The Ethiopian government has turned its back on human rights concerns.
Evidence has emerged that the Ethiopian government has launched a renewed crackdown on opposition members, less than two months after a joint investigation by the Bureau and Newsnight revealed allegations of torture, repression and the political manipulation of foreign aid.
Our report was strongly denied by representatives of President Meles Zenawi.
But now the Bureau has gathered evidence of further repression and it appears many of those being targeted are the people believed to have cooperated with our investigation.
According to members of the Ethiopian community in the UK many people have been arrested, some have been questioned by security forces while others have fled the country in fear.
‘There’s really increased tension now amongst the political opposition. Civil society activists have said the situation is rapidly deteriorating Journalists are more afraid even than they were before, and we are even talking about a significant climate of fear.’
Claire Beston, Amnesty International
Zelalem Tessema, spokesman from Mass Advocacy of Communities, Ethiopia told the Bureau: ’Yes, sadly there has been a crackdown by the security forces on people who have suspected to have cooperated with the programme. And certainly we’ve got reports that people have been arrested, some people have been questioned by security forces and some people have left the area in fear of what would follow.’
Further evidence
On the night of broadcast Assistant Ambassador to the UK, Abdirashid Dulane, told the Newsnight programme: ‘This is completely a report actually that lacks objectivity and also lacks evenhandedness.
‘The sources that it used are opponents of Ethiopia who have been rejected by the electorate and who have been time and again, have already shown that their allegations are unfounded.’
Related article: Ethiopia aid exposed – Voices of the tortured
The Embassy in London followed up these comments with an official statement, accusing the BBC of being unbalanced, and roundly rejecting the allegations made.
Yet just a few weeks later, at the end of August, a delegation from Amnesty was expelled from Ethiopia. They had been in the country for 12 days before their arrest, during which time Amnesty says they were under ‘constant surveillance’.
Ethiopian Aid Exposed
The joint investigation by Newsnight and the Bureau uncovered evidence of:
- Systematic torture and abuse of opposition figures
- Aid used as a weapon of political oppression
- Children dying of hunger
- Land being taken from political opponents
- Such allegations being brought to the attention of the international community
Click here to read the investigation in full.
Two opposition leaders, Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelisa, were arrested on the same day. Bekele Gerba, deputy Chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) has been accused of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) a charge the government often uses to silence members of the Oromo political opposition. It is as yet unclear what Olbana Lelisa of the Oromo People’s Congress party (OPC) has been charged with.
Arbitrary arrests and expulsions
Reports from our sources suggest that at least 40 opposition politicians and journalists have been arrested by security forces over the last month.
Swedish Journalist Martin Schibbye
Many are being held in the Central Investigation Centre in Maikelawi where, as we revealed, allegations of torture are rife.
A fortnight ago two Swedish journalists working in the country were charged with terrorism. Reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson were arrested after crossing from Puntland into Ethiopia’s troubled Ogaden region and covering rebel activity there. They too are believed to be being held in Maikelawi.
The Bureau has also found US diplomatic cables, released by Wikileaks, detailing widespread and systematic human right abuses, including hangings, brandings, gang rape, arbitrary detention and even killings:
US Diplomatic Cable, December 10 2007
… consistent reports of hangings of civilians, branding people, gang rape, arbitrary detentions and killings, forced conscription, and denial of access to food and water resources. These, combined with consistent reports from elsewhere in the region over the past few months, paint a picture of the horror inflicted on the civilian population as part of Ethiopia’s counter-insurgency against the Ogaden National Liberation Front(ONLF).
The cables show that as recently as November 2009 US government officials had concerns over the politicisation of foreign assistance in Ethiopia. Concerns that closely match those of the NGOs, opposition parties and the international donor community that our investigation highlighted in August.
US Diplomatic Cable, November 22 2009
… government forces continue to withhold food and block legitimate trade from ‘anti-peace’ communities, and continue to engage in mass arrests, rapes, and killings of ONLF supporters. He reported that the only tactic government forces have ceased to utilize is the burning of villages.US Diplomatic Cable, November 25 2009
Recent allegations of the politicization of foreign assistance in Ethiopia, including humanitarian food aid, are consistent with reports by non-governmental organizations, opposition political parties, the media, and members of the international donor community.
Related article: Ethiopia Aid Exposed – Abuse and terror in the Ogaden
‘The source that it used are opponents of Ethiopia who have been rejected by the electorate and who have been time and again, have already shown that their allegations are unfounded.’
Abdirashid Dulane, Assistant Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK
Amnesty’s Claire Beston told the Bureau: ‘I’ve heard from political opposition groups that there’s really increased tension now amongst the political opposition. Civil society activists have said the situation is rapidly deteriorating – to use their words. Journalists are more afraid even than they were before, and we are even talking about a significant climate of fear – all those groups are already operating in a climate of fear. ’
Click here to watch the Bureau/ Newsnight investigation.
But despite the continuing allegations $3bn of long-term aid flows into Ethiopia every year from international donors. British taxpayers contribute £290m of that amount.
Speaking on the Newsnight programme Andrew Mitchell, the British secretary for international development, said our allegations had been investigated and ‘no evidence of systemic abuse of food aid’ had been found.
When pressed, his department confirmed that although these findings were published up to seven months ago, they were the conclusions of a desk-based study which did not seek to prove or disprove allegations of distortion.
Mitchell added that the allegations would be investigated.
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September 22nd, 2011 at 1:59 pm (#)
WHAT IS THE USE OF THIS REPORT. IN THE END THE WEST WILL KEEP FUNDING THE DICTATOR UNTILL THEY REALIZE THAT HE IS GONE.tHE SAME STRATEGY THEY EMPLOYED IN EGYPT
September 22nd, 2011 at 5:35 pm (#)
I some times ask my self how much blood should be spilled or how grimme a crime should be, for the west to interfer in a conflict?
September 22nd, 2011 at 7:52 pm (#)
Ahmed: very true! they will support and ignore the genocide that is taking place in Ogaden and Ethiopia as a whole.
September 23rd, 2011 at 11:21 am (#)
if Ethiopian regime telling truth let them allow amnesty international and independent international journalist what is taking place in Ethiopia in general, and in Ogaden and Oramo regions in particular, what is taking is not misuse of UK aid, but a genocide, just in this years only, the Ethiopian funded local Militia has killed more 30 in my village.
this has been going on for more 18 years, let us do something, so the genocide let never happen again.
September 23rd, 2011 at 11:59 am (#)
My respect and huge appreciations to the members of the investigative group and the Newsnight who exposed a very small piece of the multidimensional crime imposed by the government of Ethiopia on its own people.
In his speech at UNGA,D.Cameron said “…. where action is necessary, legal and right, to fail to act is to fail those who need our help…” and he was saying much about freedom, democracy and human rights. My question to Cameron and other Western politicians is “do not we Ethiopians deserve freedom and democracy?” “Do not we deserve to get your help at this right time?”
September 23rd, 2011 at 4:41 pm (#)
The only one was is exposed is you.
September 25th, 2011 at 1:35 am (#)
This type of phenomena is true every where in Ethiopia in particular and Africa in General. But the basic problem lies on the governments, since they afraid their peoples. They know it if they give freedom to their peoples they will not stand as government. In Ethiopia the Gov’t has one military force only paid to kill his opponent. The other problem to wards the western country is that they only talk about the dictators when they are going to fall. So due to that reason any African government did not hear what ever they said. But the most important one is the peoples of Africa should come together and fight these government together to get their freedom. I wish for all of these peoples of Africa freedom and prosperity.
September 28th, 2011 at 12:14 am (#)
What the Ethiopian government is doing is ridiculous. I don’t understand when it is going to stop doing all this. When international agencies discover the truth as to how foreign aid is being misused, the government goes around arresting people. While it is doing this, a huge number of citizens are dying of hunger. There has been systemic abuse of food aid. The government rewards people that support it, but punishes the rest by refusing them the food aid that they so desperately need. Farmers are being denied seeds and fertilizers based on party affiliations and political ideologies. This is an absolute nonsense that needs to stop. No matter what political ideologies people have, the government is to stop using food aid as a method of oppression.
What the Ethiopian government is doing is beyond human comprehension. This is simply dictatorship at its best. Not one citizen can have his/her voice heard. The government is exercising a clear pattern of arresting and detaining individuals that are critical of it. Where then is the right to freedom of expression? Everyone is terrified, particularly opposition politicians and journalists. Not only is the government punishing its own citizens that are in a dire need of food support, but it is continually traumatizing, abusing those that are against its ways. When journalists, human rights advocates, opposition party leaders speak up, they are arrested for plotting terrorist acts. This is utterly ridiculous.