The TPLF led Ethiopian Government has Neither Legal Nor Moral Authority to Inter a Deal Over Us.
The current regime ruling over every affairs of the life of the
Ethiopian People is neither democratically elected nor is conceded to
any other form of consent from the people to decide on matters
pertaining to their daily lives. The only reason why the people in
charge of state power in Ethiopia today are still able to clinch to
that power is simply because they have got weapons in the hands of
well organised forces, which they have been shopping and organising
over years lavishly partly also from the relief aid owed to the people
in emergency from the international community^[1]^i. And with this
weapon they are also ready to fire on any body deemed to entertain any
critically oriented opinion against that of the government's
policy^[2]^ii. They were able to come to the state power through
merely the barrel of the gun and they have been using it ever since
seeking to hold on that power indefinitely. As result of this fact
hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians have already been fallen and
victimized to the vicious atrocities perpetrated against them by this
current regime and its agents on a daily basis.
Since this regime was able to seize the state power in 1991 in
Ethiopia hundreds of thousands have been either arbitrarily detained,
tortured or ill-treated, executed extra-judicially or disappeared
permanently, after being arrested by the security forces of this
brutal regime. Amnesty international considers many of the victims of
detention languishing in the various jails and other detention
facilities as "prisoners of conscience"^[3]^iii. Amnesty has also
repeatedly expressed its concerns regarding the extra-judicial and
summary execution of civilians and/or massacres, particularly in the
context of incidents of political violence, inter communal conflicts
or military operations against armed opposition groups and the
practice of the death penalty by the current regime. It attests to the
fact that trials of the political prisoners are typically
characterised by long-term pretrial detention, many of them being
incommunicado and the obvious reality that such trials end up also
without meeting the international standards.
Many other internationally respected and well-known human rights
organisations have also been documenting the widespread violation of
human rights of the people in Ethiopia ever since the current regime
came to power in 1991. To mention a few of them:
- The internationally renowned Human Rights Watch^[4]^iv has
repeatedly criticized the regime in Ethiopia of deliberately denying
its citizens the basic rights of freedom. In one of its detailed
reports on the violation of human rights in Ethiopia the group has
identified very recently the following:
"Expanding on a pre-existing system of local government that was
designed by the Dergue primarily as a tool to maintain tight political
control, regional authorities have created an entirely new set of
quasi-governmental institutions that now monitor and control the
activities, speech and movement of the rural population down to the
level of individual households."
"The thousands of Oromo who have been subjected to detention, torture
and harassment for voicing their political opinions serve as example
that intimidate their neighbours and friends into silence."
- Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) along with many other
international media watch dogs have repeatedly expressed their
concerns at the lack of freedom of the press and condemned the acts of
the current regime in dealing with the private and international media
in Ethiopia.
- Genocide Watch and Survivors' Right International reported at the
end of 2004 that crimes against humanity and acts of genocide have
been committed against Anuak Civilians by EPRDF soldiers and other
militias, after being planned at a top-level cabinet meeting, which
was chaired by Meles Zenawi himself, with the participation of the
head of EPRDF Military, the Vice Prime minister and an official of the
regional government in Gambela, under a code named military operation:
"OPERATION SUNNY MOUNTAIN", which was driven by an economic motive,
that happened to be "control and exploitation of Gambellas petroleum
and gas reserves". It also reiterated that arbitrary arrests, illegal
detentions and widespread torture, which constitute a crime against
humanity, are occurring in Ethiopia, referring to reports from
international and national human rights organisations^[5]^v.
- The annual reports of the US State Department (released by the
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour^[6]^vi) have repeatedly
criticized the regime because of its violation of human rights. It has
for example repeatedly reported; " ... paramilitary groups committed
unlawful killings, including political killings." The opposition
parliamentarian-elect Tesfaye Adane, from the Arsi Negele
constituency, was shot and killed by police on June 12, 2005. The most
recent report has identified the following grave violation of human
rights in today's Ethiopia: "... in the period following the elections
authorities have arbitrarily detained, beat, and killed opposition
members, ethnic minorities, NGO workers, and members of the Press.
Authorities also imposed additional restrictions including freedom of
the press and freedom of assembly."
- With regard to the election related mal-practises of the regime, the
European Union's Election Observation Mission report stated in its
final verdict that the election was "not fair and free". It reiterated
further in its final Report: "... the post election-day process was
marred by intimidation, mass-arrests, killings of demonstrators and
opposition personnel and intimidation."^[7]^vii Put differently: the
current regime has not won the election, instead it clinched to the
power through the power of the gun, as the post-election unrests in
Ethiopia vividly demonstrated very recently. Mrs. Ana Gomes, the head
of the Mission and MEP expressed her concern saying: "the EU
Observation Mission regrets (that the election process) didn't live up
to the international standards and to the aspiration of Ethiopians for
democracy".
- Evaluation of the Carter Center, another internationally renowned
and credible unpartisan Election Observation NGO, stated in its Report
that: " ... pre-election and election day processes were generally
commendable, the post-election period was disappointing."^[8]^viii But
even then when some commended the pre-election period for showing the
sign of hitherto unseen openness, thanks to the international pressure
and their leverage due to aid money, some did express their concerns,
especially with regards to the clear partisanship of the Electoral
Board and restriction of the participation of some Election
Observation NGOs. Dr. Siegfried Pausewang of the Norwegian Christian
Michelsen Institute and three international and US-based Election
Observation Teams were expelled already during the pre-election
period.
- Expert analysis of the events leading to the election and its
aftermaths have clearly indicated that the regime is not yet ready to
give up the power through a peacefully held democratic election. In
this regard we would like to call to the mind of the readers as an
example the personal observation of Prof. Christopher Clapham, who has
convincingly demonstrated that the election was rigged and the regime
was able to hold on the power because " ... it (the government)
possesses a monopoly of organised force and has not the slightest
hesitation to use it (against its own innocent citizens).^[9]^ix
While the election of the May-2005 has clearly demonstrated that the
current regime has been voted out of the office through the popularly
held Ballot, but then it turned down the results with the bullet, its
causal means, and quelled down the will of the people. (The two waves
of massacres perpetrated against the innocent people in June and
November of 2005 on the streets of Addis Ababa and other cities as
well as the still on going and systematic killings and other forms of
enormous intimidation of innocent Oromo students in various parts of
the country are vivid testimony to this statement). The ones who were
actually voted in to the office have been mostly imprisoned or even
murdered, as the case of above mentioned Tesfaye Adane indicates. The
imprisoned opposition election winners are languishing in the jails,
and may languish for the foreseeable future as the regime has openly
declared its intention of holding them there idefinitely or even kill
them by charging them with phantom crimes, which could be punishable
with the death penalty in Ethiopia, like Genocide, treason,
instigation to armed rebellion etc.
On the other hand the people of Ethiopia have been waging their own
campaign and struggle to achieve the inalienable Human Rights and
liberty to all of the citizens and to bring to an end the misery
perpetrated against innocent people on a daily basis by the repressive
rule of the TPLF. The peaceful resistance against tyranny is being
waged by all walks of life of the Ethiopian People at every corner of
this world, including in countries where we refugees happened to find
ourselves. And Germany is not an exception. Many people are also
paying for that with the necessary sacrifice including and up to with
their precious lives.
The hundereds of students which have been murdered in mass or
otherwise up to now and others which have been either wounded or which
have been arrested unlawfully and being detained illegally and
tortured up to now through the various waves of repressional measures
sanctioned by the current regime could be cited as the most vivid
examples of the sacrifies the people of Ethiopia are paying for their
inalienable human dignity and liberty. Many more civilians including
human rights activists, journalists, members of the civil society,
like trade unions, teachers association leaders and activistis have
been targeted and killed or imprisoned. Activists of the Oromo
nationality are specially targeted and eleminated through the
systematically sponsored atrocities of this regime.
Even Army Generals are abandoning the military force of a repressive
regime and joining the popular resistance. One of these Army Generals,
Birg. General Kemel Gelchu, has summarised the reason behind the
decision for such an extra step saying: "the only thing Meles
understands is force and we need to give him back the language he
understands best (force)" in his interview to the media, after fleeing
Ethiopia and referring to the person at the helm of the state power
and his former Commander in Chief per name. This General has been more
recently joined by more high ranking army officers (including another
General), who likewise pledged to join in the popular resistance. This
is on top of the defections of top diplomats of the regime almost
daily now, from almost all of its oversee missions.^[10]^x And then
why should we go home at this time?
We refugee are part and parcel of the society, who were forced to flee
our homeland to escape this blood thirsty thugs, who have subjected
our people to unparalleled misery. We are equally outraged, distressed
and traumatised by the plight our people are subjected to on a daily
basis in their own country, like all our compatriots back home do. And
we have no reason what so ever to be repatriated back at will at the
present. We are in need of the necessary protection of the
international community and the governments of this world, where ever
we are happened to find ourselves at this critical time of the history
of the resistance of the people of Ethiopia against tyranny. We have
all the reasons to join hand in hand with our compatriot back home and
pledge our support to the popular and peaceful resistance with all
possible means that is at our disposal.
We are indeed targeted even in our country of refuge by the secrete
agents and the policy of this regime. In an apparent attempt to
silence the popular opposition against their repressive rule from
abroad the people in charge of state affairs in today's Ethiopia have
sanctioned the authorship of a lengthy text on a strategic plan and
specific step by step instructions to intimidate, persecute or if
possible even eliminate all citizens deemed to support the opposition.
This strategic paper was distributed to all its missions allover the
world, around the beginning of this year.^[11]^xi If this regime
appeared indeed to have suddenly decided to repatriate some of the
refugees from many countries in the world, it is in fact just
implementing what was well planned beforehand in this aforesaid
strategic paper. We would like to caution the international community
at this opportunity to be aware of such a criminal policy and practice
this regime is desperately trying to implement with the name of
disguised strengthening of diplomatic cooperation of any form, and
least of all not at the cost of the lives of many innocent refugees.
Therefore we denounce with the strongest possible terms the recent
deal reached upon between the respective representatives of the
Federal Republic of Germany and Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia to repatriate refugees from Germany back to Ethiopia. This is
clearly in contravention of the internationally upheld principle of
Non-Refoulement. We also strongly denounce a deal signed behind a
closed door between a democracy and a dictatorship, while publicly
advocating for the spread of democratic norms to every corner of this
world. Repatriating us to a country where our lives will be at risk of
being tortured or imprisoned or even being killed for only trying to
entertain our independently held opinion don't conform to the
democratic ideals which the German Government claims to represent and
advocates for. It is against the publicly acclaimed value of
democratically elected Government of Germany. In this regard we would
like to call to mind of the readers what Mr. Hans-Dietrich Genscher,
the former Minister of Foreign Affairs once written: "the Government
of the Federal Republic of Germany will lead the struggle for human
rights from its deep conviction that every person has an inalienable
right to the respect of his/her human dignity and to a life free from
fear and hardship". We expect and demand from the current Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Germany, Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, that he too
publicly acknowledges and pledges his support to this universal value
of human rights and democracy in our time of the 21^st century.
We will be ready and willing to go home and help rebuild our country
as soon as all the necessary preconditions are fulfilled there. One of
these preconditions is the prevalence of democratic institutions, like
democratic elections and transfer of political power peacefully.
Neither of these or any other semblance of a democratic system are
existent in today's Ethiopia.
We call upon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic
of Germany to reconsider its recent decision to make a deal with a
representative of a dictatorship in order to be able to repatriate us
back to a country where we are at a well founded risk of ill-treatment
of any form to our lives.
We call upon the international community to put the necessary pressure
on the government of Germany to abide by the international laws and
conventions, including the Geneva Refugee Convention of 1951,
according to which expulsion or return of a refugee, Non Refoulement,
(article 33), to a frontiers of a territory where our life or freedom
would be threatened is not permissible.
We call at this opportunity once again and uphold similar calls made
by various bodies on all of the governments of the western democracies
to reconsider their policies of either morally or materially assisting
the dictatorial regime ruling in todays Ethiopia, until this regime
abides itself by its own constitution, that currently guarantees human
rights merely on the paper, simply because such a policy doesn't serve
the interest of promoting democratic principles at every corner of the
world. Providing assistance merely on a condition that the recipient
state is ready to take back refugees is simply a false signal and even
damaging to the will of the majority of the international community to
have a sustainable peace and security for our global village.
Let freedom prevail all over mankind!
Network of Ethiopian Refugees at Risk of Deportation
For further information:
Coordinating Link Collection
http://www.deutschland-lagerland.de/aethiopien
Contact address
Athiopisches Flüchtlingsnetzwerk
c/o Bayerischer Flüchtlingsrat
Augsburgerstr. 13
80337 München
tel: 089 76 22 34
fax: 089 76 22 36
email: bfr(at)ibu.de
Please report if you are (or you know) a refugee that is facing
eminently the risk of being deported unwillingly, especially to whom
the Ethiopian Embassy has already issued or going to issue in the
future the Laissez-Passer, without the will of the person to be
deported.
Currently we are mainly organised in the Bavarian State of Germany,
but we are not limitted to just Bavaria and we are going to expand our
Network to all over Germany and Europe to challenge the illegal
practice of Deportation. We appriciate your support or if you join us
for the campaign.
[13]i see for example one of OLF's recent press releases (6^th of
September, 2006) at:
http://www.oromoliberationfront.org/
[14]ii see for example an independent expert's anaysis at: New
Statesman, Column, 14^th of November, 2005; Michela Wrong asks why
Blair backs a brutal regime.
[15]iii see the number of amnesty international's "Urgent Action" over
the Ethiopian government's atrocities against the innocent people at:
[16]http://web.amnesty.org/
[17]iv see Human Rights Watch, Report, May 2005, Vol. 17, No. 7 (A),
available also at: http://web.amnesty.org/
[18]v Operation Sunny Mountain; Soldiers, Oil and Ongoing State Terror
against Anuak and Other Indiginous Minorities of Southwestrern
Ethiopia: A Genocide Watch and Survivors' Rights International Field
Report, 13 December, 1004.
[19]vi see the most recent Report: Ethiopia- Country Reports on Human
Rights Practice 2005- Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights and Labour, March 8 2006
[20]vii Ethiopia; Legislative Elections 2005, European Union Election
Observation Mission; Final Report
[21]viii Final Statement of The Carter Center Observation of the
Ethiopia 2005 National Elections, September 2005.
[22]ix Comments on the Ethiopian Crisis; Prof. Christopher Clapham,
University of Cambridge, Center of African Studies. Can be accessed
at: www.justiceinethiopia.net
[23]x see for exa.:
[24]www.ethioforum.org/, [25]and
Indian Ocean Newsletter N? 1193 09/09/2006
[26]xi the 52-page document in amharic can be seen and down-loaded at
the website of [27]www.ethioforum.org/, under the title of "leaked
documents"