Ethiopia’s opposition quits “treason” trials

EthioMedia

January 19, 2006

A strong hope of the Ethiopian people for a democratic governance was dashed at one go by the incumbent ruling party which knew it has lost the elections to the opposition, and its stay in power should rely on the unbridled powers of its security forces over the people. (EM)

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s jailed opposition leaders and journalists facing “treason” and “genocide” charges said in a statement that they no longer take part in court proceedings because they had committed no crimes on the one hand and on the other the judiciary system in the country was under the control of the ruling party.

“Prior to our arrest, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had pre-judged that we the defendants would be condemned to go into exile, or to start a guerrilla warfare, or to live with bowed heads, or languish in prison for the rest of our lives,” the defendants said in an Amharic-language statement.

Feted by millions as would-be leaders of today’s Ethiopia, the Kinijit officials and journalists said there was no reason for them to leave their people and country behind for life in exile. “Neither was any reason for us to embrace violence and launch an armed struggle. Living with bowed heads and broken hearts was unthinkable in our own country for which we strive to establish freedom and democracy.”

“Prime Minister Meles acted himself as a plaintiff, an eye-witness account and a judge to charge us with fictitious accusations designed to keep us in prison for the rest of our lives,” the leaders said.

They also blamed the court that it was worse than even the prosecutor.

There was no logic in taking part in court proceedings while knowing that there was no single crime committed, and there was no independent judiciary outside of the control of the prime minister, the defendants said in a statement addressed to the Ethiopian people as well as supporters of democracy and human rights around the world.

The nature of the charges is also designed to split leaders of Kinijit in two, and then sue one part while favoring the other to the side of the ruling party in a bid to destroy Kinijit methodically, the statement said.

“Fragment and then Destroy Kinijit”

Numerous overt and covert government activities were carried out to sow the seeds of division and mistrust among the Kinijit officials while they were behind bars but none of the schemes has worked.

“Some of us Kinijit leaders were privately asked to join the parliament, and told to persuade other Kinijit members to do likewise. We rejected their approach, and they came up with more charges against us. This approach justifies the political nature of our arrest,” the opposition leaders said in their statement.

Among the defendants, some of us were asked to falsely testify against other Kinijit members. Again this was rejected but the rejection was used as a pretext to accuse us of crimes that we have never committed, the statement said.

The opposition and journalists said there seems the ruling party is intensely involved in the business of organizing paid hirelings who would falsely testify against the defendants.

Journalists, editors, publishers have been jailed en masse, according to the statement, which said although no crime was committed in the press products the wholesale imprisonment was a strong evidence that the ruling party was bent on wiping out press freedom from the country.

When security forces and police invaded the offices and residences of Kinijit officials and members in Debre Markos town of East Gojjam, they brought in forged documents that they later used to incriminate the victims. In addition, Kinijit leaders were forced to be photographed and videoed with weapons that the security forces had smuggled into the residences and offices of the opposition officials, and broadcast to the society as if the Kinijit officials were captured with guns.

“Our offices were broken into and taken control of as if there was a war and such offices were run by enemies,” the statement said, expressing fear that the defendants had no idea how the seized documents have been altered as evidences for futher incrimination.

The defendants said though they knew that the election commission and the courts were never free from the influence of the ruling party, Kinijit was respecting the rule of law and tried that that rigged votes be investigated through the courts. For instance, the statement said, when the prime minister declared a state of emergency, Kinijit filed with the court about the illegality of the decree.

The court dismissed Kinijit’s case, and closed the file. Second, when the Electoral Commission was announcing election results every evening in contravention of existing rules, Kinijit had once again tried, through the court, to stop the illegal activities. However, the court endorsed the unlawful deeds of the Election Commission.

Therefore, we defendants have decided not to participate in the system where the ruling party deploys the police, the prosecutor and the courts as its own weapons of repression.