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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Aug 03 2011 - 09:56:22 EDT
Human Rights and the War on Terror in Ethiopia
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JURIST Guest Columnist and former JURIST Executive Director Abigail
Salisbury says that the Ethiopian government has used the War on Terror to
maintain its power, labeling opposition groups, journalists and others as
terrorists and detaining them under legislation that is purportedly aimed at
furthering the War on Terror...
03,08,2011
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It is not entirely out of the ordinary to hear of the arrest of political
dissidents in Ethiopia, but a recent cluster of arrests has drawn attention
from the international human rights community. Over the last few weeks, a
group of at least nine journalists, Ethiopian National Democratic Party
members and others, have been arrested and detained under Ethiopia's
<http://www.ethiopian-law.com/federal-laws/procedural-law/criminal-procedure
-law/special-procedures/318-anti-terrorism-proclamation-no-6522009.html>
Anti-Terrorism Proclamation No. 652. This added to some two dozen other
individuals said to have been charged under the same law over the last
couple of months. This 2009 law uses the buzzword "terrorism" to encourage
the West to continue to see Ethiopia as a vital partner in the War on
Terror, drawing attention away from the law's true purpose: suppressing any
opposition to the regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Given the recent
<http://jurist.org/jurist_search.php?q=protest%2Bmorocco+OR+egypt+OR+libya+O
R+OR+tunisia+OR+algeria> unrest in several other African countries, the
uptick in arrests under the law is worrying, and tends to validate earlier
concerns over its potential for facilitating human rights violations.
Disguising human rights violations and oppression with positive terminology
is not new to Ethiopian legislators, who passed the
<http://www.ethiopian-law.com/federal-laws/substantive-law-legislations/huma
n-rights-and-governance/media-and-information/225-freedom-of-the-mass-media-
and-access-to-information-proclamation-no-5902008.html> Freedom of the Mass
Media and Access to Information Proclamation No. 590 in 2008. This
idealistic-sounding law's title belies its contents, because it enables the
government to bring charges against "any person who is suspected of
committing an offence through the mass media." Such offenses include the
publication of statements critical of the legislative, executive or judicial
authorities that are deemed false or defamatory. It is up to the attorney
general to decide if the accused journalist should be detained on remand.
The more recent adoption of terrorism as a tool for oppression has allowed
the Ethiopian government to take much greater measures to eradicate
opposition. The ruling regime has learned that the West needs its support
for its own anti-terrorism efforts in the region, so much so that human
rights abuses can be overlooked. Many argued against HR 2003,
<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.+2003:> The Ethiopia
Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 when it was before the US Congress,
because they felt that conditioning non-essential US aid to Ethiopia on the
regime's attainment of certain human rights benchmarks would damage a
relationship crucial to fighting terrorism. The reaction in Ethiopia was
mixed, and the bill never came to a vote after reaching the US Senate.
The Ethiopian government was encouraged by the bill's failure, and by its
provision specifically exempting anti-terrorism funding from the human
rights benchmarks. Thus the regime enhanced its restrictions on freedom of
speech by hiding them behind Western-friendly terms, the most powerful of
which turned out to be "terrorism." Recognizing the nation's geographic and
political value as a strategic outpost for the West's War on Terror in East
Africa and the Middle East, the Ethiopian government made a show of its
dedication to fighting terrorism not only for its own benefit, but for "the
peace and security of the world at large," in the Anti-Terrorism
Proclamation. The law cites Ethiopia's commitment to cooperation with those
fighting terror all over the world, emphasizing its relationships with the
African Union and the UN.
After reading past these vows and laudations, however, the true purpose of
the law becomes clear. Yes, they are dedicated to fighting terrorists, but
who are the terrorists? In what amounts to a bill of attainder, once the
legislature designates a person or group as a terrorist or terrorist
organization, they lose their legal personality. Any assets or property are
forfeited and liquidated immediately, without a judicial determination of
guilt. The government can then officially ignore or punish what would
otherwise be legitimate actions in a free society, such as lawsuits,
protests or speech, as well as the actions of anyone who is deemed to have
supported or aided the "terrorists" in any way.
Under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, encouraging terrorism can mean as
small an act as showing "moral support" for a person or group deemed
terroristic by the legislature. Publishing one's approval for one of the
country's various ethnic rebel or political forces, for instance, could
result in a 10-year minimum prison sentence, since these opposition groups
have been declared terroristic in nature. Human Rights Watch
<http://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/07/ethiopia-counterterrorism-law-represse
s-free-speech-hrw.php> states that it knows of 14 people who were arrested
under the law in June for belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front. Meles's
regime is built on ethnic federalism, and tends to favor certain ethnic
groups, so designating opposition groups made up of the disfavored
ethnicities as terrorist organizations helps Meles to stay in power. These
designations could help support a future request for foreign military
assistance in the event of an uprising, since such people could be
characterized as committing terrorist attacks, not fighting for
self-determination or democracy. Indeed, the authorization to control people
or things threatened by or supportive of this so-called terrorism provides a
convenient excuse for breaking up protests, suppressing speech and stripping
people of the assets they would need to establish an effective opposition
force.
The law takes advantage of this anti-terrorism theme to deprive people of
due process in other ways, as well. The
<http://www.ethiopian-law.com/federal-laws/procedural-law/criminal-procedure
-law.html> Criminal Procedure Code of Ethiopia requires that an individual
must be brought before a court of law within 48 hours of arrest, and that
detention on remand may be no longer than 14 days. Warrants are required in
a manner familiar to US lawyers, and search and seizure provisions are laid
out in detail. Even the Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information
Proclamation forbids remand for further investigation. The Anti-Terrorism
Proclamation, however, allows detention for as long as four months, and
authorities are explicitly permitted to use force to obtain evidence from
the accused. Again justifying these actions by pointing to the importance of
fighting terrorism, the law authorizes courts to ignore normal rules of
evidence when trying suspects. Anonymous intelligence reports containing
anonymous statements are admissible, as are all confessions, hearsay and
information collected by any foreign entities. The accused are encouraged to
name names and describe events in order to reduce their punishment, which
could include the death penalty.
Interestingly, Meles's own political party would have been considered a
terrorist organization under his predecessor's regime, which it overthrew in
1991. Perhaps this legislation is not ironic then, but rather politically
shrewd. All around him, other long-time leaders in the region are being
called into question, and some have even been removed and detained. Meles
may be worried, but perhaps such legal actions are tactical. After all, he
knows firsthand how rulers are deposed. He did it once himself.
Abigail Salisbury is a former faculty member at the Mekelle University Law
Faculty in Mek'ele, Ethiopia, and has
<http://jurist.org/forumy/2008/01/linking-rights-and-foreign-aid-for.php>
written for JURIST previously on the issue of human rights in Ethiopia. She
is a 2007 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Suggested citation: Abigail Salisbury, Human Rights and the War on Terror in
Ethiopia, JURIST - Forum, Aug. 2, 2011,
http://jurist.org/forum/2011/08/abigail-salisbury-ethiopia-terror.php.
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