Three Generations of Prisoners in Ethiopia Today

Part I Contextual Profile On Re-imprisoned Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa of Ethiopia

Ethiopians who are in their 70’s plus today have survived through four political tsunamis the country
has undergone in the last six decades. These include the bestial but short-lived Mussolini/Fascist
invasion of the country (1936-41); the resumption of semi-feudal imperial rule by Emperor Haile
Sellassie (1941-1974); the popular mass revolution subsequently taken over by the military (Derg)
(1974-1991). The fourth regime is the current tandem occupation of the country and the severing of
Eritrea from Ethiopia by Isayass/ EPLF and the crony, the Tigrayan TPLF under Meles (1991-
present). Among other things, the most tragic and defining characteristic in the transitions and
tenures of the regimes--with the qualified exception of periods of the Haile Sellassie era—is the
cyclical rampancy of violence, oppression, death and destruction visited upon the ever enduring
Ethiopian people. There were also famines, environmental degradation as well as internal and
interstate conflicts that further exacerbated the suffering of the people.
What emerges as an explanatory paradigm for analysis of political phenomena in Ethiopia in
general revolves around what I call “the culture of violence and the violence of culture” that has
permeated and defined Ethiopia’s political history, not just for the past seven decades but for
centuries? The current tribalist regime has already used its monopoly of deadly force and absolute
political hegemony to sever Eritrea and wantonly land lock Ethiopia. It continues to use brute force to
massacre Ethiopians and obliterate Ethiopia per se. It is in the context of its words and, more
importantly, its deeds that one can at least attempt to reckon with current events such as the regime’s
capricious incarceration (again) of Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa, Chairperson of the Unity for Democracy
and Justice Party of Ethiopia.
For virtually all of its history, political leadership or right to rule in Ethiopia has not been a
matter of peoples choice or but of divine ordination. Hence, one of the several titles of Emperor Haile
Sellassie was “Elect of God.” Such a political culture does not engender or encourage political
participation by citizens be they males or even less so females—unless elected by God or by the
Gun. Indeed some emperors reached the pinnacle of power by the gun and then coerced the clergy
to confirm them as “elect” of God. Still, there were some female empresses as well by virtue of being
a king’s daughter. Empress Zewditu Menelik at the turn of the twentieth Century was one such
example.
The Modest Beginnings of Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa
Having come of age in a stifling political culture, the young, dynamic and charismatic Mrs. Birtukan
Mideksa emerged into the political spotlight in the early period of the 21st Century. She was born in
1974 in Addis Ababa. On the material side of life, hers were low income parents but she said she was
raised with so much rich love and care. She had a positive and friendly disposition towards all she
encountered. She was superior at school and eventually joined Addis Ababa University. She recalls
that she wanted to do public service and her shortlist was law or medicine. She then heard about a
lady judge who had reached the level of Justice of the High Court of Ethiopia. That inspired young
Birtukan to aspire to serve her people in the realm of law and justice. In 1989, shortly after her
graduation, she was appointed judge and served with competence and equanimity—insofar as the
system would allow--for the next six years, followed by law practice.
The Janus-faced devious regime of autocrat Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia operates with absolute
armed power at home and duplicitous propaganda abroad. It denies what it really is and does in the
country while it projects what it is not to the rest of the world. Under such circumstances a general
“election” was slated for 2005 and a number of patriotic, democratic and dedicated Ethiopians formed
parties and coalitions to peacefully contest in the “election”—even though they had serious doubts
about the regime’s trustworthiness. They were, however, encouraged in this endeavor by European
and American groups and election observers who promised to be rigorous in monitoring the voting
and counting processes and holding the ruling regime and all concerned accountable. It was at this
momentous occasion that Birtukan joined the democratic movement and she was selected to be
Deputy Chair of the Kinijit (Coalition) Democratic Party of Ethiopia.

Free Birtukan Midekssa and all Political Prisoners In Ethiopia. Ottawa, May 26,2009

Most importantly to demand:
1. The Harper Government breaks its silence and speaks out against the human rights abuse in Ethiopia
2. For the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and ensure that the practice of arbitrary arrest and unfair trials shall come to an end in Ethiopia.
3. Canada takes immediate and tangible steps to ensure that the actions of the government in Ethiopia shall comply fully with The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
4. the current government in Ethiopia be held accountable and responsible for violating International Human rights Law, and ensure that any kind of Canadian aid to Ethiopia be granted subject to the recognition, promotion as well as implementation of Democratic Ideals and Civil and Political Rights.
Honorable Peter Julian NDP, MP for Burnaby/Westminster and
Honorable Paul Dewar Paul MP, for Ottawa Center addressed the crowed regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia, and encouraged every one to raise their voice for those who are suffering under the tyrannical regime in Ethiopia. Also, the Honorable Maria Minna Liberal, MP Beaches East York was represented by her assistant Mr. Ryan who also made a brief speech.


More info to come...

SOLIDARITY MESSAGE TO THE MAY 15 INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM IN ETHIOPIA

Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto, would like to express its solidarity to the International campaign to free the jailed political leaders and human rights activists in Ethiopia. As part of this international movement, we salute you all who are holding torches of freedom high up glowing city streets. We hear echoes of the bells of democracy you are ringing and songs of peace you are singing. Your march for freedom is unprecedented and the drums you beat are calling for unity of all democratic forces.
All political prisoners incarcerated in the dungeons all over the country are counting on us to remember their plights every single day. They are appealing to us for the realization of their freedom. Their voices have been taken away by the Woyane tugs and remain voiceless. They are demanding for unity amongst all democratic forces for the common good of mother Ethiopia which is endangered with perils of Melles Zenawi’s destructive policies.
The true sons and daughters of Ethiopia are converging at major city streets across the globe to denounce fascism. TPLF’s wave of terror has continued unabated both in width and depth. TPLF is waging an all out war against Ethiopians and we are at a critical historical moment. It is a reality that fascism is digging its grave deeper never to resurrect Victory is in sight around the horizon. Fascism which has reigned for last 18 years is bidding farewell as it is fast losing ground every where. Ethiopians will soon recover their hard earned unity and freedom. They rightfully gain their pride which had been looted by the fascistic leaders our country ever had throughout its history. The time to rejoice our unity has come for real and we will not fail to protect it as our forefathers did against colonialism.
Obviously, TPLF leaders might run away to those cities the looted aid money has been amassed and hoarded. Well, they might think so, but that won’t happen for real. The money they are looting belongs to the starving million children of Ethiopia.
The world is not that big any more, as they might think. Criminals cannot run, let alone hide. Prosecution for genocide is awaiting them and tears mother Ethiopia has been shedding those long years will eventually dry up. We can't wait to see that time we all have long yearned for. Justice will be finally served and we will regain our human rights, freedom, peace and equality irrespective of ones religious, ethnic, political or regional affiliation. Ethnic apartheid system of government will be history and the future generation will remember it as the darkest moment their ancestors have endured through what else we have learned from Mussolini and Graziani's cruelty against our forefathers!!!!!!
Once again, on the occasion of the May 15, international movement, we are renewing our determination to continue working together with all democratic forces. We will strengthen our lobbying tasks with the Canadian government and other opposition officials who have been championing the Ethiopian human rights issue on all forums available. We will join hands with concerned citizens and law enforcement agencies to expose those human rights abusers and looters who have made cities of Canada as their hub for retreat.

Victory to the Ethiopian People
Toronto, May 15, 2009

With a Friend Like This:Ethiopia was supposed to help America in the war on terror. But it's only made matters worse.

Few people outside Ethiopia have ever heard of Birtukan Mideksa. And that's just how the government wants it. Since December, Birtukan has been kept in solitary confinement, one of hundreds of political prisoners there. Her apparent crime? Organizing a democratic challenge to the increasingly iron-fisted rule of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
In the past year alone, Meles's ruling party has rigged elections, effectively banned independent human-rights groups, passed a draconian press law and shrugged off calls for an investigation into alleged atrocities in the restive Ogaden region. Yet in the same period, his country has become one of the largest recipients of U.S. aid in sub-Saharan Africa, getting a cool $1 billion in 2008. The Bush administration claimed that Ethiopia was the linch-pin of its regional counterterrorism strategy and a vital beacon of stability. But the evidence increasingly suggests Washington isn't getting what it pays for, and is supporting a brutal dictator in the process. Candidate Obama pledged to strengthen democracy in Africa; if he's serious, this is a good place to start.

America's warm relations with Ethiopia date to the days after 9/11, when the country's Christian-dominated government came to be seen as a natural U.S. ally in a region targeted by Islamic extremists. After disputed elections in 2005, however, Meles—once hailed by President Bill Clinton as part of a promising "new generation" of African leaders—began clamping down on dissent.
Yet Washington tolerated his lapses because it needed his help fighting Al-Qaeda linked Islamists in next-door Somalia. In December 2006, Ethiopia's U.S.-trained Army duly invaded its neighbor, ousting the radical Islamic Courts Union government there. But the adventure hasn't worked out as planned. No sooner had the ICU been toppled than an even more radical group, Al-Shabab, sprang up to fight the invaders. And although Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopia's foreign minister, recently told NEWSWEEK that the Islamists have been militarily "shattered," they now control much of the country's south and have tightened links with Al Qaeda. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian troops have pulled out, and the country they left behind has been thoroughly devastated. Two years of fighting forced about 3.4 million Somalis, some 40 percent of the population, from their homes. Yet only a few high-ranking terrorists were eliminated, and Russell Howard, a retired general and senior fellow at the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations University, says the occupation only "empowered" the radicals.
Such failures—and Ethiopia's growing repression—suggest Washington should rethink the relationship. Just what Ethiopia offers the United States today is unclear. Addis Ababa has contributed troops to U.N. peacekeeping forces in Darfur and Burundi and plays a large role in shaping the policies of the African Union. But this shouldn't earn it unquestioning U.S. support.
To reset ties, the United States should push Ethiopia to democratize. And it must urge it to reconcile with its archnemesis, Eritrea. Resolving the conflict between the two states is key to addressing a whole range of threats to U.S. interests. Tiny Eritrea won independence from Addis Ababa in 1993, but the two countries fought a 1998–2000 border war and relations have remained hostile ever since, in part because Ethiopia, with tacit U.S. support, has ignored an international ruling that redrew their border. Too weak to challenge Ethiopia directly, Eritrea has funneled support to its enemy's enemies—including Al-Shabab and its America-hating foreign fighters. Eritrea also recently instigated a border conflict with Djibouti, home to an important U.S. military base.
Washington should thus push Ethiopia and Eritrea to make amends; better relations would mean an end to their proxy war in Somalia, which has helped turn that state into a Qaeda haven. Should it choose to use it, the United States has plenty of leverage. Most U.S. spending on Ethiopia goes for health and food aid, which aren't easy to cut. But the Obama administration could make military aid and weapons sales contingent on Meles's improving his behavior. The House of Representatives passed a bill in 2007 to do just that, but the measure died in the Senate without White House support.
Much will now depend on the man Obama has nominated for the State Department's top Africa job, Johnnie Carson. Carson's record is promising: while ambassador to Kenya from 1999 to 2003, he helped persuade longtime President Daniel Arap Moi to step down, clearing the way for multiparty elections. Should he bring similar pressure to bear on Washington's new African ally, Birtukan, Ethiopia's other political prisoners, Africans throughout the Horn and America itself would all benefit.
With Jason Mclure in Addis Ababa for News Week

Lawsuit challenges aid to Ethiopia

Imprisoned Canadian's lawyer accuses Ottawa of giving relief to state that doesn't respect rights
Apr 03, 2009 04:30 AM
Michelle Shephard
National Security Reporter
There have been Supreme Court cases, costly federal inquiries, rallies and media pressure that has forced the government into action concerning Canadian citizens detained abroad.
But now comes an inventive court challenge that lawyers for Bashir Makhtal hope will pack a financial punch and lead to the Canadian's release from Ethiopia.
A lawsuit against the Canadian government filed yesterday in federal court argues that Canada is breaking the law by providing financial aid to Ethiopia.
"Official government development aid shall only be provided to countries if the aid `is consistent with international human rights standards,'" the claim alleges, quoting from a new law that came into effect in June.
The Official Development Assistance Accountability Act was passed in order to ensure that development assistance is provided "in a manner that is consistent with Canadian values (and) Canadian foreign policy."
Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman argues in his suit that Makhtal, who is being held in an Addis Ababa prison, has been denied access to lawyers or consular assistance for two years, and coupled with international criticism about Ethiopia's courts, continued aid would violate Canadian law.
The suit focuses on the portion of Canada's $89 million in foreign aid targeted for improving Ethiopia's legal system.
"We don't have any issue of the government sending aid to people who are starving or building wells or all the other things they may be doing in Ethiopia," Waldman said.
"But giving aid to a government that doesn't respect due process to finance their legal system is in my view inconsistent with our obligations."
Makhtal, an Ethiopian-born Canadian citizen who lived in Toronto for close to a decade before moving to Kenya where he worked and lived with his wife, was arrested in December 2006 at the border of Somalia. He was initially held in Nairobi but then taken secretly to Somalia and driven to Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government alleges Makhtal is a member of the outlawed Ogaden National Liberation Front, which is fighting for the Somali-speaking population of Ethiopia's disputed, oil-rich Ogaden region.
He has denied the charge.
While the government had not spoken out publicly against Makhtal's case when he was initially detained, Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Secretary Deepak Obhrai went to Addis Ababa twice last year to meet Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Federal Transport Minister John Baird, whose Ottawa riding has a large Somali population, recently took a personal interest in the case and vowed to visit Ethiopia soon.
"I am very cautious about this step by the lawyers," Baird said yesterday in reaction to the lawsuit.
"I am just not optimistic that an attempt to pressure the Ethiopians in Canadian courts will benefit Bashir. His case is taking place in Ethiopia, and that needs to be where we focus our efforts."
Makhtal appeared in an Ethiopian court yesterday where six witnesses gave "mainly hearsay testimony," his cousin, Said Makhtal, said. He is to appear again April 20.

Why no-one speaks out: Politics and human rights in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has no independent judiciary, no free press, no civil society, and individual liberties have been severely curtailed, so why isn’t Meles Zenawi a persona non grata in the international community, asks human rights activist Mitmita.
Birtukan Mideksa, a former judge who was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005, is just one of many people jailed for exercising their fundamental rights, in this case the freedom of speech, says Mitmita. Mideksa is in solitary confinement in Kaliti Prison for allegedly violating the terms of a government pardon granted to her in 2007. The accusations are based on her failure to retract statements made in a speech that she was released from prison through a politically negotiated settlement rather than a formal legal pardon. Western failure to condemn abuses by Zenawi’s government for the sake of their own strategic interests, says Mitmita, comes at the expense of the rights of ordinary Ethiopians.
In the barbed wire existence that is Kaliti Prison, past the mocking eucalyptus trees swaying in the cerulean Addis skies, beyond the square outdoor cages reserved for visitors, away from the prison guards whose hands callously sift through the contents of your food basket, in solitary confinement is a thirty-four year old political prisoner. It is her second stay since 2005 within the infamous walls of the prison that lies on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital.

Ms Birtukan Mideksa’s crime, according to the Ethiopian government, is violation of the terms of her 2007 pardon. She was arrested in 2005, in the post election upheaval during which 200 individuals were killed by government forces and more than 100 opposition political leaders and elected parliamentarians, human rights defenders, journalists, attorneys and civil society members were imprisoned. She was tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The charge was treason. International outrage followed. Massive campaigns from around the world drew attention to the case. Amnesty International and other NGOs declared the defendants were prisoners of conscience who had been imprisoned solely for the expression of their fundamental rights.

In 2007, Ms Mideksa and her co-defendants were released as part of negotiations between elders and the Ethiopian government, which allegedly resulted in the following: Signed confessions by Ms Mideksa and others, and a pardon granted to them by the government. The terms and parameters of the pardons as well as the confessions remain murky. What is known and evident is that Ms Mideksa’s December 2008 arrest resulted from the exercise of her right to free speech.

Outside of the two square metre prison cell that she now inhabits, the political prisoner is a former judge, a mother to a four-year-old daughter and the head of an opposition political organisation (arguably Africa’s only woman to hold such a position). In juggling these roles, she was working to avoid the minefields that accompany exercising your rights in Ethiopia. How does a woman who presided over high profile cases as part of the judiciary end up in solitary confinement serving a life sentence for a second time in the span of two years? The answer lies in the tortured reality that is life in Ethiopia.

By all accounts, the country has no independent judiciary, no free press, no civil society, and individual liberties such as freedom of speech, association et al have been severely curtailed if not eliminated. Even artists don’t enjoy freedom of thought – their expressions can’t stray from the party lines. For example, Teddy Afro, a popular singer, is serving time for an alleged hit and run, though his lyrics and pro-democracy stance suggest that the accident might have been mere subterfuge.
The prison system, certainly since 2005 but most likely prior to that date, hosted a who’s who of Ethiopia’s intelligentsia, artist community and human rights defenders. That certainly doesn’t make it unique – totalitarian regimes are apt to discredit those who defy them. Those who were not imprisoned were slaughtered in broad daylight. In the Ogaden, the violence committed by government sources was so egregious that human rights groups have labelled them crimes against humanity. This brand of leadership has not only been exported to neighbouring Somalia but the US also allegedly used Ethiopia as a location for one of the CIA’s extraordinary rendition prisons.

Which brings us back to Ms Mideksa. Solitary confinement, according to Amnesty International, puts Ms Mideksa at risk of ill-treatment and torture. Ms Mideksa has been denied access to counsel and to medical treatment. She is at risk – if not already exposed – to abuse at the hands of prison guards. To be a woman political prisoner is something altogether quite different. The potential for suffering is innumerable.

The world, outside of those who concern themselves daily with the goings-on of Africa, has turned a deaf ear to her and to Ethiopia’s suffering. The leadership’s consistent flirting with disaster – whether it is famine, the ill-fated foray into supposed electoral politics in 2005, or the misadventures in Somalia – provides a clear image of a ruling party holding a nation in an extricable iron grip. Yet somehow the fate of a Mugabe or a Bashir of the Sudan doesn’t befall Meles Zenawi. There has been no international condemnation, no arrest warrants and he certainly isn’t a global persona non Grata.

Unlike other dictators, the head of Ethiopia has had an air of legitimacy conferred upon him – to the point that Westerners need to be reminded of his true colors, demonstrated during the 2005 elections. The Prime Minister’s policy appears to be twofold: Firstly, to convey an indispensable willingness to protect the interests of the West in the Horn of Africa and secondly, to display the accouterments of democracy and free market economics without actually implementing any of the institutions or responsibilities that accompany both.

And it seems his strategy has worked like a charm. Except for a rare rebuke or a slap on the wrist, the West – especially the primary funder's of the Ethiopian regime – generally turn a blind eye to the massive human rights violations besieging the nation. Which is not surprising: Even Ethiopians seem tired of Ethiopia’s same old problems. It is much easier to tune out something that has been going on for far too long. For those in need of a crash course in Ethiopian political history, consider the following:

Ms Mideksa’s imprisonment is but a microcosm of the tragedies experienced by the larger population. Fundamentally, her case illustrates the immense power that the Ethiopian government wields over its citizens. Her purportedly offensive statements that led to her arrest were made during a speech in Sweden. Shockingly, her words merely stated facts: That her prior release was not based on a formal legal pardon, but rather a politically negotiated settlement. It was her refusal to rescind these statements that landed her in jail. Since Ethiopia’s state apparatus extends beyond boundaries and across oceans, imagine the control it must wield over the population within its borders. Big African brother is watching. Following the 2005 elections, the government banned SMS text messaging after pro-democracy activists used the tool to organize voters and peaceful rallies. Various Ethiopian blogs, websites and other Internet resources are routinely blocked in Ethiopia. The besieged population is regularly searched before entering malls and restaurants.

Three months into her reinstated life sentence, we must raise some critical questions about Ms Mideksa’s case and the state of Ethiopia as a whole. Are fundamental rights extinguishable at the will of a government? Why isn’t international funding truly linked to a country’s human rights record? Should Western interests, especially purported ‘terrorism’ concerns, supersede the human rights of Africans? And most importantly, where is the outrage?

* Mitmita is a pseudomyn of an Ethiopian human rights activist.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/.

Ethiopia: Birtukan sues the TPLF government for violation of rights (Capital)

Jailed opposition party Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) chair, Birtukan Midekssa, has sued the government for violating her rights as a prisoner.
Earlier this month, attorney Tesfaye Derese filed the charge on behalf of Birtukan. Tesfaye himself had on various occasions claimed not to be able to see his client.
In the filed charge, Birtukan asks the court to ensure her prisoner’s rights, which she said have been violated, are respected. The Ethiopian constitution stipulates that persons in custody and convicted prisoners have the right to communicate with and be visited by spouse(s), close relatives and friends, medical attendants, and religious and legal counselors.
Birtukan is not the first one to claim mistreatment in detention centers. During the former Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP) leaders and members’ trial, then CUDP Secretary, Muluneh Eyuel, also claimed that he was mistreated and was put in a dark cell on his own.
Very recently, the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) secretary Bekele Jirate claimed that he was made to stand for long hours while he was in police custody. Both allegations were rejected by the courts.
Birtukan’s charge was sent back to the registrar by the first presiding judge, who explained that he could not preside over the case, as he knew the plaintiff personally. Another justice, who took over the case, ruled last Wednesday that it is in the court’s jurisdiction and the plaintiff has a case and can indeed sue for the alleged violations.
In orders issued last Wednesday, the court explained that it took on the case after the plaintiff re-stated its case to explain that the alleged violations occurred in the previous fifteen days. This is a requirement if the case is to go through what is called accelerated procedure.
The court has ordered the Federal Correction Facilities Commission to present a response to the charge by April 2.
It was back in December 29 that Birtukan was re-arrested and began serving life after the pardon board revoked her pardon. She was imprisoned and then pardoned after she - along with other members and leaders of the former CUDP - were found guilty of unrest following the 2005 elections.
UDJ and other opposition groups such as OFDM and United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) have condemned Birtukan’s re-arrest. However the government insisted it acted to uphold the rule of law to which it said Birtukan failed to comply when she denied asking for a pardon and then refused to retract her statement.
Some lawyers expressed a concern about the procedures the government took to revoke her pardon. These experts explained that Birtukan was not given the legally permitted 21 days before her pardon was revoked, instead she was re-arrested just 72 hours after the Federal Police Commission asked her to retract the statement.
The justice minister, Berhan Hailu, has said that the 21 day period referred to by the lawyers is only advisory.

Why Does British Foreign Aid Prefer Poor Governments Over Poor People?

By William Easterly and Laura Freschi
European donors are moving towards increasing direct budget support to governments of aid-receiving countries. Leading the charge is the UK, which gives the largest percentage of direct budget support of any bilateral or multilateral donor (although the World Bank, the European Commission, the US and France also give substantial budget support).
Giving cash directly to host country governments for use in the general budget for public spending has a number of advantages. The donors say it gives recipient governments more predictability, and more control over the aid resources being funneled in. Rather than serving a plethora of masters in the international donor community, funds given as budget support can be corralled by the host government and spent coherently according to host government priorities, while building government capacity to do what everyone wants governments to do for themselves in the long run: competently manage their own affairs. The aid jargon for this is “country ownership.”
So how is this working out in practice? In 2007, the UK gave 20 percent of their total bilateral ODA in the form of budget support to 13 countries: Tanzania, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, Vietnam, Malawi, Zambia, India, Sierra Leone, Nepal, and Nicaragua. (Source)
Of this list, only Ghana and India were classified as “free” by the annual Freedom House ratings on democracy (according to either the 2007 or 2008 rating). For the 11 other countries that did get British budget support, how much is there “country ownership” when the government is not democratically accountable to the “country”?
Moreover, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused some of these governments of serious human rights violations. Ethiopia’s autocratic government, which is inexplicably the largest recipient of UK budget support in Africa, won 99% of the vote in the last “election.” The government army is accused by HRW of war crimes in the Somali region of Ethiopia. Nor is this brand new -- neither army officers nor civilian officials have been “held accountable for crimes against humanity that ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Force) forces carried out against ethnic Anuak communities during a counterinsurgency campaign in Gambella region in late 2003 and 2004.” HRW also notes that today: “Credible reports indicate that vital food aid to the drought-affected [Somali] region has been diverted and misused as a weapon to starve out rebel-held areas.” Ironically, Ethiopia’s autocratic ruler, Meles Zenawi, was the Africa representative at the recent G-20 meeting campaigning for more aid to Africa during the current crisis, because, among other reasons, Meles said “people who were getting some food would cease to get it and … would die” (from an article in Wednesday's Financial Times.)
As for Vietnam, HRW reports: “In March 2008 police arrested Bui Kim Thanh, an activist who defended victims of land confiscation and involuntarily committed her to a mental hospital for the second time in two years. … In October a Hanoi court sentenced reporters Nguyen Viet Chien of Young People (Thanh Nien) newspaper to two years in prison and Nguyen Van Hai from Youth (Tuoi Tre) to two years’ “re-education” for having exposed a major corruption scandal in 2005…..”
Oh yes, and let’s consider corruption, which may affect whether aid to governments translates into aid to poor people. Another country on the UK budget support list, Malawi, had received $148 million in budget support from its donors from 2000 to 2004. It ended those four years with poorer government capacity and greater fiscal instability than it began them, according to one evaluation. Also during those four years, the Malawian president was accused of awarding fraudulent contracts, and government officials achieved new lows when they sold off all 160,000 tons of the country’s grain reserves for personal profit. In the ensuing famine, provoked by drought and floods but made worse by the loss of the grain reserves, the government had to borrow an additional $28 million to feed its starving people. Yet Malawi continues to receive British budget support today.
Elsewhere on the corruption front, British aid continues to give direct transfers to the Sierra Leonean government even though its own 2006 report found that previous support to the “Anti-Corruption Commission” had “made no progress on the overall goal of reducing corruption, had made no impact on reducing real or perceived levels of corruption, had suffered a fall in institutional capacity since the previous year.” (Quote from a 2008 Transparency International report). Sierra Leone is ranked the 158th worst country in the world on corruption (where the worst ranking is 180th).
Of course, low income countries have lower ratings on democracy, human rights, and corruption than richer countries, so poverty-alleviation aid has to face the tricky tradeoff of directing aid to the poorest countries while trying to avoid the most corrupt and autocratic ones. Unfortunately, a recent article found that the UK was one of the best (least bad) official aid agencies in doing this, so most of the others are apparently even worse.
This study did not consider the issue of direct budget support. There is nothing that says you have to give aid meant for the poorest peoples directly to their governments, if the latter are tyrannical and corrupt. With the examples above, which side are UK aid officials on, on the side of poor people or on the side of the governments that oppress them?
Posted by Laura Freschi on March 20, 2009 12:20 PM

Testimony of David H. Shinn Adjunct Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs George Washington University

Horn of Africa: Priorities and Recommendations
Hearing before the House Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations
Committee on Appropriations
12 March 2009
Ethiopia

Ethiopia has been a good ally of the United States on a number of issues while it offers challenges for U.S. policy concerning its human rights practices and pace of democratization. As a result, U.S. policy towards Ethiopia since the current government took power in 1991 has always been a delicate balancing act. This will continue to be the case.

Ethiopia has been a strong supporter of U.S. counter terrorism policy in the region. Even if the tactics change under the Obama administration for dealing with terrorism, the United States will continue to look to Ethiopia for support. Ethiopia has also consistently been responsive to U.S. concerns about stability and peacekeeping operations in the region and beyond. It supported U.S. policy on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan and provided support to the peacekeeping operation in Darfur. It has contributed to peacekeeping efforts beyond the Horn of Africa. Although in my view, both the United States and Ethiopia followed a misguided policy in Somalia, they did it together. It is just not possible to ignore the helpful role of Ethiopia on regional issues that are important to the United States. In addition, the Meles Zenawi government has established a solid economic track record for which it does not receive much credit.

U.S. policy must weigh these positive factors against the need for significant improvement on human rights issues and the democratization process. Since 1991 there have been periodic large-scale arrests of political dissidents, frequently among the Oromo who are perceived rightly or wrongly to have ties to the Oromo Liberation Front, which calls for the overthrow of the government. Although many are eventually released, new groups of political dissidents are routinely arrested. The government has a long history of harassment of the private press and a reluctance to permit civil society groups to engage in advocacy work. The new act covering charities and non-governmental organizations places severe restrictions on their ability to conduct advocacy work.

Democratization in Ethiopia experienced a major setback following the 2005 national elections. Although the election process began well, it ended badly. The political opposition must take some responsibility for the violence that followed the election, but ultimately the government is responsible for preventing violence and maintaining credibility in the electoral system. The 2008 local elections were an opportunity to put the democratization process back on track. They did not. The government party won all but a handful of the 3.6 million positions. The next national elections occur in 2010 and the outlook for serious competition is not good.
U.S. policy must continue to balance the need for Ethiopia’s cooperation on regional issues with its desire to influence positively the human rights’ situation and democratization process in the country. Putting pressure on Ethiopia will become increasingly difficult for the United States and other western countries as Ethiopia continues to strengthen its relations with countries such as China and Russia.
Editors Note: In this testimony Mr. shin tried to link the violence or the aftermath of election 2005 on the opposition parties. What Mr. Shinn purposely omitted to mention is that the current government was not elected and is not the legitimate government of the country. Moreover, it looks like Mr. shinn is approving the killing of hundreds of unarmed civilian protesters and the imprisonment of more than fifty thousand opposition supporters members, and leaders. If those killed were whites like in Zimbabwe or jews in israel, Mr. shinn might have a different report. What a pity.

CANADIAN MPS REACTION REGARDING THE UNJUSTLIFE IMPRISONMENT OF BIRTUKAN MIDEKSSA

Julian tackles human rights

Christina Myers (staff reporter)

A local MP is tackling a human rights issue on the other side of the planet. Peter Julian, NDP MP for Burnaby-New Westminister, recently tabled a private members’ motion in the House of Commons, calling on the Canadian government to do what it can to pressure the dictatorial regime in Ethiopia to release Birtukan Mideksa from Solitary confinement unconditionally.

Peter Julian, NDP MP said

“Anyone interested in backing his campaign can contact his office to receive copies of the petition. Any petition with a minimum of 25 names can be presented to the House of Commons”.

All Canadians and in particular those from Ethiopian origin please respond to his call for action. His details are;

Constituency Office:
7615 Sixth Street
Burnaby, BC V3N 3M6
Tel: 604-775-5707
Fax: 604-775-5743
TTY: 604-775-5737
juliap@parl.gc.ca

Parliamentary Office:
Room 178, Confederation Building, House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Tel: 613-992-4214
Fax: 613-947-9500
TTY: 613-992-4249
Information Service, Parliament of Canada, Toll-free (Canada): 1 (866) 599-4999

Also you can visit his website at www.peterjulian.ca

Bashir Makhtal - McGuffi

CBC RADIO "THE CURRENT PROGRAM REGARDING BASHIR MAKTAL
Bashir Makhtal was in an open court room in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa today. He's a dual Ethiopian and Canadian citizen and he's spent more than two years in an Ethiopian prison as a domestic terror suspect. Mr. Makhtal was picked up along the border between Kenya and Somalia in December, 2006. He was then forced onto a rendition flight and flown illegally across international borders, eventually landing in an Ethiopian prison cell. He was not allowed to see Canadian consular officials for more than a year and a half. And he did not actually meet his Ethiopian lawyer until about two months ago.
ethiopia accuses Mr. Makhtal of being a key figure in the Ogaden National Liberation Front, ONLF, a rebel group that is fighting for more autonomy or outright secession from Ethiopia. Ethiopia considers the ONLF a terrorist organization. But it is not on the terror watch list in Canada or the United States.
David McGuffin is following Bashir Makhtal's trial. He is CBC's Africa correspondent and he was at the court house in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Bashir Makhtal - Cousin and Lawyer
Said Maktal is Bashir Makhtal's cousin. They were raised in the same house in Somalia. And Said Maktal has been leading efforts in Canada to get his cousin out of Ethiopia. Said Maktal was in Toronto this morning.
Lorne Waldman is Bashir Makhtal's lawyer in Canada.

Bashir Makhtal Trial: Baird

John Baird has taken an active interest in Bashir Makhtal's case. He's Canada's Federal Transport Minister. He represents the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean, a riding with a large Somali community. And he says the Federal Government has told the Ethiopian Government that it expects Mr. Makhtal to be treated fairly.
The minister is travelling today and was unavailable to be interviewed. He did, however, speak to this issue at a press conference on Tuesday. We aired a clip from this conference.
To listen to the entire program press the link

US President Barack Obama nominated career diplomat Johnnie Carson to be assistant secretary of state for African affairs

Washington, DC — US President Barack Obama nominated career diplomat Johnnie Carson to be assistant secretary of state for African affairs, the White House announced.
In the late 1990s, he served under Susan Rice, the current UN ambassador, as principal deputy assistant secretary for the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs.
The White House announced the nomination of Ambassador Johnnie Carson Friday. The full text of the White House announcement:
President Barack Obama today announced his intent to nominate Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, State Department.
Ambassador Johnnie Carson is currently the National Intelligence Officer for Africa on the National Intelligence Council. He joined the NIC in September 2006 after a 37-year career in the Foreign Service. Prior to this appointment, Carson served as the Senior Vice President of the National Defense University in Washington D.C. (2003-2006).
Carson's Foreign Service career includes ambassadorships to Kenya (1999-2003), Zimbabwe (1995-1997), and Uganda (1991-1994); and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs (1997-1999). Earlier in his career he had assignments in Portugal, Botswana, Mozambique, and Nigeria. He has also served as desk officer in the Africa section at State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research; Staff Officer for the Secretary of State (1978-1979), and Staff Director for the Africa Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives (1979-1982).
Before joining the Foreign Service, Ambassador Carson was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania. He has a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Drake University and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the School of Oriental and Africa Studies at the University of London.
Ambassador Carson is the recipient of several Superior Honor Awards from the Department of State and a Meritorious Service Award from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The Centers for Disease Control presented Ambassador Carson its highest award, "Champion of Prevention Award," for his leadership in directing the US Government's HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Kenya.
Senator Russ Feingold, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommitee on African Affairs has hailed Carson’s choice describing him as “an accomplished career foreign service officer.”
“President Obama’s nomination of Johnnie Carson to be Assistant Secretary for African Affairs is a strong choice. Carson is an accomplished career foreign service officer with an excellent track record on African issues spanning many decades and a range of positions. Carson has a deep understanding of our diplomatic capacities and the importance of regular interagency collaboration. I look forward to considering his nomination and hearing how he and the administration plan to address the many challenges we face on the African continent.” Feingold said after the White House announcement.

Tories to scrutinize Canadian's trial in Ethiopia

If proceedings aren't fair, Baird vows to bring Toronto businessman home
By Louisa Taylor, The Ottawa Citizen March 18, 2009
Days before a Canadian businessman is to appear in an Ethiopian court to face terrorism charges, the Harper government is sending "strong signals" to Ethiopian authorities that it is watching to see whether Bashir Makhtal has any hope of receiving a fair trial, and if he doesn't, Canada will be taking steps to bring the former Toronto businessman home.
"Thursday is going to be a very important day," John Baird, minister of transport, infrastructure and communities, said Tuesday. "What is required is that, after two years of holding Mr. Makhtal with no charge, they now put up the evidence."
The Ottawa-Nepean MP says he will be speaking to embassy officials today to ask that the Canadian ambassador attend Makhtal's hearing in Addis Ababa to underscore to Ethiopian authorities that "the government of Canada at senior levels will be watching this very closely."
Baird took on the Makhtal case last year at the urging of Ottawa's Somali community. Born in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, Makhtal is an ethnic Somali who immigrated to Canada in 1991.
The 40-year-old trader was arrested crossing the border between Somalia and Kenya in late 2006. He is accused of being an Islamic extremist. A month later, he was illegally deported to Ethiopia, where he was held for two years in solitary confinement with no access to a lawyer or to Canadian embassy officials.
Makhtal's case was recently transferred to civilian court, where he finally heard the charges against him. The Ethiopian government alleges that he was a leader of the Ogaden National Liberation Front from 2003 to his arrest in 2006. As the head of a military and political training centre, he is alleged to have led 800 fighters into Somalia on a "terrorist mission."
The ONLF is fighting for Ogadeni independence from Ethiopia, which considers the group a terrorist organization. (The Canadian government does not.) Makhtal has repeatedly denied any active involvement in the ONLF, and says he is being persecuted because his grandfather, Makhtal Dahir, helped found the ONLF decades ago.
The evidence listed on the charges includes the names of six witnesses, all of whom Makhtal's lawyer and family believe were coerced into making statements against him. It also includes three pieces of documentary evidence, one of which is an ONLF news release claiming responsibility for an April, 2007 attack on an Ethiopian oil field.
The press release makes no mention of Makhtal, who had already been in solitary confinement for four months by the time of the attack.
Another piece of documentary evidence listed is the case number of an Ethiopian military court decision from the fall of 2008. Makhtal was brought before a secret military tribunal a half-dozen times last year. He was blindfolded, the proceedings were in Amharic -- a language he barely understands -- and he was not allowed to have a lawyer present.
The evidence "underscores the fact that trials in Ethiopia, particularly in a political context and certainly when ONLF suspects are involved, generally fall far, far short of international standards," said Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, adding that political trials in Ethiopia were "quite unpredictable."
"I can't say there's a good chance a judge will look at the flimsy evidence and laugh it out of court and Mr. Makhtal will be a free man because this could very well stretch out for many more sittings of the court," Neve said.
Baird has previously said he would consider going to Ethiopia to press for Makhtal's release, and members of the Makhtal family say they have been told that the minister plans to go in April.
"I'm hoping to welcome Mr. Makhtal home before then," Baird said Tuesday. "But I've had good discussions with Lawrence Cannon, the minister of foreign affairs (about going to Ethiopia). ... I'll be speaking to that issue after I see what goes on Thursday."
Baird met yesterday with Makhtal's cousin and main advocate, Said Maktal, to deliver the same message.
"At least now, after two years, I feel like the case is getting some attention from senior levels of government," Said Maktal said. "I think it's clear my cousin is never going to get a fair trial."
Said Maktal said he asked the minister to make sure that, if he did travel to Ethiopia, he went armed with a letter from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
"Meles Zenawi will not give it the attention it deserves unless it comes from the Canadian prime minster," Said Maktal said.

The Honourable Bob Rae Writes a second letter to foreign minister Lawrence Cannon

March 3rd, 2009 - Ottawa

Dear Minister Cannon,
Please accept this letter in conjunction with my previous correspondence on this same issue dated Feb 6th, 2009.
Recent reports on the illegal detention of Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa continue to be disturbing. I have been advised that Ms. Mideksa has been held in solitary confinement for over two months now, and remains isolated from her legal representation.
I am asking you to review Ms. Mideksa`s case and urge the Ethiopian government to move towards her safe release. I would appreciate an indication from you as to what steps Canada plans to take on this case.
Sincerely,

Hon. Bob Rae
Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic

JULIAN LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO FREE ETHOPIAN OPPOSITION LEADER BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA

MARCH 3, 2009
THE HONORABLE JULIAN LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO FREE ETHIOPIAN OPPOSITION LEADER BIRTUKAN
MIDEKSA
OTTAWA –Canada must stand up for democracy in Ethiopia and oppose the illegal and unjustified imprisonment of Birtukan Mideksa, a former judge and the leader of the Unity and Justice Opposition Party.
That is why New Democrat Peter Julian, MP (Burnaby-New Westminster) has tabled a Private Member’s Motion (M-344) at the House of Commons that calls on the Government of Canada to immediately use all diplomatic means possible to put pressure on the Ethiopian government to release Ms. Mideksa.
“Birtukan Mideksa is an inspiring woman and leader in a country where political freedom, democracy and equality for women are under direct attack. Canada must support her political efforts to bring about peace and democracy in Ethiopia” said Julian.
Ms. Mideksa has been rearrested and illegally detained since December 28 2008 after being originally pardoned of trumped up charges.
“This is a matter of fundamental democracy and human rights,” said Julian. “Here we have a very clear abuse of power by the Ethiopian government in an effort to shut down the democratic opposition. Canadians should be concerned and should add their voice to petitions currently being circulated to put pressure on the Ethiopian government to immediately release Ms. Mideksa.”
Ms Birtukan Mideksa has been held in solitary confinement in a prison cell only two-metres-squared in size. In addition to being forced to endure appalling, life-threatening conditions, Ms. Mideksa is at constant risk of torture.
International human rights organizations including Amnesty International have called for her release and many Canadians are expressing concern and are urging Canada to stand strong.

*********************************************

M-334 — March 2, 2009 — Mr. Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster) — That the House express its concern over (i) the ongoing imprisonment by the Ethiopian Government of Ms. Birtukan Mideksa, President of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, originally pardoned of all charges against her before being arrested on December 28, 2008, (ii) her re-imprisonment without a formal hearing as guaranteed by Ethiopian law, (iii) her not been given full access to a lawyer, (iv) international monitoring organizations not been given access to her, (v) her limited contact with close family members; and furthermore, that the House call on the government to make use of every means at its disposal, in addition to working with its allies in the international community and at the United Nations, to exert maximum pressure on the Ethiopian Government to unconditionally release Ms. Mideksa and allow her to participate fully and peacefully in her position as the leader of a political party.

============================================

Birtukan arrested for telling truth: According to US state department report

On December 5,a popular singer known as Teddy Afro (Tewodros Kassahun) was sentenced to six years in prison and fined 18,000 birr ($1,755) for the hit-and-run death of a homeless man in 2006. Some of Teddy Afro's songs were seen as opposition anthems during the violent aftermath of the 2005 elections. While it is unclear whether the conviction was politically motivated, the expeditious incarceration and prosecution of Afro's case 18 months after the alleged incident suggest political interference rather than solely delays in pursuing the case.
On December 29, Unity for Democracy and Justice Party president Birtukan Mideksa was rearrested for accurately telling European media organizations that she had not requested from the government a pardon leading to her release from jail in July 2007. President Girma Wolde-Giorgis revoked her pardon and reinstated her life sentence.
At year's end, many other political detainees, including CUD, ONLF, and OLF members, remained in prison.
In July and August 2007, the government pardoned 71 individuals arrested following demonstrations in 2005. The pardons permitted the defendants' future political participation, but in practice the government continued to limit that right.
The trial continued for most of the 52 individuals arrested in 2006-07 for alleged membership in the EPF, although two prominent ETA members reportedly disappeared
please click on the above link for full report

Tory ministers weigh in to support Canadian jailed in Ethiopia

Canadian Press
22/02/2009
OTTAWA — Two high-profile Conservative cabinet ministers are voicing support for Bashir Makhtal, a Canadian imprisoned for over two years in Ethiopia.
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Transport Minister John Baird both declared Sunday that they've seen no credible proof Makhtal is a criminal or a security risk.
"There's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that he's committed any crime," Baird told reporters as he prepared to address a meeting of about 200 Somali-Canadians.
"What we have here is a Canadian citizen whose civil liberties have been egregiously violated."
Kenney later told the meeting in an Ottawa banquet hall that Canada can't simply barge into a foreign country and "remove" a person facing a judicial process there.
But he said the government has successfully pressed Ethiopian authorities to allow visits by Canadian consular officials, to transfer Makhtal's case from a military tribunal to a civilian court, and to grant him access to legal counsel.
"We want to ensure that, one way or another, this matter is brought to a quick resolution," Kenney said. "And of course we, as Canadians, hope that resolution will see him come home to Canada as soon as possible."
The comments - by far the strongest public statements by the Tory government since the case came to light - were welcomed by Lorne Waldman, the Toronto lawyer hired by Makhtal's family to represent his interests.
"I think we've learned in the past that quiet diplomacy doesn't always work, so we're thrilled to have the ministers here," said Waldman.
"I think we're at a critical juncture (in the case.) We hope the Canadian government will take this up at the highest levels."
Ethiopia has laid charges accusing Makhtal of involvement in the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a separatist group whose founders included his grandfather.
But friends and family say he has never been active in the group. And Canada, unlike Ethiopia, doesn't classify the ONLF as a terrorist organization.
Makhtal, though born in Ethiopia, grew up in neighbouring Somalia and came to Canada in 1991. He studied computer programming, became a Canadian citizen and held jobs at two banks over the next 10 years, before deciding to return to East Africa to start a used-clothing business.
He was in Somalia, travelling on a Canadian passport, when Ethiopian troops invaded in 2006 and was detained by Kenyan police in December of that year as he tried to cross the border into their country.
He was held at first in Nairobi, then transferred to Somalia and eventually to Ethiopia, apparently as part of a multi-country roundup of suspects as part of the U.S.-led war on terror.
Waldman said it appeared Makhtal was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Neither the Canadian Security Intelligence Service nor the RCMP had expressed interest in him during his years in Canada, said the lawyer. And neither the FBI nor the CIA have interrogated him in Ethiopia, although U.S. anti-terrorism officials have questioned others imprisoned there.
The case has been compared by some to that of Maher Arar, the Ottawa engineer who was detained by U.S. officials in New York and spirited to Syria to face torture.
A public inquiry later cleared his name and found the Americans had acted on the basis of erroneous allegations by the RCMP that Arar had ties to al-Qaida.
Baird went out of this way to rebut any comparison with the current case, saying the Canadian government was "in no way" involved in the arrest or detention of Makhtal.
Kenney, for his part, said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has written to Ethiopian authorities on behalf of Makhtal. Former minister Peter MacKay, who has since moved to the defence portfolio, also intervened behind the scenes.
In addition, Tory MP Deepak Obhrai, the parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister, visited Ethiopia last year and took up the case directly with the prime minister.
The slow pace of developments since then has been frustrating, Kenney acknowledged, but the government remains optimistic that "we're making progress."

Ethiopian Rebels Clash With Government Forces; at Least 45 Dead

By Jason McLure
Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- At least 45 people died in clashes between Ethiopia’s army and the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front in the east of the country, government and rebel spokesmen said.

The ONLF said its ethnic Somali fighters killed 140 Ethiopian soldiers and allied militia members in battles over the past five days near the towns of Fik and Degehebur, according to an e-mailed statement from the group. In addition, 29 ONLF members died in the fighting, it said.

“The area around Degehebur is now completely in the hands of the ONLF, as is the area around the city of Fik,” it said.
Ethnic Somali rebels from the ONLF are seeking autonomy for Ethiopia’s Somali region, an arid tract of land twice the size of England, which is also known as the Ogaden. In June, New York-based Human Rights Watch accused the Ethiopian government of burning villages, executing civilians and raping women in an effort to quell the ONLF’s insurgency. Ethiopia denied the allegations.

Ethiopia’s government disputed the ONLF’s version of the latest fighting.

“This is completely wrong,” Ermias Legesse, Ethiopia’s state minister for communications, said in a phone interview today from Addis Ababa, the capital. “The regional peoples fought with the ONLF and they killed more than 45 ONLF soldiers.”
Legesse said three or four innocent people died in the fighting. He said he couldn’t respond to an ONLF claim that Ethiopian attack helicopters have been active in the region.
Opposition
Ethiopia claimed the Ogaden region in the late 19th century through a series of agreements with Italy and the U.K., which colonized much of modern-day Somalia. Ethnic Somalis from the Ogaden clan have opposed Ethiopian rule, and fighting in the region surged after the ONLF killed 73 Chinese and Ethiopian workers at an oil exploration site in the region in April 2007.
Ethiopia accuses neighboring Eritrea of backing the ONLF and has in turn backed Somali militias from rival clans to fight the rebel group.
Ethiopia has banned journalists from traveling independently in the region and rejected a United Nations call for an independent assessment of human rights atrocities.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

MEP Ana Gomes asked the Speaker of the Ethiopian Parliament “not to leave a stone unturned until Birtukan Midekssa is released”.

The request was put forward during a meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, on 12 February, in Brussels, Belgium.
In reaction to the request, Mr. Teshome Toga argued that Ms. Midekssa has questioned the Ethiopian authorities, by publicly stating that she did not voluntarily ask for the governmental pardon that lead to the release of several political prisoners, in 2007.
“In which civilized country is someone sentenced to life imprisonment only for speaking publicly about the negotiations preceding her release from prison?!”, added Ms. Gomes, during the discussion.
The European Parliament passed last January a Resolution on the Horn of Africa, which asks for the immediate and unconditional release of Birtukan Midekssa, leader of the opposition party Unity for Democracy Justice (UDJ).
Background:
In 2006 Birtukan Midekssa was charged with treason, alongside other CUD leaders, parliamentarians, journalists and human rights defenders, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. The majority of those found guilty were released by a negotiated pardon which took 18 month between Mr. Meles Zenawi and traditional elders in 2007.
In November 2008, Burtukan Midekssa spoke at a public meeting in Sweden about the process leading to her release. Ethiopian government officials responded by accusing her of denying that she had asked for a pardon. On 28 December she was rearrested. Shortly afterwords, the Ministry of Justice issued a statement revoking her pardon and re-imposing her original life sentence.
Amnesty International considers her a prisoner of conscience, at risk of torture, who was arrested solely for the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression and association.

The Inhuman ill-treatment of Ms Mideksa Persists in Ethiopian Prison

February 16, 2009
The Association of Andinet Support Organizations in North America has learnt disturbing developments in the prison conditions of Ms. Birtukan Mideksa, Chairwoman of UDJ.
According to our sources, Ms. Mideksa still continues to be held in solitary confinement- nearly two months now. Her lawyer is once again prohibited from contacting her after he was allowed to meet with her only once following an international outcry. Ms. Mideksa’s niece, who was allowed to visit her in order to relieve her 72 year old frail mother from the burden of carrying food and other essentials on a long trip, is no more permitted to show up at the gates of the prison. As of today, it is only her elderly mother and her four year old daughter who have a weekly visitation rights.
More disturbing and alarming is the information we are receiving from credible sources inside the prison about the government security operatives’ physical and psychological torture against Ms. Mideksa.
Ms. Mideksa is held in a small unhygienic cell infested with bugs. She is not allowed to read books or listen to radio or watch television like the other prisoners. Prison sources have informed us that Ms. Mideksa is subjected to sleep deprivation for days at a time. It is apparent that the government security operatives are putting inhuman and illegal means to break her will. The physical and mental ill-treatment that Birtukan is subjected to is corroborated by her mother who told relatives and friends that she observed an unusual behavior from Ms. Mideksa emanating from distress. Ms. Mideksa’s mother said recently that her daughter has told her, “the ill-treatment is getting beyond she could bear as a human being”. The regime has blocked access to Ms. Mideksa and her condition in prison by all independent observers including human rights organizations.
We call upon all freedom loving governments to protest against this barbaric violation of the basic rights of Ms. Birtukan Mideksa. We particularly urge the donor community to release that their financial support to Meles without a strong demand for change in his regime’s behavior has been an enabler for repression against Birtukan and other political opponents. We want to also to remind these donors that Ethiopians are truly baffled by the contradictory stances of the donor countries’ laudable stand and action against Mugabe of Zimbabwe and the absence of any meaningful actions against the human rights abuses of Ethiopia’s Meles.
Finally, we call on the new US administration to use every influence to exert pressure on the Ethiopian dictators to unconditionally release Ms. Birtukan Mideksa who is in prison for the last two months in blatant violation of all laws of the country and international covenants to which Ethiopia is a signatory.

ANDINET NORTH AMERICA ASSOCIATION OF SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS (ANAASO)
1334 9th Street, NW. Suite # 1 Washington DC. 20001.
Tel: (202) 462 0556 Fax: (202) 462 0557 Email: info@andinetusa.org

Immoral fund flow to the evil powerhouse of TPLF

By Robele Ababya,

The name Obama has now become a universal household word or idea synonymous to respect for human rights, rule of law, and democracy. The following quotation is striking in that respect particularly in the case of Ethiopia where thousands of political prisoners, including the icon Judge Birtukan Mideksa and artist Theodros Kassahun, are languishing in congested jails:
“Described as an 'Ethiopian Obama' and a brilliant speaker and organiser, she [Birtukan] has become a symbol of democracy in her own country, compared with figures like Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi." - The Independent
The Independent said nothing but the truth in the above quotation. Ethiopians are right in seeing Birtukan as their symbol of democracy in their bitter struggle with the crisis-ridden powerhouse of TPLF kept afloat by the support of the EU and IMF among others. Ethiopians have long come to the point of losing confidence and trust in the ruling regime because of rampant leadership crisis in their country under the misrule of Meles.
There are indeed four easily discernible crises in our country in terms of eroded moral authority, anachronistic ideology being secretly practiced, lack of confidence due to absence transparency, and mistrust in the integrity of the pathological liar, Meles
Yes, Birtukan is paying priceless sacrifice on behalf of her fellow citizens to put an end to these crises.
Irony of rewarding a tyrant
The tyrant Meles is now wealthier by the amount he can siphon from the US$ 320 million plus US$ 50 million given to his brutal regime by the EU and the IMF in that order. We know the lion’s portion of the donation will find its way back to the pockets of some corrupt officials of these two institutions and as well end up as salaries and allowances of experts recruited by these officials. Little will be left for poor Ethiopia to do any worthwhile project. The question is who will hold these institutions to account when they extract money from taxpayers and channel it to the tyrant despite his internationally known heinous crimes.
The propaganda value of the announcing in the media of these two amounts given in the name of Ethiopia is far greater, politically in enhancing his image, than the monetary share that Meles will get. The tyrant knows that the lion’s portion reverts to the givers as a price for their vote of confidence cast in his favor. We know how this money will evaporate in financing costs such as project identification, project document preparation, project appraisal trips, salary and emoluments of experts, ad infinitum. Imagine how much money per capita remains for poor Ethiopia after deductions for all these!
This support from the EU and IMF to the leader of the repressive regime came in the wake of hundreds being thrown into jail including the imprisonments of the iconic Judge Birtukan Mideksa, for exercising her right of freedom of expression, and the star artist Theodros Kassahun for his clarion call for love, unity, peace and reconciliation enshrined in the famous ballades of his songs. This reward is not surprising given the fact that the tyrant was given a red carpet reception to the G8 summit hosted by the former Prime Minister Tony Blair in Scotland, shamefully only a few days after the slaughtering by his security forces under his direct command of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators protesting his day light robbery of votes cast at the polls at the historic election of 2005.
Given the current crisis mainly attributable to World Bank, IMF and the Wall Street among others, it seems some leaders in the IMF exercised their last rites in rewarding their accomplices (in the act of embezzlement) before their impending demise by the tsunami of angry calls of the peoples of the world demanding basic changes in the way these institutions operate. Their demise is surely inevitable in view of the assurance uttered by none other than Prime Minister Gordon Brown during the Davos debate in Switzerland hosted by Farid Zacharia (Global Public Square), Prime Minister Gordon Brown assured the world that the present financial institutions will be radically overhauled to fit the emerging worldwide demand for effective
There seems no end to the double standard of some Western leaders. They preach democracy on one hand and deliver hefty rewards to internationally known grave violators of basic human rights on the other hand. In the context of the current worldwide economic down turn, one wonders if this double standard is not a crisis of leadership and moral bankruptcy then what is.
The following recent passage taken from http://www.ethiopundit.com/ is an apt description of the regime that the EU and IMF are keeping alive:
”The rulers no matter the hat they wear are actually the same people. Ethiopia's ruling party is actually a party no democrat would recognize. It is a bloody minded terrorist organization built on greed, fear, and deceit. It owns businesses, runs government monopolies, and regulates all of them. The whole rule is enforced by armies of tribal militias, espionage agents, spies, agents provocateurs, torturers, and gulag managers.”
Gratitude to the EU Parliament
EU Parliament has consistently played positive roles to assist the development of democracy and respect for human rights in Ethiopia; whereas the EU Commission has dealt a heavy blow to thwart these fundamental imperatives.
What the Honorable Members of the EU did in calling for the immediate release of Judge Birtukan is commendable.
Certainly, the Honorable Anna Gometz shall be eternally remembered as a principled and true friend of the oppressed people of Ethiopia. The validity of her words that there will be no democracy in Ethiopia as long as Meles is in power, is vividly manifest in the increasingly evil deeds of the tyrant. .
Lesson from Davos debates
I am sure most readers have watched the Davos debate in Switzerland on the current economic crisis battering the entire world. In particular one of the debates aired on the television on 31 January 2009 caught my attention. This is so because the crisis enumerated in the title to this piece was time and again articulated in the debate hosted by Nik Gowing of the BBC. The panelists included President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana, Professor Laura Tyson (Professor of Global Management at the University of California, Berkeley) and three others whose names I did not catch – a Professor of Economics at New York University, a CEO of Global Economics and a Vice President of AIG. For the sake of brevity I will mention three points among those of relevance to this piece:
The era of unbridled free-market economy is dead, according to the Professor from the University of New York who earned the reputation of being called Dr. Doomsday for predicting the onset of the present crisis years in advance.
Professor Tyson said that chief executive officers of corporations and their respective board of directors are not to blame for the current crisis because they were operating within the management structure in which they found themselves. A “risk management model”, mathematically contrived for one corporation and well understood at micro level was sold to and adopted by other corporations; this micro model is to blame in that it was applied at macro level causing unnoticed systemic problems leading to the current crisis. The Professor admitted there were law breakers with the structure like the now infamous Bernard Maddoff who swindled US$ 50 million from charity organizations and families including that of the Professor.
The President of Guyana served on the Boards of the World Bank and IMF before he retired to become President. He was paid tribute by the host for his advance warning of the present crisis. In the debate the President underlined that gone are the days when developing countries will be lectured by gurus of the industrialized countries on how to deal with their economic problems
I would hope that my fellow citizens will agree that the doctrine of absolute free-market economy is critically sick.; that the President of Guyana is so right that people of the developing world should rely on the advices of their own gurus in shaping their own destiny without succumbing to the diktat of Western powers; that Meles, like Maddoff, is a swindler to be caught and brought to justice.
Storm of anger & positive paradigm shift in the making
The storm of anger against gross violation of human rights and sellout of vital national interests is gathering. TPLF can not stop the momentum by force because time is on the side of democratic forces both at home and globally. I would like to cite the following encouraging examples:
(a)EWHRA says – “Enough”
The Ethiopian Women Human Rights Alliance (EWHRA) recently blessed us with their exhilarating Press Release demanding in no uncertain terms the immediate and unconditional release of Judge Birtukan Mideksa. This is a reassuring sign that the Ethiopian women reputed for their valor in fighting invaders have joined the foray in the bitter struggle to ensure the supremacy of the rule of law in Ethiopia and the development of democratic civil societies with no government interference. The Release ends with the stern warning “Enough” to the abuses of the TPLF regime.
I salute EWHRA sure that their resolve is unstoppable. Their own Birtukan has torn down the iron curtain of FEAR to let us into the train of HOPE in our journey to reclaim our right to unity, democracy and justice.
(b) Release Birtukan, says Dr, Bulcha Demeksa
This is a demand from a seasoned and highly educated gentleman with considerable in-depth knowledge of Ethiopian politics. It is my fervent prayer and ardent hope that Meles would respond to the call of this noble man of wisdom and release Judge Birtukan immediately.
Positive voice of Tigreans at home and Diaspora
The paradigm shift expressed in the communiqué by the Association of Tigreans in the Diaspora is a significant breakthrough in our struggle to save our Motherland on the course of disintegration due to the evil policy of TPLF contradicting the principles of democracy in all dimensions. The resolve to organize under a national emblem is commendable. Arena Tigrai is also moving in that positive direction. So, our struggle is moving in the right direction gathering momentum everyday.
I should add that the statement by Mr. Siye Abraha (in his interview with the VOA) giving credit to the Amharas for their contribution in the preservation of the territorial integrity of Ethiopia is wonderful. After all, as I will explain in the following paragraph all ethnic groups of Ethiopia share a common history bound by blood and a mosaic culture.
Urgent need for unity
The theme today is common humanity. Dissent must be based on well established historical facts. The ethnic-conflict exacerbated by the ruling regime as a matter of policy is a case in point for the regime does not take the uniqueness of the relationship of the various ethnic groups over centuries. It does so deliberately.. I wish to advance this argument further.
As an individual born to Oromo parents not by choice, I submit that my forebears were part and parcel of the Ethiopian politics in the past; I take pride for their countless achievements as much as I share the blame for their mistakes. The Oromos came to the corridor of power in the Solomon Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Iyasu in Gonder. Ras Gugssa, descendant of the first Ras Ali of Yejju Oromos, ruled Ethiopia for twenty eight years. Great patriotic leaders like Ras Gobena Dacthe, Fitawrari Haptegiorgis Dinegde, Dejazmatch Balcha Abanebsso, et al played noble and patriotic roles for the preservation of the unity of Ethiopia. Oromos were in the corridor of power during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie and the Derg. But it is TPLF that has downgraded the Oromos to the level of stooges by excluding them from holding real political power., Thank God, the Amharas, Oromos, Guraghes, all Tigreans opposed to TPLF policy, Kembatas, Hadeyas et al are now wide awake to the treachery of TPLF and Shaebia (EPLF). Thank God, Ethiopians, including Birtukan Mideksa, born out of mixed ethnicity constitute the overwhelming majority of the present Ethiopian population.
True love knows no ethnic boundary. Marriage between the Anuaks and Nuers as well as with members of other ethnic groups in Ethiopia is undeniable, for we have friends to prove it. The same is true of other ethnic groups I did not mention. Tigreans may have been married to Oromos and Amharas, otherwise where did Ras Araya Gugssa, Dejazmatch Haile Selassie Gugssa and Hailemarriam Gugssa (the leader of the first Woyanne) get their second name. Centuries ago, Basha Dori was the administrator of Bahr Negash later called Massawa. Dori is an Oromo name. There are the Raya Oromos in Tigrai.
There is no question that this majority will increasingly hold its commanding numerical superiority eventually shaming hypocrites in the TPLF regime playing the ethnicity game in our politics. I say Amen to the inevitable trend. Dissent based on wrong premise should not impede our unity so indispensable to our victory over tyranny.
Counting of the number of people in a society begins with one individual. Therefore the right to life, liberty and prosperity of an individual translates to all members of that society as a whole.
The great people of the USA elected Barrak Obama as their President not because he is African American. They elected him for the content of his character. I believe we Ethiopians should borrow a leaf from this example and ensure the fundamental right of the individual regardless of his/her ethnic origin. This must be the starting point to secure the unity that most of us crave.
We need to create a political space that lets the individual to climb to the zenith of power on merit by consent of the people in a fair and free election.
Jails for prisoners of conscience must soon be a thing of the past in our Ethiopia! This must be achieved by us for ourselves. Let us say “Enough” to the abuses of TPLF and demand the immediate and unconditional release of Birtukan Mideksa and all political prisoners.
Let us admit that it is the fault of opposition forces due to lack of unity that foreign fund is flowing to the divisive evil powerhouse of the repressive regime encouraging it to continue its gross violation of human rights acknowledged by the international community.
LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!

Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009 - Ethiopia,

Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009 - Ethiopia,
The Ethiopian government's human rights record remains poor, marked by an ever-hardening intolerance towards meaningful political dissent or independent criticism. Ethiopian military forces have continued to commit war crimes and other serious abuses with impunity in the course of counterinsurgency campaigns in Ethiopia's eastern Somali Region and in neighboring Somalia.
Political Repression
The limited opening of political space that preceded Ethiopia's 2005 elections has been entirely reversed. Government opponents and ordinary citizens alike face repression that discourages and punishes free expression and political activity. Ethiopian government officials regularly subject government critics or perceived opponents to harassment, arrest, and even torture, often reflexively accusing them of membership in "anti-peace" or "anti-people" organizations. Farmers who criticize local leaders face threats of losing vital agricultural inputs such as fertilizer or the selective enforcement of debts owed to the state. The net result is that in most of Ethiopia, and especially in the rural areas where the overwhelming majority of the population lives, there is no organized opposition to the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
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CANADIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS CRITIC OF THE LIBERAL PARTY THE HONORABLE BOB RAE WRITES A STRONG LETTER TO FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINSTER

CANADIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS CRITIC OF THE LIBERAL PARTY THE HONORABLE BOB RAE WRITES A STRONG LETTER TO FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINSTER LAWRENCE CANNON REGARDING BERUKAN MIDEKSSA'S IMPRISONMENT
FEBRUARY6,2009
I write to you in support of the Kinijit Organization for Human Rights and Democracy, along with many other organizations, in calling for the safe release of Mrs. Birtukan Mideksa, chairwoman of the United for Democracy and Justice Party in Ethiopia.
According to UN sources, Ms. Mideksa was arrested on December 29, 2008 by security forces and is still held without charge and in solitary confinement in a prison outside Addis Ababa. In your letter response to an email dated January 7th, you wrote “Canada continues to closely monitor the situation in Ethiopia, and maintains a commitment to the development of a strong democracy.`` Minister Cannon, that is not enough.
I ask you as Canada’s Foreign Minister, and the official Canadian voice to the international community, to call for her immediate release. Ethiopia is signatory to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a commitment which clearly prohibits torture and other cruel, and degrading treatment.
In this case, the Ethiopian government has shown disregard for their commitments to international law. The Ethiopian government’s continued practice of detainment without, trial and harsh domestic repression is both illegal and immoral.
I urge you to take action on this issue and speak out on behalf of all Canadians.

Sincerely,

Hon Bob Rae

Ethiopia: OFDM’s Bekele Jirata freed on bail, Bulcha Calls for Birtukan’s release

Birtukan has been jailed because she is a very strong and serious contender to Prime Minister Meles - Bulcha Demeksa, OFDM Leader

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A leading Ethiopian opposition politician was freed on bail on Wednesday after he was jailed last November after the government accused him of working with rebels, his party said.

Bekele Jirate, 54, a top official with the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), was accused by the authorities of working “hand-in-glove” with insurgents like the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

“I am very happy because not only is he important for our party, he is innocent,” OFDM leader Bulcha Demeksa told Reuters. He said no date had been set for Bekele’s trial. The OFDM said another leading opposition politician remains in solitary confinement.

The OLF is one of several rebel groups in the Horn of Africa nation and has been fighting for independence for the southern Oromo region since 1993.

Opposition groups accuse Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government of harassment, and the OFDM says the security forces have jailed hundreds of ethnic Oromos in recent months. The government denies it.

Bulcha called for the immediate release of Birtukan Mideksa, a former judge who heads the newly created Unity for Democracy and Justice party. She has been in solitary confinement since December and went on hunger strike for 13 days last month.

Regional analysts consider the 34-year-old to be the country’s foremost opposition figure.

“She has been jailed because she is a very strong and serious contender to Prime Minister Meles,” Bulcha said.

Birtukan was first jailed after elections in 2005 ended in street violence that killed 199 civilians. She was pardoned in 2007 after she agreed, along with other opposition leaders, to take responsibility for the unrest.

She was rearrested after refusing to retract a speech made in Sweden last year in which she denied she was involved in the talks that led to her release.

The OFDM accused the government of intimidation as voters went to the polls last April for the first time since the 2005 bloodshed. It said almost all its nominees for the local elections had been threatened and forced to pull out of the race. Ethiopia will hold parliamentary elections next year.

Jailed – judge who refused to say sorry

Since being feted by Tony Blair, Ethiopia's government has grown increasingly intolerant of dissent – and the leader of its main opposition party is paying the price.
By Daniel Howden
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Birtukan Mideksa has been sentenced to life in prison. She spends her days and nights in solitary confinement in a two-metre by two-metre cell. She cannot leave it to see daylight or even to receive visitors. Previous inmates say the prison is often unbearably hot.

Her crime: refusing to say sorry. The judge, aged 34, is the head of Ethiopia's most popular political party, the only female leader of a main opposition party in Africa.

The government in Addis Ababa had her arrested on 28 December, claiming she had violated the terms of an earlier pardon.

Her previous release in 2007, which came after serving two years in prison, was conditional on her signing an apology for taking part in protests against fixed elections.

In November, the woman who is becoming a democratic icon in Ethiopia told an audience in Sweden that she had not asked for a pardon. On returning to Ethiopia it was demanded that she sign further apologies and, when she refused, she was re-arrested. The Ministry of Justice then issued a statement reimposing her life sentence.

Mesfin Woldemariam, an award-winning Ethiopian human rights campaigner, is clear about what she says is going on: "She refuses to bow to them. They want her to submit, but she didn't submit when she was a judge. That's why she left the bar. And she won't now. She's a tough cookie." She won national acclaim by defying government control of the courts and resigning the bar to practice law after high-profile decisions were overturned.

The charges against her go to the heart of Ethiopia's experiment with democracy in 2005 and the violent backlash that followed the country's flawed first attempt at a multi-party election.

When demonstrators, including Ms Mideksa, took to the streets to protest at the skewed results which returned the ruling party, the police opened fire, killing at least 187 people. The opposition leadership, along with thousands of others, were rounded up and jailed.

"In 2005, we expected the results of the national parliamentary elections as a strong foundation for building a temple of democracy in Ethiopia," she told a US Senate hearing in 2007. "Our hopes were dashed, and we found ourselves trapped in a burning house of tyranny."

Her response since being released has been to unite the fragments of opposition into a single party committed to non-violence, democratic reform and an independent judiciary.

A mother who has missed much of her five-year-old daughter's life so far, she has shown remarkable courage. "I'm not afraid of going to jail," she said last year after founding the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party. "Not because that is not a possibility. I know that could happen."

Professor Woldemariam was with her when it did happen. Five cars pulled up and the pair were confronted violently by police while on a street in the capital city. "They behaved as if there was a prize for the first person who got her," the former Fulbright scholar and now professor of geography recalls.

When he asked why they had not issued a warrant and asked her to give herself into custody, one of the men turned on him. "He hit me with the butt of his gun and they pushed her into a car and took her."

Her destination was a cell in the notorious Kaliti prison outside the capital Addis Ababa. It's a place with which she is already intimately acquainted, where prisoners are kept in conditions she once described as "dehumanising", "atrocious" and "barbarous".

The UK director of Amnesty International, Kate Allen, said: "There appears to be no lawful reason why Birtukan Mideksa was arrested or remains in detention. She has now been held for a month in solitary confinement and still has not been charged. This is unacceptable."

Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, has been in power since 1995. He was formerly feted as a progressive voice by Tony Blair but he has become markedly dictatorial during his years in power. One regional analyst said the government was becoming increasingly paranoid.

"This came in the context of an election that the government lost control of in 2005, and ahead of 2010 elections that it fully intends to keep from going the same way."

Recently, laws have been passed to heavily restrict the work of international non-government organisations, despite an ongoing famine in areas of the country. "Much of the government's behaviour stems from security concerns, and a lack of understanding that improving human rights will actually help to mitigate many of their concerns," said the analyst.

Professor Woldemariam, one of a few people still prepared to speak out in a country he describes as a "police state", says the regime had become frightened of Ms Mideksa. "They are looking for any excuse to get her because she's a dynamic girl who is getting increasingly popular. They want to cut her short."

But it will not be easy to intimidate her, he believes. "She has such faith in the law. She says to me, 'the law says this, the law says that ...'. I said to her: 'What law are you talking about? You were locked up for two years with no due process.'"

Described as an "Ethiopian Obama" and a brilliant speaker and organiser, she has become a symbol of democracy in her own country, compared with figures like Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi.

There is reported to be deep disquiet among the general population at her arrest and conditions of detention, even though their dissent is not tolerated. Ethiopia, largely Orthodox Christian, has been a staunch ally of the American-led war on terror and a partner in its disastrous policy on Somalia.

The arrest of Ms Mideksa has sparked criticism from some American senators and the hope that the Obama administration might change Washington's relationship with the Zenawi government.

"There is no democracy in Ethiopia today, despite empty claims of 'recent bold democratic initiatives' taken by our government," Ms Mideksa told US senators.

Many in Ethiopia and its large diaspora are hoping that Mr Obama's offer to "extend a hand" to dictatorships who would unclench their fists included a message to Addis Ababa.

Ms Mideksa has already given Washington her advice: "Ethiopia has many problems, including a legacy of repression, corruption and mismanagement. The US can help by using its considerable influence to encourage the government to negotiate with the opposition. It will not be easy to confront the past.

"We must start at the right point by embracing the rule of law, human rights and democracy."

Views from cyberspace: What the blogs say

*There is an old Ethiopian proverb which in translation says, "Oh, Mr Hyena, don't give me excuse to eat me". (Aya jibo sata mehagne blagne). Why is Zenawi resorting to such thuggish tactics against Birtukan? And Professor Mesfin? And the [Unity for Democracy and Justice Party]? Is he trying to create a convenient distraction from his devastating defeat in Somalia? - Quatero News and Views

*Birtukan has modelled courage and conviction. I do not think she is asking the Ethiopian people to personally rescue her; but instead, on behalf of others. - Anyuak Media

* Birtukan Mideksa continues to impress millions of her fellow compatriots to promote the struggle forthe triumph of democracy over tyranny. - Ethiomedia

*In fact, the Ethiopian tyrant has killed far more innocent people than the Zimbabwean tyrant. The Ethiopian tyrant also has rigged national elections for three times like the Zimbabwean tyrant. I hope and I believe democrats as well as President Obama will restore respect for the US by supporting people who aspire for their democratic rights. - Shemolo