The participation of several hundreds of
Ethiopians, experts, scholars from the United States and Europe, men and women
of the Arts, former diplomats and leaders of civic organizations, with
Honorable Ana Gomes of the European Parliament, speaking over the telephone
from the Sudan, made the conference rich and unique. The conference addressed
broad themes of good governance, conflict, civil society and development in
Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, and has adopted the following roadmap:
ALARMED by the
escalation of ethnic and religious polarization, active and latent conflicts in
Ethiopia and Somalia, further endangering the livelihood of millions of people
and disturbing international peace, and the total absence of a freely elected
and accountable governance system in the region;
DEEPLY CONCERNED by the political, economic and social
policies implemented by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in the last 19 years,
whichhas failed to make maximum use of
the catalytic roles of the donor community’s commitment for good governance,
building national consensus, and boosting productivity and alleviating endemic
poverty;
NOTING
WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
that, despite the unabated generous aid flows estimated at
$25 billion to $30 billion since 1991, almost all of the credible international
economic and governance indices rank Ethiopia at the tail end of world
development, to the extent that the country, by the end of 2009, had an
estimated 5 million orphans and 13-14 million or 16 percent of the country’s
population being identified as dependent on international food aid.
Notwithstanding these, the government unashamedly claims double digit economic growth
and success in the alleviation of poverty;
RECONGNIZING with dismay
that Ethiopia will be entering the next election without adequate preparation,
and more importantly, under a cloud of impunity, relentless human rights
violations, vigilantism, and the incarceration of political leaders like Ms.Birtukan Mideksa and others, while at the
same time the ruling party uses federal and foreign aid funds to recruit youth
supporters, all these being done with the intent of building a single-party
state.
NOW THEREFORE, We,
the AFE and ENPCP, together with the broad cross-section of Ethiopian participants
of the three days conference:
1.1 Have
agreed that the quagmires that Ethiopia finds itself are by and large a result
of the 19 years of poor political leadership of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and
his TPLF/EPRDF party. We strongly believe that neither peace nor development
can be achieved and sustained while Ato Meles Zenawi is in power. Hence, he
must immediately exit the Ethiopian political scene, preferably peacefully.
1.2 We call
upon all political parties, including the TPLF/EPRDF, to convene an all
inclusive National Conference for Peace and Reconciliation, with a view to
establishing a Transitional Government of National Unity that prepares the
country for an unfettered free and fair election.
1.3. Call on the Ethiopian people to continue their valiant
struggle for peace, democracy and respect for the rule of law. We urge all
Ethiopians to continue to resist the divide and rule policies of the regime; we
also admire the resistance of the Ethiopian people against religious extremism.
1.4 Call upon the Ethiopian people inside the country and
in the Diaspora to support and stand with forces that celebrate our diversity
while trying to cement the foundations of a united country. We specifically
call on all Ethiopians who are being forcefully recruited by the ruling party
to side with the people and refuse to engage in any action that may be harmful
to their brothers and sisters.
1.5 Commend and applaud opposition parties, civic
organizations and their leaders for the work they do under difficult
circumstances, and call upon them to create unity,
coordinate their efforts, form unbreakable coalitions, and prepare for pre and
post election scenarios.
1.6 Call upon the Ethiopian Diaspora to rise to the
challenges and provide material, moral and intellectual support to forces that
are committed to advancing good governance and democracy in Ethiopia and the
Horn of Africa.
1.7 Call for the convening of civil society organizations
with a view to establishing strong rights advocacy networks that can better
express the voice of the voiceless, and the causes of the people of Ethiopia
and the Horn of Africa.
1.8 Encourage all Ethiopians to vote for a party that
stands for democracy, good governance, unity, and at the same time support
democratic forces that stand to defend and protect their votes.
1.9 Call on Ethiopian Americans to use their voting rights
to influence U.S. policies towards Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
1.10Call upon the
citizens of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa to respect and defend the rights of
women and children.
1.11 Agreed to establish a working group and broaden the
breadth and scope of this declaration so that other stakeholders could join the
process in taking the roadmap into action.
2.0 To theTPLF/EPRDF
2.1Condemn the relentless human rights
violations, extrajudicial killings, persecutions and crimes against humanity
committed by the TPLF/EPRDF security forces in Addis Ababa, Arba Gugu, Bedeno,
Gambella, Hadiya, Hawasa, Ogden, Oromia, and other parts of Ethiopia, and
demand that those responsible be held accountable and brought to justice
without delay.
2.2 Call for the abandonment of the use of the
anti-terrorist and civil society laws as smokescreens to suppress dissent and
deny Ethiopians their fundamental economic, social and political freedoms.
2.3 Join human rights organizations, parliamentarians,
governments and the Ethiopian people in demanding for the immediate and
unconditional release of Ms. Birtukan Mideksa and all other political
prisoners.
2.4 Demand that the top brass as well as the rank and file
of the Ethiopian military properly reflect the ethnic and religious diversity
of the Ethiopian people, and the army’s size, shape, capability and doctrine be
improved.
2.5. Demand that the TPLF/EPRDF ceases its manipulation of
the electoral process by using federal and donor funds, political party
controlled funds, sheltered employment, land and fertilizer.
2.6 Call upon the TPLF/EPRDF and the House of Peoples
Representatives to initiate a constitutional reform in accordance to the will
of the people, and define a term limit for the office of the Prime
Minister.
27 Urge the TPLF/EPRDF to desist from blocking the
Ethiopian people from having access to information. We condemn the government’s
blocking of the Internet, the jamming of the Voice of America, and the muzzling
of the local media.
2.8. Call upon the TPLF/EPRDF to revisit its opaque
long-term farmland leases to foreign investors, which we know is dispossessing
citizens from the lands and waters on which they depend to survive.We demand the setting-up of an independent
expert group, with the full participation of local communities, in order to
assess the costs and benefits and ecological as well as social risks of
farmland leases to foreign investors. We believe that some of the land leases
have the potential to change the geopolitical equation of the region. We also
demand that the TPLF/EPRDF discloses all the details of the contracts to the
general public.
2.9 Demand that the government discloses the purpose and
nature of the ongoing border negotiation with the Sudan, and that TPLF/EPRDF
refrains from once again abrogating Ethiopia’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
2.10 Demand the immediate repeal of the charities and societies, media, and the anti terrorism
proclamations.
2.11 Demand that political party owned and “endowed”
companies be urgently reformed.
3.1We believe that
our similarities and connectedness far outweigh our differences. Let peace and
stability and democracy shine in our region. Let’s try our level best so that
our wounds heal.
3.2 We encourage the continuation of the relationship that has recently been started by scholars
from Eritrea and Ethiopia, and hope that such conversations would lead to new beginning
which will be mutually beneficial to the brotherly peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia. Everyone knows that Eritrea
and Ethiopia are invariably linked by history, religion, culture, economy, and
security. It is thus costly and wasteful for both to maintain the status quo.
3.3 We encourage free and fair elections in all of the
countries of the Horn of Africa. We wish success to the people of the Sudan in
the ongoing election, and in the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace
Agreement.
3.4 We encourage the international community and the people
of Somalia to work together in finding solutions to the complex problems of the
country.
4. To the Diplomatic and Donor
Community:
4.1 We urge
all donor countries, particularly the Government of the United States,
especially President Barak Obama to live up to the statements that he has made
about Africa. We urge the U.S. not to use double standards.We believe the blind eye afforded to Prime
Minster Meles Zenawi by the United States has resulted in strengthening
repression in Ethiopia.We, therefore,
demand a thorough review of the United States’ policy towards Ethiopia and the
Horn of Africa.
4.2 We call on
the Government of China to desist from assisting the Ethiopian Government’s
anti democratic practices, particularly in providing technical support to block
the Internet and the jamming of radio broadcasts. We also call upon the
Government of China to make trade mutually beneficial.
4.3 We call
upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to attend to the
call for the investigation of crimes against humanity in Ethiopia.
4.4 We call
upon the United States, the United Kingdom and European Union to investigate
whether tax payers’ money collected during the 1984/85 in Ethiopia has indeed
been used for strengthening the TPLF’s Red Army.
