Problematic Ally The moral hazards of dealing with Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi

Editorial
Washington Post

Saturday, July 21, 2007; A12

MORE THAN once during the Cold War, the United States aligned itself with dictatorial or corrupt, but anticommunist, foreign governments, compromising democratic principles for perceived advantage against the Soviet Union. These choices were not necessarily wrong, but each one put the U.S. on a slippery slope, at the bottom of which lay a completely amoral foreign policy.

The Bush administration's global war on terrorism faces similar moral hazards. Even as President Bush correctly declares that ultimate victory against al-Qaeda hinges on the spread of freedom, he sometimes makes common cause with authoritarian regimes that promise to help eliminate terrorists in the here and now. Examples: Egypt, Pakistan and, more recently, Ethiopia, whose authoritarian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, was once a darling of the Clinton administration and has also forged close ties to the Bush administration. With Washington's blessing, Mr. Meles sent troops to Somalia in December to expel the radical Islamic Courts movement linked to al-Qaeda.

Yesterday 38 opposition politicians and activists walked out of jail in Addis Ababa, where they had been held for almost two years. That is good news, but they never should have been there in the first place. After Mr. Meles's party tried to deny its opponents the share of Parliament they won in an election in May 2005, protests erupted across the country, only to be crushed by Mr. Meles's security forces at a cost of 193 civilian lives. (Six police officers also died.) Thousands of people were detained, including the opposition leaders -- 35 of whom were sentenced to life in prison on preposterous charges of treason and inciting violence. Their release came after they signed a letter taking "full responsibility for the mistakes committed both individually and collectively" and begging for a pardon, which a regime-controlled board granted. Immediately after his release, opposition leader Hailu Shawel said he had signed the Orwellian statement under duress. But the fact that he and other leaders of civil society were released without restrictions on their political activity is a hopeful sign.

More political prisoners remain. Mr. Meles's troops also stand accused of human rights abuses in Somalia and in the country's internal war against rebels in the Ogaden region. The Bush administration has remained mostly quiet about all of this, though the State Department played a back-channel role helping to arrange the prisoners' release. The most visible U.S. pressure came in the form of a bill, sponsored by Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-N.J.), which would link U.S. aid to Ethiopia's performance on human rights. It passed the House's Africa subcommittee, chaired by Mr. Payne, this week. Ethiopia is a strategic ally. But it will probably take more work by its hard-pressed civil society, and more pressure from the United States, before it can be called a democratic one.


2007 The Washington Post Company

violence kills three soldiers, four civilians in Somali capital

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Aweys Osman Yusuf

Mogadishu 22, July.07 ( Sh.M.Network)- Four civilians and three government soldiers have been killed in huge explosion followed shootouts which this afternoon happened Black-Sea junction in Hodan district, south of the capital Mogadishu.

The explosion that caused by a hand grenade bomb aimed at the government soldiers passing there, witnesses told Shabelle Radio.

The explosion killed three policemen as gunshots fired by the police forces killed four civilians who were walking alongside the road.

Two the civilian dead bodies; one was a mad man and the other was a banana seller woman were still laying on the ground because of the area sealed off by the security forces.

The incident took place around 4:30 pm local time as people was hurrying to their houses before dusk.

This brings 12 people the number killed in Mogadishu violence today alone.
For the last 20 days, about 100 people have been killed in the violence raged in the volatile city of Mogadishu where insurgency acts continue to threaten the government members.

Congressman called for relaese of all political prisoners

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The Honorable Donald Payne, member of the US Congress
WASHINGTON - The chairman of a U.S. House subcommittee on Africa has welcomed the release of 38 Ethiopian opposition members and called for the release of all political prisoners in the country.

U.S. Representative Donald Payne issued a statement Friday saying he hopes the release of opposition leaders and activists this week will trigger a new, peaceful democratic process in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced the release of the prisoners Friday in the capital, Addis Ababa. A three-judge High Court panel had sentenced the group to death Monday.

The charges against them, inciting violence and attempting to overthrow the government, were related to protests against the 2005 elections.

Representative Payne has authored a bill in Congress that calls on the Ethiopian government to release political prisoners and support democratic reforms in the country or face losing U.S. security aid.

Opposition groups say the 2005 election was rigged to keep Mr. Zenawi in power. Ethiopian security forces killed at least 193 people while stopping the protests.

Former Ethiopian President Negasso Gidada says the cases should have never gone to court. He says he views the releases as just another power play by the government.

Several other defendants received prison sentences between 18 months and 18 years. The government has said it would consider clemency appeals for them


Despite pardons, others still face trial in Ethiopia

Jailed human rights defenders Daniel Bekele (left) and Netsanet Demissie
The pardoning of 38 people by the Ethiopian government does not mean that all the cases stemming from the 2005 election protests have been resolved, according to a VOA report by Joe de Capua.

For example, the NGO ActionAid says Daniel Bekele, its policy manager in Ethiopia, and Netsanet Demissie, general manager of the Organization for Social Justice in Ethiopia, are still on trial. They refused to sign a document admitting wrongdoing.

Richard Miller is the director of ActionAid UK. From London, he spoke to VOA English to Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua about their cases.

“(They) were charged over 18 months ago as part of this trial with crimes of outrage against the Constitution and constitutional order. They always said they believed their activities were entirely legal and they entered a plea of not guilty from the outset of the court proceedings. They always engaged with the court proceedings, unlike these other people who’ve been pardoned today (Friday). And they’re ready and waiting to present their defense. So they want to demonstrate in court the activities they engaged in were entirely legal and didn’t undermine the Ethiopian constitution, but in fact protected and promoted it,” he says.

The two men refused to sign a document signed by those who were pardoned, admitting the use of “unconstitutional means to change the constitutionally established government functions.”

Miller says, “They didn’t sign because obviously they don’t believe they did that. They believe that any of the activities they were involved in, that’s primarily the work in monitoring the 2005 parliamentary election and their involvement in a civil society initiative to resolve the post-electoral impasse.” He says that those actions were “positive contributions in Ethiopia and were performed in a peaceful and constitutional manner.”

Their trial continues next week.