Ginbot7 calls for global solidarity with Ethiopia

Ginbot 7 press release | May 14, 2009

Two weeks after Meles Zenawi’s regime announced the arrest of more than 35 military and civilian officials; more people are rounded every day and taken to Addis Ababa’s notorious prison (aka Maekelawi). Despite domestic and international outcry to disclose the names and fate of the more than 35 people held by its security forces, Meles Zenawi’s reckless regime has continued arresting more people ignoring the call from domestic and international human right organizations.

This is a clear vindication of Ginbot 7’s previous assertion of the true nature of the crisis faced by the Zenawi regime. The crisis is not a mere incident that can be snuffed out by imprisoning and persecuting few citizens on bogus charges. It is a long simmering problem deeply rooted in the ethnic politics of Meles Zenawi’s iron fisted rule with a small clique of his associates.

In clear violation of the international human rights conventions that Ethiopia has signed, and in violation of Article 21, Section 2 of its own constitution, the regime has kept the prisoners incommunicado at the notorious “Maekelawi” prison. The request by Amnesty International for a transparent trial and humane handling of the prisoners was met with the usual rude and belligerent response.

In its recent lengthy press release that sounded like an accusation, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebutted the U.S. State Department Human Rights Report that came out in December 2008. The same Ministry has also attacked the Western media for informing Ethiopians and the international community on what is truly happening inside the country. The defensive posture the regime has taken clearly implies that it is trying to fend off any and all condemnations of its unlawful actions.

Ginbot 7, once again, reiterates that the accusations against the 35 detainees is part of its full blown campaign of ethnic cleansing against Amharas in military leadership, primarily motivated by fear and paranoia created by the widespread dissent the regime faces within its ranks. The allegations that Ginbot 7 masterminded the alleged coup d’état, or assassination plot is nothing more than a futile attempt to find a scapegoat and to cover up the real malaise within the system.

Ginbot 7 strongly believes that the military officers and the civilians in custody are worthy of the respect of every Ethiopian for standing tall in the face of ethnocentric fascist tyranny and for adamantly refusing to be treated as second class citizens in their own country. The regime’s attempt to rule the country by employing a colonial model where 22 out of 23 army divisions and all five regional commands and huge sections of the bureaucracy are controlled by ethnic Tigreans, belonging to the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). This is totally unacceptable to all self-respecting Ethiopians including the people of Tigrai in whose name these crimes are being committed by a handful of individuals.

Ginbot 7 surmises what is taking place in Ethiopia is the beginning of a political movement that has far reaching consequences to the country, to its immediate neighbors and to the Continent of Africa. The causes espoused by the prisoners is the cause of social justice, equality and liberty and cannot be stopped by Zenawi’s bullets or his machinery of deceit.

Ginbot 7 strongly believes that the recent politically motivated arrests are directed against civilian and military officers of a single ethnic group [Amhara] who reverently objected the regime’s continued violence against the Ethiopian people. Ginbot 7 makes a call to the Ethiopian people to resist this violation by all available means. We also extend the call to the International community to stand together with the Ethiopian people and support them in their struggle against the tyrannical regime of Meles Zenawi.

Ginbot7 Movement for Justice Freedom and Democracy

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