“TPLF cadre’s disgraceful visit to Toronto”


Rumors were circulating in this big city of Toronto that a high level TPLF’S (Tigray People Libration Front) delegation is shortly paying a scandalous visit. Our city has in recent past seen woyane cadres secretly meeting one ethnic group and disregarding others as part of their sinister ethno centric policy of divide and rule. It was part of their North American mission to reach out their supporters and appeal to them to play the role of actively discrediting the Diasporas opposition. Patriotic Ethiopians spared no time to organize and expose those woyane agents. A protest rally was organized by the office of Unity for Human Rights and Democracy, Ginbot 7 movement for justice democracy and Unity, with cultural groups including Ethiopians of Oromo and Ogaden origins. As is always the case everywhere, those woyane agents have planned to meet selected few individuals who are considered loyal supporters. Official invitation cards were distributed to those individuals who are beneficiaries of the corrupt system through privileged investor status or promises for land grab.
After securing license to stage a protest rally from City police, patriotic Ethiopians converged at down town Marriott where meeting was scheduled to take place. Placards were displayed to the public exposing Meles Zenawi’s human rights record. Protestors continued to echo slogans denouncing Meles's dictatorial regime. Demonstrators wearing Birtukan's T shirts expressed their determination to carry over the struggle until Birtukan and all political prisoners are set free. The privileged few current and potential investors under their opportunistic stances started arriving at Marriott and they were greeted with applauses of shame. As common greed is what has affiliated them to the system, they didn’t have the slightest courage to face patriotic Ethiopians and had to cover their faces to hide their identity and run away.
It was past 3 pm that a limo just drove by the crowd of protesters and we knew that they were those woyane agents. The protesters greeted them with the Ethiopian flag, placards and slogans with loud and clear messages that they are not welcome here. As they clearly know how determined the protesters are to voice the plight of our people in Ethiopia, they didn’t even have the gut to raise their heads up and face us. With very limited attendance of opportunist individuals, the woyane cadres had to dwell much of their discussion on the “democratic process” of the forthcoming election. However, most of the invited people in attendance didn’t show any interest in the political process and instead they voiced their frustration about it. They said they were invited to discuss investment potentials and would rather prefer the discussion focuses on areas they would participate as investors. The whole sessions appeared coordinated enough those woyane cadres deliberately continued to preach more and more on achievements of the regime and left no time for participants pose questions Most participants have clearly expressed their anger that what they expected at the meeting was not those low level cadres. They wanted to meet the likes of Abay Tsehaye and Seyoum Mesfin whom they expected they will have the opportunity to wine and dine with.
The protest rally has brought together many human rights groups actively engaged in and around the great city of Toronto. Those Ethiopian groups including representatives of Unity for Human Rights and democracy, Ginbot 7, Oromo and Ogaden communities are determined to continue their struggle for the realization of our dreams of unity, equality and democracy. They take this opportunity to invite other organizations to join the group to collectively take charge of coordinating one big protest rally against Meles Zenawi’s attendance of the G-2O meeting this June in Toronto.
Toronto April 27, 2010

Birtukan Mideksa and a challenge to the Ethiopian Diaspora

I will commence a hunger strike in front of the White House to get President Obama or someone from his administration to acknowledge Birtukan Mideksa as a prisoner of conscious and to call for her immediate release from wrongful imprisonment. Fighting for democracy and freedom have always been traditional American values and I will fight for these values for my Ethiopian brothers and sisters. Please join me in the hunger strike which will commence on May 3rd 2010. We can't save the World but we can certainly do our part. – Chris Flaherty

Watch below the video of Chris Flaherty's speech at the Horn of Africa Conference in the Washington Metro Area on April 11, 2010:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and conveniences, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

This is a quote from my biggest hero since childhood, Martin Luther King Jr. It was his movement that inspired me to make films documenting the pursuit of democracy and freedom on a World scale. My recent film, Migration of Beauty documents the historical events that led up to the tragic massacre of some 200 unarmed civilians during the 2005 Ethiopian elections. Out of this storm of tragedy rose one of the most promising leaders for Ethiopia's future, BIRTUKAN MIDEKSA. Shortly after announcing her bid to run against the ruling party in the 2010 elections she was arrested and imprisoned, effectively eliminating any possibility of the ruling party, the EPRDF to lose the election.

Birtukan Mideksa has been declared a "PRISONER OF CONSCIOUS" by Amnesty International and shares the same status as imprisoned Burmese dissident AUNG SAN SUU KYI. President Obama has made a public statement affirming Aung San Suu Kyi's status as a prisoner of conscious and called for her release. To date, President Obama or the U.S. State Department have not made any such statements concerning the plight of Birtukan Mideksa supposedly because of vested U.S. interest in the Horn of Africa. The Obama Administration is demonstrating their willingness to appease Meles Zenawi and his EPRDF ruling party for the sake fighting the war on terror, trading off the freedom of an entire nation of people.

Vanvouver advocacy for Birtukan and all political prisoners.

April 10. 2010 Vancouver Canada
Meeting with MP Peter Julian(NDP) and MLA Raj Chouhan (NDP)
to strength the campaign to Free Ms. Birtukan Mideksa and discuss current human right condition in Ethiopia
Here are two Videos of very inspiring speeches by Peter and Raj
MP Peter Julian(NDP)

MLA Raj Chouhan (NDP)

Joint statement form SOCEPP Canada and Unity for Human Rights and Democracy Toronto

An urgent appeal to the Government of Canada and all Parliamentarians

March 31, 2010

The Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political prisoners, (SOCEPP Canada) and Unity for Human Rights and Democracy are Toronto based Human rights groups striving for the respect of Human and Democratic rights in Ethiopia.

We are writing to request your immediate intervention to avert a serious human tragedy in Ethiopia.

The health of Birtukan Mideksa, the jailed leader of the opposition UDJ, the first and only female political party leader in the country’s history, is deteriorating fast. Reports indicate that both her physical as well as mental health is at an alarming point. Birtukan Mideksa who is clearly categorized as prisoner of conscious is jailed for speaking her mind and standing firm in her opposition to the ruling group that has been in power for the last 20 years. Birtukan Mideksa, needs to be provided with all the proper medical care that she needs.  Birtukan Mideksa is a political prisoner and she needs to be released without any precondition.

The repression against the free press has intensified. Ethiopians continue to be denied of their most basic rights. The Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, in a recent interview with one of the local government media, has openly stated that his government was “testing its ability to jam” Voice of America’s Amharic service. There are fresh reports to indicate that, like many other radio transmissions and web sites before it, the VOA has now been blocked in Ethiopia. This blatant disregard of the free press and the plight of the international community is a continuation of the unabated affront against the international human rights standards.

In the run up to the May 2010 election, the government is increasing its attack on the opposition. There are numerous reports of continued attack on the members of the opposition all over the country. For example, in Jimma Zone, western Ethiopia, candidate of the opposition Medrek was attached by a knife wielding security agents and seriously injured. Another member of the opposition Medrek, Ato Aregawi Gebre Yohanes, was brutally murdered by six members of the same security forces in the northern province of Tigray. Another opposition party - AEUP has stated that a number of its members have been arrested and jailed without cause. In short, indications are that the governing TPLF/EPRDF is forcefully implementing all the means to frustrate the opposition and withdraw from the said election in May 2010.

Additionally, it has now been reported by the likes of the BBC and the party’s former functionaries that, the international humanitarian and relief aid sent from the western world during the great famine of 1984/85 was appropriated by the TPLF and used to buy arms and strengthen its fighting forces while millions of Ethiopians were flooding into the Sudan and tens of thousands were made to perish. There are similar reports to indicate that the TPLF/EPRDF has continued to misappropriate international aid even after it came to power to buy vote  while close to 13 million of our people are facing once again facing starvation. It is also reported that those who are suspected of supporting the opposition are denied humanitarian aid.

In view of these harrowing past and present events, then, it is imperative that the international community take these issues seriously, heed the calls of such human rights groups as: Genocide Watch, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International and stop enabling a government that has and continues to perpetrate possible crime against humanity and possible genocide.

We specifically urge the government of Canada and all parliamentarians to:

• Engage in a formal discussion regarding the situation in Ethiopia and provide a principled political leadership. A good place to start would be a hearing in the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee on the situation in Ethiopia.
• Take immediate action for the respect of the basic rights of Birukan Mideksa including access to medical treatment, to visit by her family friends and international organizations such as the ICRC.
• Strive for the release of Birukan Mideksa and all political prisoners including Aberash Berta and many others.
• Investigate if Canadian aid was and continues to be used for political purposes by the ruling TPLF/EPRDF both in the mid 1980’s and at the present time.
• Demand that the ruling party in Ethiopia respect international conventions and treaties on Human and Democratic rights including freedom of the press and assembly.
• Monitor very closely the upcoming election in the country and demand that the ruling party refrain from harassment and suppression of the opposition.
• Suspend all direct budgetary aid until the ruling group show full compliance for the respect of Human and Democratic rights in Ethiopia.

SOCEPP- Canada                                   Unity for Human Rights and Democracy

socepp-can@humanrightsethiopia.com         7 Woodmount Ave. Toronto, Ontario

                                                      M4C 3X4

P. O. BOX 413, STATION E,                       www.andnettoronto.blogspot.com/ 
TORONTO, ONTARIO                                 www.freebirtukan.org           
M6H 4E3                                                       unityforhumanrights@gmail.com
CANADA

www.humanrightsethiopia.com

Ethiopian opposition barred from seeing jailed leader

(Reuters) - Ethiopian opposition politicians were barred from visiting their jailed leader, Birtukan Mideksa, Saturday after a U.S. State Department human rights report said her mental health has deteriorated.
Eight opposition politicians asked for access to Birtukan at the prison. They were met by prison head Abebe Zemichael and, after a heated argument in the street outside, were refused permission for not being family members.
Unity for Democracy and Justice party (UDJ) leader Birtukan, a 36-year-old single mother, is seen by analysts as the biggest threat to the almost 20-year-rule of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Ethiopia holds parliamentary elections on May 23.
"We are here today because we are worried about her health and we want to see for ourselves what her condition is," senior UDJ official Seye Abraha told Reuters at the entrance to Kaliti prison, 20 km from the capital Addis Ababa.
"Only her mother and her daughter have been given access to her. They bar friends, they bar party colleagues, no lawyer, no independent doctors."
Ethiopia's last elections in 2005 ended with violence after the opposition said the government fixed its victory.
About 200 protesters were killed by soldiers in riots and opposition leaders, including Birtukan, were jailed for life after Meles said they were trying to oust him.
They were pardoned and released in 2007 when they signed a letter admitting to provoking the violence. Birtukan was sent back to prison in December 2008 after she denied responsibility for the trouble and said she did not ask for a pardon.
The U.S. State Department's human rights report for 2009 said this month: "There were credible reports that Birtukan's mental health deteriorated significantly during the year."
It called her a political prisoner, echoing rights groups.
"She is severely depressed," a relative who did not want to be named told Reuters. "We need to get an independent doctor, not a prison one, to see her."
Ethiopian law permits friends and lawyers to visit prisoners.
Meles has said Birtukan was in "perfect" health, but that diplomats and journalists would not be allowed to visit her.
Analysts say Meles' Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition will win the May 23 poll.
The opposition says this is because they are harassed and jailed. The government says the opposition is trying to discredit a poll it has no chance of winning.
(Editing by Diana Abdallah)

Ethiopia: Repression Rising Ahead of May Elections

Government Intimidating Opposition Supporters, Media, Activists

March 24, 2010

(Nairobi) - The Ethiopian government is waging a coordinated and sustained attack on political opponents, journalists, and rights activists ahead of the May 2010 elections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. On May 23, 2010, Ethiopians will vote in the first parliamentary elections in Ethiopia since 2005, when the post-election period was marred by controversy and bloodshed.
The 59-page report, "‘One Hundred Ways of Putting Pressure': Violations of Freedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopia," documents the myriad ways in which the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has systematically punished opposition supporters. Since the 2005 polls, the party has used its near-total control of local and district administrations to undermine opponents' livelihoods through withholding services such as agricultural inputs, micro-credit, and job opportunities. The report also documents how recently enacted laws severely restrict the activities of civil society and the media.
"Expressing dissent is very dangerous in Ethiopia," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The ruling party and the state are becoming one, and the government is using the full weight of its power to eliminate opposition and intimidate people into silence."
Government repression has caused many civil society activists and journalists to flee the country in recent months. The most prominent independent newspaper was closed in December 2009 and the government jammed Voice of America radio broadcasts last month. Ethiopians are unable to speak freely, organize political activities, and challenge their government's policies - whether through peaceful protest, voting, or publishing their views - without fear of reprisal. In 2008, the government arbitrarily imprisoned opposition leader Birtukan Midekssa, president of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party.
Ethiopia is heavily dependent on foreign assistance, which accounts for approximately one-third of all government expenditures. The country's principal foreign donors - the World Bank, United States, United Kingdom, and European Union - have been very timid in their criticisms of Ethiopia's deteriorating human rights situation, Human Rights Watch said.
For the report, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 200 people during 15 weeks of research in Ethiopia, including farmers, teachers, civil servants, activists, opposition, and government officials, as well as foreign diplomats and aid officials in the capital, Addis Ababa, and in three other regions.
Since the April 2008 local elections in which the EPRDF won over 99.9 percent of the vote, the ruling party has consolidated its control over village and district administrations and ruled with an iron grip. In the districts visited by Human Rights Watch, residents told how every village was organized into cells and local government officials, and militia monitored households for signs of dissent. Local administrations withheld government services to punish those who criticized the government or did not support the ruling party.
Local government officials have considerable influence over the livelihoods of villagers: they are responsible for selecting and supervising participation in food-for-work programs, allocations of seeds and fertilizer, micro-credit loans, and for providing letters of reference for jobs, educational opportunities, and training. Opposition parties claim that their memberships have been decimated because people have no option but to join the ruling party to protect their jobs and feed their families.
The government has also put pressure on all state employees - and especially teachers - to join the ruling party, and selectively punished critical voices. It has used the draconian Charities and Societies Proclamation as well as the Anti-Terrorism law to intimidate civil society activists and journalists who have tried to report on state repression.
Human Rights Watch calls on the Ethiopian government to take urgent steps to improve the electoral environment by immediately releasing all political prisoners, including Birtukan. Human Rights Watch also calls on the government to publicly order all officials and EPRDF members to cease attacks and threats against members of the political opposition, civil society, and the media; and permit independent efforts, including by international electoral observers, to investigate and publicly report on abuses.
The European Union and the African Union are the only institutions considering sending international election observers to monitor the May elections. Restrictions in the Charities and Societies Proclamation make independent election monitoring by Ethiopian organizations practically impossible. Human Rights Watch called on all international observers to take into account the pre-election repression when assessing the freedom and fairness of the polls.
"Ethiopia's foreign backers should break their silence and condemn the climate of fear in Ethiopia," said Gagnon. "Donors should use their considerable financial leverage to press for an end to the harassment of the opposition and to oppressive laws on activists and the media."
Selected Accounts from the Report

"You have to understand that at the grassroots level, everything is organized according to the EPRDF ideology, everything is organized and controlled by cells; if you are opposition you are excluded [from village life]."

- Teacher, Amhara region

"I am a member of the EPRDF, but I do support the opposition party. Being a member does not mean anything. I am a member of EPRDF because I need relief assistance.... The list of receipts - the proof that I am paying my dues to the party - are required to get relief assistance. I am paying because I do not want to be suppressed or ignored."

- Ruling party member, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region

"There is a significant element of self-censorship, there are many stories we cannot write, many things we cannot say. We are not told the red lines, we have to guess. Their interpretation of terrorism [in the anti-terrorism law] is so broad that it is dangerous for us. For example, if they label a particular political party a terrorist organization then we cannot write about them.... Newspapers are not allowed to do polling or predict anything before the National Electoral Board has announced it."

- Journalist, Addis Ababa 

Related Materials: 

“One Hundred Ways of Putting Pressure”

Ethiopia: Repression Sets Stage for Non-Competitive Elections

EU should not tolerate Ethiopia's repression

The ruling party and the state are becoming one, and the government is using the full weight of its power to eliminate opposition and intimidate people into silence.

Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch

2009 Human Rights Reports: Ethiopia

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

March 11, 2010

Human rights abuses reported during the year included unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, often acting with evident impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition or insurgent groups; police, administrative and judicial corruption; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement on citizens' privacy rights, including illegal searches; use of excessive force by security services in an internal conflict and counterinsurgency operations; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists; restrictions on freedom of assembly and association; violence and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female genital mutilation (FGM); exploitation of children for economic and sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities and religious and ethnic minorities; and government interference in union activities, including harassment of union leaders.

Opposition UDJ party president Birtukan Mideksa, whose pardon was revoked and life sentence reinstated in December 2008, remained in prison throughout the year. She was held in solitary confinement until June, despite a court ruling that indicated it was a violation of her constitutional rights. She was also denied access to visitors except for a few close family members, despite a court order granting visitor access without restrictions. There were credible reports that Birtukan's mental health deteriorated significantly during the year.

Canadians and Ethiopians cannot be duped to serve the cause of a repressive regime in Ethiopia

The Canadian Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners (SOCEPP CANADA) is a non-governmental and non-partisan organization that campaigns for human rights protection and good governance in Ethiopia. One of our mandates is to inform the Canadian public and civic society groups on an ongoing basis about the continued human rights abuses and political repression in that country. As professional Ethiopian Canadians, it is our duty to inform and seek the support of the Canadian public and the government on issues that affect the interests of the two peoples.

The purpose of this statement is to bring to your attention atrocities of the current government of Ethiopia and appeal to your conscience not to get entangled in a Machiavellian scheme that is bent on making you a tool of one of the most despicable dictatorships in Africa. While it is perfectly acceptable to form a voluntary friendship association of Canadians and Ethiopians, given the fact that the Ethiopian Embassy in Ottawa is pushing this agenda, we have little doubt that such an association will soon be trapped in the political whirlpool of a repressive regime the whole world has widely acknowledged especially after the UN Human Rights Review of Ethiopia in Geneva this last December. The embassy is here to do the bidding of the regime in power and has nothing to do with the interests of the people of Ethiopia at large. We say this because the regime in power is not legitimate and not democratically elected; it came to power by military force and continues to maintain a police state that employs mass murder, incarceration, disappearances and exile.

The following points define the character of the current regime in Ethiopia፡-

 The regime is one of the worst violators of human rights in Africa; mass murder in Addis Ababa, Ogaden, Gambella (See: http://www.hrw.org/….http://www.amnesty.org/)

 Total darkness and total control has set in Ethiopia; the regime has wiped out civil liberties, the independent media and exiled several journalists (ref. www: Ifj.org)

The regime in power kills, imprisons and represses political opponents (witness the incarceration of Birtukan Mideksa, the killing and imprisonment of alleged OLF and ONLF members)

The ruling clique, commonly known as TPLF (Tigrai Peoples Liberation Front) controls all three powers of government, i.e. the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. This empowers a minority elite group that comes from 6% of the country’s population to control the political, economic and social life of an entire population of 80 million. (see http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A.HRC.13.17_En.pdf)

 The main reason for the poverty and destitution of Ethiopians is the obscene concentration of wealth in the hands of TPLF elites. The ruling party controls banking, import/export, manufacturing, mining, construction, transport, communication etc. Compare the opulent lifestyle of the ruling elites and the starvation of 6 million people every year.

 More than 80% of the top military leaders of the national army are ethnic Tigrians. That explains why a small group of authoritarian politicians are able to impose their rule over an entire country.

(http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A.HRC.13.17_En.pdf)

Whatever the paragons of deceit may tell you, life under the TPLF regime for ordinary Ethiopians is hell on earth. They have neither enough to eat and nor freedom to exercise their rights. They are a nation caged up in the authoritarian prison of TPLF. Canadians are a glorious nation of compassionate people who respect the rights and liberties of all peoples without distinction. SOCEPP Canada urges all Canadians who have been invited by the Embassy to form an “Ethiopian Canadian Friendship Association” to reject the proposal presented by the agents of a repressive regime. If we need a friendship association, we assure you it can be formed in a free and unrestricted environment where interested people can come together and form it without strings attached.

FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIA STAND FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM

FRIENDS OF ETHIOPIA REJECT THE MANIPULATION OF A REPRESSIVE REGIME

Source http://humanrightsethiopia.com

EMF (8 February 2010) As part of international campaign to demand the release of Birtukan Mideksa, charismatic leader of Ethiopia’s opposition UDJ, the Dutch chapter of Amnesty International held a colourful “Free Birtukan!” campaign programs on Sunday, 7 February 2010 in Abcoude, Netherlands. [Picture By meekspictures.nl, Nienke Meek]
Among the speakers at the program were Judge Welde-Michael Meshesa and Mr. Bartho Braat, a famous Dutch actor who plays as Jef Alberts in GTST.
Mr. Bartho Braat, a famous Dutch serie film actor (goede tijd slechte tijd) tells story of Pandora box, how and why Judge Wolde-Michael flee from Ethiopia. Birtukan Mideksa is serving a life sentence in Kaliti Prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is Amnesty’s prisoner of conscience. AI categorized Birtukan’s imprisonment as unjust and politically motivated.
The event was opened by the orchestra music of Cecilia and Friends, followed by an impressive reading of the Dutch famous serie film actor, Mr. Bartho Braat, about the myth of Pandora box. Mr. Bartho explained why and how Judge Wolde-Michael flee his beloved country. “The Judge refused Meles Zenawi’s request to reverse the decision he and his inquiry commission made a conclusion - the security forces used excessive forces to stop the unrest that occurred in the country”.
Several questions were raised to Judge Wolde-Michael, to which he gave impressive responses.
“She spoke about her pardon at a public meeting in Sweden in November 2008 that the base for their release was the negotiation that initiated and concluded in agreement with the government by the Ethiopian elders. When she returned to back, the authorities asked her to retract the statement she made in Sweden; she refused to retract her and was rearrested in December 2008.” Judge Wolde-Michael said.
Wolde-Michael also explained about the worsening human right situation, the hunger which resulted from bad governance and the death of freedom of expression in Ethiopia. He also thanked Amnesty International for its  positive contribution towards respect of human rights worldwide in general and particularly for its role in Ethiopia.

Amnesty’s Free Birtukan! campaign in Netherlands

The Cecilia and Friends orchestra added flavor to the program through its popular music of king Solomon to queen of Sheba and other musics to honor Birtukan Mideksa.
Finally the gathering signed a post card letter which addressed to European Union’s commissioner of development and Birtukan Mideksa.

Africa Policy Outlook 2010 By Africa Action and FPIF Staff, January 22, 2010

Meles Zenawi has been in power as prime minister of Ethiopia since August 23, 1995. He has forged very strong military ties to the United States, and his loyalty has resulted in billions of dollars in U.S. military support and aid. Ethiopia’s controversial election five years ago resulted in a military crackdown, with over 200 deaths and thousands imprisoned or exiled. Furthermore, because the United States needed support from the government of Ethiopia to lead an invasion of Somalia, it turned a blind eye to numerous human rights violations and all but endorsed Zenawi.

In May 2010, Ethiopia is scheduled to have new elections. The incumbent party is the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) headed by Zenawi. At the beginning of November 2009, after two months of comprehensive negotiations, the ruling EPRDF and three opposition political parties signed a historic joint agreement on an electoral code of conduct and implementation guidelines. The code was designed to affirm basic constitutional rights and ensure free and fair elections in 2010. However, it excluded other leading opposition political parties.
Medrek, a forum for eight political parties, walked out of the negotiations after accusing the ruling party of imprisoning 450 of its members and candidates “to stop them [from] running as candidates in national elections.” One Medrek member in prison is Birtukan Mideksa, a charismatic young former judge. After her party won more than a third of the legislative seats in the 2005 election, government forces arrested and sentenced her to life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.” A storm of international protest from human rights activists ensued, and the government pardoned her in 2007. Touted as a potent force in the 2010 vote, Birtukan was re-arrested in 2008 and remains imprisoned today.
Since September 10, 2009, security forces have arrested dozens of politicians and opposition supporters, accusing them of plotting against the government. Melaku Teferra, another prominent associate of Birtukan’s party, was among 40 people arrested and accused in October 2009 of participating in a coup plot allegedly directed by Berhanu Nega, the former mayor of Addis Ababa. On November 19, the government accused 27 additional opposition leaders of conspiring to overthrow Prime Minister Zenawi. Despite the pretense of democracy, Ethiopia remains a police state under the firm control of Meles Zenawi, not the people of Ethiopia.

Human Rights Watch Report 2010

Ethiopia is on a deteriorating human rights trajectory as parliamentary elections approach in 2010. These will be the first national elections since 2005, when post-election protests resulted in the deaths of at least 200 protesters, many of them victims of excessive use of force by the police. Broad patterns of government repression have prevented the emergence of organized opposition in most of the country. In December 2008 the government re-imprisoned opposition leader Birtukan Midekssa for life after she made remarks that allegedly violated the terms of an earlier pardon.
In 2009 the government passed two pieces of legislation that codify some of the worst aspects of the slide towards deeper repression and political intolerance. A civil society law passed in January is one of the most restrictive of its kind, and its provisions will make most independent human rights work impossible. A new counter terrorism law passed in July permits the government and security forces to prosecute political protesters and non-violent expressions of dissent as acts of terrorism.
Political Repression and the 2010 Elections
As Ethiopia heads toward nationwide elections, the government continues to clamp down on the already limited space for dissent or independent political activity. Ordinary citizens who criticize government policies or officials frequently face arrest on trumped-up accusations of belonging to illegal "anti-peace" groups, including armed opposition movements. Officials sometimes bring criminal cases in a manner that appears to selectively target government critics, as when in June 2009 prominent human rights activist Abebe Worke was charged with illegal importation of radio equipment and ultimately fled the country. In the countryside government-supplied (and donor-funded) agricultural assistance and other resources are often used as leverage to punish and prevent dissent, or to compel individuals into joining the ruling party.
The opposition is in disarray, but the government has shown little willingness to tolerate potential challengers. In December 2008 the security forces re-arrested Birtukan Midekssa, leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, which had begun to build a grassroots following in the capital. The government announced that Birtukan would be jailed for life because she had made public remarks that violated the terms of an earlier pardon for alleged acts of treason surrounding the 2005 elections. The authorities stated that there was no need for a trial as the move was a mere legal technicality.
In July the Ethiopian government passed a new anti-terrorism law. The law provides broad powers to the police, and harsh criminal penalties can be applied to political protesters and others who engage in acts of nonviolent political dissent. Some of its provisions appear tailored less toward addressing terrorism and more toward allowing for a heavy-handed response to mass public unrest, like that which followed Ethiopia's 2005 elections.

Civil Society Activism and Media Freedom 

The space for independent civil society activity in Ethiopia, already extremely narrow, shrank dramatically in 2009. In January the government passed a new civil society law whose provisions are among the most restrictive of any comparable law anywhere in the world. The law makes any work that touches on human rights or governance issues illegal if carried out by foreign non-governmental organizations, and labels any Ethiopian organization that receives more than 10 percent of its funding from sources outside of Ethiopia as "foreign." The law makes most independent human rights work virtually impossible, and human rights work deemed illegal under the law is punishable as a criminal offense.

Ethiopia passed a new media law in 2008 that improved upon several repressive aspects of the previous legal regime. The space for independent media activity in Ethiopia remains severely constrained, however. In August two journalists were jailed on charges derived partly from Ethiopia's old, and now defunct, press proclamation. Ethiopia's new anti-terror law contains provisions that will impact the media by making journalists and editors potential accomplices in acts of terrorism if they publish statements seen as encouraging or supporting terrorist acts, or even, simply, political protest.

Pretrial Detention and Torture

The Ethiopian government continues its longstanding practice of using lengthy periods of pretrial and pre-charge detention to punish critics and opposition activists, even where no criminal charges are ultimately pursued. Numerous prominent ethnic Oromo Ethiopians have been detained in recent years on charges of providing support to the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF); in almost none of these cases have charges been pursued, but the accused, including opposition activists, have remained in detention for long periods. Canadian national Bashir Makhtal was convicted on charges of supporting the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in July, after a trial that was widely criticized as unfair; he was in detention for two-and-a-half years before his sentence was handed down, and he was unable to access legal counsel and consular representatives for much of that period.
Not only are periods of pretrial detention punitively long, but detainees and convicted prisoners alike face torture and other ill-treatment. Human Rights Watch and other organizations have documented consistent patterns of torture in police and military custody for many years. The Ethiopian government regularly responds that these abuses do not exist, but even the government's own Human Rights Commission acknowledged in its 2009 annual report that torture and other abuses had taken place in several detention facilities, including in Ambo and Nekemte.

Impunity for Military Abuses

The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) has committed serious abuses, in some cases amounting to war crimes or crimes against humanity, in several different conflicts in recent years. Human Rights Watch is not aware of any meaningful efforts to hold the officers or government officials most responsible for those abuses to account. The only government response to crimes against humanity and other serious abuses committed by the military during a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in Gambella in late 2003 and 2004 was an inquiry that prosecuted a handful of junior personnel for deliberate and widespread patterns of abuse. No one has been investigated or held to account for war crimes and other widespread violations of the laws of war during Ethiopia's bloody military intervention in neighboring Somalia from 2006 to 2008.
In August 2008 the Ethiopian government did purport to launch an inquiry into allegations of serious crimes in Somali Regional State, where the armed forces have been fighting a campaign against the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front for many years. The inquiry was sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lacked independence, and concluded that no serious abuses took place. To date the government continues to restrict access of independent investigators into the area.

Relations in the Horn of Africa

In August the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission issued its final rulings on monetary damages stemming from the bloody 1998-2000 border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Nonetheless the two countries remain locked in an intractable dispute about the demarcation of the heavily militarized frontier. Eritrea continues to play a destabilizing role throughout the Horn of Africa through its efforts to undermine and attack the government of Ethiopia wherever possible. The government of President Isayas Afewerki hosts and materially supports fighters from Ethiopian rebel movements, including the Oromo Liberation Front. Eritrea has also pursued a policy of supporting armed opposition groups in Somalia as a way of undermining Ethiopia's support for the country's weak Transitional Federal Government.

Key International Actors

Ethiopia is one of the most aid-dependant countries in the world and received more than US$2 billion in 2009, but its major donors have been unwilling to confront the government over its worsening human rights record. Even as the country slides deeper into repression, the Ethiopian government uses development aid funding as leverage against the donors who provide it-many donors fear that the government would discontinue or scale back their aid programs should they speak out on human rights concerns. This trend is perhaps best exemplified by the United Kingdom, whose government has consistently chosen to remain silent in order to protect its annual £130 million worth of bilateral aid and development programs.
Donors are also fearful of jeopardizing access for humanitarian organizations to respond to the drought and worsening food crisis. Millions of Ethiopians depend on food aid, and the government has sought to minimize the scale of the crisis and restrict access for independent surveys and response.
While Ethiopia's government puts in place measures to control the elections in 2010, many donors have ignored the larger trends and focused instead on negotiating with the government to allow them to send election observers.
A significant shift in donor policy toward Ethiopia would likely have to be led by the US government, Ethiopia's largest donor and most important political ally on the world stage. But President Barack Obama's administration has yet to depart from the policies of the Bush administration, which consistently refused to speak out against abuses in Ethiopia. While the reasons may be different-the current government is not as narrowly focused on security cooperation with Ethiopia as was the Bush administration- thus far the practical results have been the same. The events described above attracted little public protest from the US government in 2009.

Ethiopia abusing leaders rights.

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 15 2010 -BY AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
An Ethiopian opposition official accused the government on Friday of violating the rights of his party's jailed leader who is serving life imprisonment.

Birtukan Mideksa, head of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, was initially sentenced to life on treason charges in 2005 after her party accused the regime of vote rigging in that year's elections, but was pardoned two years later.

The sentence was reinstated in December 2008 however, after authorities claimed the 36-year-old had obstructed the terms of her pardon by denying that she had "expressed remorse" in political rallies held in Europe.

"The authorities are still violating her constitutional rights despite a court order. Nobody is allowed to visit her apart from her mother and daughter," Gizachew Shiferaw, a senior party official, told AFP.

"We had brought the issue of visitation rights to court which ruled in favour of us, but they are reneging on their obligations," he said.

Gizachew added that Birtukan spent 107 days in solitary confinement.

Several rallies in the United States and Europe were held earlier this month to pressure for her release, while a small-scale demonstration took place in Addis Ababa to mark one year since her imprisonment.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said last month there was "zero chance" that she would be released in time for polls on May 23, the first since 2005 when disputed results sparked violence that claimed around 200 lives.

The United States, a staunch Ethiopian ally and the country's top aid contributor, has expressed concern over the 36-year-old's re-arrest and called for more political freedom in the Horn of Africa nation.

Five other opposition leaders were sentenced to death and 33 other people to life imprisonment in December for plotting to overthrow the government.

Authorities claimed a group called "Ginbot 7" -- led by Birtukan's former ally Berhanu Nega -- had plotted to kill government officials and sabotage infrastructure.

Rights groups have accused Meles' regime of instilling a climate of fear ahead of the polls.

Jailed but not forgotten: Birtukan Mideksa,Birtukan Mideksa, Ethiopia's most famous prisoner

Life sentence for Unity for Democracy and Justice leader casts shadow over May elections

Birtukan Mikdesa's mother and child
Almaz Gebregziabher and her granddaughter, Halley, hold a photograph of Halley’s mother, Birtukan Mideksa, who has been likened to Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi in her fight for democracy. Photograph: Xan Rice
At noon every Sunday an old Toyota sedan donated by supporters of Ethiopia's most famous prisoner pulls up near a jail on the outskirts of the capital. A 74-year-old woman in a white shawl and her four-year-old granddaughter – the only outsiders the prisoner is allowed to see – step out for a 30-minute visit.
Most inmates at Kaliti prison want their relatives to buy them food. But Birtukan Mideksa, the 35-year-old leader of the country's main opposition party, always asks her mother and daughter to bring books: an anthology titled The Power of Non-Violence, Bertrand Russell's Best, and the memoirs of Gandhi, Barack Obama, and Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese political prisoner to whom she has been compared.

Mideksa, a single mother and former judge, was among dozens of opposition leaders, journalists and civil society workers arrested following anti-government demonstrations after the disputed 2005 elections. Charged with treason for allegedly planning to overthrow the government – accusations rejected by independent groups such as Amnesty International – the political leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment. After spending nearly two years in jail they were pardoned, but Mideksa was rearrested in December 2008 for challenging the official version of circumstances that led to her release. Her pardon was revoked, her life sentence reinstated, and she was sent to solitary confinement for several months before being moved to a shared cell.

"My child did not do anything wrong – she had no weapon, she committed no crime," said Almaz Gebregziabher, Mideksa's mother, in her house on a hillside in Addis Ababa after visiting her daughter one recent Sunday. "I want the world to know that this is unjust."
Many Ethiopians agree. Mideksa's treatment has turned her into a local heroine, and cast a shadow over elections due in May. Opposition parties and international human rights groups say the case is clear proof of the authoritarian government's stalled progress towards democracy.
It is also evidence, they say, of the double standards of western donors when dealing with Meles Zenawi, the prime minister, a major aid recipient and ally in the "war against terror".
While Zenawi makes no attempt to hide his disdain for Mideksa – talk of her release is a "dead issue", he said last month – he denies the case is political.
But a look at her history with his regime and at her popularity particularly among young voters –shows why few people outside his party believe him.
Born into a humble family, Mideksa excelled at university and was appointed a federal judge in Addis Ababa. In 2002, she was assigned a case involving Siye Abraha, a former defence minister who had fallen out with Zenawi and was accused of corruption. Mideksa released him on bail – a rare show of judicial independence in Ethiopia – but when Abraha left court he was immediately rearrested and jailed.
"That case showed her courage, her sense of justice," said Hailu Araya, vice-chairman of Mideksa's Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party. "But the government took this an affront."
Mideksa's relatives said she then joined opposition forces before the 2005 elections and was then arrested and released in 2007.
Upon her release her status as a rising political star soon became evident.
In her home neighbourhood they were big celebrations, and supporters chipped in to buy her the Toyota. Mideksa's mother tried to persuade he to go into exile, as some other opposition leaders had done.
But she refused, according to her cousin, Eyerusalem Yilma. "Birtukan always said: 'There's no politics from a distance'."
She set about bringing together the various opposition groups from 2005, and helped found the UDJ of which she was elected chairperson. Her age and gender made this extraordinary, not just in Ethiopia, but in all Africa.
"She is charismatic, young, smart and courageous. And that makes her a threat to Meles, of course," said Bulcha Demeksa, chairman of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, an opposition party in coalition with the UDJ.
Mesfin Woldemariam, 79, the founder of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, who was jailed alongside Mideksa in 2005and wants the opposition to boycott the election if she is not released, said she had another key attribute – her lack of baggage. "Many young people feel they need a new political class, outside of the influence of this Marxist-Leninist government, and the previous Derg and Haile Selassie regimes, in which many other opposition leaders featured. They want a clean slate and Birtukan fits in with that," Woldemariam said.
In November 2008, while in Europe, Mideksa told an audience of Ethiopians in Sweden that her pardon had come as a result of negotiations rather than an official request made through legal channels. While people who were in jail with her the first time say this reflected the truth, the government said it equated to denying asking for a pardon, and sent her back to jail. Although Mideksa tries to assure her mother and daughter that she will be out soon, the strain on them is obvious. Gebregziabher says: "My eyes have almost gone blind from crying," and that Mideksa's daughter Halley asks: "Isn't this enough – why don't you come home mum?" during each weekly visit.
But there is no sympathy from the government. "She was advised to obey the rule of law," said Teferi Melese, head of public diplomacy at the foreign affairs ministry in Addis Ababa. "But she broke the conditions of her pardon, thinking her friends in the EU could get her released."
That foreign embassies, including Britain's, which have been refused permission to visit Mideksa, have barely made a public complaint about the case appears to back opposition complaints that when it comes to Ethiopia, as opposed to say Kenya or Zimbabwe,donors favour stability over democratic reforms or human rights.
One reason is Zenawi's status as a western ally in the horn of Africa, where Islamists are trying to take over neighbouring Somalia. Another reason, somewhat incongruously, is the huge amount of aid money that flows into Ethiopia and helps donor countries move closer to meeting their international aid commitments.
"The government says the more we make noise the more difficult it will be to get her [Mideksa] out," said one western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Are we going to risk our entire aid budget for one person? No."
A devisive government
Meles Zenawi came to power in 1991 when his rebel army ousted the brutal Derg regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Despite presiding over strong economic growth, improving health and education services, and developing a multi-party system, Meles's ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) remains hugely divisive.
The EPRDF includes four ethnically-based parties, but the strong dominance of Meles' Tigray ethnic group, who constitute only 6% of the population, over all key aspects of government is one source of great resentment, particularly among Amharas and Oromos, who together account for 60% of the country's 80m people.
Another is the ruling regime's repressive governing style. Despite official, often Orwellian, denials – "We make it very easy for journalists in this country," Hailemariam Desalegn, the government chief whip, once said in an interview – there is very little press freedom, and civil society groups have been intimidated into silence.
The public discontent was obvious in the 2005 election, when opposition groups swept the seats in the capital Addis Ababa and made gains nationwide. In anti-government demonstrations that followed police killed at least 193 civilians and tens of thousands of people were arrested. The EPRDF, which accuses opposition leaders of fomenting ethnic hatred, says it is confident that the upcoming election in May will be peaceful.

What now for Ethiopia's "Aung San Suu Kyi"?

The first time I interviewed Birtukan Mideksa I was struck by how careful she was not to say the wrong thing. It was 2007 and we were standing in the garden of a community centre in the part of Addis Ababa where she was raised. She had just been released from prison and the locals — many of whom struggle to feed themselves — had each given about a dollar to throw her the party-cum-political rally we had just attended and to buy her an old Toyota Corolla car to help her back on her feet again.

Such was her care when talking to me that, after less than five minutes, I discreetly switched
off my recorder knowing the interview would never make a story, and continued the conversation only out of politeness and professional interest in Ethiopian politics.

It seems her caution was well-placed. The 36-year-old opposition leader and mother of one is back behind bars, accused by the government of speaking out of turn. It has been almost exactly one year since a group of policemen snatched her as she walked to her car with political ally Mesfin Woldemariam. Mesfin — a large, grey-haired man in his 70s — was bitten by a police officer in a scuffle when he tried to intervene.

Now her supporters in the Horn of Africa country are calling her “Ethiopia’s Aung San Suu Kyi” in what analysts see as a move aimed at attracting international attention to her detention. Government officials often smirk when when what they see as an overblown comparison is made.

Party colleagues say she was jailed because the government feared her heading an opposition coalition in national elections set for May and rights group Amnesty International calls her a “prisoner of conscience”.

To her champions, Birtukan is the great hope for reconciliation in Ethiopia’s often bitter political landscape. To her detractors, she has been made a romantic figure by her jailing and doesn’t have the intellectual muscle or strategic nous to lead the huge country.

Some Ethiopians see sinister shading in the lack of international attention, claiming western powers are happy to see Prime Minister Meles Zenawi — in power for almost 20 years — stay on as long as he liberalises the country’s potentially huge economy and remains a loyal U.S. ally in a volatile neighbourhood that includes shambolic Somalia.

Others say, with some resignation, that yet another jailed politician in Africa just doesn’t make news anymore.

Opposition politicians have even started arguing amongst themselves over her jailing. A split in Birtukan’s Unity for Democracy and Justice party is being blamed by some on accusations that certain UDJ officials had policy disagreements with their leader and so are now not working hard enough for her release.

Birtukan was jailed for the first time after Ethiopia’s last elections in 2005. A coalition of parties, of which she was a leader, claimed a fix when the government declared victory. Police and soldiers then killed about 200 opposition protesters in running street battles when Meles said they were marching on state buildings to overthrow him.

She was released in 2007, along with other opposition leaders, after the government said they had accepted responsibility for orchestrating the violence and asked for a pardon. But Birtukan, a former judge, then made a speech in which she said she never asked for any such pardon.

Her defiant words riled many and ruling party members said she was trying to destablise Ethiopian politics, risking a rerun of 2005’s trouble. Meles himself — who had to fight hardliners in his party to push through the 2007 pardon deal — seemed angry and backroom negotiations aimed at forcing her to withdraw her remarks began. She refused.

Now, a year into her detention, Meles seems reluctant even to speak her name, preferring to call her “the lady” or “that woman”.

When he finally did say the word Birtukan last week at a news conference, he couldn’t have been clearer about her future.

“There will never be an agreement with anybody to release Birtukan,” he said. “Ever. Full stop. That’s a dead issue.”

The words will have chilled her family, friends and political allies.

So what next for Birtukan? Does Meles mean what he says? Or will she be pardoned again after the elections? Is she a future Prime Minister for Ethiopia? Or has she simply become a romanticised figure? Why isn’t the international community pushing harder for her release?

Does the World need another Martyr? The Case of Birtukan Mideksa

On December 28 2008, Birtukan Mideksa was arrested again and imprisoned to serve a life sentence after the pardon granted to her in 2007 was revoked. Medeksa was among more than 100 people jailed for offences after allegations of fraud took hold of the Ethiopian election in 2005. The Ethiopian government claimed that her pardon was conditional on "an apology for her crimes." Today, the 36yr old court judge and mother appears to be gradually elevating to martyrdom status alone in her prison cell -- much the same way Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma has.

In May of 2005 the Ethiopian government shot and killed 193 unarmed protesters after a much contested national election. In addition, thousands around the country were rounded up and sent to prison. The press was virtually shut down and many journalists were forced to go into hiding or risk the possibility of suffering horrific consequences at the hands of government security forces. The effect on the population has been devastating. Since the government crackdown Ethiopians have been living in fear of a regime that has demonstrated it will stop at nothing to maintain power, including murdering its own citizens.

The next Ethiopian national election is rapidly approaching and will be held next May. As a filmmaker and a strong supporter of human rights and democracy, I tried my best to reveal the circumstances Ethiopians face in my current film, Migration of Beauty. The film documents in detail the election in 2005 and draws parallels between the present reality inside the country and how it affects the lives of Ethiopians in the Diaspora. I cannot help but be discouraged with all the latest developments coming out of Ethiopia. A recent Reuter’s article indicates that hundreds of opposition party members have been rounded up and sent to prison in preparation for the upcoming election. Indeed, the ruling party’s most viable opponent, Birtukan Mideksa has been in prison since December of 2008. Before her arrest she was hailed as the best possibility to beat Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front or, EPRDF. Now, Birtukan Mideksa appears to be gradually elevating to martyrdom status much the same way Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma has.

As the election gets nearer, grim news coming out of Ethiopia increases with tremendous frequency. A recent report by the Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ reveals that Ethiopia is the second most abusive country towards journalists in the entire continent of Africa. Organizations like, Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute have been sounding the alarm for some time.

At a recent screening of my film in New York City, Tala Dowlatshahi, the senior adviser for the U.S. branch of Reporters Without Borders and anchor of RUTV illustrated quite clearly the horrific situation of two particular Ethiopian journalists. Serkalem Fasil and Eskinder Nega were initially jailed after the 2005 Ethiopian election. They were eventually released under a pardon agreement but now with the 2010 election approaching, the government is attempting to legally revoke the pardon and put them back in prison. Dowlatshahi further pointed out the Ethiopian governments attempt to use an anti-terrorism law to charge journalists both as individuals and the companies they work for. The law was passed earlier this year and is having the ominous effect of forcing journalists to permanently close newspapers and flee the country as charges are being drafted against them.

Recently Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi went to Copenhagen to represent Africa in the United Nations Climate Change Conference. I was personally dismayed how such an oppressive figure could be accepted to represent an entire continent. Even more astounding is the insensitivity of “the powers that be” towards the suffering of the Ethiopian people. As former New York Times reporter Doug McGill put it, “he’s being recognized and welcomed with open arms.” McGill also compared him to North Koreas Kim Jong Ill and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabee.

Journalists and filmmakers who work with REPORTERS UNCENSORED still have much work to do to inform the general public about oppressive regimes like the EPRDF and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. They will always be what they are but those who insist on lending them the credit to continue their filthy practices are the ones we need to call out.

Ethiopian family struggles to escape a lethal legacy

A Canadian siblings is in jail, and the rest say they are on the run from persecution for the sins of their forefather

David Macdougall Garissa, Kenya — From Friday's Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 10:41PM EST Last updated on Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 11:42AM EST
During the first month of her imprisonment in Ethiopia, Rukiya Ahmed Makhtal was blindfolded and beaten. “You are Makhtal's family,” she recalled her persecutor saying. “If you are Makhtal's family, that means you are one of the problems.”
Ms. Makhtal, 53, is the older sister of Ethiopian-born Bashir Ahmed Makhtal, the Canadian citizen and former Toronto information technologist who has spent the past three years in Ethiopian prisons. Convicted of terrorism-related charges, he was sentenced in August to life in prison, but is scheduled to appear before an appeal court today. His family, who maintain his innocence, say they have been persecuted because of the actions of his grandfather.
After spending 14 months in various Ethiopian prisons where she says she was bound, blindfolded and badly beaten, thrown in isolation, raped and told she would be executed, Ms. Makhtal was at last transferred to a crowded low-security prison where family scrounged for 1,000 birr (roughly $80) and paid the guards to look the other way while she walked through the prison gates and, like so many of her kin, away from Ethiopia for good.
For two days, she trudged across the Ethiopian desert, struggling from poor health and the wounds on her body, trying to blend in with a train of nomads and fearful she might be spotted before reaching the border.
During the past year, others in Bashir Makhtal's family have trickled into Hagadera, a notoriously squalid and overcrowded refugee camp at Dadaab in Kenya's North Eastern Province.
Ms. Makhtal, who is asking for resettlement in Canada as a refugee and whose case is being followed by Amnesty International, is now among 16 people sleeping in the sand under scant shelter, all of whom say they are related to Bashir Makhtal and the victims of persecution in Ethiopia.
Bashir Makhtal and his sister, Rukiya, are the grandchildren of a founding member of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a separatist movement in the ethnic Somali region of eastern Ethiopia, though both deny having been involved in the group.
“He was my grandfather,” Ms. Makhtal says. “We didn't even know him.”
After an April, 2007, ONLF attack on a Chinese oil field at Abole in eastern Ethiopia that left 70 Chinese and Ethiopian workers dead, Ethiopia drastically stepped up a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the region.
A 2008 Human Rights Watch report accuses Ethiopian soldiers of burning down entire villages, mass detentions and even demonstration killings, “with Ethiopian soldiers singling out relatives of suspected ONLF members,” and of conducting widespread “military attacks on civilians and villages that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Abdi Mohamed Ahmed, 29, who says Ms. Makhtal is his aunt and who denies ever being involved with the ONLF, remembers the night in late 2007 the Ethiopian National Defence Forces came for his family, circling his house before dragging out his entire family, beating them and hauling them off to different jails.
“They used to tie our eyes, torturing and beating. They used to tie our hands and legs together and they hang us up from the ceiling. And everybody was alone.”
This was when Bashir Makhtal's sister, his older brother Hassan Ahmed, and several of their children were also arrested.
Last Thursday, Hassan Ahmed Makhtal, who had been imprisoned for 22 months and was serving a life sentence, died in the Ethiopian capital after being released early to receive medical attention. A press release issued by the Ogaden Human Rights Commission claims he “died from wounds sustained during his detention,” though the cause of his death could not be independently verified.
According to several family members, two of Hassan Makhtal's children – a 27-year-old son and a 25-year-old daughter – were beaten to death in military prisons less than a month after their arrest in 2008.
“They are not targeting ONLF. Our army is very strong now,” said Abdirahman Mahdi, a central committee member of the separatist group, who spoke during a recent interview in Toronto. “What they do is they target the weak spot, the civilians, the women and children.”
“This isn't just something personal with respect to Bashir Makhtal, although he clearly is one of the figures at the centre of this drama,” said Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, which has monitored Mr. Makhtal's case since his arrest. “It's family-based persecution, and I think that also underscores the nature and the severity of the repression the Ogadeni population is experiencing in Ethiopia.”
Mr. Makhtal was arrested by Kenyan authorities in December, 2006, as he attempted to flee the suddenly rising violence in neighbouring Somalia, where friends and family say he had travelled for business.
He was among 90 prisoners, including American, British and Kenyan nationals, who were forcibly deported, in violation of both Kenyan and international law, first to Mogadishu and then to Ethiopia. While every other Western country managed to secure the release of its citizens, Mr. Makhtal, the only Canadian arrested, alone remains in Ethiopian custody.
Said Makhtal, Mr. Makhtal's cousin in Hamilton, Ont., says he's optimistic about tomorrow's outcome, but added: “I don't know how much more I can count on the Ethiopian court system.”
In the meantime, many of Mr. Makhtal's family are left to wait in the refugee camp while Amnesty International Canada puts forward their case to the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi.
“The life of Hagadera is too difficult,” Mr. Ahmed said. “There is no life, there is no health. There is not even enough water, the air of that place is not even good.”
“And still this moment we live under fear because there may be Ethiopian security,” he added, pointing out that Kenya already delivered his uncle, Mr. Makhtal, to Ethiopian authorities.
“Obviously, Canada continues to face difficulties in ensuring the safety of Mr. Makhtal himself,” Mr. Neve said. “At least we do have the opportunity to try and ensure safety for these other family members.”
Special to The Globe and Mail