Travel Guide |
March 8, 2004

NEWS UPDATE

Ethiopians meet with U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth officials
By UEDF-UK Support Committee
March 8, 2004

 Horn of Africa Desk Office
African Department (Equatorial)
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH

Dear Sir or Madam:

We are honoured that you have set time aside to meet with us to hear our concerns regarding the ever deteriorating political and human rights situations in Ethiopia.

As you are well aware, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces is composed of 15 political organisations that subscribe to the basic principles of free and fair election, the rule of law, governance through consent with the Ethiopian people through a legitimate means, democratic participation, free enterprise, all-inclusive political system and equality for all regardless of ethnic, gender and religious differences.

These core values are contrary to the working principles of the ruling TPLF/EPRDF regime that preaches the same ethos, but has proved to do the opposite in reality as has been clear from its practices on a range of issues from governance to domination of ownership of the national assets that we believe have contributed to the current socio-economic and political crises in Ethiopia.

The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces[UEDF] United Kingdom Support Committee was established at a public meeting through open election of individuals who support the objectives of the UEDF that we have highlighted here above. Amongst us, there are members of the Committee who are also members of the UEDF member organisations as there are who do not belong to any political parties at all. What unites us is the core values of a free and democratic society that the UEDF members individually and as a group subscribe to.

In addition to introducing ourselves, the purpose of this letter and coming to your office for a face to face meeting is to bring to your attention a brief highlights of the current situation in the country with respect to human rights situations and more importantly, to use this opportunity to plead with the FCO to intervene with the Government of the Prime minister Meles Zenawi to positively respond to the UEDF’s official request of an electoral reform in order that all stakeholders can participate in the upcoming election in 2005. We firmly believe that Ethiopia’s one last chance for peace and stability will be lost if the ruling TPLF/EPRDF regime repeats its past records of acting as the sole electoral monitor and contender while detaining, banning and killing those who would like to participate with serious consequences for the stability of the Horn of Africa and the cause of an anti-terrorism campaign which the United Kingdom is keenly interested in and involved with.
First, we would like to present a brief summary on deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia.

The TPLF/EPRDF regime leaves no stones unturned in its hypocritical preaching of the importance of the rule of law, democratic participation and respect for human rights.

However its true actions speak louder to the contrary as summarised below:
· Several human rights organisations confirm that Ethiopia has detained the highest number of members of the free press in Africa over the last decade.

  • Ethiopia ranks first in terms of the number of its educated professionals [Doctors, scientists, technologists] who live outside the country predominantly for political reasons at the very time the country faces massive challenges to grapple with hunger, HIV/AIDS and economic backwardness. Upheavals in higher education is a daily occurrence with hundreds displaced from campuses due to the Government’s ethnicist and dive and rule strategy. Poverty is an ever increasing menace with 15 million people on the world’s hunger list for continuos foreign aid relief.Paradoxically enough, among the Horn of Africa countries, Ethiopia is potentially the richest in terms of human and material wealth and is the source of major river systems such as the Nile and Awash.
  • Human rights violations are so severe that even the US Dept of State has rung a siren warning in the country Report 2003 [please see attached] and the Government of Meles Zenawi is put on the World’s Alert list of countries where genocide may occur[AFP Report, 27 January 2004]. Indeed, the said genocide has already taken place with hundreds killed when the Government’s security services took part in the massacre of the Annuaks in Gambella in western Ethiopia recently which still goes on [please see attached reports by Survival International, the Genocide Watch, the Ethiopian Human Rights council].
    The Gambella massacre is a tip of an iceberg of other state-sponsored ethnic strifes on the scale unknown in Ethiopia’s history of statehood up until Meles Zenawi’s minority regime came to power.

  • Repression against the free press continues with the banning of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association. This has generated an international outcry. Among many who protested and requested the ban be lifted, we attach the names of 11 the US congress members.
    No members of the free press can travel outside Addis Ababa, the Capital City, and can guarantee a safe return although officially freedom expression is stated in the constitution.

  • The TPLF/EPRDF regime continues to arrest civilians that it alleges support political organisations such as the Oromo Liberation Front, the Ogaden Liberation Front. Students and the elderly are not spared of these false pretexts as outlined by several international human rights organizations[AI, Human rights Watch reports, attached].
    It is particularly sad that ethnic Oromo students have become targets due to their ethnic origin as documented by the Ethiopian Human Rights Council Organisation with very serious consequences for the future of Ethiopia as a nation.

  • The so called Ethio-Eritrea war had killed thousands of productive labour force costing the two countries billions of dollars, a significant amount of the wastage coming from misuse of foreign aid funds.

We believe the countries of the Horn of Africa have much in common and can live co-operatively given the right political environment. Our common enemies are poverty and technological backwardness. We have bright people and abundant human and natural resources to win the war against poverty and international terrorism given a conducive peaceful coexistence.

In summary, Ethiopia under the TPLF/EPRDF regime has become victim of man made misery. We believe the international community has a moral obligation and self-interest consideration to help change the situation for the better.

We believe the main focus in this regard is timely pressure on the Government of Meles Zenawi with the following in mind: