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Testimony of Birtukan Mideksa at U.S. Congress
First Vice Chair, Coalition for
Democracy and Unity Party, Ethiopia
US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health
October 2, 2007
INTRODUCTION
Chairman Payne, Distinguished Members of the House Africa Subcommittee, and
Committee Staff:
 It
is a distinct honor and privilege for me to be invited to address you here
today on the subject of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in
Ethiopia.
When I sat in prison for nearly 20 months, until my release in late July,
2007, with many other colleagues accused of unspeakable political crimes, I
had no idea that I would be invited to appear in the halls of the Congress
of the United States and share my views with American lawmakers. Thank you
Mr. Chairman for opening the doors to this great House of the American
people, and for inviting me and my colleague, Dr. Berhanu Nega, Mayor-elect
of Addis Ababa, to participate in these proceedings.
Mr. Chairman: I want to take this special opportunity to thank you and this
subcommittee for standing with me and my fellow political prisoners in our
darkest hours in Kality prison. We remember vividly, Mr. Chairman, when you
traveled all the way to visit us in Kality prison in 2006. Your words
comforted us then, as they did throughout our imprisonment when you called
unrelentingly for our immediate and unconditional release. I thank you very
much!
Mr. Chairman: You and this distinguished Committee have defended and
promoted democracy, freedom and human rights in Ethiopia since the last
parliamentary elections in May, 2005. Your recent actions in the
consideration of H.R 2003 have demonstrated to the American and Ethiopian
people, and indeed the world, that democracy and human rights are of
paramount importance in the relations between our two countries. I thank you
all deeply for your efforts to promote and sustain democracy, freedom and
accountability in Ethiopia.
Mr. Chairman: I am currently Vice Chairperson of the Coalition for Unity and
Democracy Party (CUDP) in Ethiopia. Prior to my election to this position, I
served as a Judge on the Federal First Instance Court. I served in that
capacity for about seven years, before I resigned. I spent nearly 20 months
in prison on various alleged state crimes and was released with 38 of my
colleagues on July 20, 2007.
Mr. Chairman: In my opening statement, I will briefly summarize my
testimony. I respectfully request the Chairman to include my prepared
statement in the official record of these proceedings.
In my testimony today, I would like to provide the Committee with a brief
overview of the state of democracy in Ethiopia since the May, 2005
parliamentary elections and outline some ideas that could be helpful in the
establishment of democracy and protection of human rights.
The Pre-Election Period in Ethiopia, 2005
To understand the current situation and meaningfully discuss future course
of actions it is necessary to consider the birth of democracy in Ethiopia in
2005. As you know very well, the period immediately preceding the May, 2005
elections was an extraordinary time in Ethiopia’s history[1]. For the first
time in our history, the seeds of democracy were planted throughout our
land, and a time of great hope and expectation for ordinary citizens.
The preparations for the 2005 parliamentary elections were unprecedented in
the country’s history. For the first time, genuine political competition by
the various political parties in the electoral process was allowed. There
was fair access to publicly-controlled media outlets, and the level of
public participation and political debate on radio and television between
opposition and government leaders and supporters provided a solid background
for an open and genuine exchange of views on the important issues affecting
Ethiopian society.
Public interest and participation in the electoral process was massive. The
European Union Observer team estimated voter registration at no less than
85% of all eligible population, based on voter lists containing 25,605,851
names of registered persons in 2005. The total number of candidates for the
House of Peoples’ Representatives was 1,847. a total of 3,762 candidates ran
for Regional Councils. The total number of women candidates to the House of
Peoples’ Representatives was 253, and 700 in the Regional Councils.
The pre-election process while much more open than any past election it fell
short of accepted norms of free and fair election. To its credit the
government allowed limited media access, established a Joint Political Party
Forum at national and constituency levels, regular consultations with
electoral authorities to resolve problems in campaign and election
administration, special elections-related training programs for the police
and the judiciary, pledges of non-violence between the ruling and opposition
parties for election day and invitation of international election observers
by the Government of Ethiopia, among others.
As election day approached the government started to use its power to
influence the outcome of the election, The problems in the pre-election
period also included administrative and bureaucratic problems, wide spread
interference by local authorities in the conduct of public gatherings and
opposition party rallies, threats and intimidations by some local public
officials. In some instances, force was used to disrupt public gatherings
and detain opposition supporters throughout the country. There was concern
among opposition leaders that the national elections board lacked
independence and impartiality because of the dominance of the ruling party
in the operation and administration of that board. In the days preceding the
elections, there was a spike in negative campaigns on radio and television
using images and messages designed to intimidate by associating the genocide
in Rwanda with opposition politics.
Polling Day, May 15, 2005
As documented by various international organizations, there was a very high
voter turnout on May 15, 2007, election day. There were international
elections observers as well as political party observers who attended the
polling stations to ensure the integrity of the outcome of the elections.
Election day was not entirely without its problems. There were significant
instances of expulsion and harassment of poll workers and inadequate supply
of polling materials. However, the incidents of intimidation, multiple
voting, ballot stuffing, and disregard for secret vote was limited.
Post Election Period
The early elections results showed considerable gains for opposition
candidates. Opposition parliamentary and municipal candidates swept the
seats in the capital, Addis Ababa. Opposition candidates had posted
substantial gains in most of the reporting constituencies, and all objective
indications were that the winning margins for opposition candidates would
expand as more reports came in.
Even though the Board was required to announce the official results on June
8, that requirement was superseded when Prime Minister Meles Zenawi declared
a state of emergency, outlawed any public gathering, assumed direct command
of the security forces, and replaced the capital city police with federal
police and special forces drawn from elite army units were deployed. The
Elections Board simultaneously ordered the vote tallying process to stop,
and on May 27, the Board released its determination that the ruling party,
the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front had won 209 seats, and
affiliated parties 12 more. The report indicated the opposition parties had
won 142 seats. Our party filed complaints in 139 constituencies, the UEDF
lodged 89 complaints, while the EPRDF raised concerns over irregularities in
more than 50 seats.
The ruling party, faced with the prospect of being swept out of office, and
before the votes were fully counted, announced on May 16 that it had won
more than 300 seats. It
conceded that opposition parties had won the capital, but claimed victory in
the national parliamentary elections. Our party, the CUD and the United
Ethiopian Democratic Forces, claimed that we had won 185 of the
approximately 200 seats for which the National Elections Board had released
preliminary results.
By early June, 2005, it was unofficially reported that the ruling party had
won the parliamentary elections. This led to spontaneous public protests and
demonstrations throughout the country alleging election fraud. Throughout
June and subsequent months, such protests continued. The government
undertook a program of massive arrests and incarceration of protesters and
political opponents. In an attempt to suppress protests, hundred of
demonstrators were shot and killed or severely wounded. Our party strongly
protested the use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.
Report of the Official Inquiry Commission
On October 18, 2006, the report of a 10-member public inquiry into
election-related unrests was released to the Associated Press. The
Commission concluded that a total of 193 people were killed and 763 were
injured, a number much higher than that was reported by the Ethiopian
government. The vice chairman of the Commission, Judge Wolde-Michael
Meshesha, told AP that "this was a massacre ... these demonstrators were
unarmed yet the majority died from shots to the head." He added that the
government attempted to pressure and intimidate members of the inquiry after
learning about its controversial finding.
As you will recall, both the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Commission
have briefed this Congress in November, 2006.[2] The chief of the European
Union Election Observer Team, Ana Gomes, commenting on the Commission’s
report stated that the report "only confirms what we have said in our report
on the elections," and "that indeed there were massive human rights
violations."
Post Election Efforts by the CUDP to Create National Political
Reconciliation
In light of the unstable political situation in the country following the
May, 2005 elections, the CUDP made 8 specific proposals to the government as
conditions for it to join parliament. These proposals addressed a number of
critical institutional and rights issues, including: restructuring of the
Election Board to insure its independent and impartial operation, equal
accessability of public media to all political parties, institutional
independence for the judiciary and non-interference in judicial matters by
political authorities, establishment of an investigative committee to look
into killings of unarmed protesters by government security forces,
de-politicization and professionalization of the police and armed forces,
recission of recently introduced parliamentary procedures that limit the
participation of opposition parliamentarians and governance of the City of
Addis Ababa, release of all political prisoners and reopening of opposition
party offices and establishment of an independent commission, that is
acceptable to all parties, to follow up on the various proposals.
Government’s Response to CUDP Proposals
In November 1, 2005, the government responded to the CUDP proposals by
arresting, jailing and charging numerous opposition party leaders including
myself, human rights advocates, journalists and civic society leaders for
various state crimes. For nearly, 20 months these leaders were jailed in
Kality prison while their case was being heard. The international press
characterized the court as “Kangaroo Court”.
Our Release
As you well know, there were numerous attempts by various groups to secure
our release from prison. Discussions with a group of elders to find a common
ground between the government and the imprisoned CUDP leaders for
negotiation on the future of democracy in our country did not bear fruit
because of the belligerence of the government and the ruling party. While in
prison and throughout these discussions with the elders, CUDP leaders showed
their unflinching commitment to finding a peaceful and negotiated settlement
to the political crisis in our country. All our calls for peaceful dialogue
have, unfortunately, fallen on deaf ears. Even the most basic agreement we
reached with the elders to secure our release was nullified and used by the
government for mind numbing propaganda to isolate CUDP from the public and
to instill fear in the public so that it will refrain from supporting the
party. In so doing, the government once again showed its total preoccupation
in gaining temporary political advantage rather than look at the long term
interest of peace, democracy and national reconciliation. Our release after
21 months, unfortunately, failed to bring us any closer to a more serious
dialogue for national reconciliation.
Restoring Democracy in Ethiopia
Mr. Chairman: Democracy can and must be restored in Ethiopia.
In 2005, we expected the results of the national parliamentary elections as
strong foundation for building a temple of democracy in Ethiopia. Our hopes
were dashed, and we found ourselves trapped in a burning house of tyranny.
There is no democracy in Ethiopia today, despite empty claims of “recent
bold democratic initiatives taken by our government, the immense progress in
creating a competitive, pluralistic system of government and a more open
civil society.” The fact of the matter is that there is neither pluralism
nor commitment to democratic principles and practices in Ethiopia.
The government’s claim of political pluralism has not gone beyond the stage
of political sloganeering. If pluralism involves widespread participation
and a greater feeling of commitment from society members, it does not exist
today in Ethiopia. If pluralism means increased and diverse particiaption in
the political deicsion making process and give everyone a stake in the
outcome, it does not exist in Ethiopia. If pluralism means a process where
every voice is heard, confocit is resolved by dialogue and compromise and an
atmposphere of tolerance, understanding and respect is nurtured, it does not
exists in Ethiopia today.
Democracy in Ethiopia today must not only refelect the vlaues of pluraim, it
must also be participatory, transparent and accountable, equitable and based
on the rule of law. The public and its representatives must participate
effectively in decision-making at the institutional levels. The government
must be accountable to the people, and its administration and governance
must be transparent. It must function on the basis of fair rules and
procedures applied equitably throughout society minimizing arbitrariness of
government actions.
The United States and other countries can help us transition into a
democratic society by helping us democratic institutions. There are some who
talk about democratic development by merely talking about the ritual of
lections that are neither free nor fair. It is far more important to have a
democracy built on free civic institutions that are driven by an independent
judiciary, vigorous political parties, uncensored media, free trade unions,
universities, civic society organizations and transparent and multiparty
electoral commissions.
We are all aware that democratization of Ethiopia will not be accomplished
overnight. But we must start the process in earnest now. There are a number
of pillars of support for democratization in Ethiopia.
Establishment of An Independent Judiciary
For the past two years, I and my colleagues were on the opposite side of the
bench. We were prosecuted for various state crimes including treason,
outrage against the constitution, inciting, organizing or leading armed
rebellion, obstruction of the exercise of constitutional powers, impairing
the defensive power of the state, and attempted genocide. Some of these
offense are capital crimes.
Our prosecution occurred in a court system that has little institutional
independence and subject to political influence and manipulation. It is a
judiciary that is used as a tool of political harassment, intimidation and
persecution. Judges are selected not for professionalism or legal knowledge
but for their loyalty to the government.
It is universally accepted that an independent and professional judiciary is
a key element in the institutionalization of the rule of law, the promotion
and protection of human rights and even in implementing social and economic
reform in society. The Charter of the United Nations declares the
determination “to establish conditions under which justice and respect for
the obligation arising from treaties and other sources of international law
can be maintained” (Article 1 (3)) and the aim to promote “universal respect
for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all
without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion” (Articles 1 (3),
55 (c)).
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights(4) provides for an
independent judiciary in Article 10: “Everyone is entitled in full equality
to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in
the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge
against him.” Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, explicitly states that “all persons shall be equal before
the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge
against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone
shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent
and impartial tribunal established by law.” There are many other principles
that support an independent judiciary.
Ethiopia, of course, accepts these principles and obligations. In fact,
judicial independence is guaranteed by Article 78 of the Ethiopian
Constitution. Art. 13 of the Ethiopian constitution states: “The fundamental
rights and freedoms enumerated in this Chapter shall be interpreted in a
manner consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
international human rights covenants and conventions ratified by Ethiopia.”
And the constitutional “human rights” and “democratic rights” enumerated in
Arts. 14 – 43 depend on the vitality and independence of the judiciary for
their preservation and protection.
The fact of the matter is that there is no independent judiciary in Ethiopia
today; at best there is a court system that is fully dependent on the
political authorities for its own institutional existence.
Although judges are supposed to be free of political party politics, many
are under the control of the party in power, if not outright members. The
judiciary is not perceived as an independent and impartial body accessible
by the public to seek justice and protect their legitimate rights. With the
judiciary under the effective control of the executive, as it is today,
there is little confidence in its institutional powers or the legitimacy of
its rulings; and very little public expectation that the judiciary can be
the guarantor of individual rights protected by the constitution or the law.
As a result, the Ethiopian judiciary has failed to be the guardian of the
Constitution and a protector of human rights.
Judicial reform in Ethiopia must begin with the realization that judges must
be insulated from external pressure in their duties and must decide matters
before them impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the
law, without any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures,
threats, direct or indirect, from any quarter or for any reasons. This
principle must be accepted by the political authorities as well as the
public.
The principal danger to judicial independence comes from parallel
institutional forces in the form of executive interference and manipulation
and legislative meddling in judicial matters. Impartiality requires that in
the discharge of his judicial duty a judge is answerable to the law and his
conscience only.
There are various ways judicial independence could be achieved.
Institutional and constitutional reforms have to be implemented to ensure
the judiciary’s capacity to deal with all matters of a judicial nature. The
judiciary should have the exclusive authority to decide whether a matter
submitted to it is under its jurisdiction. The final decisions of the
judiciary must not be subject to revision of any the legislative or
executive powers.
These proposals for reforms are not anything new. In fact, in Arts. 79-84 of
the Constitution, all of them are listed one by one.
The Ethiopian judiciary has serious structural problems. As has been said,
“A competent and independent judiciary can make a bad law become a good law,
while an incompetent and dependent judiciary can make a good law become a
bad one.” In Ethiopia, the judiciary is adversely affected by many factors
that undermine its performance. It lacks adequate funds for proper
performance, public confidence in its institutional process, well-qualified
and interested lawyers in judicial service, low morale, merit based system
for judicial selection. The status and compensation of judges is very low.
Little attention was paid to their education and training.
Institutional guarantees are essential in establishing judicial autonomy and
independence. This requires political commitments by those in the executive
and legislative branches and public awareness and appreciation of the
significance of an independent judiciary.
In addition to structural reforms, there must also be judicial
accountability that will establish public confidence in the court system and
enhance the quality of the judicial services. Such accountability can not
occur unless mechanism are in place to monitor the relationships between
those on the bench and those in the political branches and the need to fight
judicial corruption which is always a looming threat.
If we can not have serious judicial reforms, not only will we be unable to
protect the rights of citizens, but we will always live under the rule of
the gun instead of the rule of law. 6
The U.S. can help us establish an independent judiciary by providing support
to train judges in procedures that meet international standards. Such
support could also be used to monitor political interference in the work of
the judiciary..
Free Media Institutions
The Committee to Protect Journalists recently ranked Ethiopia at the top of
the list of countries where there is little freedom of press. Without a free
press, there can be no meaningful democracy. People in Ethiopia,
particularly in the rural areas, do not have access to important political
information because of exclusive government control of the media. Political
parties need to have equal access to media controlled by the government so
that they can effectively communicate with the people. The U.S. can help by
promoting private electronic media and supporting the emergence of
newspapers, weeklies and magazines, and other electronic media to help
develop a well-informed informed public.
Independent Electoral Commission The lack of impartiality and transparency
of the Ethiopian National Electoral Board was one of the factors that
complicated the resolution of the dispute in the 2005 elections. We need an
elections board that is representative of all the political parties and
enjoys the public trust. People need to have confidence that their votes are
counted correctly and there is no elections fraud. The U.S is in the best
position to provide technical assistance in establishing an independent
electoral commission.
Imrpoving the Human Rights Situation in Ethiopia
Mr. Chairman: You and this committee have worked tirelessly too improve the
human rights situation in Ethiopia. The proposals that are currently being
deliberated in this House are vital to the revitalization of human rights in
Ethiopia, and in many ways reflect the policy postions of the CUDP, and many
stated in our 8-point proposals.
We in the CUDP believe that all political prisoners in the country must be
released and their democratic rights restored. We support democratic reforms
and accountability. We favor protections for human rights and civic society
organization and ensure adequate monitoring and reporting processes. We have
argued for an independent judicial system with effective monitoring
processes to protect judges from political interference. We are committed to
bringing to justice all human rights abusers to justice. We have called for
improvements in election procedures to ensure fraud free elections. We
support the existence of a free press without censorship and restrictive
press laws, and programs that seek to strengthen private media in Ethiopia.
We believe human rights and democratic institutions building go hand in
hand. We fully support training programs that enhance democratic
participation by the people, and enable political parties to do a better job
in organization building and campaign management, lawmakers do a better job
of legislative crafting, civil society groups become effective facilitators
in the democratic process and professionalization of the National Election
Board to help it become fair and balanced. We support limiting the use of
U.S. security assistance to peacekeeping and counter-terrorism and not
against the civilian population.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Mr. Chairman: I find it somewhat difficult to tell you and this Committee
about human rights abuses and remedial actions to improve the human rights
condition there. You have spent over two years studying the human rights
situation in Ethiopia. You have come to Ethiopia time and again to take a
first hand look, and to talk to political leaders in the government and the
opposition, human rights advocates and civic society leaders and ordinary
people. You have reviewed the reports and analysis of the numerous
international human rights organizations on human rights conditions in
Ethiopia. In my view, there are few individuals or institutions more
familiar with the human rights situation in Ethiopia today than the Chair
and members of this Committee.
All I can say today is highlight the incontrovertible facts about human
rights in Ethiopia. It is well known that the current regime has sought to
put up a façade of commitment to human and democratic rights. But its
practices contravene al of its obligations under the Ethiopian constitution
and the human rights conventions that bind Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian constitution under Art. 14 enumerates all of the “human
rights” enjoyed by Ethiopian citizens. Arts. 14-28 enumerate these rights
and include basic protections and guarantees of due process. Art. 13, sec. 2
states “The fundamental rights and freedoms enumerated in this Chapter shall
be interpreted in a manner consistent with the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, international human rights covenants and conventions ratified
by Ethiopia.”
In fact, the ruling regime observes neither its won constitution nor the
requirements of well-established international human rights conventions. The
government established Inquiry Commission I mentioned above has documented
the widespread excessive use of force by government security forces. It has
imprisoned hundreds of thousands of innocent people on suspicion of
opposition or disloyalty. The human rights violations committed by this
government are so numerous in their variety, and nature that it would
obviously be too difficult to list them all here. But I wish to cite a few
examples documented in the most recent U.S. State Department Human Rights
Report for 2006[3].
The report stated that “Although the [Ethiopian] constitution and law
prohibit the use of torture and mistreatment, there were numerous credible
reports that security officials often beat or mistreated detainees.” Massive
arrests and detentions are common, and the Report concluded, “are Although
the [Ethiopian] constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and
detention, the government frequently did not observe these provisions in
practice…. Authorities regularly detained persons without warrants and
denied access to counsel and family members, particularly in outlying
regions... The independent commission of inquiry… found that security
officials held over 30,000 civilians incommunicado for up to three months in
detention centers located in remote areas… Other estimates placed the number
of such detainees at over 50,000.
There is a substantial risk of miscarriage of justic in the judiciary:
“While the law provides for an independent judiciary, the judiciary remained
weak and overburdened. The judiciary was perceived to be subject to
significant political intervention.” Expressive freedoms are severly
regulated or punished: “While the [Ethiopian] constitution and law provide
for freedom of speech and press, the government restricted these rights in
practice. The government continued to harass and prosecute journalists,
publishers, and editors for publishing allegedly fabricated information and
for other violations of the press law. The government continued to control
all broadcast media. Private and government journalists routinely practiced
self censorship.”
On a matter that I have intimate knowledge: “The 200 political prisoners on
trial in the Addis Ababa federal system were held in two separate prisons,
Kaliti and Kerchele, often under harsh conditions. In March CUD Secretary
General Muluheh Eyoel was placed in solitary confinement at Kerchele prison.
In August fellow CUD member Andualem Arage, along with journalists Sisay
Agena and Eskinder Nega, were placed in solitary confinement.” Perhaps the
word “harsh” is an understatement. Perhaps better words to describe our
condition may have been “dehumanizing”, “atrocious” or “barbarous”.
Th right to assembly and association were vilated just the same: “The
[Ethiopian] constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly. Prior to
the May 2005 national elections, there were numerous opposition rallies,
including one that occurred in Addis Ababa that was attended by nearly one
million persons the weekend prior to the elections. However, immediately
following the elections and throughout the year, the government restricted
this right in practice. From May 2005 to year's end, the government granted
only one permit allowing a public demonstration to take place… Although the
law provides for freedom of association and the right to engage in
unrestricted peaceful political activity, the government in practice limited
this right. The Ministry of Justice registers and licenses NGOs, and there
was some improvement in transparency of the NGO registration process. The
government continued to deny registration to the Human Rights League (see
section 4).”
Conclusion
Ethiopia has many problems, including a legacy of repression, corruption and
mismanagement. It will not be easy for confront the past, We must start at
the right point by embracing the rule of law, human rights and democracy.
The time is ripe to develop a direct approach to democratization in
Ethiopia. The U.S. can help by using its considerable influence to encourage
the government to negotiate with the opposition. Only through dialogue and
negotiation will stability and peace be guaranteed, As a long time friend of
Ethiopia, I know you will stand by Ethiopia and Ethiopians in the these
difficult times.
Thank You Mr. Chairman
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