Ethiopia condemns aid pull-out

By Inigo Gilmore

The Observer

January 2, 2006

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“Some spoke of how they were taken away in mass round-ups in Addis Ababa and how they suffered appalling beatings at the hands of the security forces. Witnesses spoke of seeing people tortured and killed at Dedesa camp in west Ethiopia, where about 50,000 people were detained.” (Caption and photo montage: Ethiomedia; Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Heavens)

The Ethiopian government has expressed outrage over plans by international donors to withhold $375 million in direct budgetary support to the country following a recent crackdown on the opposition and revelations about large-scale human rights abuses.

Ethiopian officials have condemned the decision by donors – which include the World Bank, European Union and the UK – but diplomats in the region said such a development had become inevitable after a breakdown in trust with the government following recent unrest in the country.

More than 100 people, including opposition leaders, and journalists were charged last week with treason, genocide and other offences, despite calls from donors that political detainees should be released.

The manner in which the supposedly reformist government has handled the burgeoning crisis following disputed elections in May has raised international alarm as well as serious concerns about the democratic credentials of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, long promoted by Tony Blair as a visionary African leader.

The country’s Finance Minister, Sufyaan Ahmed, described the move as ‘unacceptable’ and said: ‘Ultimately it is the poor who are the victims of this decision. It is their basic services that will be affected at the community level.’

In Addis Ababa, government newspapers have echoed his line as the authorities rail against the move and officials continue to blame opposition leaders for the recent violence, which they say is part of a plot to overthrow Zenawi.

But Dr Negaso Gidada, a former President of Ethiopia and one of Zenawi’s most vocal critics, welcomed the plan as a strategic ploy to pressure the government, while cautioning the donor community to tread carefully.

‘Any government which indulges in violation of human and democratic rights should not be compensated by donor countries,’ said Gidada, who as an independent member of parliament is an increasingly rare voice of dissent. ‘Care should be taken that relief and development support are used indirectly to help the government. But the people of Ethiopia should not be punished and donors should be careful about this.’

The move to withhold aid follows exclusive revelations in The Observer in December which gave a disturbing glimpse into the scale of human rights abuses taking place. Few are willing to speak out but we discovered that thousands of detainees have been dumped in prisons and camps as part of an unprecedented crackdown by Ethiopian security forces.

Some spoke of how they were taken away in mass round-ups in Addis Ababa and how they suffered appalling beatings at the hands of the security forces. Witnesses spoke of seeing people tortured and killed at Dedesa camp in west Ethiopia, where about 50,000 people were detained.

The withholding of donor funds is a further blow to the credibility of Zenawi, who has also come under international pressure as border tensions grow with neighbouring Eritrea, with which Ethiopia fought a war in 1998 that left tens of thousand dead.

The quandary for donors, who provide about $1.9bn in development aid into the country annually, is how to be seen to be taking a tough stance towards the government while at the same time working to alleviate conditions in the impoverished nation. A large portion of the country’s 77 million people live below the poverty line and just last week it emerged at least one million people in southeastern Ethiopia are at risk of a another famine following a prolonged drought.

Zenawi has yet to respond publicly to the move by donor countries but at the end of November, in an interview with The Observer, he was nonchalant as he brushed off the threat to withhold aid. ‘I believe the right path is for democratisation and continuing our economic reform programme,’ he said of the crisis. ‘I believe we are on that path and believe we deserve assistance from our friends. But if our friends feel otherwise, I respect their decision. After all, it’s their money.’

The $1.9bn Ethiopia receives yearly makes it one of the largest recipients of foreign aid in Africa.