, President Barack Obama The Whitehouse Washington, DC 20520 Re: Help Ethiopians Avert a Disaster May 6, 2014 Dear I am writing this formal letter in my capacity as Chairman of the Ethiopian People s Congress for United Struggle (Shengo). Shengo is one of the largest civic and political opposition groups and individuals outside Ethiopia and is in the forefront of advocating an all-inclusive, democratic and unified Ethiopia, protection of human rights and the rule of law, religious and press freedom, the equitable and fair treatment of all citizens, a robust domestic private sector based on a free and competitive market economy, free and fair elections and a peaceful transition toward an elected democratic government capable of and committed to serving all stakeholders in Ethiopia. To this end, our organization works closely with major opposition parties and civil societies within and outside the country. The purpose of this letter is to humbly request your personal leadership and guidance in stopping the onslaught on Ethiopia s youth activists who are spearheading the democratization process and in advancing justice, the rule of law, human dignity; and a rapid move toward an inclusive democratically elected. We genuinely believe that only a peaceful transition toward a representative government would avert a catastrophe that is clearly in the making. The Ethiopian government continues to use its draconian Anti-Terrorism, Charities and Societies and Telecommunications Fraud Offenses Proclamations and laws to clampdown on all forms of peaceful dissent. The country s youth bears the brunt of this relentless repression that also pities one ethnic group against another. Early this year, Human Rights Watch reported that 30 journalists and opposition members have been convicted under the country s vague Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. The Ethiopian government continues to forcibly resettle hundreds of thousands of rural villagers and indigenous people in the Awash Valley, the Afar, Gambella, Oromia, Southern and other regions into its villagization program using foreign aid. Homes of poor and middle class urban dwellers are being bulldozed to make room for party affiliated real estate developers. Over the past two weeks alone 56 Ethiopians were killed by the government, 6 people including a mother, in the city of Gondar and 50 students in the Oromia Regional State. Most of those killed are educated youth. These massacres, the largest since the aftermath of the 2005 Elections, are in response to peaceful protests against arbitrary and forcible evictions from homes and ancestral lands. We are especially outraged by mass killings of Oromo and other students whose crime is to protest 1
peacefully against land grab that would result in the displacement of Oromo farmers. These recent massacres took place over a one week period starting April 15, 2014. According to the BBC, UPI, AFP, the Voice of America and others, hundreds of people were injured and an unknown number jailed. Over the past two decades, the Ethiopian ruling party has carried-out similar massacres of innocent civilians in the Amhara, Beni-Shangul Gumuz, Gambella, Oromia, Somali and Southern Regions with absolute impunity. Thousands of Amhara nationals have been evicted from their farms and homes. The government has used its ethnic-federal system of divide and rule to mitigate unified public outrage. However, there are healthy indications on the ground that Ethiopian society has come to appreciate the dangers of ethnic division and begun to collaborate across ethnic and religious boundaries. On May 4, 2014, a cross-section of more than 100,000 people in Addis Ababa staged a peaceful demonstration against the Ethiopian government demanding respect for the rule of law, human rights, religious and press freedom, free and fair elections and the release of political prisoners. Although the demonstrations were peaceful, the government has arrested several leaders and members of the Unity, Democracy and Justice Party, one of the leading opposition parties in the country. As a gentle reminder, we wish to bring to your attention that on April 28, 2014, a day before Secretary of State John Kerry left for Ethiopia, we wrote a letter urging him to be forthcoming with Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn that the US is serious in advancing human rights, the rule of law and democracy. In our judgment, the Ethiopian government s preoccupation with stability over human rights and democracy is a most dangerous and reckless policy. The closing of political and social space for citizens undermines their ability to engage with one another across political, ethnic and religious boundaries. It diminishes their trust and confidence in the government and its institutions. It reduces creativity and productivity. It forces educated young people to leave the country in droves. It forces opposition groups either to give up peaceful change altogether or seek non-peaceful means to achieve political change. In the long-run closure of peaceful political and social space will only strengthen divisions, ethnic and religious conflicts and open windows for extremist forces to destabilize Ethiopian society. You will agree with us that such a dire scenario of an uncertain future, especially for Ethiopia s youth, won t serve American or Ethiopian interests. Secretary of State Kerry s visit was upstaged by arrests of 50 of the top leaders and members of the newest and most youthful and innovative multiethnic party in the country. The Blue Party is led by young people dedicated to inclusive and peaceful change. Early this year, their leader was barred from attending a Conference of emerging African leaders here in Washington. Ironically, the Conference was sponsored by the US. In anticipation of Secretary of State Kerry s arrival and to avert embarrassment, the Ethiopian government arrested and jailed six bloggers and three journalists. Outraged by these arrests, a special report by Human Rights Watch in April made the following recurring point. The nine arrests signal, once again, that anyone who criticized the Ethiopian government will be arrested. In releasing the US Department of State s 2013 Human Rights Report on Ethiopia, the Secretary of State noted rightly that it is the courageous acts of individuals that make a difference to any country. The tragedy for Ethiopia is that regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation champions of justice and democracy are being decimated relentlessly and systematically. The timing of these arrests and massacres of innocent youth before and after Secretary of State Kerry s visits to Ethiopia speaks volumes concerning the dire situation in the country. There is overwhelming evidence that shows utter disregard for the rule of law, peaceful debate and political competition and free speech and an appreciation for Ethiopia s diversity by the Ethiopian government. The US Department of State and Human Rights Watch released reports at the end of 2013 documenting serious and recurring violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms without which peace and stability are guaranteed to fail. It has now become a pattern for human rights groups 2
and the US Department of State to document torture, rapes, unlawful interrogation, harassment, maiming, persecution and confiscation of private property, imprisonments, disappearances and unlawful surveillance of activists within and outside the country. Ethiopian government surveillance against American citizens of Ethiopian origin is against US domestic laws but continues unabated. The Ethiopian government has total control over all Internet and mobile communication through its state-owned Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation. Fear permeates society. The current government is as repressive as the dictatorship it replaced and is increasingly worse. Its method of repression is to target one group today and another group tomorrow and to blame others. We concur with Secretary of State Kerry s words to AFP on May 1, 2014 that the Ethiopian government needs to create greater opportunity for citizens to be able to engage with their government by opening up more space for civil society. The work of journalists, whether it is in print journalism or the Internet or media or other kinds, makes societies stronger, makes them more vibrant and ultimately provides greater stability and greater voice to democracy. Similar sentiments have been expressed over the past decade. In light this, it worries us immensely that such words have no teeth and no longer garner credibility among ordinary Ethiopians who carry the brunt of repression and poverty in the midst of unprecedented growth and wealth for the few rich. Income inequality is worse today than under previous governments. Medicines Sans Frontiers 2014 Annual Report describes Ethiopia as one of the ten unhealthiest in the world. Ethiopia s per capita income is $470 per annum, among the lowest in Africa. Ironically, the number of Ethiopia s new millionaires rose from 1,300 in 2007 to 2,700 in 2013 (the Guardian, April 2014). Ethiopia has no middle class, a key social group that would sustain the economy and demand for democratic change. We wish to bring to your attention the outrage expressed by others. Appalled by the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia, the UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said on May 2, 2014, I am concerned by this recent wave of arrests and the increasing climate of intimidation against journalists and bloggers in Ethiopia. The Commissioner refers to 3 journalists and 6 bloggers jailed before Secretary of State Kerry arrived in Addis Ababa. The Commissioner underpinned a critical point that has never been addressed by the donor and diplomatic community namely The fight against terrorism cannot serve as an excuse to intimidate and silence journalists, bloggers, human rights activists and members of civil society organizations. In fact, the Ethiopian government uses the Anti-Terrorism and Charities and Societies Proclamations as legal instruments to punish dissenters and anyone who seeks justice. There is direct correlation between government repressions, arrests, killings and persecutions of dissenters and the alarming shrinkage of political, social and religious space in Ethiopia. Simply put, it is clear that the Ethiopian government does not have any respect for international law and its own constitution and terrorizes its people in the name of stability. This deterioration is most likely to lead to the unintended consequence of further instability, proxy wars, chaos and popular uprising that no government can contain. A long-time friend of the Ethiopian people, the United States is one of the largest donors to the Ethiopian government. While we support humanitarian aid that saves lives, continued development, security and defense aid to the Ethiopian government is no longer defensible. It must be conditioned on verifiable accountability for the respect of human rights, the rule of law and free and fair elections. Otherwise, it would continue to shore up the ruling party and provide it confidence and sense of impunity. The Tigray People s Liberation Front has been in power for 23 years and intends to stay in power by pitting ethnic groups against one another and by criminalizing all forms of dissent. We believe that the US and the rest of the international community have a moral obligation to stop massacres of any group. We urge Ethiopia s friends to recognize the ominous signs of potential collapse. The US possesses substantial leverage to promote greater political and social space, avert civil conflict and contain the forces of instability and escalation of terrorism in one of the 3
most volatile regions of the world. We disagree in the strongest terms with the notion the late Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi implanted as a legacy to which the current government adheres. There is no connection between democracy and development. Unfortunately, growth in GDP and the creation of a few millionaires alone do not feed a poor child in Gambella or provide shelter to a mother whose home has been demolished to make room for a millionaire to make more money or build a palatial home. We contend that sustainable and equitable development won t occur without democratization. The evidence on the ground shows that massive infusion of aid without accountable government is leaving millions of Ethiopians poor and forcing hundreds of thousands of young people to leave their country each year. No country that we know of has prospered by diminishing its human capital through killings, maiming, tortures, imprisonments, persecutions and brain drain. Shengo recognizes and supports an overarching principle that Ethiopia is one of the most important countries in Africa. It has enormous potential to grow and prosper. We further recognize that Ethiopia has been and will continue to be a close friend of the United States. We want this relationship to endure. However, we do not believe that Secretary Kerry s visit to Ethiopia to address efforts to advance peace and democracy in the Region promoted the cause of human rights and democratization an iota. In light of the volatility that exists in the country, we were saddened by the fact that the messages had no teeth. Many Ethiopians feel strongly that his public pronouncements were more political and have given the government a positive indication that it can carry on business as usual. Lip service to fundamental principles of the rule of law, human rights and democracy diminishes American values and won t advance the long-term interests of the American and Ethiopian people. Beneath the glitz of construction and opulence for the few in Addis Ababa and the semblance of stability and growth this conveys, Ethiopia is simmering with a potential social and political catastrophe that no one would be able to contain. We genuinely believe that the government of the United States, the EU and other Western donors and institutions have a window of opportunity to make a difference by leveraging their enormous resources and influence on the Ethiopian government to open up political and social space. Ethiopia s parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2015. This election, as past elections, will be a charade unless and until the Ethiopian government opens up political space, allows free press and frees journalists, bloggers, civil society activists, religious, opposition party leaders and activists. These Ethiopians, most of them youth, believe in peaceful dissent and political competition that would offer the Ethiopian people an alternative toward a democratically elected government. This will not occur unless and until the global community under US leadership conveys the following essential and critical steps that the Ethiopian government ought to implement in order to advance the rule of law, human rights and democracy; and in order to avert upheaval. 1. Establish an independent commission consisting of notable Ethiopians and foreign expert advisors to investigate government crackdowns, recent killings, disappearances, unwarranted arrests and persecutions of peaceful dissenters throughout the country; and bring those responsible for killings and crimes against humanity to justice. 2. Free all political prisoners including journalists, bloggers and democratic, social and political activists without preconditions and without delay. This will strengthen confidence in the system and mitigate further risks. 3. Open political space throughout the country and allow opposition parties to move freely, raise funds, establish offices and compete in the next election without intimidation. 4. Reconstitute the Election Board and ensure that it is free and independent of governing party control. 5. Free the judiciary system from party control and empower it to perform its functions in an 4
impartial manner. 6. Provide opposition parties free and equal accesses to government controlled media. 7. Disallow federal police, security and defense forces from interfering in the electoral process. 8. Engage international and domestic election observers to monitor and resolve electoral disputes consistent with international standards. Ethiopia s 94 million people, most of them born during and after the Socialist Dictatorship, deserve a democratically elected government that is accountable to them. We have full confidence that such a government will advance sustainable and equitable development, mitigate risks, contain terrorism and establish an institutional foundation for reconciliation, peace, stability and broad-based prosperity in the Horn of Africa and beyond. We wish to assure you that our organization is ready and willing to channel the significant human, expert and financial assets that reside in Ethiopia s large Diaspora in building a better, democratic and prosperous country. With our highest regards, Taye Zegeye, PhD Chairman 5