[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 163 (Saturday, December 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2570-E2571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REMARKS ON THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN ETHIOPIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 16, 2005

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address reports that one of 
America's key allies in the global war on terror, the Federal Republic 
of Ethiopia, is experiencing nascent strains of instability that will 
not only affect that country's capacity to continue its partnership 
with us in combating terrorism, but may have profound consequences for 
economic growth and the protection of civil liberties and political 
rights.
  In 1991, the people of Ethiopia overthrew a brutal Marxist 
dictatorship that had terrorized the country for more than 15 years. 
That regime had used starvation as a tool to subjugate Ethiopia's 
people, impoverishing the very workers it claimed to represent, while 
enriching a totalitarian elite at the expense of the country's 
children.
  The democratic revolution that deposed the dictatorship also resulted 
in independence for Ethiopia's neighbor, Eritrea. That event has led to 
its own problems, including a border dispute between the two countries 
that share a common history and many cultural values, but that is an 
issue to address on another day.
  Today I wish to express my concern for the situation that has 
manifested itself in the past several months, since Ethiopia held 
elections for its Parliament, elections that resulted in an increase in 
the number of opposition legislators from 12 to 174. This remarkable 
advance in democracy occurred despite the fact that several opposition 
parties chose to sit out the election in protest.
  Immediately after the election, a delegation led by former President 
Jimmy Carter reported:

       The May 2005 elections, the third to be held under the 
     current constitution, showed great promise in the deepening 
     of Ethiopian democracy. For the first time in history the 
     majority of Ethiopian voters were presented with choices when 
     they went to the polls. We believe that Ethiopia has made 
     tremendous strides toward democracy in the last several 
     months, including more open debate, greater political 
     participation, large rallies, and enormously high voter 
     turnout on election day.


[[Page E2571]]


  The results were not accepted by everyone with equanimity, however. 
Following the parliamentary elections, in which some 90 percent of 
registered voters went to the polls to cast their ballots (a figure 
that should be taken as instructive even for mature democracies such as 
our own), some opposition groups organized protest demonstrations in 
the capital city of Addis Ababa.
  In an unfortunate series of events, Ethiopian police and security 
forces shot at the crowd, killing about 40 of the demonstrators. Then, 
in October, another demonstration took place, in which some of the 
protesters came armed with clubs and grenades, resulting in the death 
of six police officers and another 335 officers injured. Forty-six 
protesters were also killed.
  In mass arrests that took place following these demonstrations, more 
than 11,000 people were detained on a range of criminal charges, from 
misdemeanor public disturbance to plotting to overthrow the government. 
Of these, 2,000 remain in jail, awaiting trials that are scheduled 
to being within the next few weeks. The Ethiopian government has 
assured us that all the detainees have access to legal counsel and 
contact with their families, and that due process of law will be 
followed in each and every case that comes before the courts.

  Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, established an independent 
commission to investigate the events and to bring recommendations for 
improving ways in which the police handle large crowds and 
demonstrations. He has stated publicly that he regrets the deaths, 
adding ``I don't want to justify it when policemen get in a panic, but 
I can understand it when there are people throwing hand grenades and 
using guns.''
  These actions and assurances are very important, but the underlying 
situation remains disturbing. I would like to commend to my colleagues 
the recent remarks of Dr. Jendayi Frazer, who serves as assistant 
secretary of State for African Affairs. At a press briefing on December 
5, Assistant Secretary Frazer was asked about the situation in 
Ethiopia, and she replied, in part, by saying:

       We have condemned what's going on in Addis Ababa. We have 
     done it here in Washington and our Ambassador, who is the 
     Charge, has done it in Addis Ababa. Basically, we've 
     condemned the police shooting of demonstrators. We've 
     condemned the broad-based arrests of demonstrators. So 
     certainly we've been on--we are on the record as putting 
     pressure on Prime Minister Meles to allow for greater freedom 
     of assembly and certainly freedom of expression.
       We have--my Deputy Assistant Secretary Don Yamamoto just 
     returned from Ethiopia, in which he carried the same message 
     to Prime Minister Meles and to the Foreign Minister. So we're 
     continuing to hold the government accountable for allowing 
     greater democratic space and respect for human rights.
       That said, I must say also that it's the responsibility of 
     the opposition as well because when the opposition takes 
     stones and pelts the police forces, they have to respect the 
     rule of law when they're demonstrating freely. And so I think 
     that the responsibility--this is true of Ethiopia but it's 
     true across Africa--there's responsibility that has to be 
     there for both the opposition and for the government. Whereas 
     we hold the governments even more accountable because they 
     are supposed to be the upholders of the rule of law, we still 
     must say when the opposition goes out of bounds as such.
       And this is a very diverse opposition in Ethiopia. There 
     are some who are demonstrating to sit in parliament, to 
     create greater democratic space. There's others who are 
     demonstrating to overthrow the government. And that's true 
     that there are different--there are some who want to reclaim 
     Eritrea.
       So this opposition--there's democrats within the opposition 
     and there are non-democrats within the opposition. I would 
     say the same thing for the government. But still we hold the 
     government more accountable for not allowing free 
     demonstrations. We've called on the government to free the 
     many who are jailed and we've called on them to free the 
     leaders of the opposition who are in jail right now, who are 
     detained. . . .
       As I said, we've already pressured the Government of 
     Ethiopia to release the detainees. We've been very, very 
     clear. We've asked them to conduct free and transparent 
     judicial processes for those who are not released and to 
     allow international observers to be present at the trials. So 
     we've been very clear and unequivocal in our message.
       I met with Prime Minister Meles at the UN General Assembly 
     with Under Secretary Nick Burns and we were very, very clear 
     with Prime Minister Meles at that time. You know, that was 
     prior to these demonstrations, but even at that time we were 
     saying you have to respect the right of people, citizens of 
     Ethiopia, to demonstrate freely and to express themselves 
     freely, that there shouldn't be these wide-scale arrests.
       And so we're going to continue. We have conversations 
     constantly with members of the opposition. At the Africa 
     Bureau at State Department we meet with them, we talk with 
     them. We're meeting with them and talking with them and their 
     families in Ethiopia. And so I think that we're very engaged. 
     You know, we're continuing to put pressure. But I say this 
     and I say this broadly and I'm not saying it about Ethiopia. 
     I'm actually making a point about the progress of democracy 
     in Africa. And the opposition also has to be responsible.
       You know, and I'm saying this about--you know, across the 
     continent. If you get--and this is--you know, the opposition 
     in Ethiopia is a broad-based opposition. It's a coalition 
     opposition. So I'm not speaking about any particular or in 
     general. But I am saying that one of the elements of 
     democratic progress that we need to see in Africa is real 
     democrats in the opposition. You know, opposition leaders who 
     want to be part of government; they want to as democrats. You 
     know, it's not personal. It's not sort of overthrowing 
     governments. It's not--and I'm not--again, I want to be very 
     clear. I'm not talking about Ethiopia here. I'm talking about 
     oppositions in general.
       As important as I see it in terms of the progress of 
     democracy, we have to put a lot of emphasis on these 
     independent national electoral commissions because they 
     conduct the elections and they often count the votes. And so 
     if we get these institutions to be credible, it will give 
     greater confidence to civil society that they've had a free 
     and fair election. So we need to strengthen these 
     institutions. That's a key component of democratization. We 
     need to hold accountable the governments that are not 
     allowing a level playing field. We have to put more pressure 
     on them to allow that level playing field.
       And we also have to get the opposition to act responsibly. 
     You know, many of them, as soon as they're about to lose, 
     they then decide it was unfair or they decide to boycott 
     because they know they're going to lose, you know. And so I 
     think that there's all elements of society that are 
     responsible for the progress of democracy.
       Certainly in Ethiopia, we hold the government accountable. 
     We've protested the arrests. We've protested the political 
     violence with the Ethiopian Government and we are going to 
     continue to do so. We're putting tremendous pressure on Prime 
     Minister Meles.
       (Source: State Department Washington File, December 7, 
     2005, ``State's Frazer Heralds Spread of Democracy in 
     Africa.'')

  Mr. Speaker, Assistant Secretary Frazer's remarks suggest a fair, 
balanced, and judicious approach to a sensitive and dynamic situation 
in Ethiopia. I urge my colleagues to monitor Ethiopia's emerging 
democracy in order to keep the pressure on both government and 
opposition there to respect the rule of law and protect civil 
liberties. This is important to U.S. interests because, to paraphrase 
the testimony of Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, stability in the Horn of 
Africa is a priority for the U.S. Government in the global war on 
terrorism.

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