Ethiopians again appeal to Tony
Blair over crimes in Ethiopia
London Taskforce for Peace and Democracy
December 13, 2005
The Honourable Tony Blair
Prime Minister
White hall
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA
Re: Once again, Prime Minister, we appeal to you: stop
the crime against humanity in Ethiopia!
Your Excellency,
We, the Ethiopian citizens living in Britain
and British citizens of Ethiopian origin have held numerous
vigils and rallies outside your office at 10 Downing St. What
makes today’s rally different from the past ones is the
fact that we are joined by hundreds of concerned Ethiopians
from all over Europe. The reason we have chosen London as a
centre of protest is the realization that the brutal government
of Meles Zenawi is being sustained by the all round support
it receives from the government of United Kingdom. We know that
Britain, as a major player in the EU, and your Excellency, as
the current president of the EU commission, have significant
power to right the wrongs committed against our people by Meles
Zenawi.
Every time that we have had vigils and rallies
in the past, we were allowed to submit a letter to you. What
we attempted to achieve through these demonstrations and letters
was to draw your attention to the worsening political situation
in Ethiopia, particularly after the May 15 2005 general election.
We have tried to warn your government about the true extent
of the political crisis in our country and our fears about the
future. The numerous letters we have submitted have given you
a detailed picture of what is happening in Ethiopia. We are
at a loss as to how we can make our point clearer and so we
quote from our letter submitted to you on September 29 2005:
"The endless announcements, declarations
and interviews that are being put out daily on the state owned
media are full of threats containing the government's intention
to use violence against any one who will join the peaceful protests…As
a result, the current situation in Ethiopia has become very
volatile. The government’s record on violating human rights
gives us serious cause for concern. It looks that once again
mass imprisonment's and killings are on the government’s
agenda...
... the absence of persistent diplomatic pressure against human
rights abuse and the reluctance of your government to support
the opposition demand for a national unity government as a way
forward to resolve election related disputes and the endorsement
of grossly rigged election result by donor countries has been
interpreted by the ruling party that there is still more scope
for more abuse and the use of force against citizens, who question
the legitimacy of its continuance in power. So far, the regime
in Addis Ababa has got away with murder. Now, it believes it
can get away with genocide.
…this is not wild foreboding on our part.
Ethiopians have lived under tyranny long enough. They know how
tyrannical regimes sound and act. All information that is coming
out of Ethiopia shows that the government in power has actually
completed its preparation, both physically and mentally, to
commit heinous crimes against the people of Ethiopia. The military
which has forged close relationship with the U.S army and the
police and the security forces that are trained and equipped
at the expenses of British tax payers money are on stand by
to trample on the democratic and constitutional rights of the
Ethiopian people. Under Meles Zanawi, Ethiopia is still a country
where a simple demand to protest peacefully against the injustice
of election could trigger the wrath of its rulers."
Apart from the usual standard reply, no one
within your government was willing to listen to the serious
concern we raised in the letter quoted above and other similar
letters.
The mass killing and imprisonment that we feared
has unfolded. Since the beginning of November 2005, hundreds
have died and nearly 100,000 people are detained including the
leaders of the opposition party CUDP. All journalists that worked
for the flagiling free press are behind bars. Free press is
suppressed. A silent and sinister genocide is taking place.
The government may not be using machetes or bullets but they
are killing by other means. According to an Ethiopian medical
doctor who witnessed the horror, the heads of 40 inmates at
a time are shaved with one razor blade. Given the prevalence
of HIV in Ethiopia, this is a way of intentionally spreading
the virus amongst supporters of the opposition.
The magnitude of the recent human right abuses
committed by Meles Zenawi’s government has begun to horrify
the world. All credible media outlets including Channel 4, The
Observer, the New York Times, The Washington post, The Times,
The New statesman and others have been reporting details of
the human rights abuses in Ethiopia. The Commission of The African
Union has become the latest institution to openly express its
horror to what is happening in Ethiopia. What is puzzling to
the Ethiopian people, who took so much of their inspiration
to build a democratic country from your Excellency’s pronouncements
and declarations, is the silence of the government of United
Kingdom in the face of well-publicised atrocities.
Your Excellency, knowing that he has no popular
support in the country Mr Zenawi has, long ago, realised that
his political fortune is tied to his unchecked ability to use
force against the citizens of Ethiopia. He has also realised
that he can not sustain a large army and security force that
will do his biding of terror without the financial and technical
backing of Western governments. Mr Zenawi's pretence to be a
democrat while remaining true to his belief in Stalinism and
his claim to be a true ally in the war against terror was cynical
manoeuvring in order to achieve support from the west and to
prolong his undeserving continuance in power. Now the mask of
the democrat has gone. The true tyrannical face of Meles Zanawi
has revealed itself to the world. What remains is for the world
to realise that Meles' stance on the war on terror is also a
sham.
Mr Zenawi’s government does not share
the values of democracy and liberty that your government is
so doggedly trying to defend against extremism and fanaticism.
If that were not the case, he would not have been so keen to
suppress Ethiopians and the opposition leaders, whose only crime
is the aspiration to live under such values. In fact, we believe
that, unlike Meles Zenawi, who has become the ambassador for
anti-terrorism in the horn of Africa, (as a result of his own
sinister motives), the Ethiopian people and the opposition have
better claim and credential in their belief in the virtues of
democracy and liberty and their commitment to defend these values.
Thus, there is no reason why the Ethiopian people and their
new leaders cannot be trusted to be more reliable and a lasting
defence against terrorism in their own country and around the
horn. This is why we have been arguing that it is a grave mistake
to support Meles Zenawi at the expenses of the rights, the welfare
and wellbeing of the Ethiopian people. Such a policy is not
only hurtful to Ethiopians and immoral and undemocratic on its
own merit but ultimatelly it will be damaging to the long-term
national interest of Britain itself.
Your Excellency, Meles Zenawi's government has
proved to the Ethiopian People and to your government and to
all freedom loving people in the world that it is untrustworthy.
His rejection of democracy and the rule of law have proved this
fact beyond any doubt. It will not be that long before Meles
begins to laugh at the very idea that you have trusted him as
an ally.
We Ethiopians still remember Meles' lamenting
because the cold war has ended. After seizing power, in the
first annual congress of his organisation he had openly regretted
that there were no longer two super powers in the world. He
had said, " had there been two super powers he would have
played one against another and would have been able to translate
his organisation’s Stalinist dream" into practice.
One can imagine the joy in Meles’ palace in Addis Ababa
at the realization that he can still impose Pol Pot style of
government on the people of Ethiopia without facing serious
challenge from Britain and the US.
Having said this it is frightening to hear Meles
Zanawi still talking about his friends in Europe and the US.
He seems confident that whatever crime he may commit against
his own people that he will not incur, as Mugabe or Museveni
do, the wrath of Britain and US. We Ethiopians wonder what will
be the threshold of crime that should be reached by this person
for your government to say enough is enough. For the people
of Ethiopia who have been the direct recipient of the terror
dished out by Mr.Zenawi's government that threshold had been
passed a long time ago. We urge you to empathise with the people
of Ethiopia and share our pain and sorrow.
We urge you to use your premiership and your
presidency of the EU commission to lead the free nations of
Europe to condemn the atrocities committed by Mr Zenawi’s
government.
We urge you to call that all foreign funding
to Ethiopia, (except that which targets the poor people of Ethiopia
as direct beneficiaries), is stopped.
We urge you, as the New York Times did through
its editorial, to reject Meles Zanawi and expose him to the
world for the fraud that he is.
We urge you to demand the release of all political
leaders and detainees and warn Meles Zenawi that he will be
responsible for any deaths of the opposition leaders who are
in the tenth day of a hunger strike.
We urge you to actively engage in reconstituting
the derailed democratic process and assist the Ethiopian people’s
aspiration to create a just and democratic society.
Please accept, Mr Prime Minister, our highest
consideration.
On behalf of the task force of Ethiopians in
Europe for peace and democracy.
