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Members of an Ethiopian opposition party who
were jailed for 20 months in connection with a disputed election are lobbying
the Bush administration and Congress to pressure Ethiopia to support a more open and
democratic society.
Members of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) delegation also plan
to travel to various U.S. cities in an effort to continue to organize
Ethiopian-Americans and to thank them for providing financial and political
support during their incarceration.
The CUD members were among a group of 38 who were pardoned in July after
being imprisoned since November 2005. They had been arrested after months of unrest
in Ethiopia that followed elections in May of
that year.
A report written by the European Union called
the election the “most competitive” Ethiopia
had ever held, but said it was “marred by irregular practices, confusion and
lack of transparency.” The report credited the government for allowing
relatively unbiased campaign coverage in the weeks before the election but
said support of Democratic institutions waned in the weeks following the
disputed vote.
Government police reportedly arrested as many as 30,000 people in the weeks
after the elections. Most were released soon after, but around 70 top CUD
members were kept in jail, drawing condemnations from human rights groups and
foreign governments.
Most were released in July and August after receiving pardons.
Ethiopia’s ambassador
to the United States, Samuel Assefa, said the government had hoped the
pardons would be the start of “a new chapter allowing us to reinvigorate the
democratic process and enable healing to begin.” He said no other members of
the CUD remain in jail.
While human rights groups condemned the government for the arrests, Samuel
said the pardons were not issued earlier because the government did not want
to impinge upon the independence of the judiciary.
“We have to be as fastidious as we can to support the rule of law and the
Constitution,” he said.
The pardons came after eight months of negotiations from a group of elders.
CUD members said they signed the letters seeking the pardons, which included
apologies to the government, even though they believed they had not committed
any crimes.
“For the sake of political stability and political dialogue we decided to
accept the proposal from the elders,” said CUD member Gizachew Shiferaw, who
was elected to a seat in parliament but refused to accept it unless the
government agreed to a list of eight conditions CUD members said would
promote democracy.
Samuel said CUD letters seeking pardons amounted to an admission of guilt.
“Expressions of remorse are not compatible with allegations of trumped-up
charges,” he said.
The members had been sentenced to life in prison just days before the pardons
were granted.
Gizachew and two other CUD members who met with The Hill this week said they
endured harsh conditions in prison as the legal process dragged on.
CUD President Hailu Shawel said he was put in a small, cold room after his
arrest.
“I wasn’t allowed to see the sun for a month,” he said. “A man of my age is
not going to thrive in that environment.”
Hailu, who is now 71, suffers from diabetes and back pain that requires he
use a cane when he walks. Another cell was infested with bugs, he said.
“They would migrate from the cracks in the wall in the middle of the night
and come down and give you the treatment,” he recalled.
Conditions improved, Hailu said, when after two months he was transferred to
a jail. But he and other CUD members were locked up with criminals even
though they believed they were political prisoners.
Samuel denied that the CUD members were jailed because of politics.
Hailu said the U.S. government should do more to ensure human rights are
protected in Ethiopia. He believes
the U.S. hasn’t because Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi is seen as an ally in the war on terror.
“This is where the U.S. is casting a blind eye. They don’t want to see the
truth.”
In the protests that followed the election, 193 civilians died and six police
officers were killed. The imprisonments and the crackdown on the protests led
to an effort in Congress to tie U.S. aid to Ethiopian promises to create an
independent judiciary and free press and to support human rights.
The House Foreign Affairs Africa and Global
Health subcommittee passed the Ethiopia Democracy and
Accountability Act of 2007, authored by chairman Donald Payne (D-N.J.), last
spring.
A scheduled markup in the full committee in June was delayed at the urging of
the group of elders, who said the measure could complicate their efforts to
negotiate the release of the prisoners.
Gizachew and fellow CUD leader Bruck Kebede said using diplomatic back
channels to improve Ethiopia’s
democratic systems may be more expedient and effective than passing
legislation. Hailu said he wanted to see Congress pass the bill.
“The ultimate desire is for all principles contained in the bill to be
implemented,” Bruck said.
Samuel said the House bill would “drive a wedge between the two countries.”
“Considerations of this nature should be made soberly. This bill wouldn’t
pass the sobriety test,” he said.
CUD members had met with the offices of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Reps.
Payne and Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and had scheduled a meeting with Sen. Patrick
Leahy (D-Vt.). They were also working to meet with State Department
officials.
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