Canada should condemn Ethiopia's government: MP

Ethiomedia | January 22, 2009

TORONTO (Ethiomedia) - New laws enacted to control civil societies and the re-arrest of opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa signify the worsening of human rights violations in Ethiopia for which Canada should condemn, a lawmaker said on Monday.

The Honorable Maria Minna, member of parliament for Beaches-East York, said in a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper that the government should demonstrate Canada's leadership in the defense of human rights by condemning the repressive measures being taken by the government in Addis Ababa.

Human rights violations took a "drastic downturn" in Ethiopia after the 2005 election crisis, Ms. Minna said, adding the government in Addis has enacted new laws that severely restrict the rights of both citizens and foreign-assisted NGOs.

"The Ethiopian government passed the Charities and Societies Proclamation law (CSO law), designed to strictly control and monitor civil society in an atmosphere of increasing intolerance of the work of human rights defenders and civil society organizations. Previous drafts of the CSO law imposed strict government controls and harsh criminal penalties on non-governmental organizations," the Canadian MP noted.

The Honorable Maria said organizations that came under attack by the new law were those Ethiopian groups that receive more than 10 percent of their income from overseas, as well as foreign NGOs committed to fostering human rights, the rights of children and of the disabled.

"The law also allows for government surveillance of civil organizations as well as extremely harsh penalties of imprisonment for even minor infractions," Ms. Minna said.

The Canadian lawmaker recalled nearly 200 citizens were killed by the government during its crackdown on dissident in the post-election violence of 2005, and opposition leaders were thrown into jail.

She warned the re-arrest of Ethiopia's most prominent opposition leader, Ms. Birtukan Mideksa of Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ, was an indication of the worsening human rights conditions in Ethiopia for which Canada should condemn.

Last week four prominent US senators said they were concerned about "troubling developments" in Ethiopia that may sour relations between Addis and Washington.

In response, Bereket Simon , an advisor to Meles Zenawi, told the Voice of America that Ethiopia was a sovereign country and no US congressman had the right to tell the government what to do.

In power since 1991, Meles Zenawi lived, particularly the last eight years, committing crimes with impunity because he was sheltered by the Bush Administration as a "partner in the war on terror."

Ethiopian Americans and Ethiopian Canadians, who have been vocal in exposing human rights violations under Zenawi's rule, remain hopeful that the United States during President Barack Obama's administration would - along with other democratic governments like Canada - revive hopes for democracy by ending their support to rogue regimes like the one in Ethiopia.

Not surprisingly, President Obama is already being reminded to live up to the promise he made during his inaugural address: "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history."