tactics 

of oppression against their own citizens, accomplished in manipulating the truth to 

cover up for it and in hanging on to power lest they ever be held accountable. The 

question is, how long will the Ethiopian people put up with this before a full-blown 

crisis results? Ethiopia, as a potentially failing state, needs substantive diplomatic 

and economic intervention in order to avert such a national crisis and to protect its 

citizens from additional suffering and the loss of life. An imploded Ethiopia can certainly be more dangerous to the US than exerting pressure for diplomatic solutions 

at this time! 

For years, the Ethiopian people have looked to the US as allies and friends, but 

have recently been disappointed and disillusioned with the lack of attention and action directed towards the continent of Africa. Criticism is increasing that US rhetoric does not apply to Ethiopia. Ethiopians are reaching out for help, but are not 

being heard. 

87

The US has a large Ethiopian population of US citizens who are calling for action. 

It is not in times of prosperity that one finds out who is really your friend, but in 

times of crisis where significant engagement is needed. This is such a time for the 

Anuak and the people of Ethiopia. The US is in a desirable position that could allow 

the US to assist in shaping a better future for generations of Ethiopians to come. 

If we fail now, new friends may immerge for the Ethiopians, some with whom we 

may not share common values and vision. Some of these new economic or political 

partners may actually further exploit the Anuak and other Ethiopians. They may 

also further undermine our strategic relationship with this ‘‘partner against terror.’’ 

In this strategic area of the world, where stability is already in delicate balance, 

the impact of meaningful action may have far and long reaching benefits. Can we 

afford to ignore this opportunity? 

Objectives of the AJC: 

1. The Ethiopian Government should cease all human rights violations against 

the Anuak and any other oppressed Ethiopian citizens as obligated by international treaties and the Ethiopian Constitution.

2. The Ethiopian Government should hold the perpetrators of crimes against 

humanity accountable and bring them to justice.

3. The Ethiopian Government should respect Anuak’s and other Ethiopian’s 

human rights and fundamental freedoms.

4. The Ethiopian Government should release Anuak and all other Ethiopian political prisoners, including those in the CUD and others being held for years 

in the government’s custody as prisoners of conscience.

5. The Ethiopian Government should allow local jurisdiction over regional affairs in Gambella and other areas of Ethiopia, including over its people and 

land, over the education, health, economic affairs, over the development of 

natural resources and equitable distribution of profits from such resources 

and over the internal defense and security.

6. The Ethiopian Government should provide access to mass and other 

gravesites by international forensic experts to exhume bodies, identify those 

bodies where possible and to give those bodies back to families and loved 

ones for a proper Anuak burial.

7. The Ethiopian Government should provide economic assistance to support 

services to address emotional, physical, and psychological trauma to Anuak 

and to non-Anuak within the Gambella region.

8. The Ethiopian Government should provide for fair and equitable distribution 

of power and resources.

9. The Ethiopian Government should provide reparations to the Anuak for emotional and physical injuries, loss of life and destruction of property. 

Recommendations to the US Government and international donor community 

1. That the US government authorities condemn the atrocities and bring diplomatic (financial) pressure to bear on the Ethiopian regime, calling on them 

to refrain from the gross violations of human rights that it is committing 

against any of its citizens.

2. That the US government would live up to their commitment to safeguard 

and defend human rights in Ethiopia as a member of the global community, 

where arbitrary killings and incarceration have become the order of the day 

under the current regime.

3. That the US government put pressure on the Ethiopian government to immediately and unconditionally, release all Anuak political prisoners, the entire elected CUD leadership and other prisoners of conscience; dropping all 

the absurd charges of treason and genocide.

4. Denounce the current regime for illegally and unjustly derailing the vibrant 

democratic environment, identifying it as the true engineer of a national crisis that aims to divide ethnic groups and spread confusion, mistrust and suspicion across the nation and instead call on them to promote good governance, personal freedoms and respect for the rule of law as laid out in the 

Ethiopian Constitution.

5. Fully support an international inquiry into the Anuak massacre of December 

13, 2003 and the killings in Addis Ababa following the derailment of the 

democratic election that began so well, but ended in an unfortunate postelection crisis.

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6. That the US government intercede with immediate action so as to prevent 

the situation from deteriorating further.

7. That the US Government express their solidarity with the oppressed and suffering people of Ethiopia by clearly speaking out against the tyrannical tactics used by this regime to repress political expression and basic freedoms.

8. That the US reconsider, examine and reassess all its bilateral agreements 

with the current dictatorial regime of Ethiopia.

9. That the US encourage the process of a dialogue with Ethiopian communities 

both at home and abroad with the objective of promoting democratic freedoms in Ethiopia. 

A Call to Join Voices with those in Dark Places 

An Anuak woman speaks out:

I believe that one day God will give me the years to live to be able to tell 

what happened to me and to my people; when no one was there as a witness, 

when no international community was there to protect us and when no camera 

lens was there to bring this injustice to worldwide view. I, and those others who 

survived, will be able to be the missing lens that never before reached to 

Anuakland. 

I am no longer concerned that my husband’s body was never found or that 

he has never had a proper burial, instead I am looking forward to sharing the 

last minutes of his life as he was hacked to death by machetes as he struggled 

to breathe. I have an obligation to pass this on to the next generation; not only 

to Anuak, but to human kind who want to leave the world behind the lens of 

suffering, pain, death and sadness to a world more filled with hope, joy and 

happiness. 

I hope that my voice from the darkness travels a distance to a far away land 

where I have never been. This voice of mine that I want them to hear is this, 

‘The world does not have to be this way. Take action. Every time you hear a 

voice of a desperate person in the darkness, do not ignore it. Please do something. Take the first step. Courage starts with one person, like a song that 

someone will start and others will join in to sing.’ ’’

The Anuak Justice Council calls on those in the global community to join voices 

with this Anuak woman and with those other voices from Ethiopia where there is 

such widespread suffering. Even though the horrendous actions of the current regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi have been uncovered, the international community has not done enough to support the Ethiopian people in their fight for democracy and the rule of law. 

Action is critical before frustration reaches to the point of inciting some to violence, resulting in more death and chaos. The stakes are high, yet each voice added 

to the chorus adds to the power of its reverberation throughout the global community of those who value human kind. 

No longer are there remote places in this world where brutal dictators can hide. 

We must not only listen but also be willing to take action if we want our world to 

be a better place for our children. 

If many join together in harmony; crossing national, ethnic, cultural and religious 

lines; defending the persecuted and oppressed in our world—it will indeed be a 

beautiful song! 

A few brief words in summary about how the U.S. government should proceed 

from here. The United States has always played an important role in trying to bring 

the two sides together and reach a political settlement in the world. Therefore, I 

would like each of our witnesses to address what, in their view, are the main obstacles to the full implementation of justice, peace, freedom, democracy and secondly, 

what specific action or role should the U.S. play in helping to achieve a long-lasting 

peace. 

Lastly, I would like to commend the work of Chairman Smith, as well as full 

Committee Chairman Hyde, Congressman King and Congressman Walsh for their 

efforts on behalf of peace, justice and economic development in Ethiopia. I would 

also like to personally thank each of them for working with the Anuak and other 

Ethiopian to try to come up with a resolution that we can all agree upon that articulates the support of the House of Representatives for the peace process in Ethiopia. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Metho, thank you very much for 

your passion and challenge and we have made a note of your comVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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ment about the bill and we will make an inclusion of the Anuak. 

I think your point was very well taken. 

Let me just say, we invited you to be here because we really 

wanted to hear what you had to say and you said it with great passion and great power, so thank you so much. 

Mr. METHO. Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ms. Fredricksson. 

STATEMENT OF MS. LYNN FREDRICKSSON, ADVOCACY 

DIRECTOR FOR AFRICA, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 

Ms. FREDRICKSSON. Thank you, Chairman Smith, Congressman 

Payne and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee and staff. 

I would like to thank you for holding this important hearing and 

for allowing Amnesty International this opportunity to address rising concerns about the deteriorating state of human rights in Ethiopia since last year’s elections. 

I have submitted my full remarks for the record. By way of brief 

introduction regarding the overall need for political freedom, while 

the U.S. Department of State recently included in its Country Report on Human Rights Practices on Ethiopia that ‘‘Ethiopia continued its transition from a unitary to a Federal system of government,’’ it also included a detailed depiction of deteriorating human 

rights conditions throughout the country. In a dismissive response 

to that report the government of Ethiopia issued a statement protesting that it ‘‘gives special attention to respect for human rights 

as enshrined in the national Constitution.’’ We have seen little 

such attention since the May 2005 elections. 

Amnesty International is increasingly concerned that the government of Ethiopia is systematically violating its citizens’ most basic 

political rights. We are particularly concerned that the government 

and ruling EPRDF party have not allowed members of political opposition parties, human rights defenders, independent journalists 

and other citizens their basic human rights of speech, press, assembly and association. The security forces have committed serious 

human rights violations with impunity against demonstrators and 

political detainees. A parliamentary commission appointed by the 

prime minister to investigate shootings by security forces and violence by opposition demonstrators in June and November 2005 has 

not yet reported on these abuses and their circumstances. There 

are doubts whether it has conducted or will conduct impartial and 

independent investigations to which members of the public can 

freely and safely give testimony. 

The U.S. Government has provided a range of assistance to the 

government of Ethiopia beyond critical ESF, Child Survival and 

Health and Transition Initiatives funding, including Foreign Military Financing and International Military Education and Training 

or IMET. But our Government barred the sale of Humvee military 

vehicles to Ethiopia after it used previously purchased vehicles to 

allegedly quash political protests late last year. We also note that 

in January the British government cut off $88 million designated 

for Ethiopia due to concerns about governance and human rights 

issues arising after the elections. 

Regarding the general situation in early 2005 leading up to the 

May 15 elections, despite ongoing human rights violations often 

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linked to the ongoing internal armed conflicts in the Oromiya and 

Somali Regions, Ethiopia appeared to be turning a corner. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi sat on Tony Blair’s Commission 

for Africa. The government of Ethiopia was allowing some international press access and space for political opposition rallies, particularly in Addis Ababa, although considerable intimidation of opposition parties and supporters in certain rural areas was being reported. The government of Ethiopia also established an early warning system to monitor drought conditions with international donors. 

Yet since the disputed elections, as accusations of electoral fraud 

emerged along with demonstrations in protest, government officials 

have greatly increased the level of political repression, including 

arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, extrajudicial killings, repression of ethnic minorities, intimidation of students and teachers, 

suppression of press freedom and the less well-reported practice of 

targeting peaceful political opposition in the countryside. 

In June, 36 demonstrators were killed and dozens wounded on 

the streets of Addis. In November, after final election results were 

announced, at least 42 people were killed in demonstrations apparently planned to be peaceful, which turned violent. Seven police officers were also reportedly killed. After the June incident, tens of 

thousands of people were arbitrarily arrested, detained for several 

weeks without charge, subjected to ill treatment, then provisionally 

released. 

CUD leaders and several thousand suspected CUD supporters 

were also arrested in November. More were arrested in student 

demonstrations in December and since then as well. Although some 

8,000 or more detainees have been provisionally released, many 

thousands more are still believed to be held in incommunicado detention. 

Now I would like to focus for a moment on arrests and detentions. As has already been noted in this hearing today, Amnesty 

holds that the charges of treason, outrages against the Constitution, organizing and inciting rebellion and acts of genocide levied 

against some 131 CUD leaders, human rights defenders and journalists have no merit. The charges may possibly carry death penalty sentences. 

Though we welcome the recent release of 18 detainees, including 

five who worked with the Voice of America on March 22 of this 

year, we do not believe that the Ethiopian judiciary should be allowed to ‘‘maintain its right to reinstitute charges against them.’’ 

Amnesty International maintains that these parliamentarians, 

human rights defenders and journalists and possibly all of the accused are prisoners of conscience who have not used or advocated 

violence and should be released immediately and unconditionally. 

These include Hailu Shawel, Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam, 

Dr. Yakob Hailemariam, Ms. Birtukan Mideksa, Dr. Berhanu 

Nega, Daniel Bekelle, Netsanet Demissie and others. In addition, 

on March 20, 2006, 33 people including Kifle Tigeneh, an elected 

parliamentarian, and seven elected members of the Addis Ababa 

city council were charged with treason and inciting political unrest 

in a separate but related trial. Several defendants in this case complained of torture and police custody and denial of medical treatVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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ment for torture injuries. A CUD lawyer, Berhane Moges, was remanded into custody for an additional 2 weeks and may be put on 

trial, as may other CUD supporters still in detention in other 

places. 

A number of these detainees have traveled to the U.S., taught in 

our universities, lived in our communities. Their plight is of great 

concern to many of our own U.S. citizens, as well. 

The CUD trial proceedings began on February 23 before the Federal High Court. Many of the defendants have refused to plead and 

refused legal defense by way of protest. Not guilty pleas have been 

entered on their behalf. The defendants are currently being held at 

the Kaliti Prison on the outskirts of Addis and restricted access to 

their families and reports of possible ill treatment, such as delays 

receiving medical attention, have been reported. Amnesty continues 

to monitor trial proceedings to access their adherence to international standards. 

Another set of trials also warrants mention. We have learned 

that the trials of the former pre-1991 Dergue government and exPresident Mengistu Hailemariam, in exile in Zimbabwe, are nearing completion, although other Red Terror trials continue. While 

we are pleased that the government of Ethiopia charged and tried 

members of Hailemariam’s brutal 17-year regime, their trials on 

capital charges have taken over 13 years to complete. Amnesty 

International urges the government of Ethiopia to refrain from the 

use of the death penalty in these trials and to observe a moratorium on executions with the view to eventual abolition. 

To note briefly a few of the specific populations who have been 

most heavily targeted by the government regarding students, college and high school students have been subjected to intimidation, 

police brutality and arbitrary detentions at election-related and 

other demonstrations particularly in Addis and Oromiya, leading to 

closures of many educational institutions. 

Regarding human rights defenders, members of the Ethiopia 

Human Rights Council have been detained and the organization’s 

activities have been generally restricted. The government and 

EPRDF have been demonstrating a generally adversarial attitude 

toward human rights organizations and human rights defenders, 

monitoring and restricting their activities. Civil society activists 

from ActionAid, OSJE and the Ethiopia Teachers Association are 

among the accused in the CUD trial. 

Regarding journalists, press freedom has been significantly curtailed since last year’s elections. Fourteen journalists are among 

the accused in the CUD trial. Several private newspapers have 

been shut down completely. Also troubling is the government’s attempts to censor international press as evidenced by the initial inclusion of five Voice of America employees in the CUD trial. A disturbing new press law is currently being prepared, as well. 

Regarding political opposition, leaders of the main opposition 

party, the CUD, remain behind bars. Many newly elected CUD 

candidates have chosen to boycott the Parliament and the City 

Council of Addis, although the United Ethiopia Democratic Forces 

parliamentarians have chosen to assume their seats, they have also 

criticized the detentions of CUD parliamentarians whose immunity 

has been withdrawn. Additionally, peasants in many areas rejected 

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the EPRDR in elections last May despite intimidation. Many are 

facing well organized attempts to punish them for their decision. 

Besides predawn raids in which young men are pulled from their 

villages and beaten, peasants are being denied access to seeds, fertilizer and credit by way of retribution. 

Regarding the Oromo and other minority groups, in the Oromo 

and Somali regions where armed opposition groups are active, 

members of the Oromo and Somali ethnic groups have frequently 

been targeted for human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions, torture, disappearances and extrajudicial executions on 

suspicion of links with armed groups based in Eritrea. Few have 

been charged or brought to court. 

In the remote and extremely underdeveloped Gambella Region 

on the southwestern border with Sudan, rights to free speech and 

assembly are still affected by the killings of hundreds from the 

Anuak ethnic group in December 2003. In March 2005 six soldiers 

were charged with those killings. Some 900 are still detained in 

this region. 

Finally, some 42 members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church 

were arrested, two killed and several injured during church celebrations of Timket in January of this year. However, such targeting of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has been occurring for at 

least 18 months. 

The EPRDF has also taken steps to extend political control 

through increased surveillance and intimidation tactics. Beginning 

in 2004, they developed two sublevels of political organization 

below the kebele, the gott and the garee. Essentially every rural 

kebele is divided into groups of 60 to 90 households called gotts 

and they are further divided into groups of 10 to 20 households 

called garees. Each administration office is then staffed by EPRDF 

supporters tasked with reporting all household activities. The political implications of this are ominous. 

Finally regarding escalation over border demarcation with Eritrea, the backdrop to these increasing human rights violations is 

the country’s continued border dispute. Ethiopia has said it accepts 

in principle the international border commission’s ruling, which includes stipulation that the small border town of Badme, the 

flashpoint of the war, is situated in Eritrean territory. But the government of Ethiopia is also calling for further negotiations. 

Threatened violence and political uncertainty are already having 

dire effects on the livelihood, health and right to movement of local 

populations. Amnesty International fears that there would be massive violations of human rights law and humanitarian law in the 

event of any renewed conflict. 

These are our recommendations. To the government of Ethiopia, 

to ensure a thorough, impartial and independent investigation into 

the killings of demonstrators by security forces as well as violence 

against security forces on June 8 and in early November 2005. We 

also call on the government of Ethiopia to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience, to ensure a fair trial 

according to international standards to all detainees against whom 

charges are maintained, to ensure that all political detainees are 

treated humanely in custody and in accordance with international 

and regional standards, to recognize and respect rights of speech, 

93

assembly, association and press as set out in the Ethiopian Constitution as well as international and regional human rights treaties to which Ethiopia is party and to respect the legitimate role 

of Ethiopian human rights defenders and civil society activists, as 

well as their counterparts in international organizations. 

Amnesty also calls on the U.S. Government to support these recommendations to the government of Ethiopia to make human 

rights central to United States relations with the government and 

with Ethiopian civil society, to take actions necessary to successfully press the government of Ethiopia to release all prisoners of 

conscience immediately, including ones named in this report, to actively monitor all political trials in Addis Ababa and other places 

and to demand that they fulfill international standards for fair 

trials and actively monitor the treatment of political prisoners, 

prisoners of conscience and all political detainees. To continue to 

press the government of Ethiopia to do everything in its power to 

avoid conflict with Eritrea and to protect the human rights of all 

those living on the border. To continue to provide humanitarian 

systems required to support the basic human rights of the Ethiopian people. 

I thank you again for this opportunity to present testimony 

today. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Fredricksson follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MS. LYNN FREDRICKSSON, ADVOCACY DIRECTOR FOR

AFRICA, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Chairman Smith, Congressman Payne, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, I would like to thank you for holding this important hearing and for allowing Amnesty International this opportunity to address rising concerns over the 

deteriorating state of human rights in Ethiopia since last year’s elections. 

INTRODUCTION: THE NEED FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM

While the U.S. Department of State recently included in its Country Report on 

Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia that ‘‘Ethiopia continued its transition from a 

unitary to a federal system of government,’’ it also included a detailed depiction of 

deteriorating human rights conditions throughout the country. In a dismissive response to that report the Government of Ethiopia issued a statement protesting that 

it ‘‘gives special attention to respect for human rights as enshrined in the national 

constitution.’’ We have seen little such attention since the May 2005 elections. 

Amnesty International is increasingly concerned that the Government of Ethiopia 

is systematically violating its citizens’ most basic political freedoms. We are particularly concerned that the government and ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary 

Democratic Front (EPRDF) party have not allowed members of political opposition 

parties (including elected parliamentarians), human rights defenders, independent 

journalists and other citizens their basic human rights of speech, press, assembly 

and association. The security forces have committed serious human rights violations 

with impunity against demonstrators and political detainees. A parliamentary commission appointed by the Prime Minister to investigate shootings by security forces 

and violence by opposition demonstrators in June and November 2005 (when excessive force appeared to have been used by security forces) has not yet reported on 

these abuses and their circumstances. There are doubts whether it has conducted 

or will conduct impartial and independent investigations to which members of the 

public can freely and safely give testimony. 

The U.S. Government has provided a range of assistance to the Government of 

Ethiopia beyond critical Economic Support Funds (ESF), Child Survival and Health 

(CSH) and Transition Initiatives (TI) funding, including Foreign Military Financing 

(FMF) and International Military Education and Training (IMET). But our government barred the sale of Humvee military vehicles to Ethiopia after it used previously purchased vehicles to allegedly quash political protests late last year. We 

also note that in January the British Government cut off $88 million designated for 

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1 Based on accusations of harming and trying to isolate certain members of the Tigrayan ethnic group, which bear no relation to international definitions of genocide. 2 Now 115 since charges were dropped against 18. 

3We are also pleased to confirm that prisoner of conscience Amha-Yesus Gebre-Yohannes was 

released in February after serving 11 years of a 17 year sentence. 

Ethiopia due to concerns about governance and human rights issues arising after 

the elections. 

BACKGROUND

In early 2005, leading up to the May 15 elections, despite ongoing human rights 

violations often linked to the ongoing internal armed conflicts in the Oromiya and 

Somali Regions, Ethiopia appeared to be turning a corner. Ethiopian Prime Minister 

Meles Zenawi sat on Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa considering issues related 

to political transparency and accountability, economic development, anti-corruption 

measures, human capacity building and the enhancement of human rights in Africa. 

The Government of Ethiopia was allowing some international press access and space 

for political opposition rallies, particularly in Addis Ababa, although considerable intimidation of opposition parties and supporters in certain rural areas was being reported. The Government of Ethiopia also established an early warning system to 

monitor drought conditions with international donors. 

Yet since the disputed elections, as accusations of electoral fraud emerged along 

with demonstrations in protest, government officials have greatly increased the level 

of political repression, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, 

extrajudicial killings, repression of ethnic minorities, intimidation of students and 

teachers, suppression of press freedom, and the less well-reported practice of targeting peaceful political opposition in the countryside (outside the gaze of the international community). 

In June, 36 demonstrators were killed and dozens wounded on the streets of 

Addis Ababa. In November, after final election results were announced (with opposition candidates winning one-third of all seats) at least 42 people were killed in 

Addis Ababa in demonstrations, apparently planned to be peaceful, which turned 

violent. Seven police officers were also reportedly killed. 

After the June incident, tens of thousands of people were arbitrarily arrested, detained for several weeks without charge, subjected to ill treatment, then provisionally released, particularly at the Dedessa Detention Center in Western Oromiya. 

CUD leaders and several thousand suspected CUD supporters were also arrested 

in November. More were arrested in student demonstrations in December, and since 

then as well. Although some 8,000 or more detainees have been provisionally released, many thousands more are believed to still be held in incommunicado detention. The CUD leaders and others are now on trial on charges of ‘‘treason’’ and 

‘‘genocide,’’ and many other opposition activists could also face trials whose fairness 

is not assured. 

ESCALATING VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS: ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS

Amnesty International holds that the charges of ‘‘treason,’’ ‘‘outrages against the 

Constitution,’’ ‘‘organizing and inciting armed rebellion’’ and ‘‘acts of genocide’’ 1 levied against some 131 2 CUD leaders, human rights defenders and journalists (most 

of whom are in physical custody) have no merit. The charges carry possible death 

sentences. 

Though we welcome the recent release of 18 detainees (including five who work 

with the Voice of America) on March 22 of this year, we do not believe the Ethiopian 

judiciary should be allowed to ‘‘maintain its right to re-institute charges against 

them.’’ 3

Amnesty International maintains that these parliamentarians, human rights defenders and journalists—and possibly all of the accused—are prisoners of conscience 

who have not used or advocated violence and should be released immediately and 

unconditionally. 

These prisoners of conscience, who were peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of speech, association, assembly and press, include:

Hailu Shawel (70), president of the CUD 

Professor Mesfin Woldemariam (75), former chair of the Ethiopian Human 

Rights Council (EHRCO) 

Dr. Yakob Hailemariam, former UN Special Envoy and former prosecutor at 

the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 

Ms. Birtukan Mideksa, former judge and CUD vice president 

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Dr. Berhanu Negga, recently elected mayor of Addis Ababa and professor of 

economics 

Daniel Bekelle, anti-poverty activist working for ActionAid, an international 

development NGO 

Netsanet Demissie, anti-poverty activist heading the Organisation for Social 

Justice in Ethiopia (OSJE)

In addition, on March 20, 33 people including Kifle Tigeneh, an elected parliamentarian, and seven elected members of the Addis Ababa City Council were charged 

with treason in a separate but related trial. Several defendants in this case complained of torture in police custody and denial of medical treatment for torture injuries. A CUD lawyer, Berhane Moges, was remanded into custody for an additional 

two weeks and may be put on trial, as may other CUD supporters still in detention 

in different places. 

Three investigators from the EHRCO were also detained for a month in June. 

A number of these detainees have traveled to the U.S., taught at our universities, 

lived in our communities. Their plight is of great concern to many of our own citizens. 

The latest trial proceedings began on February 23 before the Federal High Court. 

Many of the defendants have refused to plead and refused legal defense, in protest. 

Not guilty pleas were entered on their behalf. Only ActionAid, OSJE and an official 

from the Ethiopian Teachers Association are presenting defense through legal counsel. The prosecution is scheduled to commence with its case on May 2. The defendants are currently being held at the Kaliti Prison on the outskirts of Addis Ababa 

with restricted access to their families and reports of possible ill treatment (such 

as delays receiving medical attention). Amnesty continues to closely monitor the 

trial proceedings to assess their adherence to international standards. 

Another set of trials also warrants mention. We have learned that the trials of 

the former pre-1991 Dergue government and ex-President Mengistu Halilemariam 

(in exile in Zimbabwe) are nearing completion, although other ‘‘Red Terror’’ trials 

continue. While we are pleased that the Government of Ethiopia charged and tried 

members of Mengistu Hailemariam’s brutal 17-year regime, their trials on capital 

charges have taken over 13 years to complete. 

Amnesty International urges the Government of Ethiopia to refrain from use of 

the death penalty in these trials, and to observe a moratorium on executions, with 

a view to its eventual abolition. 

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AMONG SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

A number of specific populations have been heavily targeted by the Government 

of Ethiopia, including students, human rights defenders, journalists, members of political opposition groups, and ethnic minorities (briefly examined below).

1. Students 

College and high school students have been subjected to intimidation, police brutality and arbitrary detentions at election-related and other political 

demonstrations, particularly in Addis Ababa Amhara, and Oromiya, leading 

to closures of many educational institutions. 

Tens of thousands of young people from Addis Ababa were arrested in November and taken to Dedessa Detention Center where many of them have 

been held for months without charge, medical attention reportedly regularly 

withheld.

2. Human Rights Defenders 

Members of the Ethiopia Human Rights Council (EHRCO) have been detained, and the organization’s activities have been generally restricted. The 

government and EPRDF have been demonstrating a generally adversarial attitude toward human rights organizations and individual human rights defenders, monitoring and restricting their activities. Civil society activists 

from ActionAid, OSJE and the Ethiopia Teachers Association are among the 

accused in the CUD trial. Several others have fled the country.

3. Journalists 

Press freedom has been significantly curtailed since last year’s elections. 

Fourteen journalists are among the accused in the CUD trial. Several private 

newspapers have been shut down completely. Also troubling is the government’s attempt to censor international press, as evidenced by the initial inclusion of five Voice of America employees (naturalized U.S. citizens from 

Ethiopia) among the original 131 accused of ‘‘treason’’ and ‘‘acts of genocide.’’ 

96

Print journalists have been frequently imprisoned under the 1992 Press Law, 

and a disturbing new press law is currently being prepared.

4. Political Opposition 

Leaders of the main opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), remain behind bars. Many newly elected CUD candidates have 

chosen to boycott the Parliament and Addis Ababa City Council. Though the 

United Ethiopia Democratic Forces (UEDF) parliamentarians have chosen to 

assume their seats, they have indicated strong doubt about their influence 

and have criticized the detentions of CUD parliamentarians, whose parliamentary immunity has been withdrawn. 

Additionally, peasants in many areas rejected the EPRDF in elections last 

May, despite intimidation. Now many are facing well organized attempts to 

punish them for their decision. Besides pre-dawn raids in which young men 

are pulled from their villages and beaten, peasants are being denied access 

to seeds, fertilizer and credit by way of retribution.

5. Oromo and other Minority Groups 

In the Oromo and Somali regions where armed opposition groups are active in particular areas, members of the Oromo and Somali ethnic groups 

(known in Ethiopia as ‘‘nationalities’’) have frequently been targeted for 

human rights violations including arbitrary detentions, torture, ‘‘disappearances’’ and extrajudicial executions, on suspicion of links with armed groups 

based in Eritrea. Few have been charged or brought to court. 

Thousands of school students were arrested in the Oromiya region in November after demonstrating against the government and calling for the release of Oromo political detainees, particularly Diribe Demissie and other 

leaders of the Mecha Tulema Association (MTA). The MTA is a long established and legally recognized Oromo community association whose leaders 

have been detained since 2005. They are currently on trial and accused of 

links with the OLF, which they deny. 

In the remote and extremely underdeveloped Gambella Region on the 

southwestern border with Sudan, rights to free speech and assembly are still 

affected by the killing of hundreds from the Anuak ethnic group in December 

2003. In March of 2005 six soldiers were charged with those killings. Some 

900 are still detained in this region. 

Finally, some 42 members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church were arrested, 

two killed and several injured, during Church celebrations of Timket in January of this year. However, such targeting of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church 

has been occurring for at least 18 months. 

ADDITIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The EPRDF also took steps to extend political control through increased surveillance and intimidation tactics. Beginning in 2004 the EPRDF developed two sub-levels of political organization below the kebele, the gott and the garee. Essentially every 

rural kebele is divided into groups of 60–90 households called gotts, and these are 

further divided into groups of 10–20 households called garees. Each administrative 

office is then staffed by EPRDF supporters tasked with reporting all household activities. The political implications of this are ominous. 

ESCALATION OVER BORDER DEMARCATION WITH ERITREA

The backdrop to these increasing human rights violations is the country’s continued border dispute with Eritrea since the 1998–2000 war. Ethiopia has said it accepts in principle the international border commission’s ruling, which includes stipulation that the small border town of Badme, the flashpoint of the war, is situated 

in Eritrean territory. But the Government of Ethiopia has called for further negotiations. Eritrea has refused, and severely restricted UN peacekeeping operations in 

the border zone. Amnesty International fears that there would be massive violations 

of human rights law and humanitarian law (the Geneva Conventions) in the event 

of any renewed armed conflict. 

Threatened violence and political uncertainty are already having dire effects on 

the livelihood, health and right to movement of the local populations. We therefore 

encourage the State Department to continue to promote resolutions to this dispute, 

including pressing the Government of Ethiopia to do everything in its power to 

avoid violence to protect human rights. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

Amnesty International calls on the Government of Ethiopia to:

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• Ensure a thorough, impartial and independent investigation into the killings 

of demonstrators by security forces (as well as violence against security 

forces) on June 8 and in early November 2005. This should include: taking 

evidence from the public as well as members of the security forces; guarantees of safety for witnesses; investigation into the excessive use of force by 

security forces, arbitrary incommunicado detentions without charge or trial 

(contrary to Ethiopian law); and reports of torture and ill treatment of some 

detainees. A report and recommendations should be made public in a reasonable period of time.

• Immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience detained 

in Ethiopia, including members of parliament, human rights defenders, independent journalists and nonviolent student protesters.

• Ensure a fair trial according to international standards to all detainees 

against whom charges are maintained.

• Ensure that all political detainees are treated humanely in custody in accordance with international and regional standards for the treatment of prisoners, 

with particular regard to medical treatment, family visits and communications, and permission for reading and writing materials.

• Recognize and respect the right to freedom of speech, assembly, association 

and press, as set out in the Ethiopian Constitution, and international and regional human rights treaties to which Ethiopia is party.

• Respect the legitimate role of Ethiopian human rights defenders and civil society activists and their counterparts in international organizations.

Amnesty International calls on the Government of the United States to:

• Support these recommendations to the Government of Ethiopia, and make 

human rights central to U.S. relations with the Government of Ethiopia and 

Ethiopian civil society.

• Instruct the Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia to take actions necessary to 

successfully press the Government of Ethiopia to release all prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally, including the above named prisoners of conscience.

• Actively monitor all political trials in Addis Ababa and other places in Ethiopia, demand that they fulfill international standards for fair trials, and actively monitor the treatment of prisoners of conscience and all political detainees.

• Continue to press the Government of Ethiopia to do everything in its power 

to avoid conflict with Eritrea to protect the human rights of all those living 

on the border.

• Continue to provide humanitarian assistance required to support the basic 

human rights of the Ethiopian people.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you so very, very much. Let 

me just begin the questioning. Ambassador Tessema said earlier 

today and I would direct this to Dr. Meqdes, that family members 

had access to prisoners. He at least conveyed the idea that it would 

be like it was here, where somebody who has been incarcerated for 

a petty crime, that there is an ease of access. Has that been true 

with your father? Have family members been able to meet with 

him? What is his treatment in jail? Has there been any kind of 

mistreatment? 

Dr. MEQDES. There has been no specific mistreatment. What has 

occurred over the last couple of months and I will get blurry on the 

specifics of what has exactly happened, but the 131 prisoners and 

that is to the exclusion of the female prisoners, were in one building structure as far as I am aware. 

Recently in the middle of the night, they were shuffled. So when 

that happened and they were separated into different building 

structures. They were not alone, they were with other prisoners. 

But now they are in even smaller groups within that larger group 

of 100 plus and I do know that one of the structures I have heard 

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about, there are people with open cases of tuberculosis. That is not 

where he is, but specifically to where he is, there are big, large, exceptionally noticeable rodents that they have to contend with that 

younger male prisoners have to help them out with. And the description I have heard is that it is really staggering. 

The other thing is that the entrance to the prison itself has been 

moved to the back of the property. What that has meant to family 

members is that now, unless you have an SUV, you really cannot 

make it up that hill. That is to avoid the conspicuous crowds on 

visiting days. So for people who have access to such vehicles, they 

might be able to drive up to the lot, after which the walkways have 

been plowed. For example, in my family, all of us in my generation 

have moved out of the country, so it is the older individuals that 

have to rely on other, younger people to help them up that walkway which they say is quite a walk. So it has gotten much more 

difficult. 

Then it is crowded. You have to be able to shout loud enough to 

get whatever communication across. So it has gotten difficult. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Dr. Meqdes, if you went back, what 

would happen to you? 

Dr. MEQDES. I do not know. I mean, I am hearing about a U.S. 

citizen in custody now. But I have also heard untoward comments 

against me. I would not be worried. I do not know what I would 

accomplish. As a citizen, I do feel a little bit more comfortable than 

I would have if I were not. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Have U.S. personnel from our Embassy visited with your father? 

Dr. MEQDES. I do not think, to the best of my knowledge, anybody has. I mean, we have tried with the Red Cross. That has been 

impossible. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. They have not allowed the Red Cross 

in to visit with your father? 

Dr. MEQDES. That is my sense. I mean, the Red Cross, the way 

they operate, they are not comfortable saying that is what it is, but 

they always assure us that they are trying and I do not have any 

reason not to believe that they are trying. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. So the Ambassador’s testimony earlier, in your view, would be false? 

Dr. MEQDES. Oh, absolutely. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Just for the record. 

Dr. MEQDES. Yes, yes. This is the only time that my father has 

been in trouble in this manner that I have not sought a conversation with the Embassy. It gets frustrating after awhile, but up 

until 2001, I have tried to communicate with them and the degree 

of falsity just escalates. So it is pointless. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Let me just ask Mr. Tsege, you are 

being tried in absentia on the same crimes of treason and genocide 

as other opposition party leaders. What has happened with your 

own trial? Has that actually started and could you just elaborate 

a little bit on what you believe to be the false charges that are 

begin lodged against you? 

Mr. TSEGE. I do not know exactly what has happened to the 

charge. Probably it is in the same category with the other leaders 

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and civic organization leaders and the journalists. There are some 

of them included in the same charge. 

But there was no question that this charge is fabricated totally. 

The only reason, in fact, I was charged with the others was because 

of our belief, really, in democracy and the rule of law. One thing 

the independent institutions that would guard human rights forever in that country, we just wanted to take our rights from the 

whims of leaders that they may change as they wish and actually 

institutionalize them. Our crime is that, nothing else. 

In fact, it is very strange. When I was imprisoned and earlier in 

my short statement I tried to explain, there was a serious ethnic 

dimension in fact with that June arrest and beating and killing. I 

mean, it was organized, the whole operation. The persons were 

from one ethnic group belonging to the ruling party. 

In fact, when I was released from prison, I wanted to put that 

in a press statement. In fact, it is the serious leadership which is 

in prison now, saying it would be like adding fuel on fire by releasing those to the public. But the details are very worrisome. These 

people who did not want to release facts, which has something to 

do with a very ethnic bias of killing and beating, are now back in 

prison accused of genocide. 

So in fact it should have been the opposite. The government during the delay in the election, as you referred earlier, they were engaged in head speech. In fact the word to the public, if CUD won 

the election, should be genocide. That was their statement. I did 

not know at the time if, in fact, they were actually preparing something like that, because the June operation had serious, serious 

things to it, an ethnic genocide to it. I mean, all the prisoners in 

Zawai, which were 4,690, because I was told from my own officer 

of the count, he could find no secret origin prisoner in that place. 

In fact in the precinct that I was imprisoned before I was transported to Zawai, the prison officer, about 2 o’clock in the morning, 

he came and called all those guys with names of Tigrean origin. I 

mean, it was easy to do that because when they take you to prison, 

they enter your ethnicity in the record and that is what he used. 

We were transported to Zawai with construction trucks and I know 

all the names, the logo on the trucks, they belonged to very rich 

and powerful Tigrean contractors. All the drivers were Tigreans. 

Those who sat on the top of the truck wielding their machetes were 

Tigreans. 

Those, in fact, were throwing obscenities at me were talking in 

Tigrean, because I lived in Tigres for a couple of years and I know 

what they were saying. Everything had that sort of ethnic dimension to it and the CUD leadership, in fact, did not want this to be 

public. But now, because I am accused of genocide and these great 

leaders of peace and democracy and tolerance are in prison, I think 

it is appropriate that, in fact, the world should know what the 

minds of those people were on discretion of power. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. It is interesting but Ambassador 

Tessema, in talking and accusing you and others of genocide, yet 

the record would clearly indicate that again, genocide does not necessarily mean the massive loss of life like we have seen in Rwanda 

or in Darfur or in the Balkans or in any of the other more well 

100

known genocides. Although Mengistu certainly committed genocide, 

as well. 

Ethiopia, as we all know, is a signer of the Genocide Convention. 

It did so in the late 1940s and the definition is, in whole or in part. 

When, in part, people are, because of their ethnicity are singled out 

as Mr. Metho said earlier, I think your point was very well taken. 

The Anuaks were killed because they were Anuaks, that is it, no 

other reason. Just picked out and killed with impunity because of 

that. Perhaps you might want to comment on it, as well, because 

again we had the Ambassador accusing others while the accusation 

perhaps should be more appropriate lodged against what the government has done. Certainly against the Anuaks, that would hold, 

as well. 

Mr. METHO. Well, thank you for giving me an opportunity. When 

Mr. Tsege was talking, that was really going through my mind, because the word genocide is really, you know, something that lots 

of people do not talk about these days. Because you know that 

when you say that word, it will mean you have to follow with action. 

But what happened in Gambella for sure, I think, maybe that is 

where they get this idea from. Really because he had committed 

these atrocities in Gambella, he is using it, like, you know, like little children. You blame the victim and this is the game these men 

have been playing for the last many years. And the one that thinks 

that, it really is absurd to hear this guy talking here today, you 

know, accusing these people. And I think some of the questions 

that you had on the panel were excellent, were great. 

What happened in Gambella, I will try the very best I can until 

my last breath to really make sure that these guys are tried in a 

different court than Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, there is no jurisdiction 

system. There is no court in Ethiopia at all. Just like, you know, 

that is like the law of the jungle. Like usually some of those people 

who have been brought to court, for example, you know, we have 

been working with the African Commission and we have told them 

that we submit a claim. And when the claim comes back, you can 

respond if you can say that the Anuak were the ones who were 

killed. And then the government, when they give the list of those 

people who they say committed the killing, they were the Anuak 

men. Anyone name that started with O, vowel. 

Again, going back to the word genocide, like what happened on 

that day? Men in uniform, like some people who side together with 

them, they went from home to home. They had their list. They 

were looking for some people. And again within the next 4 to 5 

hours, not even one single woman died. Most of the people who 

died, the youngest was 17, the oldest was 52. These are the only 

indicated people. And again, what was the reason to that? It can 

go back to something which I did not mention because there was 

oil discovered in Gambella. Now knowing they are discovering oil 

in your land is like finding a tumor in your brain. The oil discovered there is an agreement between the Meles regime and the people of Gambella. 

Again, people of Gambella, people, we have been denied education. I told you before there are no more than 100,000. But again, 

the ones who are educated, we are less than 3,000 who are eduVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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cated. And yet 424 could be killed within 2 or 3 days. That means 

almost half of our population who are educated have been taken 

away. And they were taken away in such a way, intentionally, 

looking for the name. They go home, some of the men who were 

not home on that day, they left and they are now in jail today. 

Today the Anuak in Ethiopia, the leadership, the structure, political structure of the Anuak has been destroyed. The Anuak now in 

Gambella, those who are educated are either dead, in prison or in 

exile. And you asked a good question, If you go to Ethiopia, what 

will happen? I think for me, if I go to Ethiopia, that I would be a 

dead man, even because I have still some family in Gambella who 

may pay for this. And, again, as I told you, going back, this was 

a decision that I did not make before. I was going to commit suicide 

and kill myself, because I could not live there, knowing that people 

who I lived with, people who made me to be who I am were taken 

away from me just because they are Anuak and they are educated. 

So for them to charge the CUD with genocide, it is absurd and 

ridiculous. Meles himself should be the one to be charged with 

genocide of what he has done. 

And again, the truth wins out. Those that were killed, again, justice has not been, but it will come. It will come slowly, it will come. 

And again, that is what happened. It is again what they did in 

Addis, killing some of the people. They say crossfire. The bullet 

does not go look for the right guy. And this is one of the things we 

are talking about, this guy says this is the government we should 

align with. We should be ashamed of this government. We have a 

bright, educated Ethiopia. Ethiopia is ready for democracy. Like if 

they can go out and some people stand on line for 10 hours, what 

are you looking for? There are political causes. 

Even in Gambella today some of the people realize that highlander and lowlander, this division has been created by this guy. 

Has been created and this genocide, what he was thinking, he put 

it on the table and if CUD won then they will try to incite the killing like they did in Gambella, putting the dead bodies in front of 

the people who are from the same ethnic groups or who came from 

the islands. This is something which has to be investigated and I 

hope that some of you will follow this. Again, the UN has failed, 

even to the point that the U.S. Government, if they could ask someone to go and have an independent investigation as to what took 

place in Gambella. Genocide is not only one person. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Let me ask you then with regards 

to the massacre you stated in your testimony that members of the 

Cabinet in Ethiopia were involved in the planning of the massacre. 

Could you provide that evidence? 

You mentioned earlier in your oral statements that you had 

asked the UN Commission on Human Rights to look into this. Did 

that include the High Commissioner Louise Arbor, as well? Did 

they do anything, did they follow up? 

Mr. METHO. Well, thank you for the correction. In the UN they 

have really never done anything. This is one of the things that I 

find that even with the refugees that are in Sudan today. It is with 

some group in churches in Minnesota and the United States and 

Canada that really we get, even the refugees do not have access to 

clean water. The children who are there, they are entitled to be a 

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refugee. They write with charcoal on cardboard. They are up at 

school there, which is there are 1,243 children. These children 

write with charcoal and cardboard and knowing that the UN has 

never done anything even for this. 

This is one thing that really it is very good that I talked to Mr. 

Yamamoto, who left here today and if he was here, I would ask 

him the question. I have been inside the Parliament on many, 

many occasions. And what is their argument? Well, you know 

what, Ethiopia, we are allies on them and then we talk so hardbore 

that they will kick us out. You know what, even guy who marry 

a wife, if the wife, they do not agree, they separate. And if you separate for the truth, why not? The truth should be everything. 

So like prolonging saying that we will stand with them and when 

we talk with them, that they will cut ties with the relationship. 

Then it is cut. And the U.S. taxpayer should not be going to a brutal dictator who kills his own people. The UN never did anything. 

I am going back to your question. And again, nobody did, despite 

the fact that even, and this is one of the things that even I asked 

Yamamoto for the U.S. Government, for example. When the killing 

took place, I phoned the State Department and told them there are 

men who are U.S. citizens, from Minnesota, from Texas, who are 

there. And I want somebody to go there, to just find out. 

So the U.S. Marines went there. They wrote a report. Within 

that report they even mentioned that the killing was 1 day, the 

blood was still there, Rome was still burning and again, that information got out. That document is now not going to be released because it is classified. 

I tried to talk to Mr. Feingold last year to work with him, Senator Feingold, to get this and it was never released. And I talked 

to Donald Yamamoto why he would not release it. 

Second, we have the human rights watch groups who went and 

investigated this, 64 page report in detail. And again, nothing has 

been done. 

Third, we had the U.S. Ambassador of Brazil go to Gambella and 

meet with the people, and once he came back, he called the 

Gambella Regional High Court the conscience of Ethiopia. It is now 

a region which is rich and full of untapped resources. And the only 

way now that Meles realizes that by going to those resources, they 

will be able to speed it and get progress. Who do they side with? 

China. China, who does not have a great human rights record. 

Again, today, we have Chinese and Malaysians taking over in 

Gambella. One Chinese have almost 50 Ethiopian Defense Force 

protecting them. 

Now a report just came out that the Chinese are wanting to start 

drilling the oil before the dry season when it is the dry season and 

the rainy season starts in May. So going to all of these things in 

detail, now we know that the Anuak have been killed for the resources, because these are the educated guys who are speaking up 

and not wanting the oil process to go until today, on top of that. 

The regional government of Gambella has never been consulted. 

The government in Gambella right now it is a number of those 

guys who should be charged with genocide, not the CUD leaders. 

Because the people, I knew of men who gave the names and this 

one guy, he is the governor of Gambella today and that is someVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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thing to be ashamed of. And again, Dr. Gabria who was the Minister in the Gambella region has again been promoted. Most of the 

key guys who were really the mastermind behind the killing have 

been promoted because Meles did not any of them to speak. 

And again, talking about it, there was a meeting. Right now, information is getting out. The killing took place way back. Even in 

October 2002 democrats elected Anuak governor with 44 of his cabinet were arrested. Until today most of them are in prison. Only 

16 were released and we are talking about justice in Ethiopia. 

There is no rule of law. It is like the law of the jungle. 

And on top of that, these guys have been arrested and then they 

replace another Anuak. When they disagree with that guy, when 

they went for the killing. In September there was now a record 

noted and we have evidence that there was a meeting took place. 

And the meeting was that they wanted the process of the oil to go 

ahead by any means. And by any means taking out those who are 

a roadblock to that. And this meeting, there was somebody who 

was present at that meeting and now we have this person, information got out. And again, how do you do it, to try to get those Anuak 

who are a roadblock to this oil construction and eliminate them 

and take them out? 

These things just did not happen overnight and it is planned, calculated. It was done and Meles knew about it. Again, I am telling 

you that is the truth and God knows it. The voice of those guys 

who are dead, they are hearing us today. But again, Meles is saying, I hear his men here today saying that they will try Mengistu. 

I am sure there will be one day, too, that there will be all of that. 

So they are not immoral to say that they will try other people for 

genocide. But maybe they talk about it now, because when people 

talk about it, again, then they will know what that word means. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you. Let me just ask Ms. 

Fredricksson. Ambassador Tessema said no political prisoners, no 

use of torture in the prisons. He was very dismissive that you did 

not have your facts correct at Amnesty International. How do you 

respond to that, please? 

Ms. FREDRICKSSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would respond 

to that by saying that not only are most of these individuals among 

the initial 131 political prisoners, they are prisoners of conscience. 

They are individuals, journalists, human rights defenders and others who have never used any violent means of presenting opposition. 

We have no indication otherwise regarding these individuals. 

There may be individuals within them that have used violent 

means, but we do not have any indication of that. 

In terms of the torture, we have had reports specifically that defendants in the case of Kifle Tigeneh and others, that torture in police custody and denial of medical treatment for torture injuries 

has been actively reported. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Is that with limited access or a great 

deal of access? 

Ms. FREDRICKSSON. Limited access to medical. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. No, but in terms of observers like 

yourself? Has Amnesty been able to get in and talk with prisoners? 

104

Ms. FREDRICKSSON. Well, actually, thank you. This is the point 

I hope to leave you with today is that not only are we looking for 

increased political space for civil society in Ethiopia, we are looking 

for that for opposition. We are looking for that for civil society overall for journalists and NGO workers. 

We are also looking for access, not only for IRI and NDI and 

IFES, which is very important, but also for human rights monitors 

and those monitoring crises, so that we can all go in actively and 

monitor the situation with the trials, with the political detainees 

and so on. We do what we can through others at this point in time, 

but we have had our access limited. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Okay, let me just ask a couple of 

final questions. Any evidence that the United States IMET or FMF 

funding has been used in any way, directly or indirectly, to suppress this or to be part of the crackdown? 

Ms. FREDRICKSSON. I cannot say that definitively today, but we 

will continue to monitor that situation. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Can you look into that? Any of you 

who would like to speak to that? 

Mr. METHO. I can make a point on that. One thing for sure, you 

know, we are talking about the prison and these guy deny here 

again. I am saying that it just upsets us to hear them talk like 

that. 

In Gambella, for example, I am saying that it is really very isolated and this is a place that not a lot of people know about it. This 

is a place where I am saying that again people are really being neglected. And there are lots of atrocities that go on in that place. 

Meles, really one of the reasons he killed, he thought he could get 

away with it, the information would not get out. 

Like those prisoners, the information we are getting out from 

those people who are prisoners in Gambella today, most of them 

there have been tortures. Even some of them are not allowed to receive medical treatment. Some of them in cases have died and we 

have this well documented. There are family members who wanted 

to go and see their husband before they die. 

And again, out of the 424 men who were arrested, five of them 

died in central prison in Addis and nobody really talks about this. 

Now in Gambella, the Defense Force, we have lots of new Defense 

Force there for the Chinese. Sometimes they find an Anuak man 

and just beat them because they are Anuak. And there are allegations that they are even torturing some of these men in just ways 

that are just horrendous. But they will do it in there, then they can 

do it in Addis. Because in Addis, it is more exposed. But in this 

place, it is just isolated and bush and they can get away with it. 

Just one other thing, if we have the team to go, is to go to those 

rural areas and go to the rural areas to get this information. Again, 

as I am saying, with this technology, we have people on the ground 

which we get information from them, you know, every day. Every 

day we find them and get information details of what is going on. 

With these now, we even have access to people who have cameras 

and we have some footage which is showing Defense troops. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Would all of you support or oppose 

or be neutral on our request to have Manfred Nowak, the U.S. Special Rapporteur on Torture, visit Ethiopia? 

105

Dr. MEQDES. Absolutely. 

Mr. METHO. Absolutely, yes, without question. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Yes, sir? 

Mr. TSEGE. The use of military training used against the supporters of democracy. I mean, one thing for sure I know now, 

whether it is you or the British that have supplied the technology 

to listen to telephone calls, mobiles. Now I know every conversation 

we have from here has been heard by the government security 

forces. And the people who were talking to me the past few months 

have been told for what they have been talking to me and they 

have been warned if they continue talking to me, they will be shot 

and their body will be thrown into the street as in the old days of 

the army. So this is one thing. 

The other thing is we have, we know that all the sharpshooters, 

snipers, whether you were involved or not in the training of them, 

but they have the ones which were deployed in the June 7 killing. 

In fact, it was very effective, their training, because what they 

wanted was not really to maim or just to disperse. They were actually shooting to kill so that other pro-democracy supporters would 

learn a lesson. This is what the army in power before EPRDF did. 

It is a measure to scare and to cow you down so that you cannot 

resist. These are the sort of things they have been using probably 

your funds. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Well, this Subcommittee will follow 

up. I asked Deputy Assistant Yamamoto earlier if he would provide 

information about who it is that we have trained and what it is 

that we have trained them in. You know, the who, what, where, 

when and why of that entire question, because during the previous 

administration and I was absolutely stymied as Chairman of this 

Committee in trying to discover what kind of training we provided 

under the Zaharta Regime and Kopasis, as I mentioned earlier, 

was their so-called elite. We knew that they were putting that little 

red dot on, which was obviously the ability to shoot to kill on people’s heads, right before they blew their brains out. And we provided urban guerilla warfare training to Kopasis. 

And when I got lists of people back from the Department of Defense, they were redacted as to who it is that we had trained. I 

found that very, very disconcerting and I would hope that we have 

not wittingly or unwittingly trained any of those who may have 

killed those who poured into the streets to protest this most recent 

election. 

So it is something we need to follow up on both in the past and 

to find out if any of this is occurring now. 

Mr. METHO. And one point I can make on top of that. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Okay, maybe the doctor and then we 

will come right to you. 

Mr. PAYNE. Yes, because we are going to have a vote in about 

20 minutes. 

Mr. METHO. One point I wanted to make on top of that is even 

on that point you wanted to get from, it is good to ask Yamamoto. 

I was told that the reason they did not want to release the report 

which was written by the United States Marines who went to 

Gambella was because they found a grenade and on that grenade 

it said ‘‘U.S. Made.’’ And one of the reasons it would stay classified 

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that those kinds of things would come out that it was U.S. guns 

that had been used and the U.S. citizens would talk about it. 

Again, the Humvees now that are used in the Gambella and 

rural regions are brand new. Those Humvee vehicles, you know, 

are supplied by the United States. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. I do have more questions which I 

will submit, but I will go to Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. The only reason I said it is 

because we are going to have a bell ring in about 15 minutes and 

I did want to ask some questions of mine. With Amnesty International, do you have any people now at all or are they totally restricting your office or what kind of activity do you have? 

Ms. FREDRICKSSON. Without revealing too many details in a public forum, as you know, it is a sensitive situation, we have had our 

access significantly restricted. We have been able to follow the 

trials well. However, we would very strongly request that we have 

open access to monitor the situation of detainees and the trials. 

Mr. PAYNE. Let me see on one of our questions we, as you know, 

Ms. Mesfin, I met your father about 10 years ago initially and then 

he was active then met again, I think, about 2 years ago when, as 

a matter of fact, when I was meeting with him, the electricity was 

interrupted for some reason. They were, I guess, trying to send a 

message that he should not be meeting with me. Then I know that 

he was arrested. 

When did they really start to zero in on him and what happened? 

I know that he was arrested, he was released, he was rearrested 

and then after the recent issue could you just tell me a little bit 

about that again? 

Dr. MEQDES. Well, the first time he was arrested and actually 

brought straight to court was in the early 90s. I want to say in 

1992. I do not think there were any charges. He was released on 

bail. That went on for every little thing and not necessarily any 

specific thing for a few years, until in 1996 he was also brought to 

court, released on bail, charged with violation of, I believe, four articles of the then new press law. 

Those charges were mysteriously dropped and like I said earlier, 

I have maintained communication with the Embassy every time 

the situation has ever arisen. I found out from the Embassy that 

those charges were to be dropped the subsequent week before the 

trial started, before my father even found out. I was the one who 

called him and let him know that the charges were going to be 

dropped. 

Then, of course, in 2001 he was arrested along with Berhan 

Nega. They were released on bail. The charges have been rewritten 

about three times so far and from what I hear and not necessarily 

from him, those witnesses that they had prepared, under duress, 

I am sure, are no longer in the country. But what has been happening is that they have these sequential dates for them to appear 

in court. And it is interesting how after he was arrested on November 1, there has been another date that they were due to appear 

in court and nobody talked about it. 

So I am sure that episode will just fizzle out and now we have 

a new one in process. He was here in July, early July. He was here 

on tour, became sick and just did not want to go on with the misVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
107

sion that he came to the United States for. Decided to cut his trip 

short, take it easy because he was in too much pain. He went home 

and he found that his own mobility was somewhat limited because 

of pain and had stayed home from the end of July until about November. Attended a couple of meetings, really a couple of meetings 

for that duration with help. He never left the house alone. 

So the day they came to arrest him, I do know that Ms. 

Busurkan Medeksa, who used to be a judge, was the deputy chair 

of the CUD and another member, were at his home visiting him. 

So all three of them were taken from the house together. 

Mr. PAYNE. I know it is a practice in many African countries and 

I know in Ethiopia, too, in prison when we went to visit, who was 

our friend, Mr. Desi, the practice in many countries and even in 

Ethiopia, is the prisoners must be brought food from outside, from 

relatives. Do you have a way to ensure that your father, someone 

is able to bring him food? 

Dr. MEQDES. My father, just for the record, had been on a hunger 

strike for about 45 days initially. And then eventually he went on 

a fast in solidarity with other prisoners who were not accounted for 

more recently. Currently it is Lent and Ethiopian Orthodox Church 

followers do not eat any animal products during Lent. I would just 

say that because of logistics and proximity from most people’s 

homes, food is brought to them at this point only once a week, but 

they take turns. So my family would take food once a week for a 

group of prisoners so that somebody else’s family would deliver the 

rest of the week. 

But they are specifically asking for meat because they have retained a cat to handle the rodent problem. and if I may say so, 

talking about treatment, there is something that I am not comfortable sharing in a public space, too. I just heard about it and if 

I could just submit that eventually, I would appreciate that. 

Mr. PAYNE. Sure, that would be fine. 

Dr. MEQDES. My other problem is access to courts. Prisoners on 

the dates that they appear to court, family members are issued 

these passes to enter the courts that have become really egregiously cumbersome to obtain. I do know that the last time they 

appeared in court, they could have retained the passes, but the officials have taken them back. So they are going to be issued again 

once the trial begins. Thank you. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. Well, our time is going to expire in about 10 minutes. We are going to be called to a vote. Let 

me just say it is good to see you again, Mr. Metho. If you were listening in my original statement, I mentioned that outside of Addis 

and I went on to talk about two areas, the Somalia area and 

Oromo that there were problems. But I said that throughout Ethiopia there were problems. As you know, there are 80 ethnic groups 

in Ethiopia and I did find time when you came several years ago 

to meet with me. Although I am sure that most members may send 

their staff to meet with you, I squeezed in the time to meet with 

you. It is good to see you again. 

So I take no exception to the fact that you characterized the 

meeting with me and absolutely nothing happened. Let me tell you 

what happened, for your information. When I went back to Ethiopia, I spoke specifically to the prime minister about the problem 

108

in that area. Now I have a hard time finding where you are, so, 

you know, I am sorry that you did not know that I followed up. But 

I am not thin skinned and it is not irregular that we do hear absolute statements made. 

Now Gambella is an area that we are very concerned about. 

There are many issues and we could have spent—the Oromo people 

are even excluded from elections. We could have talked about the 

Felashes. I mean, if we want to talk about ethnic groups, as a matter of fact, I think it is very privileged that you are really the only 

person that is talking about a specific ethnicity. We could have this 

room full about people who could tell stories about how they have 

been persecuted by the government because of their ethnicity. 

So I just wanted to point out that we have followed up about 

Gambella. We have talked to and followed up with the government 

of Ethiopia about that. I did take the time, not knowing you, but 

trying to listen to all of the problems of people from the 50 sub Saharan African countries which must have 40 or 50 ethnic groups. 

So I am sorry that you felt that your time was wasted when you 

met with me, but let me let you know that we did take that concern back and that we did deal with it. 

I mean, the poor Felashes, Jewish people who have been in Ethiopia for centuries, as a matter of fact, all had to practically leave 

under Mengistu. They not only had to leave but they had to pay 

to leave, even though they were being persecuted by the government. We could have spent an awful lot of time because I followed 

the Felashes issue back in the 70s when I first went to Ethiopia. 

So I just wanted to bring that point out that we are concerned 

about many of the issues and many of the ethnic groups in Ethiopia and that we are fighting to be sure that all of them are relieved of any kind of intimidation and exploitation. 

The question of the problems on the Horn, once again we have 

a difficult area. I wonder maybe Amnesty, does your office cover a 

Somalia? We talk about our policy, you know, and sometimes we 

question. We certainly have to watch China, but I just read where 

we just bought computers for State Department from China, where 

they are actually making the technology. I get a little concerned 

about China, too. But any time we get concerned with China, as 

a matter of fact, they are going to build the Boeing airplane, the 

tails now. They said they did not want to buy Boeings from America if they cannot have a piece of the manufacturing. 

So I would hope sometime that we could really get our State Department to come in and just have a hearing on China, because 

they are everywhere. I think we have to be careful about China. 

We have to watch China. However, when it comes to business, they 

love China. America is making China the most powerful country in 

the world. 

Then we turn around and we get concerned about China’s prowess and growth, so it is a very confusing China question. It creeps 

up a lot in hearings and China has the most repressive government 

in the world. But even in the human rights report, much of it is 

mentioned but a lot of it is even looked the other way, you know. 

Red carpet treatments come out, even after Tienamen Square. The 

Clinton Administration had some of the butchers out at the White 

House. This administration just fattens them up with business. 

109

So I think at some point, I hope the International Relations Committee can decide where we stand with them. But I just wanted to, 

Mr. Metho, let you know that it was a very strong issue that we 

did raise. If you would like to come back again, I would be glad to 

meet with you again. Like I said, I do not know where you are, but 

I am still upstairs where you met with me when you came and it 

is good to see you again. 

Mr. METHO. Thank you. 

Mr. PAYNE. I yield back. We are getting ready to have a vote, so 

thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much. Let me just 

conclude with, first of all, without objection, I would ask that statements by the Oromo Liberation Front and the Ethiopian American 

Federation be made a part of the record. 

Let me ask one final question and anything you want to add as 

we conclude. We recently held a lengthy hearing on the whole problem of the Internet. You mentioned earlier, Mr. Tsege, about the 

phone call and the fact that people can be listened to, very, very 

unfortunately and intrusively, by the government. And technology 

that certainly comes from the United States enables that. 

Well, the thrust of that hearing was to focus on the fact that 

Yahoo, Cisco, Microsoft and Google and others are very substantially enabling secret police to monitor, capture, incarcerate and regrettably torture dissidents in countries all over the world. That includes Ethiopia, China, Belarus, and Vietnam, who were certainly 

the ones we were most focused on. We do know beyond any reasonable doubt that Ethiopia falls into that category as well and we are 

now trying to document even further how the Meles Regime may 

be using that to establish a dragnet. 

I am wondering if any of you might be able to shed some light 

on that for us. Please, Mr. Tsege? 

Mr. TSEGE. Well, nowadays, people naturally use the Internet to 

send messages to them. So even though I do not have the facts, 

those people who warn us must know something. I was told that 

what you said actually is possible in Ethiopia. So there is no reason 

that a government like Meles would not use it when it is available 

to it. 

But more than that, the government is threatening to shut down 

the whole Internet, just because that has been the only outlet 

where the voice of Ethiopians is being heard all over the world. 

Messages have been passed between individuals or groups. I mean, 

they did, in fact, as you probably recall, ban or stop the mobile text 

service just after the election, because people were actually using 

it to pass messages on the election, asking people to vote, asking 

people to support one party. 

So, I mean, it looks like now the way things are going, they 

would even shut the Internet down and send Ethiopia back to the 

Dark Ages. But at the same time, before you leave, there is something phenomenal I want to mention here. You talked a lot about 

funding, a lot of findings and most of the time I listened to you and 

you seemed to put your faith in investing in training army and 

training the generals. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Not the army, believe me. 

110

Mr. TSEGE. But what I am trying to say is this. The problem in 

Ethiopia is not a matter of really training professionals. I mean, 

they could help, but if the government does not have the will to let 

these professionals operate according to the training they were 

given, then all the investment of good American dollars is going to 

be wasted. I mean, we are stuck there, you see. The process of democratization is not a problem of the Ethiopian people because as 

my friend has said, they are ready for it. They showed it. 

In fact, the stance between the expression of the Ethiopian people for democracy is not the fact that we are a beginning democracy. It is the regime of Meles who is backward in fact in its outlook and in understanding the fact of power and the use of democracy to change societies. Meles belongs, in fact, to the old Stalinist 

school. He does not believe in all the liberal values you people try 

to defend all over the world. 

So the issue should be, how are you going to come halfway and 

meet the opposition parties without using the opposition movement 

and the people behind them probably could change them. You could 

force him. But as it is, through training or using diplomatic means 

and giving condemnations now and then, whatever human rights 

abuse are serious enough, but it is not going to change the situation. 

So I believe the only way out of the current impasse in Ethiopia 

is to demand unconditional and immediate release of the opposition 

party leaders, CUD leaders, and use them and the people behind 

them to force the ruling party to come to the negotiation table and 

fill those independent institutions. 

Earlier I heard the Ambassador talking about employing experts 

from all over the world even trying to advise the government. I was 

with the government 14 years ago. I advised them. I advised them 

of the need for independent judiciary, the need for independent 

media, the need for trade unions and organizations to organize 

freely. I even argued on the premise that this will be the only way 

we can survive. But these people were stuck in Stalinism and they 

are stuck in it. They will not change. So what are you going to do? 

I believe we need a heavy stick to wave above their head, otherwise it will not work, is what I would say. 

Mr. METHO. One point I would make on that, because I know 

time is running out, in terms of the Internet in Gambella, we have 

no really evidence. But most of the people that we get information 

from told us not to use the Internet at all. That was 2 months ago. 

But another thing is I am not really surprised that even some 

of the people that we talked to, they are now really from one place 

to a different place tomorrow, because they do not want to be, you 

know, their phone has been tapped. We have a case of four guys 

were walking and they were arrested and I can suspect that their 

phone has been tapped. 

Another thing which has happened is again going back to 

Gambella being an isolated area, they did finally make cell phones 

available in Gambella. That was 5 or 4 months ago. And until 

today, they made it very, very difficult for the Anuak. For the 

Anuak, you have to be on the list for almost 6 weeks, you know, 

to screen your name to be able to go to get a cell phone. 

111

So I think that the government is trying the very best they can 

to use the Internet and any other technology means to really prohibit people. But again, knowing that, I agree with him, saying 

that, you know, these guys are not really people who are ready for 

reform. But how do you bring reform? Again, if these political prisoners are released right away, including all of those people in the 

rural areas. These are the people who could really work with the 

government. 

The government, I do not know if they want me, but those are 

a group who would be able to open a window of opportunity. Because if we really give the Ethiopians an opportunity and a chance 

to really try the democratic process, I am sure that they could do 

it and they are ready for it and I think they could do it. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you. Let me just conclude by 

saying next week we hope to mark up H.R. 4423, which we will be 

renaming and we will be making some other changes in the legislation, I think positive changes. But one of them will be to rename 

it the Ethiopian Freedom Human Rights and Democracy Act of 

2006. 

When we originally introduced it last November it was the Ethiopian Consolidation Act of 2005, so just a name change plus some 

very valuable insights gleaned from this hearing, working with Mr. 

Payne and with the Minority and other Members of the Majority, 

we will come up with some additional amendments so we have a 

stronger and more potent bill that really reflects what we need to 

do. 

Thank you so much. The hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 6:35 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE BETTY MCCOLLUM, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA

Mr. Chairman, this is an important hearing and I appreciate your willingness to 

examine the current situation in Ethiopia. 

I am very proud to represent many Ethiopian Americans and Oromo Americans 

in my Minnesota district. They have met with my office frequently expressing grave 

concerns regarding the political repression and chronic human rights abuses occurring in Ethiopia under the current regime. 

Let me state for the record, I strongly support the people of Ethiopia and will continue to stand with them in their very challenging efforts to overcome extreme poverty, a deadly absence of any healthcare, and of course years of chronic food insecurity. 

I also stand with them in their effort to have their voices heard in a free and 

democratic society. 

Unfortunately, the current leadership’s political repression, massacres and extreme human rights abuses clearly demonstrate a government that is not on the 

path to democracy, but committed to retaining power at any cost. Mostly free elections accompanied with massacres of pro-democracy demonstrators cast a dark 

shadow on the prospects for freedom and democracy. 

I believe the American people reject the notion that a regime that massacres innocent citizens can be called a friend and partner of the United States. 

Ethiopia should be held to the same standard as any nation that is a friend of 

the U.S.—a standard in which freedom, justice and accountability are values we 

judge our friends by and state-sponsored massacres, torture and massive detentions 

are condemned. 

I know the Chairman has introduced legislation, HR 4423, that may be marked 

up in the near future. Mr. Chairman, like you, I want human rights defended, democracy promoted and freedom—political freedom and freedom from hunger, disease 

and misery—extended for all Ethiopians. 

In its present form, your bill does not place the government on a path to achieve 

these goals, therefore I cannot support it. I would like to work with you and all of 

our colleagues on this subcommittee to strengthen your bill to ensure that the U.S. 

supports freedom and true democracy for the Ethiopian people and not an extension 

of the status quo that has proven deadly and repressive to far too many people. 

STATEMENT OF MESFIN MEKONEN, ON BEHALF OF THE ETHIOPIAN-AMERICAN

COUNCIL AND THE ETHIOPIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

The Ethiopian-American Council and the Ethiopian National Congress respectfully submit the following testimony for the aptly titled hearing on ‘‘Ethiopia’s Troubled Internal Situation.’’

Ethiopians realize that the fate of their country rests in the hands of the Ethiopian people, but they also believe that the United States of America can help a 

great deal, and can serve as an inspiration in Ethiopia’s quest for human rights, 

democracy, and prosperity. 

The nature and source of Ethiopia’s troubled situation are not mysterious. Members of the U.S. Congress and State Department have documented both. As Rep. 

Dana Rohrabacher (R–CA) said on the floor of the House of Representatives recently 

regarding the Ethiopian government: ‘‘No pragmatic strategy can justify the United 

States backing a regime that stole the last election and has brutalized their own 

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1http://www.cpj.org/regionsl06/africal06/africal06.html#ethiopia; http://www.et-eueom.org/; 

http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/ethiopia/news.do; http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/

61569.htm 

people and will, at some point, disintegrate from its own corruption and incompetent 

ways.’’

H.R. 4423, The Ethiopia Consolidation Act, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Smith 

(R–NJ), states: ‘‘The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia 

continues to violate the internationally-established rights of its citizens, including 

unlawful killings by security forces (including the June 2005 shootings by government security forces of more than 40 election demonstrators), arbitrary or politically-motivated arrests, long detentions without charge or trial and beatings and 

torture.’’

The State Department’s recent report on human rights practices in Ethiopia also 

paints a grim, but accurate picture of the Ethiopian government’s disregard for the 

basic tenets of civilized governance. The European Union, Amnesty International, 

Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists have all issued reports that condemn the Ethiopian government.1

As is documented in these reports, the Ethiopian ruling party has corrupted the 

democratic process, and has killed and jailed innocent men, women and children 

who are guilty of nothing more heinous than peacefully expressing their desire for 

democracy. Not only did the regime subvert the recent elections by creating a climate of fear and intimidation, including a virtual media blackout of opposition candidates, it also blatantly falsified the results. It then made a further mockery of the 

democratic process. In apparent deference to international opinion, a small proportion of the opposition candidates who actually won their races were declared winners, but before they could take office the parliamentary rules were changed. 

Under the new rules the opposition is permitted to do nothing more than serve 

the governing regime by providing the appearance of democracy. In fact, the opposition is not permitted to even debate issues. The U.S. State Department has insisted 

that those elected should take their seats in Parliament. Ethiopians are not, however, willing to settle for an imaginary, or third class, democracy. Many members 

of the opposition have refused to participate in Parliament under these rules. 

Unfortunately, the American government’s statements about the troubled situation in Ethiopia sometimes seem to suggest that Ethiopians should be content with 

the mere appearance of democracy. There appears to be a double standard. While 

regimes in Europe that are far less brutal than Ethiopia’s are pressured to adhere 

to high standards, Ethiopia’s leaders are rarely called to account. When the Ukrainian government stole elections, the U.S. immediately insisted that new elections be 

quickly organized. Recently, the State Department has been outspoken in its denunciation of the government of Belarus. These actions stand in strong contrast to the 

State Department’s statements on Ethiopia, which seem to be carefully calibrated 

to cast equal blame on the ruling party and the opposition. 

It is wrong to suggest a moral equivalence between the government, which has 

used violence to suppress legitimate political expression, and the opposition. Similarly, it is ridiculous to suggest that the Ethiopian judiciary is independent or fair. 

Judges are appointed by and under the control of the ruling party. To suggest that 

members of the opposition who have been arrested and charged with crimes such 

as treason should be tried by Ethiopian courts is absurd. Yet this is precisely what 

the U.S. State Department has endorsed in public statements of American policy. 

The Ethiopian government’s crimes against its own people are far more serious 

than those of some other governments that the U.S. has strenuously denounced. 

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians are imprisoned in barbaric conditions. Western 

press reports estimate that 40,000 Ethiopians are being held in concentration camps 

around the country. 

The admiration that Ethiopians feel for the ideals that President Bush and Secretary Rice have expressed about democracy and human rights are tempered by bitter disappointment over the lack of attention to their country’s plight. Although 

Ethiopia is not an important commercial or military ally of the United States, its 

people strive for and deserve the same kinds of basic rights that America has 

worked to help people in other, more prominent, countries obtain. By helping Ethiopia, America could demonstate the seriousness of its commitment to freedom. 

Rather than treat it with respect, the United States should work for international 

condemnation of the Ethiopian ruling party and of its members who have committed 

atrocities. In the longer term, American investments in building civil society in Ethiopia, in democratic institutions, will pay huge dividends. 

In the past, the United States has generously come to the assistance of Ethiopia 

during famine and other times of great need. This assistance has been both greatly 

115

appreciated and a source of shame for Ethiopians who know that the lives of their 

countrymen should not depend on charity from the international community. Ethiopians and its friends abroad should not be satisfied with dictatorial government, 

massive poverty, disease and corruption. To prevent the famines and starvation that 

America has heped alleviate so many times in the past, the U.S. should press for 

reversals of the autocratic, communist-style policies that keep Ethiopia poor. 

U.S assistance to Ethiopia should be firmly focused not only on short-term needs, 

but much more importantly in pushing the Ethiopian regime to take steps that will 

unleash the creativity and talent of the people. Ethiopians living in the United 

States and around the world have shown that they can succeed in a free environment. They have also forged close ties between their homeland and the United 

States, ties that can make Ethiopia a force for stability in Africa and an ally in the 

war on terrorism. Poverty, hopelessness, instability and despotism fertilize terror, 

so the steps that will help develop Ethiopia will also make it a more reliable American ally. 

In its 14 years in power, the ruling party’s accomplishments include: famine and 

starvation; communist-style economic policies including state ownership of agricultural land; a ruinous, senseless war that killed over 70,000 people and cost untold 

amounts of money; a dysfunctional educational system that robs Ethiopian young 

people of opportunities for productive lives; and untreated epidemics of HIV/AIDS, 

malaria and other diseases; and ethnic policies, which for the first time in Ethiopian 

history pit one ethnic group against another, create the conditions that can breed 

terrorism. 

STATEMENT OF THE OROMO LIBERATION FRONT DELEGATION

Chairman Smith, 

Members of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human 

Rights and International Operations. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

On behalf of the leadership of the Oromo Liberation Front, we wholeheartedly 

thank you for giving us this opportunity to once again share with you the plight 

of the Oromo people in Ethiopia and the position of the Oromo Liberation Front on 

the current political and humanitarian crisis in the country. We are profoundly 

grateful for the concern this Subcommittee and the American people are showing 

about the dire situation in Ethiopia. 

During the last 9 months, the situation in our country has been degenerating at 

very accelerating and dramatic pace to full scale political and humanitarian crisis. 

We have been aware, since 1992, of the TPLF’s scheme to hoodwink the Ethiopian 

people and the world into believing that it is effecting a transition to a democratic 

order while in actuality attempting to lay the foundations for an authoritarian 

structure. Fortunately, today, for our people, the eyes of the world are no longer 

blind to this scheme. 

With gratitude, we note that the international observers who had convened in 

Ethiopia last May to bear witness to what they and we had hoped would be a precedent-setting experiment in democratization have testified with near unanimity that 

the electoral process was deeply flawed. The Ethiopian peoples and the international community have registered their dismay with the systematic fraud perpetrated by the TPLF and its surrogates to derail the democratization process and 

fortify ethnic stratification in the land. 

Mr. Chairman, 

Without going into laborious detail into the complex history of the Ethiopian polity leading up to and bearing upon the current state of affairs, we will try to highlight some of the problems that have led to the present crisis and sketch for you 

some preliminary propositions for a just remedy. 

Subsequent to the downfall of the Mengistu’s communist regime in 1991, the Ethiopian experiment in democracy was launched on a very promising note. It was Africa’s most ambitious experiment to effect a transition from autocracy and ethnic 

domination to democracy and national self-determination. Many of our friends the 

world over had hoped that the proper atmosphere had been created to give war-torn 

and famine-ravaged Ethiopia respite for a change, none more so than the United 

States whose Department of State had lent its good offices to help effect a peaceful 

transition. We in the Oromo Liberation Front also hoped so. 

Unfortunately, Ethiopia has a tragic habit of missing the political reform train at 

every opportune juncture. No sooner had the skeletal framework of a government 

been set up than the TPLF started to concentrate power in the hands of its own 

loyal cadres. 

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Arrests without warrants of innocent civilians by virtue of their past associations 

with or support for the OLF and unlawful detentions and selective assassinations, 

not to speak of intimidation, continue to be rampant and worsening. As in all similar circumstances, such atrocities perpetrated by the state have deepened further 

popular resistance and set in motion a vicious cycle within will undoubtedly intensify in time of animosity between an increasingly isolated sate on the one hand and 

the citizenry on the other. 

Whatever the TPLF/EPRDF’s propaganda machinery might be saying, the truth 

is that the general unease in the country is higher than ever before since the regime 

came to power 15 years ago, and there is no question that if the current trends continue, the country will witness an irreversible slide into a multiple-front civil war 

that will be broader in scope than any of the wars that it has witnessed so far. 

Today, there is truly unprecedented political turmoil and humanitarian crisis in 

the Oromia region of Ethiopia. For over four months now there has been a continued demonstrations and strikes particularly by students all over Oromia state and 

fast spreading to other regions. During these months, thousands of our citizens have 

been detained including school children, disappeared, and several killed by Mr. 

Zenawi’s special security force. All the atrocities are hidden from the world view as 

free presses are banned and journalists thrown into jail. This crisis that is fast engulfing Ethiopia truly threatens the security of the people in Ethiopia and that of 

the region. 

Mr. Chairman, 

Sometimes history unfolds of its own volition, and, no matter how wronged and 

abused our people have been resisting ethnic domination, and still strive not to return to the status-quo ante. To rectify the errors of the past that have locked the 

peoples of Ethiopia in the vicious cycle of mutual distrust and fratricidal wars, to 

guarantee the inalienable rights of people individually and in national groups, to 

put behind us once and for all the unfortunate past of ethnic stratification and move 

toward a new and just order that celebrates rather than gags cultural diversity. 

We genuinely envisaged that the process that started in 1991 will restore the 

rights of Ethiopia’s many abused nationalities to exercise their rights of self-determination. We even entertained the hope that ours might become something of a 

precedent-setting model for other multinational countries in Africa. However, the 

government institution became where the Tigrean ethnic group exercise government 

authority and impose on the peoples of Ethiopia the hegemony of a single group. 

In light of these, the legality of the TPLF/EPRDF regime has come under a serious 

question and its political and moral authority to govern Ethiopia has immeasurably 

diminished. 

This is being manifested by the peoples uprising all over the country and vote denial during the last election. 

Mr. Chairman, 

Democracy is not apolitical agenda; it is an historic agenda. There is no question 

that irreversible march to democracy has started in Ethiopia. No might on earth can 

stop this, and fortunately for those of us who rejoice at its advent, the mighty of 

the earth at this epoch in history are spearheading the march with your great country at the very forefront. If a truly democratic, fair and just alternative can be engineered to sidestep the costly wars and instability with which our people are only 

too well-acquainted our commitment to the path of peace is unswerving. The truce 

is that it is never too late for peace. 

The United States of America has important strategic interests on the volatile 

Horn of Africa region—consolidating democracy, fighting poverty, combating terrorism and promoting regional peace and stability. To achieve these policy objectives, it will be prudent and less expensive to adopt preventive rather than crisis 

diplomacy. 

We recognize that while the chief burden lies with the peoples in Ethiopia and 

political groups such as the OLF to create a viable alternative force and to create 

a favorable situation on the ground, the international community and in particular 

the USA has the responsibility and the leverage to avert a disaster from unfolding 

and paving the way for a better future for all the peoples of the Horn. At the moment, when many Western countries and organizations warn the Ethiopia government with cutting aid if the gross human rights violations that exist do not stop 

and democratization processes does not continue, the USA government’s stand is not 

clear to many of us. In fact, it is the USA supplied military materiel, including 

humvee vehicles that the regime is using to suppress the people demanding for their 

legitimate rights. 

Even though Oromos make up a majority (35 million out the 74 million) of the 

population and the Ethiopian economy to a large extent dependent on Oromo resources, they still hold a marginal status in Ethiopia. The desire of the majority 

117

Oromo is to regain its rights. The desire of the minority based regime is to maintain 

this untenable status quo that has been a great obstacle for democratization in Ethiopia and a simmering source of conflict. Unless the Oromo question is addressed 

genuinely and justly, there can neither be peace nor stability in Ethiopia and the 

region. 

For Ethiopia to be free, democratic, peaceful and stable so as to project a democratizing and stabilizing role on the region, it has to bring peace to its house by addressing Oromo grievances and meeting their national aspirations. To the extent 

that this is not the case, sustainable peace in the region will continue to be very 

elusive. 

Ethiopia is at the center of the problem and solution for the region. The conflict 

in the Horn is interconnected. It needs a comprehensive regional solution. The first 

step is to come up with a mechanism that balances the power and undue influence 

of the minority in Ethiopia. One of such measures is to empower the Oromo so that 

they could play a role commensurate with their size and resources in stabilizing and 

moderating in Ethiopia. 

The political process in Ethiopia has serious structural deficits, one of which is 

the exclusion of major political forces such as OLF and the blurring of the line between the government and the ruling party in local government. By excluding such 

major political forces as OLF, the outcome of any election in Ethiopia could not be 

deemed free and fair. OLF has made several attempts at peacemaking but none are 

reciprocated to by the regime. We believe it takes the weight of the US and its allies 

to kick-start a peaceful political transformation process in Ethiopia and ensure that 

such a process will be fruitful. The international community needs to exert real 

pressure on the regime to enter into a meaningful dialogue with OLF. 

The international community and the USA in particular can do a great deal to 

set things on the right in Ethiopia. As one of its African initiatives, US can take 

steps to remedy the perennial democratic deficit in Ethiopia and ensure transparency in governance and enjoyment of basic liberty by all the peoples. Uncritical 

economic and political assistance to Meles Zenawi will not benefit the people of 

Oromia or Ethiopia and it will not help the cause of democracy and security. The 

fact that the USA government continues to support the Ethiopian regime, when the 

rest of donor countries are withholding or threatening to withhold aid under the 

present undemocratic situation, is worrisome. 

Mr. Chairman, 

In the interests of peace, and, in the hope of launching yet another peaceful attempt to resolve the chronic political problem in Ethiopia, we humbly beseech you 

to lend your great weight to:

1) Support our call for the convening of an inclusive All Party Conference. We 

envision that such a conference can be entrusted with tasks of: 

a) The setting up of a genuine, more carefully crafted, more inclusive 

transitional government; 

b) Establish an independent, impartial and competent election administrative body for conducting a free and fair such elections, and, 

c) Discuss and agree upon defense and security matters for the transitional period and beyond;

2) In light of the EPRDF’s obvious inadequate stewardship of aid lent to the 

Ethiopian people apparent in such relief monies and disproportionately high 

disbarments to its home principality of Tigray: 

a) Monitor both bilateral and multilateral economic assistance closely to 

ensure that they enhance rather than hinder the democratic praxis, 

and 

b) Channel humanitarian assistance through completely neutral non-governmental organizations.

3) In light of the TPLF/EPRDF’s total control over the mass media, help promote a responsible and free press; 

In short, help in the sketching of a blue print for a stage-by-stage democratization of both the political and economic orders, and, based upon this, set 

a new, more realistic, more inclusive, and more well-founded transition.

The United States, with its might, prestige and influence, and with the special 

role assigned to it by history in relation to the current unfolding in Ethiopia, is in 

an unquestionably pivotal position that none other can occupy to influence the 

course of events in our land. The Oromo, of all peoples, are fully committed to the 

democratic alternative as we have nothing to lose and much to gain from its institutionalization, if for no other reason than our numbers. If the commitment of the 

United States to help build a democratic order in Ethiopia is a true one, we entreat 

118

you to exercise your great political economic leverage to help build a democratic 

order in Ethiopia that you so urged us to start and to help rectify its apparent derailment. To this end, the OLF is willing and able to cooperate with you and with 

all forces in Ethiopia as we have already demonstrated on several occasions in the 

past. 

It is our hope and trust that the United States will endorse our position. 

Again, thank you for your concern. 

STATEMENT OF MR. ANDARGACHEW TSEGE, MEMBER, CENTRAL COUNCIL, COALITION

FOR UNITY AND DEMOCRACY PARTY, SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

Early days: 1972–1979 personal background 

In 1972 I joined Haile Selassie the 1st Addis Ababa University. It was at this 

time that I became acquainted to most of the dominant individuals within TPLF 

(Tigray Peoples Liberation Front), including the current PM of Ethiopia, Meles 

Zenawi. 

Both of us, myself and Meles Zenawi were enrolled at the Arat Kilo science campus as freshmen students in the physical sciences department. 

In 1973 I left Arat Kilo campus and went to the neighbouring campus to study 

Engineering. 

In 1974 the time of upheaval and revolution in Ethiopia we went into our divergent ways. The university was closed by the Military Junta that came to power. In 

1976 when the University was reopened I withdrew form the University to work full 

time within the multi-ethnic resistance movement against the military dictators in 

Addis Ababa. Mr. Zenawi went to his birth place Tigray to join an ethnic based organization, the TPLF, an organization that had a professed aim of Liberating Tigray 

from Ethiopian colonialism and establish the republic of Tigray. 

Within a couple of years the military dictators crashed all resistance in the city. 

I lost close family members, including a younger brother who was just sixteen and 

almost all my friends that I grew up and went to school with. Another of my younger brother at age of 16 ended up in Dergue’s prison, sentenced five years. Another 

one fled to Djibouti. In just three years the familiar world that I new disappeared. 

In 1977, wanted by the military government I had to leave the city of Addis Ababa 

and flee to the northern part of Ethiopia, to Tigray, to join the armed wing of the 

party that I was a member, EPRP (Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party). Unfortunately I was unable to join the rebel group that I wanted. Upon my arrival what 

I found in Tigray was only the TPLF. After a brief but bitter fighting against Mr. 

Melese’s group EPRA was forced out of Tigray. Once again I met Meles and other 

friends from my university days. Having agreed to set up another organization that 

can mobilize resistance in other parts of the country outside Tigray I stayed with 

Meles Group for more than a year and half. During my stay with Meles group, the 

most striking feature of their movement was that the leadership was extremely 

ethno-centric and arrogantly Stalinist. Those of us who remained and witnessed how 

Stalinism was used by both the Military government and the underground opposition parties to justify the banning of dissent, individual freedom, and sanction 

killings, TPLF blind adherence to this totalitarian ideology was worrying. For me 

Stalinism was the reason why we had lost so many bright minds of the nation’s children, why the promise and of hope the 1974 revolution turned into hopelessness and 

despair, why we could not move from autocracy to democracy from poverty to prosperity. For the leadership of the TPLF who operated far from the cities, where the 

mass killings and imprisonments was taking place, where access to books written 

on Stalin’s crimes were non existent, and where, unlike the other oppositions it had 

recorded victories against its rivals in Tigray (EDU,TLF, EPRP, and The DERGUE) 

Stalinism meant success. As a result of this misconception on the reasons for their 

success, in discussion with TPLF leadership, it was absolutely impossible to say 

anything against Stalinism. Even to this day as it had been for a long time, it is 

not surprising that Stalin’s book ON the Opposition has remained a favorite of 

Meles Zenawi. In fact it is my knowledge of the attraction Stalinism had to the 

Ethiopian political elite, including the TPLF which made me give the title the ‘‘liberator’’ who has no notion of liberty.’’ to a book I wrote and published just before 

the May 2005 election. 

1979–1991

In 1979 when I realized the formation of another resistance group was not materializing I left Tigray and with the help of TPLF I moved to Khartoum, the Sudan. 

The same year I was given a refugee status by the British government and traveled 

to UK to join my sisters who had left Ethiopia before the fall of Emperor Haile 

119

Selassie and could not get back to their country due to their involvement in opposing the military dictatorship that was in power. 

The move to UK did not put an end to my relationship with the TPLF and its 

leadership. Through the organization’s London office I had a continuous contact 

with Meles and the rest of the leadership. I have always supported one aspect of 

the TPLF struggle, i.e. the struggle for ethnic rights and equality. However as I 

went long to learn more about values of western society, western philosophy and 

politics my disdain to the type of totalitarian left wing ideology that the TPLF followed so religiously was something I could not tolerate. I recall some of the heated 

debates in the late eighties that I had with Meles Zenawi at the London office were 

issues concerning, democracy, individual rights, the rule of law, economic liberalism 

and direction of economic development. He always asked why the Ethiopian Diaspora was not supporting their struggle against the military dictators. I always 

pointed out to the differences the Diaspora has with the TPLF regarding the issues 

mentioned above. Meles always dismissed the Diasporas concern as ‘‘a laughable 

bourgeois indulgence’’. 

In the middle of the 1980s TPLF came out into the open and with a rational borrowed from left wing ideology declared its intention to become the liberator of all 

Ethiopian oppressed people, not only Tigreans as it was set in the earlier plan. I 

saw TPLF’s shift to break out the ethnic enclosure and its willingness to organize 

a multi-ethnic resistance as a positive development. Yet it still contained serious 

problems. The fact that the alliance TPLF wanted to form, for the joint struggle 

against the military dictators, was only with organizations that it had created was 

one problem. This effectively ruled out a genuine alliance of different political 

groups that represented the diverse interests of the Ethiopian people at large. The 

other major problem was that all organizations that were set up by TPLF and that 

later made up the front EPRDF were created after the image of TPLF Stalinist 

model. They all had their Marxist core at the centre. As TPLF had its MLLT, 

(Marxist Leninist League of Tigray) EPDM (The Ethiopian People Revolutionary 

Democratic Movement now ANDM Amhara National Democratic Movement, had 

EMLF {Ethiopian Marxist Leninist Force), OPDO had its OMLF (The Oromo Marxist Leninist Force) and the alliance TPLF envisaged was an alliance of those who 

took backward Albania run by a brutal dictator named Enver Hoxa as their model 

of political inspiration. The organizations that were created by the TPLF were naturally weak in all fronts. Intellectually and militarily they were made to be dependent on the TPLF. (Even after the fall of the Deregue in 1991, when some of these 

organizations had a chance to attract a lot of intellectuals into their ranks they were 

not allowed to accommodate knew and able members for the fear of contaminating 

the Marxist purity of their organization by letting in what TPLF called ‘‘bourgeois 

reactionary intellectuals’’ into their ranks. Thus all the various PDOs, People Democratic Organizations that had the name of the various ethnic groups in Ethiopia as 

their prefix were made to rely upon individuals with low level of education and political experience that left TPLF, an organization representing one of the smallest 

ethnic groups in Ethiopia, to have a total control on political power. At the same 

time organizing TPLF sponsored ethnic political organizations on the basis of what 

TPLF called the principle revolutionary democracy meant that they will be no room 

for the political involvement of the intelligentsia or the property owning class of the 

respective ethnic groups. The back clash for this became that the countries intellectuals who had hitherto had a tradition of organizing themselves on Ethiopia wide 

political movements, had to organize themselves on Ethnic basis simply to have a 

political presence to fight the injustices committed on their people by the new ethnically organized parties of TPLF. Apart from the Tigray ethnic group, dominated 

and led by one party, the remaining ethnic groups in the country were divided by 

two or more ethnic based organization, wasting their time and human resources in 

infighting amongst themselves. The division within one ethnic group between those 

who are for revolutionary democracy and those who see this type of democracy as 

legacy of the Stalinist out look of TPLF that would inevitably lead to totalitarian 

rule weakened the major ethnic groups, such as the Oromos and the Amharas thereby making them vulnerable to TPLF domination and manipulation. This continued 

for14 years until the election of May 2005.) 

At the end of the 80s and early 90s TPLF seemed to go through another metamorphosis. It appeared that all talk about communist doctrine was abandoned. A call 

to all independent political parties (including the OLF and Other multi ethnic organizations) to work together went out from TPLF. In the name peace and democracy 

Meles and his friends even proposed, provided certain preconditions were met, to 

work with the military junta in power. Instead of the setting up of a one party state 

EPRDF began to talk setting up a multi-party democracy. Of course as I had to discover later this was a tactical maneuver by EPRDF to get the blessing of the west 

120

and to draw the Ethiopian people into a false sense of hope to weaken an anticipated resistance, thus facilitating an easy ascendance to power. Most Ethiopian in 

the Diaspora did not buy into the new TPLF rhetoric on political pluralism and 

multi-party democracy. On my part however, believing the TPLF leadership that I 

have a close relation will actually keep its promise, I wanted to help. I was given 

assurances that they were determined to build a multi party democracy and was 

invited to help them in their endeavor. I chose to give them the benefit of doubt 

and within days of EPRDF coming to power I went back to Ethiopia after 12 years 

of exile in the UK. 

1991–1993: From a hand written letter sent to the BBC correspondent Mr. George 

Alagiah on May 27 1994. 

I quote extensively from this letter because it shows how little has changed since 

I wrote this letter 12 years ago. In fact this letter shows how the current political 

turmoil is caused because of the failure to address almost all the issues that are 

currently raised in the bill HR4423. In 1994 I wrote

‘‘From June 1991 to June 1992 I worked, more or less, in the committee that 

was responsible for everything in the city of Addis Ababa. The fact that I was 

born and brought up in Addis, the fact that my families involvement in opposing the military regime was well known and most of all the fact that I was from 

the Amhara ethnic origin was a bonus for EPRDF that was regarded as mainly 

a Tigrian organisation. I was given a high profile job of explaining the policies 

of the new regime. The number of large meetings I had with factory workers, 

government employees, teachers and residents of the city runs in hundreds. The 

TV and radio interviews I gave were more than the combined appearances of 

the president and the prime minister. The anti red terror committee is one of 

the committee’s I was responsible for its creation. In 1992, I was asked by 

EPRDF to stand as the candidate for Region 14 Council election. Region 14 is 

the city of Addis Ababa. I got elected in June (it was not an election in the proper sense of the word) and ultimately became the secretary general council of the 

region and its executive committee. I held this post until my resignation in 

April 1993. 

The reason for my resignation was a gradual realization of the gap between 

the new leadership rhetoric to human and democratic principles and commitment. I had the opportunity to sit at the highest inner circle of EPRDF leadership meetings and listen to their Stalinist dreams.’’

They were resenting that they where forced to do certain things because of 

the change in the international political situation. After taking power, in the 

first congress EPRDF held, I was astonished to hear that EPRDF would have 

liked the presence of the soviet as super power so that they can play the powers 

against each other thereby getting the freedom to turn Ethiopia into a socialist 

country modelled after Albania. On the report that was read at the congress, 

the leadership had the audacity to come out in the open and declare that they 

were smart enough and have been doing by deceiving the Americans. 

‘‘Despite the apparent gestures towards political pluralism and the creation 

of a democratic civil society in Ethiopia, I realised that the EPRDF was a very 

dangerous organization that can spurn these ideas quite easily whenever it is 

inconvenienced to its hold to power. I would briefly outline these dangers. 

Human Rights: Today, (this means 1994 when this article was written) in 

Ethiopia there are wide ranges of human rights violations. These violations get 

worse as you move outside the capital city. When I was a secretary of The City 

Council, I came across a dozen of individuals who were badly tortured. I 

brought some of them to the council meeting and made them show their badly 

tortured bodies. I demanded that we should make this atrocity public by showing the tortured people on TV. Telling the public the measure we have taken 

against the perpetrators of this crime to encourage the public to be forthcoming 

in reporting similar deeds as well as give the public the confidence to resist 

these abuses wherever they occur. The council which is 90% EPRDF dominated 

refused to do this. 

Leaving aside those awaiting trial for crime against humanity you find hundred of prisoners who have been put behind bars for over a year without being 

taken to court. I demanded an explanation why we contravene the constitutional rights of these individuals, which demand that they appear before the 

court in 48 hours. I was told these were mirror issues. I was referring to the 

constitution of region 14. 

Individual EPRDF leaders have armed body guards. I have known a number 

of incidents where these body guards had been given instruction to detain individuals with out the knowledge of the courts or the police. 

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There are hundreds of EPRP members still in prison in Tigray outside the 

jurisdiction of the central government. 

Three are hundreds of EPRDF members imprisoned by EPRDF itself. EPRDF 

still believes just like the old guerrilla days that it has the authority to detain 

and punish its members for breaking organizational rules. 

In Tigray people are still being denounced and persecuted in meetings for not 

supporting the TPLF. Some of the denunciations remind me the Cultural Revolution days of Mao’s China where Mob ruled reigned. I know a woman, a mother of two, who hanged herself because she cannot endure the humiliation she 

had undergone in one of these public gatherings. 

In southern part of the country the cadres of various organizations are judges, 

police and administrators by themselves. 

Finally, whenever the anti-red terror committee attempts to become independent, free from the tutelage of EPRDF it activities have been deliberately 

sabotaged by the EPRDF. Most of all whenever I tried to explain the need to 

link between those who died during the ‘Red Terror’, and the causes they died 

to demonstrate the political nature of their sacrifices the EPRDF leadership had 

seriously objected to my attempt. They believe by giving a political context to 

the deaths of the red terror victims would give credit to the EPRP. Since over 

90% of those who perished in the 70s were EPRP members, EPRDF doesn’t 

want the public to know the causes of their deaths. As a result these deaths 

have been made to be perceived as ordinary deaths by criminal elements. A vast 

mass movement that could have been a bulwark against any form of future 

human right abuse is stifled. 

I know that the current (the 1994) human right abuses are not in any way 

comparable to the past. However, this very fact has already become the sources 

of complacency for the international community and the western media as well 

as for EPRDF officials not to strongly act on the human right abuses that occur 

through out Ethiopia at the present time. One of the favourite arguments the 

EPRDF has against my serious objection to the prevailing human right abuses 

was to tell me to remember how bad it was under the army. The same argument is deployed by the international community. I have always pointed out 

that our standard is not or should not be Mengistus’s record. As a generation 

that knows very well what its means to suffer imprisonment and torture we 

should have our own high standards. Our standard ought to be that not a single 

individual should be tortured, be put behind bars with out a fair trial by the 

courts, and should live under the fear of persecutions. This commitment is nonexistent within EPRDF leadership. 

Taken into account the EPRDF’s own human right abuse records in its guerrilla days and the prevailing lack of commitment the best way to tackle this 

problem and avoid the repeat of the past is by setting durable institutions 

which can safe guard human rights. Independent judiciary, free mass media, 

and presence of independent pressure and interest groups and so on. If you take 

the new judiciary in Ethiopia I know that all the judges are had picked by 

EPRDF.For every major decision they make, they have to wait for EPRDF’s instructions. Their loyalty is not to the justice system but to EPRDF who made 

them achieve their post. 

The Courts: I know this because a number of senior judges and including the 

Minister of Justice were appointed to their post with only my personal recommendations. I know that if the government creates a favourable climate for 

these individuals to do their job and encourages them to assert their independence they have the professional competence to do it. However, EPRDF has chosen to exploit the subservient culture that was the legacy of Mengistu’s regime 

thus deliberately barring the way for independent decision making. All professionals in the nation still live under the fear that if they will loose their job 

if they show any sign of being critical. Thus opportunism and complacency is 

made to rule today as it had done yesterday. No serious court decision making 

is possible without EPRDF’s consent. 

The Media: As you might have heard, there is a semblance of free press in 

Ethiopia. This is the printed press. The highest circulation of this independent 

newspaper does not exceed 15,000 copies a week. Most regional administrations 

do not allow the circulation of these papers in their area. The most notorious 

of all is the Tigray region. The president of the region has publicly declared that 

his administration will not allow the circulation of any independent news paper 

in Tigray because he knows that the people of this region do not want them. 

Taking into account the level of illiteracy and the expensive nature of these papers I known they are not inaccessible to a vast majority of the Ethiopian population. The most effective means of mass communication is first the radio and 

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then the TV. Both these are controlled by the state ministry of information fully 

staffed by EPRDF members. My attempt to make the state run radio and TV 

service run by independent board was not accepted. I have witnessed the state 

radio and TV lying through their teeth. This has reinforced the public cynicism 

and mistrust towards these organs. The most powerful instrument in the fight 

for a just, democratic and free society has been made useless to satisfy the narrow political interest of EPRDF. 

On top of the state radio and TV that EPRDF fully controls, it has its own 

radio station broadcasting in three different languages to the entire nation from 

Addis Ababa. After my resignation the only thing I thought I could do was to 

set up a private radio station which will play a responsible and constructive role 

towards building a democratic society. I knew with finance form within and outside Ethiopia it was not difficult to set up a radio station. I produced a document on the aims and objectives of the radio station the source of capital and 

how it would finance itself and applied for a licence. I did this in accordance 

to the new press law that legalised that Ethiopian citizens can set up private 

radio and TV stations. I was told informally that EPRDF have no intention of 

allowing this. The official excuse given to a group who wanted to set up private 

TV was that the government is studying the experiences of other countries to 

bring out further legislation on frequency regulations and licensing. We know 

that relevant government institutions have produced and presented their proposal over a year ago. It is under these conditions that EPRDF wants an election to take place. When I pointed out to the illegality of the running of EPRDF 

owned radio station while other groups are barred by law not to function, the 

reply I got was that EPRDF’s case is different. 

Civic society: When we come to pressure and interest groups one thing you 

can be sure is that EPRDF will never allow the emergence of mass based independent groups. The neighbourhood associations which you referred in your programme as the local security posts of the army in the past are now staffed by 

EPRDF members who do not allow dissent. Their task, as in the past, is surveillance. The fear these neighbourhood associations generate is still alive. 

The new Trade union which the government claimed to be the first free and 

independent trade union is filled form top to bottom by EPRDF members. The 

undemocratic means EPRDF has deployed to achieve this goal has been made 

a subject of one of my articles I wrote on one of the independent news papers 

before I left the country. The worst thing of all is that I heard the president 

(That was Meles Zenawi the current PM) addressing the new trade union officials on TV by saying that they have formed a union without the interference 

of political organizations and the state. The control of the trade unions was accomplished by strictly clandestine activity of EPRDF members. In front of the 

foreign representatives, the ILO and IFLO, listening the president telling such 

blatant lies has caused me the final disillusionment towards my friends. 

EPRDF control, covers the woman activities, the anti red terror committee, 

the union of Ethiopian journalists a number of other interest and pressure 

groups. 

I am not against any political group trying to get the support of interest and 

pressure groups. If this is done openly with clear understanding, without going 

behind the back of the ordinary rank and file members of these groups, it would 

have been alright. The problem in Ethiopia is that EPRDF does it underground 

and lies about its activities in public. It is controlling them in the Stalinist fashion. Waiting for order form the central command they have become incapable 

of independent actions. They are not evolving as the balance and check of the 

abuses of the state rather they act as an additional arm of the state’s coercive 

force. 

The best measure to check the improvement of human rights is not to compare how many were killed or imprisoned by the Mengistu’s regime with that 

of President Meles regime. Though numbers do matter they should not be our 

end. How much, the potential for future human right abuses is curbed by a 

changed culture, by strengthened institutions that won’t allow abuses. Not the 

rhetoric to the rule of law, to freedom of expression etc. . . ., but the concrete 

steps taken to make these ideals independent of the whims of (political) organization and individuals. This is the area I believe that the EPRDF is conning 

the international media and community. Unless the international community 

attempts to see beneath the surface and use its influence to stamp out any deviations it sees form the democratic path, it would leave the Ethiopian people in 

the hands of tyrants that will consolidate their power on moral, economic and 

political support they have been provided . . . 

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. . . Without a critical appraisal of the current government in Ethiopia simply to show what its predecessors did is to lend support to potentially dangerous 

regime. This critical appraisal demands not only information on number of dead 

bodies or those tortured or imprisoned by the current regime but an intimate 

and detail knowledge of the current political activities and thinking in Ethiopia. . . . 

. . . I can understand why western governments support EPRDF. Might is 

right has always been the principle they base their foreign policy. EPRDF is the 

mightiest organization so it is natural to have good relation with it. Good for 

western interest. This have been the approach they adopted towards, Chile’s 

Pinochet, Uganda’s Amin, Somalia’s Barre, The Shah of Iran and Haileselassie 

of Ethiopia. Knowing that all these regimes were dictatorial and undemocratic 

the west has been supplying them with military and economic assistance that 

made them last longer than they would have. 

In the context of the cold war politics this was understandable. However, in 

the current international climate when those who wish to be tyrants have no 

one super power to play against another one, the western democracies are not 

properly using the new opportunity to influence third world countries to follow 

the democratic path. Even in places they have attempted to do this they seem 

to be quite happy only by the few democratic posturing which the leaders of the 

third world are quite good in producing for foreign relation consumption. I believe the media in the west should go beyond the western foreign policy makers 

and examine the true nature of the so called budding democracies in Africa and 

elsewhere. By doing this, one can contribute to an end of mass suffering that 

has become quite a way of life in countries like Ethiopia. 

For fear of consuming much of your time I have not mentioned some very important economic and political problems that still bedevil Ethiopia. 

The ethnicization of politics, How EPRDF is exploiting the liberalization of 

the economy to profit itself, nepotism and corruption in the new government 

and so forth.’’

As I saw it, this was the reality in Ethiopia in 1994. As we can see in the next 

few pages nothing seems to have changed at the eve of the 2005 election. 

1994–2005

At the end of 1993 after having resigned from my post in Addis Ababa council 

and EPRDF, with a sense of being betrayed and afraid of the prospect of another 

round of dictatorial rule being imposed on the Ethiopia, I promised to my self that 

I must fight to the ideals that I believe will bring solutions to the problems of Ethiopia. Since I was convinced that with out a genuine process of democratization that 

it was easy slid back to tyranny, unrest and violence I focused my effort in writing 

and informing the public about the institution that are needed to safe guard human 

rights and democracy. In a number of articles I wrote for the privately owned news 

paper I argued that the public should organize in trade unions professional associations and other civic societies, pressure and interest groups. I gave a number of 

interviews to the Voice of America explaining the dangers that lay ahead in the face 

of the democratic aspirations of the Ethiopian people. In Ethiopia, it was unusual 

for a government official to resign and more unusual to openly criticize a ruling 

party. The specter of that I will be hurt or killed began to haunt my family. There 

were already signs of irritation from the government and a couple of mild warnings 

were delivered through friends. In the end when my mother who had been living 

in England had a brain hemorrhages and went to a comma I had to come out of 

Ethiopia to see her. Once I was out a clear message was transmitted that I can only 

go back to the country if I only choose to stay out of politics and any attempt to 

stir trouble. I began another round of life in exile. 

Before 2005 I traveled to Ethiopia twice, in 1998 and 2003 both times I kept away 

from politics. At the end 2004 Dr Brehanou Nega, the first ever democratically elected mayor of Addis Ababa in the May 2005 election, who is know languishing in 

EPRDF prison, came to England to solicit support for Rainbow Ethiopia for Democracy and Social Justice. I knew him from the early days in our exile days in the 

Sudan before he was granted asylum to go and live in the US. His older Sister, 

Askale Nega, was a classmate of Meles Zenawi studying medicine at the University 

of Addis Ababa. I knew her well too. She paid the ultimate price in the struggle 

against the brutal military dictatorship of Mengistu Hailemariam. I am mentioning 

this to give the reader that unlike TPLF’s misrepresentation that all those who opposed it’s dictatorial rule are not x-Dergist with criminal records of involvement in 

the red terror. In fact as opposed to what Meles Zenawi claims, in the past fourteen 

years the intellectual and the moral challenge to his Stalinist rule had come not 

from those he had deposed from power, instead it is from people that had suffered 

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during the reign of terror of Mengistu Hailemariam. The strange thing is that it 

is us, who suffered most who are calling for reconciliation and forgiveness to give 

the nation a chance for a new beginning. The irony is that theTPLF, an organization 

that forced EPRP out of Tigray and in doing so killed a number of young men who 

took the mountains of Tigray as a refugee from the Dergue red terror has, in a 

strange way become the prosecutor of red-terror criminals. 

JAN 2005–JULY 2005

In January 2005 I returned to Ethiopia to publish a book I had finished writing. 

The book titled ‘‘The liberator who has no notion of liberty’’ is on one hand a personal reflection on my involvement in politics; and on the other it is an attempt to 

explain the failures of the Ethiopian political elite to bring about change within a 

philosophical and cultural context. Dr Berhanou Nega read the book in its draft 

form before publication and decided that the book must be read by a lot of people. 

As my way support for the election effort I passed the legal right of the ownership 

of the book to Rainbow/CUD. I signed an agreement giving them the right to publish the book and use all the profit to support their organization. 

In February I went back to England and returned to Addis in the middle of March 

2005. This time I was back to support CUD election effort. After 12 years of absence 

from politics this was my first chance to look at the over all situation of the country. 

It was a good opportunity to examine the attitude both government and opposition 

had towards the election and the manner they will approach it. Later in a press 

release to the European parliament dated 22nd Sept 2005, which I drafted on behalf 

Ethiopians in Europe I stated:

‘‘Fourteen years later, Ethiopians find themselves in the same age-old abject 

poverty. Standard of living has gone down instead of going up. Corruption in 

power and resources embezzlement had spread like gangrene. The right of citizens, though encoded within the constitution had no structural or institutional 

safe guard. The growth of independent judiciary, military and civilian bureaucracy is deliberately stunted. Civic institutions, professional association, trade 

unions other interest and pressure groups are not allowed to have an independent existence. They can only function as long as they are appendages to 

the ruling party. Yet such a government went on receiving all kinds of assistance from western governments. TPLF’s security forces, the police and the army 

are trained, equipped and financed by the west without any guarantee that both 

men and equipment will not be used to oppress the people of Ethiopia. 

This was the backdrop on which the May 15th 2005 national election took 

place. For the ruling party this election was business as usual. There was no 

question of losing. It had the necessary safeguard and structure in place to prevent losing. The National Electoral Board (NEB) was its own creation. Its cadre 

structure both in the cities and rural areas is unmatched by any other political 

organization. The militia, the army, the police and security forces are under it’s 

command. The financial and material resources of the state are there to be used 

at will. The state owned and the only mass media in the country is there to 

churn out the ruling party’s election propaganda. The few minutes that were 

allocated to the opposition party for the purposes of political broadcast were infinitesimal compared to the vast remaining radio and television time available 

to the ruling party. So confident was the ruling party that it declared to the 

whole world to sit and watch the most ‘‘free and fair election’’ unfold in the history of Ethiopia or even of Africa. So confident it was it extended invitation to 

international observers to come over and witness the election in its entirety and 

make their own judgment. Europe and America duly sent their observers. At 

the same time, a large group of indigenous observers from various civic associations were told that they could not play a role in monitoring the election. The 

government knew too well that such a huge number of indigenous observers 

would be more effective in monitoring the election than outsiders with few men 

and scant knowledge of the country, hence the ban on civic organizations. 

The opposition listed a number of facts that would not make the election a 

fair fight between them and the ruling party. The non-independence of any of 

the state’s institutions including the National Electoral Board was a cause of 

grave concern to the opposition. The opposition predicted intimidation of their 

candidates and supporters to ensue the moment election began and they feared 

that they would have no recourse to stop it. Their suspicion of electoral fraud 

and ballot rigging was high. The partisan nature of the election board gave 

them little confidence to the possibility of no such wrong doing unfolding. 

However, strengthened by the unity they managed to foster amongst themselves before the election and encouraged by the presence of international observers, the opposition decided to participate in the May15th 2005 election. 

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EPRDF government and the international community gave long odds to the opposition winning more than 50 seats out of the 574 up for grabs. 

Election campaign began. The people’s response to the campaign alarmed the 

ruling party and surprised the opposition. This election had come at a time 

when the anger and frustration that was simmering for the past 14 years had 

reached a boiling point. The people could not accept any more the ruling party 

officials claim they had brought peace, prosperity and democracy or as the only 

defenders of the nation’s interest and security. What the opposition discussed 

in the election was what everyone was talking about away from the earshot of 

the government out of fear of persecution. The opposition dismantled all government propaganda and exposed it for what it was; an elaborate maze of lies. The 

opposition exposed the ruling party’s dire records on democracy, justice, fighting 

corruption, poverty reduction, economic growth, and education policy and on a 

host of all other issues including national interest and security. Nationally organized debates, on television and radio, on these issues won the opposition the 

support of the Ethiopian people. The people refused to trust the government. 

Encouraged by the audacity of opposition party leaders to speak the unspeakable in public the population at large threw its’ old garment of fear and begun 

to look forward with hope and anticipation. The only action left for the government was scare mongering, harassment, intimidation, killings and imprisonment of opposition members and supporters before the Election Day. Yet these 

measures were not effective as the public showed no fear and continued to participate in all opposition meetings and rallies. This gave great hope for the opposition and ill foreboding to the ruling party.’’

As a roving election observer for CUD in the city of Addis Ababa. 

Again my analysis and observation of the election is put in the aforementioned 

press release and it runs as follows:

‘‘On Election Day, people came out in unprecedented numbers. They queued 

up for long hours, without food, water and shelter under scorching sun and torrential downpour to cast their vote. By also keeping a close eye on the voting 

process at most polling stations, the public made it difficult for the ruling party 

to engage in ballot rigging. Up to this point in the election process, one can 

argue that the election process had been progressing without much controversy. 

On election evening, May 15th 2005 when vote counting began it became apparent that the opposition was not only gaining ground but also it was actually 

heading for out and out right victory. This was the time that the ruling party 

moved to plan B. It instructed all officials throughout the country to stop the 

vote counting process. This instruction was implemented all over the country 

including Addis Ababa. This was done to allow TPLF to identify a large number 

of parliamentary constituencies, which it can safely retain by rigging the peoples vote. Rigging the votes in the main cities and towns under the glaring eyes 

of international observers and so many capable watchful eyes of the public was 

out of the question. It was also deemed impossible to rig the votes in places 

where the government big shots had competed; as those sites had attracted a 

large number of foreign observers and competent indigenous poll watchers. 

However, areas outside these two categories were identified and plans were put 

underway to steal votes in favour of the ruling party. Having calculated the 

number of safe seats and those seats, which can be rigged without attracting 

international and national attention, the ruling party declared, on the 16th of 

May 2005 that it had won 328 parliamentary seats. These were more than 

enough number of seats to continue its hold on power for the next 5 years. This 

announcement was, at the same time, accompanied with a declaration of a state 

of emergency. In Summary, the government banned civil liberties. In Addis 

Ababa and other cities and towns the right to assembly and organize rally and 

demonstration were forbidden. The people were told that all branches of the 

government’s security forces had fallen under the direct command of Prime 

Minister Meles Zenawi. All these actions were taking place at a time when the 

vote counting process, at some of the districts of Addis Ababa and in more than 

75% of the voting districts in the rest of the country, had not yet begun. All 

that was left for TPLF to do was to rig as many votes as possible and reach 

that magical number of 328 parliamentary seats. 

In most of the cities and major towns, the opposition won hands down. In the 

capital city Addis Ababa, all the contested seats for the city council and the 

country’s parliament went to the opposition. All the 23 parliamentary seats in 

Addis Ababa and the 166 seats out of the168 city council seats were won by 

the opposition. This election fact showed the depth of political dissatisfaction 

that was prevalent in the capital. At the same time all notable government minVerDate Mar 21 2002 15:50 Jul 06, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\AGI\032806\26776.000 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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isters and officials who ran in rural areas under the scrutiny of international 

observers lost. This curious fact had forced all astute poll watchers to ask an 

interesting question. How could a government, which had lost all seats in major 

cities and towns and had also failed in making its big party bosses, ministers 

and officials get elected in rural areas, come up with spectacular results using 

so many of its low ranking and most hated local cadres candidates. Without actually looking into the facts of vote rigging that took place all over the country 

and only from this observation one can easily reach at the conjecture that there 

must have taken place some kind of grand electoral engineering. Otherwise, it 

will be impossible to fathom the government claim that it had won so many of 

the rural seats to secure a majority in parliament. In a country like Ethiopia 

where cities and towns do greatly influence opinion in rural areas, it will be 

impossible to come up with such discordant results between cities and rural villages. It is almost impossible to believe that high-ranking government official 

failed to make it to parliament while a local village tyrant in the neighbouring 

rural constituency succeeded. This smelled electoral fraud at a large scale. In 

fact this is the claim of the people and the opposition party. They have tons 

of evidences and large number of witnesses to prove their case. 

Now, on the one hand the opposition parties and the vast majority of the electorate that had given them their votes are lined up together to prevent the robbing of the people’s vote by the ruling party. On the other hand, the ruling 

party who had no inkling of the bitterness the public had towards its rule prior 

to this election has not recovered from the punishment it received at the hands 

of the public. It has no confidence that it can recover as a political party 

through a democratic process. As a result the ruling party is determined to stay 

in power by legitimizing the stolen vote through the approval of the fraudulent 

NEB. Any electoral complaint that is not accepted by the NEB or any opposition 

to NEB’s declared election results were deemed unconstitutional hence punishable by brute force. In relation to the June 8th 2005 spontaneous protest 

against vote rigging, forty-two innocent civilians were gunned down in cold 

blood and thousands of opposition supporters ended up in jail.’’

I ended up, as one of those thousands of opposition supporters that were rounded 

up beaten and dumped at Zewai concentration camp. 

June 8th human right abuse: imprisonment and beating. 

Before I move to tell my story on what happened to me on June the 8th and subsequent days that I spend in Zewaye concentration camp, I want to put the record 

straight by tackling EPRDF’s misrepresentation of the role of CUD in the June 8 

protest. CUD had nothing to do with this protest. It did not instigate it; it never 

wanted it to take place. I know this because I was at the CUD office at the eve 

of the protest. I had answered hundreds of telephone call inquiring about a flyer 

that was calling the public for a strike against the imprisonment and the killing 

of university students. I was told by the callers that the flyer did not contain the 

name of the organisation that put it out in the street. The office telephone was busy 

telling the public that CUD had not called for a strike and advising the public not 

to participate in it. The situation worried the CUD leadership so much that it was 

decided that an immediate press release should come out to warn the dangers contained in the called protest. I was the person who wrote the press release. This was 

faxed to the VOA and to The Voice of Germany. Dr Berhanou Nega gave an Interview to the voice of America on the issue. Our request to transmit the message 

through the government controlled radio and television station was denied. The 

written statement that was sent had not been read. 

The next day the protest, that could have been avoided had the government allowed for CUD to use the media to address the public, took place. In the afternoon 

of June 8, the day of the protest three security men with civilian closing and three 

soldiers carrying Ak47 machine gun jumped over the wall and came inside the compounds of my fathers place where I was staying. It was clear who they were looking 

for. I recognised one of them because I see him often following me around in the 

city. I was hit with a long stick and was ordered to go to the room where I had 

my belongings. As I complained that it was illegal to hit a person who was not 

showing resistance, one of the security men loudly said that they were given orders 

to beat me. This was uttered in front of my father, kids and the neighbours. All 

my belongings, laptop ,digital camera, mobile phone, credit cards, driving licence 

hundreds of British pounds and hundreds of Ethiopian Birr, and other personal possessions were taken. In fact robbing citizens in the name house to house search has 

become a norm. Many have lost their life time savings in this manner. I never saw 

my possessions again. In fact until I left the country no one knew who has it. 

127

Unlike other prisoners that were detained and kept in the nearest police station 

to where they live, I was taken away to another locality and put with some 700 

other prisoners that were rounded up the same day. Everyone that was brought to 

the police station had to be registered by giving his name and most importantly his 

ethnic origin. At about 8 .00 pm in the evening about five Tigrinya speaking federal 

police officers came and told me to move to the edge where the rest of the prisoners 

were sitting. Without any warning, screaming degrading obscenities they start hitting me with there fists, there boots and sticks. I knew they had there orders. In 

the middle of the mindless beating I saw a rifle but coming to my face. I must have 

passed out. When I woke up I found myself on my back lying on the ground. Every 

part of my body had received beatings. The rest of the prisoners tried to comfort 

me .By now it was late and the temperature had gone down. I had only a short 

sleeve jacket. I began to shiver badly. The prisoners huddle around me to give me 

heat and put me in the middle to protect me from the cold breeze. At about 2.00 

am we were told to sit up and listen. I could not. They called names, within a 

minute what they were to do was clear. They called the names of sixty to seventy 

individuals. More than the majority of the names were clearly identifiable Tigrian 

names. There was no need to doubt ourselves about the identity of these individuals. 

Then and there the officer addressed them in Tigrinya language. In fact the federal 

police officer was using the police book where the prisoners’ ethnic origin was entered. Before the rest of us were transported to Zewai concentration camp, those 

whose names were called were set free. We began to sense a strange ethnic bias 

to all the activities we saw around us. The truck that was used to transport us and 

the drivers were supplied by well known construction companies owned by Trigrams 

contractors. Those who incessantly beat prisoners loading them like cattle on the 

truck were cracking jokes in the Tigrinya language. Those who sat on the top the 

truck wielding their machine guns were all had come from the same ethnic group. 

Even in Zewaye the head of the concentration camp and all those who were responsible to guard us were from one Ethnic group. The realisation of this fact had convinced me why the ruling party was willing to bring in the Rwandan experience 

during the election debate and began scare mongering. In fact I recall EPRDF was 

reprimanded by the European election observers for using hate speech. I remember 

EPRDF officials publicly saying that there will be genocide should the opposition 

win. At the time we did not understand that it was the government that was planning to commit such atrocity. More than any thing that happened to me I was incensed by the government deliberate attempt to give the problem an ethnic colouring. After my release in July I was adamant that the truth must be told. However the CUD leadership that is now languishing in prison accused of trumped up 

charges of genocide and treason were clear that nothing of the details stated above 

should be made public. 

Instead in the statement titled ‘‘June 8th—Blatent disregard for the rule of law, 

gross violation of human rights and political repression. A Joint statement by CUD 

members who were taken prisoners,’’

The following is the manner in which this sordid affair was dealt. In item 4 of 

the statement we find:

‘‘4—More than anything else what was frightening was the ruling party’s deliberate and systematic attempt to sow seeds of ethnic strife and animosity 

among communities of the city. What we witnessed has for the first time revealed to us why the ruling party was so keen to use the word interhamway 

during the election period. What was perpetrated on that dark day was designed to engender a Rwanda-style ethnic strife. However the people of the city 

who had hitherto endured years of collective suffering that was imposed on 

them by successive corrupt and dictatorial regimes did not fall unto the trap 

that was laid for them by the ruling party. Due to the foresight and wisdom 

of the citizens of Addis Ababa, this evil wish of the few did not manage to prevail over the goodness of the many. It is apparent to us that the whole operation was managed by a small gang of individuals who are organized along ethnic lines within the state complete with their command structure and organization within the police the security and the armed forces. This group seems to 

have no limit neither to its freedom of action nor any control and accountability 

to any legal body. 

To give details of the crimes that were committed by the terror gangster, 

along their interhamway line of thinking would be playing into their hands. In 

general we can say it was a mindless act by a desperate group of personalities 

determined to cling to power and privilege at whatever cost. This includes creating a situation whereby ethnic hatred and conflict among the various communities of the city’s populace become realities.’’

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Since I myself am accused of genocide in absentia I see no reason why I should 

not put my accusers on the dock for their shameless fabrication of these charges 

against me and the leaders of my organization who behaved impeccably throughout 

the election period and beyond. 

In Zeway concentration camp alone there were some five thousands prisoners. 

Prisoners were openly beaten were forced to go through degrading treatment. Except half a dozen of us who were kept in custody in a separate prison cell, myself 

and the lawyers from the Ethiopian Human Right Council, the rest of the prisoners 

were forced to dry shave their heads with common razor blade. With the HIV-AID 

epidemic in the country it is not difficult to know why this is being done. A lot contracted malaria including myself and suffered from lack of medication. One prisoner 

committed suicide. There were those who wounded with gunshot and had to go 

without medication and even without ordinary pain killers. My eye bled for days for 

the rifle but hit I received. Ultimately worried that I may get blind I was offered 

treatment by the prison nurses and doctors who were kind to us whenever they got 

the opportunity to help. Till this day I see continuous sparks flashes from the left 

eye that received the hit. 

As I had checked in the prison camp the overwhelming majority of the people that 

were taken prisoners on June 8th were dragged out of their places of work or residence. In the Zewaye concentration camp alone, where there were 4960 prisoners 

only few of them were actually captured in the streets where the alleged trouble 

had taken place. The rest were victims of deliberate and targeted imprisonment. 

Our findings have revealed that 95 percent of the prisoners had, in one way or another, links with CUD. They were either supporters or members of CUD. Their only 

crime was participating in CUD’s successful election campaign in Addis Ababa. 

After a month in prison, as a result of the deal struck by the opposition and the 

government most of the prisoners were released. Though reluctant in the end, without being formally charged, I appeared before a court and was asked to pay 2000 

Ethiopian birr bail and was released with the remaining few prisoners. For nearly 

three weeks no one was allowed to visit us. In my case my brother, who has a British citizenship, and who came all the way from England to visit me were ordered 

to get out of the country in 24 hours. 

Election disputes and CUD attempts for negotiating settlement. 

‘‘The opposition parties true to their words committed themselves to the 

peaceful and legal resolution of all electoral disputes. They appealed to the 

angry public to be calm and promised to use all legal and peaceful means to 

make the public’s vote count. They went back again to the NEB and requested 

for an investigation into the controversial electoral process in nearly 300 political constituencies. The government with full confidence that the NEB will not 

let it down agreed to the investigation and signed with the opposition a document which will enable the creation of a conducive climate for the investigation 

process to proceed. The expected conducive climate had never been created. Intimidation, killings and imprisonment of witnesses by government officials and 

security forces kept on unabated. The investigation panel, which had three 

members, one each from the opposition, the ruling party and the NEB became, 

due to the naked partisanship of the NEB, a vehicle for the implementation of 

the will of the ruling party. In a two to one majority that was in built within 

the panel almost all decisions were made in favour of TPLF. The ruling party, 

which had all the structure and the means to stop any vote rigging by the opposition, became the number one beneficiary of the complaint-investigating panel’s 

decision. Using the same two to one decision making process, the investigation 

panel upheld all cases of complaint by TPLF and rejected almost all the 300 

cases which were put to it by the opposition. Thus clearing the ground for reelection to take place in all rural constituencies where most government ministers and high official had failed to secure a win. The whole idea of the investigation became a sham. The collaboration between NEB and TPLF became apparent. Even before the whole process was over, those international observers 

who were invited to witness its progress had expressed their dismay at what 

they saw at every instances of the investigation. 

The opposition had exhausted every legal and peaceful means save engaging 

in large actions of non-violent resistance. The ruling party that had no desire 

and preparedness to relinquish power through democratic process has warned 

that it will use all its might against any one engaging in any form of protest. 

Once again the opposition, which is the outright winner of the election, proposed the setting up of a joint government in the name of national unity and 

reconciliation. The opposition party hoped that this would help to break the political impasse and provide a face saving leeway for the wounded ruling party. 

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Typical of all dictatorial regimes, the government interpreted the opposition’s 

proposal as a sign of weakness and rejected the compromise. Since, the government has gone ahead and intensified its harassment of opposition leaders and 

supporters. Large number of citizens whose only crime is to exercise their democratic rights in support of the opposition party are beaten and excluded from 

receiving services and benefits all over the country. The situation is far worse 

in the rural areas than it is in the cities.’’

CUD a formidable partner for building a democratic order, and to bring peace and 

stability in Ethiopia. The donors’ response that baffled the people of Ethiopia. 

‘‘In all this, and once again the position that the international community 

took had disappointed Ethiopians. The countries that had the ears of the ruling 

party did nothing to condemn its actions. Apart from expressing their concern 

for the recent human rights violation, nothing strong came out from the international community to tell the government in power to respect the democratic 

will of the people. The soft approaches by the international communities have 

given an implicit green light for the government to continue with its determination to hang on to power by all foul means. . 

For the first time in their history, Ethiopians have voted under difficult conditions for an opposition that had a clear commitment to democracy, justice and 

freedom. They have an opposition, which promises to build on what is already 

achieved by its predecessors rather than engage in wanton destruction. The opposition had clearly professed the need to be inclusive and not demonize those 

who have lost power. Continuity, inclusiveness and stability are key words that 

one often heard during the election campaigns and read in the election manifesto of the opposition. Preserving the military and the civilian bureaucracy 

without much disruption is part of the plan to ensure the said continuity and 

stability. The opposition had committed itself to work for the separation of 

power within the state, to liberalize the media, to broaden the rights and liberties of individuals and groups, to safeguard the rights of minorities, the weak 

and the disadvantaged. It is the will of the opposition to bring about genuine 

equality between ethnic groups, creeds and sexes. In all, the opposition is clearly the only political group that has a political, economic and social agenda that 

will facilitate the development of Ethiopia within the framework of liberal democracy. This is a total contrast to TPLF’s revolutionary democracy, which is 

clearly designed to cling to its Stalinist legacy. The opposition party’s commitment to democracy is generated by seriously assessing the country’s past. It is 

a commitment that has sprung out of the pain and the suffering of the great 

people of Ethiopia. It is not a drama enacted to please the donor countries. This 

is what makes the opposition a formidable partner that one can work with so 

that Ethiopia could achieve lasting peace and stability, sustainable economic development and an overall democratization of its political system. 

Ethiopians see no reason why the opposition cannot be trusted or is not seen 

to be more capable than the Stalinist government that is masquerading itself 

as democratic. It will be strange to give the benefit of doubt to the ruling party 

whose democratic pretences and claims had disappeared with the massive electoral fraud it committed, while at the same time denying it to those who have 

a serious commitment to democracy.’’

Stand off. July to October. 

In the middle of July I got out of the country. When I made my way to the airport 

I did not have any faith that I will make it. The next day the news paper IFTIN, 

that claims to be independent but actually is the mouth piece of the security services and is funded by them published a statement from the police. The police said 

that I had got out of the country with their full knowledge. They could have arrested me but could not do it because the court order that they were waiting for 

did not come in time. Thus in order to abide by the constitution they had to let me 

go.’’ The statement promised that they will be using the Interpol to bring me back 

to the country to face justice.’’ Of course this was a big joke. As I later found out 

the person who made it possible for me to escape was the person who was in charge 

of airport security. I am informed from a reliable source that he is now languishing 

in prison. 

When I left Ethiopia the line was being drawn. The opposition has given one concession after another but the ruling party were not interested for a negotiated settlement. The people were not willing to relinquish their hard fought rights to be administered by those they elected. The government had made up its mind to stay in 

power at whatever cost. Once again in the letter mentioned above I wrote

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‘‘It is obvious for all to see that Ethiopians are no longer in fear of the government. They are ready for democracy and have demanded it in this election. 

They are committed not to be ruled by dictators any more. In town hall meetings being held in the past few weeks, the public has been strongly expressing 

its resolve. Not to be intimidated and concede to the ruling party. The people 

want the opposition not to go to parliament until the election has been fairly 

assessed. The dictators on the other hand are bent to remain in power at any 

cost. This makes the situation in Ethiopia very dangerous.’’

In September with trepidation to the likelihood that the ruling party would go on 

in using brute force to break the stand off Ethiopian Europe made a desperate plea 

for the democratic world to stand with the Ethiopian people. We put our Questions 

both to The EU and The Us administration.

‘‘Once again Ethiopians have come to ask what position that all freedom loving nations will take in this confrontation. What will be the position of the USA 

and the European Union? 

Will they ignore the credible reports of their envoys and appease dictators in 

Ethiopia simply because they have the might to serve their short-term interests? 

Will there be a realization that only a democratic, prospering and peaceful 

country is the only guarantee against the rise of any form of extremism? 

Will they back the millions of Ethiopians who have shown incredible courage, 

insight and patience to turn their country into a genuine democracy? 

Will Ethiopians be helped to take themselves out of tyranny and poverty and 

become a model of democracy and good governance to all nations in Africa, as 

they were beacons of freedom during the era of colonialism?’’

October–November. CUD still trying to find a peaceful solution to the election dispute. 

In September the ruling party with out giving a scant attention to the protestation of the opposition went ahead with full steam to declare the opening of the parliament and to give legitimacy to Meles Zenawi continuance in power for another 

five years. For the sake of peace and stability and to avert great disaster CUD came 

up with a solution to solve the dispute. CUD dropped its demand for a proper investigation into the electoral fraud that took place in the 299 constituencies. CUD took 

the higher and the visionary high ground and declared that the issue must not be 

who is in power. As long as there is an agreement to take measures to consolidate 

and entrench the gains of the may 2005 election CUD declared all other issues will 

be less important. To come out in the open and in the face of a hostile public that 

is 100% certain that the election was rigged, and talk about the process of entrenching democracy not the removal of an illegitimate government was not an easy task. 

It did show that CUD had capable leadership that can make difficult decision. However one thing CUD could not do was to go and join a parliament that was set up 

on votes robbed from the people, a parliament that has changed all the rules of engagement to make all opposition ineffective, a parliament that does not have the 

right institutions to safeguard the constitutional rights of the people. In fact CUD 

did not dismiss the idea of taking its seat in parliament. Specially those within the 

leadership that understood the savage nature of the ruling party did argue for the 

case to fighting from the inside. The problem was that the public that was willing 

to trade of its stolen vote for concrete gains such as new election board, free media, 

independent judiciary, army and police force and a change in the rules of parliament 

to allow effective opposition was not willing to listen to the idea of joining parliament without a concession from the ruling party. For CUD to by pass the swell 

of opinion within the public and declare the joining of parliament would have been 

signing its own death warrant as an organization. This assessment proved to be 

right. When CUD opened a discussion forum on the issue of joining parliament the 

public at large gave a resounding no to the proposed idea. The only solution that 

was left to make the ruling party understand the gravity of the situation was to 

show the public resentment in public. October 2 a major rally to protest at ruling 

party’s intransigence was called in Addis. Though the peaceful rally that was called 

for October 2 was within the constitutional right of the people, EPRDF threatened 

to use brute force to crash it. On September 29 2005 Ethiopians in Great Britain 

were so worried about the planed demonstration we wrote a letter of urgent appeal 

to Britain PM Blair,

‘‘The cause for the current heightened tension, as you are well informed, is 

still the ongoing election dispute between the ruling party and the opposition. 

The opposition having tried and failed to bring the ruling party to the negotiating table, in order to resolve amicably all election related outstanding issues, 

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has decided to take its protest to the rigged election to the streets. The opposition and the millions of Ethiopians who gave the election their support want 

to tell the ruling party and the world that their vote should count. They are 

also willing to pay the necessary sacrifice for the establishment of a democratic 

political order in Ethiopia. 

The first of these planned protests will take place on 2nd October 2005. The 

opposition has called rallies and demonstrations in the capital city Addis Ababa 

and other major cities in Ethiopia. Simultaneously, Ethiopians in the Diaspora 

will hold similar rallies all over the world, including here in London. 

The government of Ethiopia has declared that the October 2nd demonstration 

is illegal and has promised to crash such protest by brute force. The crackdown 

has already begun. In the past two days alone hundreds of opposition leaders 

and supporters have been rounded up and thrown into jails all over the country. 

Soon, this number will rise to tens of thousands. 

The endless announcements, declarations and interviews that are being put 

out daily on the state owned media are full of threats containing the government’s intention to use violence against any one who will join the peaceful protests. On the other hand, it has become apparent such threats will not deter 

the determined people of Ethiopia from coming out in their millions to demand 

that their vote must count. 

As a result, the current situation in Ethiopia has become very volatile. The 

government’s record on violating human rights gives us serious cause for concern. It looks that once again mass imprisonments and killings are on the government’s agenda. If this is allowed to happen the country can easily slide into 

total chaos. The potential for massive loss of lives, major social disorder and 

destabilisation is more than real. 

Your Excellency, we Ethiopians in the Diaspora believe that the main reason 

that has made the ruling party so belligerent and extra keen in sabre rattling 

is the fact that it has not been made to account for past human right abuses, 

including the recent murder of over 42 innocent citizens in cold blood. The 

promised independent investigations by the state were only announced to abate 

the fury of your government and others, not for a reason to bring the killers 

to justice. Now, the whole idea of investigation has been conveniently pushed 

under the carpet. 

Similarly, the absence of persistent diplomatic pressure against human right 

abuse, the reluctance of your government to support the opposition demand for 

a national unity government as a way forward to resolve election related disputes and the endorsement of grossly rigged election result by donor countries 

has been interpreted by the ruling party that there is still more scope for more 

abuse and the use of force against citizens who question the legitimacy of its 

continuance in power. So far, the regime in Addis Ababa has got away with 

murder. Now, it believes it can get away with genocide. 

Your Excellency, this is not wild foreboding on our part. Ethiopians have lived 

under tyranny long enough. They know how tyrannical regimes sound and act. 

All information that is coming out of Ethiopia shows that the government in 

power has actually completed its preparation, both physically and mentally, to 

commit heinous crimes against the people of Ethiopia. The military which has 

forged close relationship with the U.S army and the police and the security 

forces that are trained and equipped at the expenses of British tax payers 

money are on stand by to trample the democratic and constitutional rights of 

the people. Under Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia is still a country where a simple demand to protest peacefully against the injustice of election could trigger the 

wrath of its rulers. 

We sincerely believe that current political problem in Ethiopia is not caused 

by the fact that our country is ‘‘an emerging democracy’’. It did not come about 

because we Ethiopians do not understand the meaning of freedom and democracy as the people of the developed world. We cannot stress enough how much, 

attempts to explain away the country’s predicament in such terms, has become 

so offensive to the poor but proud people of Ethiopia. Your Excellency, Ethiopians’ political maturity and readiness for democracy had been amply displayed 

by the manner in which they conducted themselves on May 15, 2005 general 

election. In fact, Ethiopians actually believe what stands between their democratic aspiration and its realisation is the government of Meles Zenawi. That 

is why Ethiopians are baffled why a democratic country like Britain, which 

spends so much of its wealth and the lives of its brave soldiers in defence of 

democracy in far away places, has been supporting the government of Ethiopia 

whose ideological roots are still stuck in Stalinist totalitarianism.’’

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Again for the sake of not endangering life CUD withdrew its call for the street 

protest. Instead it called a sit in strike. The government that knew too well that 

the sit in strike called by CUD will be observed religiously by the people, finally 

relented. Using the foreign embassies as a medium, the ruling party offered to talk 

with out other preconditions except recalling the sit in strike. Once the strike was 

called off and the government had completed its preparation for the use large scale 

brute force, it refused to talk. It became apparent, apart from stalling and time buying the ruling party had no interest to discuss in good faith. 

The failure of the talks pushed CUD to take a stand whether to join parliament 

or not. It put 8 pre-conditions that should be met for CUD to join parliament. Apart 

form the one condition that demanded the setting up of an independent investigating body to look into the June 8 killings of the innocents the rest were essential 

for the entrenchment of the democratic process. The followings is the list of the remaining pre-conditions

• The Election Board needs to be restructured and be able to operate independently

• All forms of media should be free and available to all political parties

• The legal system must be able to operate independently without any coercion 

from the ruling party.

• Ensure the police and armed forces do not get involved in politics and take 

sides.

• Recent laws that have been passed at the concluding sessions of the last Parliament that deal with parliamentary procedures and governance of the City 

of Addis Ababa should be rescinded.

• All political prisoners should be released, and opposition party offices that 

had been closed should be opened.

• Establish an independent commission that is acceptable to all parties, to follow up that the above mentioned issues are resolved on a timely manner.

These demands set the most rudimentary conditions necessary for any parliamentary democracy to be functional. 

EPRDF completely disregarded CUD’s request for negotiating on these pre conditions and set its parliament on stolen vote. The first duty of the parliament became 

revoking the legal immunity of CUD elects and raised the stake for confrontation. 

November: Mass killing and Imprisonment: The reign of terror. The response of the 

international community. 

Looking at the magnitude of the crime committed against humanity by the government of Meles Zenawi. Once again, on Dec 9 2005 on behalf of Ethiopians in Europe, I wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair. Although this letter is addressed to 

Tony Blair, it also contains our plea and concern to the US government.

‘‘The mass killing and imprisonment that we feared has unfolded. Since the 

beginning of November 2005, hundreds have died and nearly 100,000 people are 

detained including the leaders of the opposition party CUDP. All journalists 

that worked for the fledgling free press are behind bars. Free press is suppressed. A silent and sinister genocide is taking place. The government may not 

be using machetes or bullets but they are killing by other means. According to 

an Ethiopian medical doctor who witnessed the horror, the heads of 40 inmates 

at a time are shaved with one razor blade. Given the prevalence of HIV in Ethiopia, this is a way of intentionally spreading the virus amongst supporters of 

the opposition. 

The magnitude of the recent human right abuses committed by Meles 

Zenawi’s government has begun to horrify the world. All credible media outlets 

including Channel 4, The Observer, the New York Times, The Washington post, 

The Times, The New statesman and others have been reporting details of the 

human rights abuses in Ethiopia. The Commission of The African Union has 

become the latest institution to openly express its horror to what is happening 

in Ethiopia. What is puzzling to the Ethiopian people, who took so much of their 

inspiration to build a democratic country from your Excellency’s pronouncements and declarations, is the silence of the government of United Kingdom in 

the face of well-publicised atrocities. 

Your Excellency, knowing that he has no popular support in the country Mr 

Zenawi has, long ago, realised that his political fortune is tied to his unchecked 

ability to use force against the citizens of Ethiopia. He has also realised that 

he can not sustain a large army and security force that will do his biding of 

terror without the financial and technical backing of Western governments. Mr 

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Zenawi’s pretence to be a democrat while remaining true to his belief in Stalinism and his claim to be a true ally in the war against terror was cynical 

manoeuvring in order to achieve support from the west and to prolong his 

undeserving continuance in power. Now the mask of the democrat has gone. 

The true tyrannical face of Meles Zanawi has revealed itself to the world. What 

remains is for the world to realise that Meles’ stance on the war on terror is 

also a sham. 

Mr Zenawi’s government does not share the values of democracy and liberty 

that your government is so doggedly trying to defend against extremism and fanaticism. If that were not the case, he would not have been so keen to suppress 

Ethiopians and the opposition leaders, whose only crime is the aspiration to live 

under such values. In fact, we believe that, unlike Meles Zenawi, who has become the ambassador for anti-terrorism in the horn of Africa, (as a result of his 

own sinister motives), the Ethiopian people and the opposition have better 

claim and credential in their belief in the virtues of democracy and liberty and 

their commitment to defend these values. Thus, there is no reason why the 

Ethiopian people and their new leaders cannot be trusted to be more reliable 

and a lasting defence against terrorism in their own country and around the 

horn. This is why we have been arguing that it is a grave mistake to support 

Meles Zenawi at the expenses of the rights, the welfare and wellbeing of the 

Ethiopian people. Such a policy is not only hurtful to Ethiopians and immoral 

and undemocratic on its own merit but ultimately it will be damaging to the 

long-term national interest of Britain itself. 

Your Excellency, Meles Zenawi’s government has proved to the Ethiopian 

People and to your government and to all freedom loving people in the world 

that it is untrustworthy. His rejection of democracy and the rule of law have 

proved this fact beyond any doubt. It will not be that long before Meles begins 

to laugh at the very idea that you have trusted him as an ally. 

We Ethiopians still remember Meles’ lamenting because the cold war has 

ended. After seizing power, in the first annual congress of his organisation he 

had openly regretted that there were no longer two super powers in the world. 

He had said, ‘‘had there been two super powers he would have played one 

against another and would have been able to translate his organisation’s Stalinist dream’’ into practice. One can imagine the joy in Meles’ palace in Addis 

Ababa at the realization that he can still impose Pol Pot style of government 

on the people of Ethiopia without facing serious challenge from Britain and the 

US. 

Having said this it is frightening to hear Meles Zanawi still talking about his 

friends in Europe and the US. He seems confident that whatever crime he may 

commit against his own people that he will not incur, as Mugabe or Museveni 

do, the wrath of Britain and US. We Ethiopians wonder what will be the 

threshold of crime that should be reached by this person for your government 

to say enough is enough. For the people of Ethiopia who have been the direct 

recipient of the terror dished out by Mr.Zenawi’s government that threshold had 

been passed a long time ago. We urge you to empathise with the people of Ethiopia and share our pain and sorrow.’’

A deep sense of betrayal 

It is true that the US and Britain has done a lot and are trying to do more to 

resolve the crisis in Ethiopia. Yet when one considers the size of the electoral fraud 

and the horrifying human right abuse that took place in Ethiopia one can not help 

asking why so little has been said and done to so much injustice and crime. Ethiopians went to the poll not by trusting Meles Zenawi. During the Election a poor 

farmer in Wolo, northern Ethiopia asked one of the campaigners what guarantees 

he has against EPRDF refusing to leave office if it loses the election. The reply the 

campaigner gave to the farmer was that the Americans will not allow it. The campaigner is now in prison accused of trumped up charges of treason and genocide, 

with a possible death sentence if found guilty. It looks the Meles Zenawi must have 

heard this tale when he snarled in parliament and said that he has told the CUD 

officials in prison that no white man nor Ethiopian will be able to save them. 

We know that the US foreign policy is determined by its national interest. Yet 

what baffled Ethiopians is how can the most unpopular regime in the history of 

Ethiopia that has no other choice save to stay in power by brute force will be able 

to defend the US interest in the years to come. 

In another letter written to PM Blair, on November 25, Ethiopians in UK have 

seriously questioned the current foreign policy on Ethiopia. We sense the current 

UK foreign policy on Ethiopia will end up being detrimental to the long term national interest of both nations. The following is what is contained in the Letter:

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‘‘We know what yours and the US government interest in Ethiopia are. You 

believe Meles is your man for the war against terror around the horn of Africa. 

Yet there is ample evidence in the history of diplomacy that you cannot fight 

evil-by-evil means. Sacrificing the just cause of Ethiopians for freedom and democracy in the name of national security or interest and standing along side 

a tyrant is not a panacea to stop the spread of extremism or terrorism. 

The faith of the people of Ethiopia in peaceful political struggle is shaken. 

More than anything else what shook their confidence is the reluctance of the 

two most important countries, US and Britain, refusal to stand by them in their 

struggle for freedom and democracy. If the situation in Ethiopia convinces most 

people—and it will convince unless the US and Britain use their influence to 

put pressure on Meles Zenawi to stop terrorizing citizens—that the only way 

out of the tyranny of Meles Zenawi is through political violence, it is not only 

Ethiopians but the west also that has interest in the stability of the horn will 

be losing. If we can not hold your government to honour its pledge that it will 

use the principles of democracy and good governance as the guiding principles 

in your government’s relation with other governments in Africa, we still want 

to point out that your government’s position on Ethiopia is counter productive 

and damaging to the national interest of Britain that we all want to protect. 

This we believe should be strong enough reason for distancing your government 

from the government of Meles Zenawi.’’

The current trouble in Ethiopia and HR4423

The bill has properly identified the basic structural defects of the democratization 

process in Ethiopia. What the May 2005 election revealed as weaknesses in the democratization process and what the bill identified are the same problems. These defects are the ones that were presented by CUD as a pre condition to go to parliament. This shows that the bill has its root in the reality of Ethiopia. All the independent institutions enumerated in the bill are essential to all democracies to function properly. As suggested in the bill there is a need to invest both in the infrastructure and capacity building in terms of personnel training. All the rules and regulations that are proposed are undeniably essential for parliamentarian democracy 

to flourish. However with out a radical change of policy that can bring a voluntary 

or involuntary change of attitude from the status quo in Ethiopia none of the good 

ideas will do any good. If there is not the political will to allow a properly trained 

soldier, ,police officer or judge to operate freely according to the expensive training 

it has received, all investment in this area will be wasted. A good example in case 

is the British trained the federal police force. Whatever training the British might 

have given the federal police it has ended up being the right arm of the ruling 

party, the worst abuser of human rights. 

CUD as a political party, due to its commitment to the division of the power of 

the state and its belief in developing independent institution to safeguard human 

and democratic right, will be a willing partner to see the objectives of this bill are 

translated into reality. However EPRDF with it ideologically inbuilt resistance to all 

liberal values will not be at all interested in the proposal that will ultimately be 

instruments for its removal from power. I feel the problem with the bill is that it 

doesn’t wave a heavy stick to coerce EPRDF to come half way and share the responsibility of building democratic institutions with the opposition that is positively disposed. 

While the leaders of most important opposition group, CUD that is committed to 

the values contained in the bill are languishing in jail, it will be difficult to imagine 

how the ideas of the bill can take off. In my opinion the most serious problem with 

the bill is located at the paragraphs were it calls a speedy trial of prisoners. The 

assumption that there is a court in Ethiopia that can freely try political prisoners 

is utterly wrong. In the absence of independent judiciary the best way out of the 

current trouble is to request not a speedy trial but to demand an unconditional and 

immediate release of all political prisoners. This should be put as the litmus test 

to the ruling party willingness that it has a genuine desire to start negotiation. If 

it is not willing to do this the US government should take a serious measure to 

show its unhappiness. The key to the current impasse is the release of political prisoners. One can not bypass this issue and talk about the democratization process in 

Ethiopia. 

Another important point in the bill that needs a serious look is the suggestion 

that CUD should take its place within the parliament. In my view this is not an 

important point. In my view CUD decision not to join parliament was worked out 

on right principles and reasoning. In fact one should not forget that it is perfectly 

feasible to be a partner in building democratic institution with out actually being 

in parliament. If CUD feels comfortable with the state of the parliament it can join 

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it. How ever being in parliament is not a necessary condition for actively participating in building durable democratic institutions. 

RESPONSES FROM THE HONORABLE DONALD Y. YAMAMOTO, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SEC- RETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, TO QUESTIONS

SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY THE HONORABLE DONALD M. PAYNE, A REP- RESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Question: 

The Ethiopia Consolidation Act HR 4423 would require USAID to re-write its development plan for Ethiopia. How would this requirement impact current US assistance programs? What development assistance programs may be eliminated as a result of this legislation? 

Response: 

For FY 2007, the U.S. Embassy and USAID Mission in Ethiopia will be one of 

35 countries to draft a joint country operational plan following guidance laid out by 

the Director of Foreign Assistance (DFA). The country operational plan will outline 

in detail the way that U.S. government foreign assistance programs in Ethiopia will 

contribute to reaching the Secretary of State’s transformational development goal: 

‘‘Helping to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to 

the needs of their people and conduct themselves responsibly in the international 

system.’’ To achieve this goal, country operational plans will explain activities that 

address the objectives of achieving peace and security, governing justly and democratically, investing in people, engendering economic growth and, where applicable, 

supplying humanitarian assistance. 

The transformational development goal and supporting objectives are part of the 

new country-level foreign assistance framework aimed at aligning foreign assistance 

programs with foreign assistance policy priorities. Under the new framework, countries will be categorized according to their common security, governance, economic, 

and social characteristics. Programs and activities will be developed and tracked 

around a set of common indicators and objectives that link directly to foreign policy 

of the United States government. 

As the guidance for the country operational plans has not been finalized, we cannot yet assess the impact of HR 4423 on the strategic alignment of foreign assistance under this new system. Once Ethiopia’s country operational plan is submitted, 

the State Department and USAID fully intend to share with Congress the direction 

the plan is taking and how we will account for the results and funding. 

Question: 

To what extent have Ethiopian Americans influenced the political environment in 

Ethiopia? How can the federal government better coordinate with Ethiopian Americans to nurture peace and economic growth in Ethiopia? 

Response: 

Ethiopian-Americans have had a very strong influence over the political environment in Ethiopia. As significant contributors to Ethiopian political campaigns, Ethiopians in the diaspora often have a much greater access to, and influence over, the 

positions of political candidates and leaders than do Ethiopians living in Ethiopia. 

Unfortunately, by not living in the environment about which they are debating, 

some Ethiopian expatriates often push for very strong, hard-line positions without 

having to factor in what is achievable, the needs and/or desires of other constituents 

living in Ethiopia who must live with the impacts and consequences of policy positions, or adequately acknowledging the very real need for political compromise 

which a democratic system requires. While these factors within a politically dynamic 

diaspora population led to a very robust and forward-leaning political campaign 

process that pressed forward for democratic advances and active civic participation, 

they also contributed to the prevailing environment of intolerance, rejection of electoral results, and an adamant unwillingness to compromise in the post-election period. 

The Administration has maintained open communication with Ethiopian-Americans regarding political developments in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, these discussions 

have not always been positive. Some elements of the diaspora community seem 

more interested in confrontation than a dialogue to seek practicable solutions to address grievances. The Administration has identified and engaged with more moderate elements within the Ethiopian American community, as well as Ethiopian 

stakeholders in Ethiopia, who are willing to support dialogue and identify political 

compromises by sides for the good of the people of Ethiopia. These entities are those 

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on which the U.S. government should continue to focus our support to nurture peace 

and economic growth in Ethiopia.

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