[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E439-E440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E439]]


                      THE 2005 ETHIOPIAN ELECTION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 29, 2006

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, Ethiopia, one of Africa's most 
populous and influential nations, has for centuries been the home to 
numerous diverse religious and ethnic populations. Last May, the East 
African nation held elections, which promised to be a big step forward 
for Ethiopia's democracy. The election process started out more open 
than previous elections, with the political opposition able to campaign 
more freely than ever before. Unfortunately, the window of opportunity 
presented for democracy closed in a wave of government harassment of 
opposition parties and ethnic hate speech on both sides.
  Although there were other problems in the election process, the 
biggest issue was the delayed release of vote results. Preliminary 
results indicated that the opposition did much better than in past 
elections, increasing the number of parliamentary seats won from 12 to 
nearly 200. However, opposition party coalitions charged that fraud had 
been committed in many of the races they did not win. Because the 
government had failed to release results in the weeks after the 
election, suspicions rose that a victory by the opposition had been 
stolen.
  The controversy surrounding the 2005 Ethiopian election is the result 
of a number of factors that created a ``perfect storm'' of political 
discontent that has created tragic conditions in Ethiopia.
  The European Union election monitoring team reported serious 
irregularities, but its impartiality was questioned after the leak of a 
preliminary EU report which indicated that the opposition parties would 
win a majority in Parliament based largely on results in the capital 
city of Addis Ababa. Periodic statements released by the EU election 
team were then undercut by statements from EU diplomats, much as I 
experienced in my visit to Addis last August.
  The Government of Ethiopia, by refusing to release all relevant 
information regarding the election in a timely fashion, created fear 
that the election had been stolen. International donors worked behind 
the scenes with the government to create a mechanism to resolve 
election disputes. However, that mechanism pitted the ruling party and 
the government-appointed National Election Board against the opposition 
parties. As a result, the opposition lost 90 percent of the challenges 
it filed, and the government missed its own July 8th deadline for 
release of election results, furthering the frustration and suspicion.
  As for the political opposition, its leaders contributed to this 
crisis by failing to provide necessary evidence of election fraud in 
all too many cases. It isn't that this evidence may not have existed, 
but the parties appeared to be unprepared to effectively document what 
the problems were. Moreover, their refusal to take many of the seats 
won in the election prevented many issues from effectively being 
addressed in the Parliament, including the appointment of judges and 
guarantees of freedom of the press.
  The suspicions regarding the election were exacerbated by the 
government's mass arrest of students in Addis in June. Protests were 
met with gunfire by government forces. It is estimated that as many as 
40 persons identified as political activists were killed by government 
sharpshooters in the capital alone. Broadened arrests put tens of 
thousands in jail without charge or adequate contact with families or 
legal counsel. Further demonstrations in November resulted in at least 
another 40 persons killed by government forces--this time including 
those not connected with the political opposition.
  The recently-released State Department human rights report on 
Ethiopia is scathing in its description of what is taking place in 
Ethiopia, stating that ``the government's human rights record remained 
poor and worsened in some areas.''
  Among the human rights problems reported by the State Department 
were: limitation on citizens' right to change their government; 
unlawful killings, including alleged political killings, and beating, 
abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by 
security forces; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention 
of thousands of persons; particularly those suspected of sympathizing 
with or being members of the opposition; detention of thousands without 
charge, and lengthy pretrial detention; government infringement on 
citizens' privacy rights, and frequent refusal to follow the law 
regarding search warrants; government restrictions on freedom of the 
press; arrest, detention, and harassment of journalists for publishing 
articles critical of the government; self-censorship by journalists; 
government restrictions on freedom of assembly including denial of 
permits, burdensome preconditions or refusal to provide assembly halls 
to opposition political groups, and at times use of excessive force to 
disperse demonstrations, and government limitations on freedom of 
association.
  Approximately 16,000 people were released from jail earlier this 
year, but there is uncertainty about how many more prisoners remain 
behind bars without being charged or while awaiting a trial whose date 
is not yet set.
  During my visit to Addis Ababa last August, I met with Prime Minister 
Meles Zenawi, and I asked him why he had not investigated the June 
shootings of demonstrators by agents of his government. His response 
was that the investigation might require the arrest of opposition 
leaders, and he didn't want to do that while by-elections were still 
scheduled. He went on to tell me that he had dossiers on all the 
opposition leaders and could arrest them for treason whenever he 
wanted. Thus, their arrests were all but certain even before the events 
that ostensibly led to their being incarcerated. Reportedly, the 
investigation of the government shootings of demonstrators is now 
belatedly underway.
  The shootings by government forces and delayed investigation are 
reminiscent of an earlier incident: the massacre of Anuaks in 
southwestern Ethiopia beginning in December 2003 and continuing until 
May 2004.
  The farming Anuak minority predominate the Gambella region of 
Ethiopia, but there have been periodic disputes with the highlanders, 
who are of the Tigrayan and Amharan ethnic groups. According to a Human 
Rights Watch report at the time, government forces joined with 
highlanders to kill at least 400 Anuaks in December 2003 alone and 
participated in the rape and torture of Anuaks. Genocide Watch and 
Survivors' Rights International confirmed the events described in the 
Human Rights Watch report.
  The Government of Ethiopia announced last year that trials of 
government forces responsible for 13 of the Anuak killings had finally 
begun. However, there is no word yet on the result of these trials. 
While the government is engaged in such efforts, one hopes it also will 
investigate reports of the killing last year of 24 members and 
supporters of the Oromo National Congress and other allegedly 
politically-motivated killings by government forces in 2005.
  Ethiopia has been an important ally of the United States in Africa, 
and the stability of one of Africa's most populous nations is critical 
to American policy, especially in the important Horn of Africa region. 
However, the violations detailed in the State Department human rights 
report and in other accounts of independent human rights organizations 
will only make this nation more vulnerable to civil war or a foreign-
supported insurgency.
  This past Monday, a series of explosions in Addis Ababa led to the 
death of one person and the wounding of three others in a blast on a 
crowded minibus. This was part of a wave of attacks that began in 
January and included three explosions earlier this month that wounded 
three persons at a restaurant, a market, and outside a school.
  America's commitment to promote the respect for human rights around 
the world demands that we examine the current situation in Ethiopia and 
that we prevail upon our ally to live up to its international human 
rights commitments while this situation can still be salvaged. The 
discussions the Government of Ethiopia is conducting with its political 
opposition and with our government are good signs that some positive 
movement is possible. Other humanitarian gestures, for example, the eye 
operation the government reportedly authorized for opposition leader 
Hailu Shawal, are also an important step in the right direction.
  However, the current situation calls for more than small steps taken 
slowly. If a crisis in Ethiopia is to be averted, reforms, 
investigations, and trials must proceed with all deliberate speed. This 
is why we convened a hearing on the situation in Ethiopia yesterday and

[[Page E440]]

why I have introduced H.R. 4423--the Ethiopia Consolidation Act, which 
we intend to mark-up next week.
  As I have said many times, ``Friends don't let friends commit human 
rights abuses.'' This is a perfect example of why we must follow that 
dictum.

                          ____________________