Human Rights and Government Wrongs in Ethiopia

(Text of speech given at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University on February 8, 2007.)

Thank you very much. Good evening, and thank you all for coming to this event.

Before I make my presentation, I would like to thank the sponsors of this event.

First, I would like to thank the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government.

The Carr Center was established to provide a balanced and critical perspective on the policies and actions of national governments and others that affect the realization of human rights with the ultimate aim of improving human rights advocacy strategies, monitoring practices, and response mechanisms.

Thank you, the Carr Center for co-sponsoring this event.

Amnesty International and Amnesty International USA are the premier human rights organization in the world.

AI and AI USA have made enormous contributions in preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination in every part of the world.

I am especially grateful to Amnesty International USA for doggedly investigating and monitoring human rights abuses in Ethiopia over the past two decades, and for championing the cause of Prof. Mesfin Wolde Mariam, the 76 year-old prisoner of conscience and founder and president of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, and many other victims of human rights abuses in Ethiopia.

Thank you AI and AI USA for co-sponsoring this event.

I am also thankful to Qaliti Qal Kidan for working collaboratively with the Carr Center and Amnesty International USA to make this event possible. The name Qaliti Qal Kidan itself signifies a solemn covenant and a commitment to foster the development of a free society based on the rule of law in Ethiopia. Qalitiy Qal Kidan, thank you for organizing this event.

Human Rights and Government Wrongs

Ladies and gentlemen, I will be talking this evening about human rights and government wrongs in Ethiopia.

I shall speak of human rights because Ethiopians are protected by the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights covenants and conventions ratified by Ethiopia.” This guarantee is unequivocally affirmed in Article 13 of the Constitution of Ethiopia.

So, what exactly are these human rights?

Well, there are quite a few of them. A partial listing includes a bundle of basic liberties such as the rights to free expression, association, peaceable assembly, petition for redress of grievances, and freedom of the press.

There are also privacy rights protecting Ethiopians from unreasonable government searches and seizures.

There are due process guarantees to those accused of criminal violations, including the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty and proof beyond a reasonable doubt for criminal convictions, the right to be informed of criminal charges and the right against self incrimination, the right to prompt judicial review upon arrest and the right to habeas corpus proceedings to challenge unlawful detentions, the right to be released on bail and the right to a speedy trial once charged with a crime, the right to inspect any evidence brought against the accused and the right of confrontation of the accuser. This is just a partial list.

I shall also speak of government wrongs.

And what are these wrongs?

Over the past decade and half, the regime of Meles Zenawi has engaged in serious human rights violations in Ethiopia. And the brutality and inhumanity of Zenawi’s regime was bared to the world in the aftermath of the May 2005 parliamentary elections.

There is little disagreement among fair-minded people about the outcome of that election.

The coalition of opposition parties delivered a decisive defeat to Zenawi’s party. Kinijit, or the Coalition for Unity and Democracy as it is known in English, swept out Zenawi’s party from Addis Abeba’s mayor’s office and city council, and achieved similar decisive victories in nearly every part of the country.

But before the votes were fully counted, Zenawi declared victory.

Massive demonstrations in protest of the stolen elections followed in various parts of the country between June and November of 2005. Zenawi’s regime reacted violently against the protesters, and his security forces fired indiscriminately on unarmed protesters causing countless deaths and life-threatening injuries.

Under international pressure, Zenawi and his parliament established an Inquiry Commission to investigate the civil disturbances and the use of deadly force by the regime’s security forces. We have just heard from the Chairman of that Commission, Judge Frehiwot Samuel, and a member, Ato Mitiku Teshome.

The Commission determined that government security forces used excessive force in causing the deaths of 193 persons, and wounding of 763 over a period of 14 days in June and November of 2005.

Now, no one should be misled into believing that only 193 persons were killed by government security forces after the elections. There is no doubt the actual figure is much higher, perhaps in the tens of thousands. But the Inquiry Commission did not have jurisdiction to investigate any other incidents.

In November, 2005, Zenawi imprisoned the opposition leaders who refused to join parliament in protest of the stolen elections, along with numerous journalists, human rights defenders and civic leaders. These prisoners are informally and collectively referred to as the Kality prisoners of conscience, named after the town where the decrepit prison facility is located.

In demanding the release of these political and civic leaders, Amnesty International USA in its February, 2006 report stated:

These people are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely on account of their non-violent opinions and activities….We demand their immediate and unconditional release and a halt to this attempt by the Ethiopian government to criminalize freedom of expression and prevent legitimate political and human rights activity.

So, my friends, this is the tip of the iceberg in the egregious government wrongs that have been, and continue to be committed in Ethiopia today.

And to borrow Jefferson’s words from the Declaration of Independence, the killing of innocent civilians and persecution of opposition and civic society leaders is part of “a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object of absolute despotism.”

So this evening, I hope to demonstrate to you ONLY, ONLY the wrongs that have been committed against the Kality prisoners of conscience.

Who are the Kality Prisoners of Conscience?

Now, who are the Kality prisoners of conscience? Let me introduce some of the prominent members of this group to you.

We have highly respected and accomplished scholars and academics such as Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, who also served as President of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (ERCHO), the premier independent human rights organization in Ethiopia.

We have Dr. Berhanu Negga, the outstanding mayor-elect of Addis Abeba and the author of the smashing 600-page Amharic bestseller, Dawn of Democracy in Ethiopia.

We have the indomitable Engineer Hailu Shawuel, the Chariman of Kinijit, or the Coalition for Unity and Democracy.

Then there is Dr. Yakob Haile Mariam, the respected former UN genocide prosecutor at the Rwanda tribunal and former UN Special Envoy in the Cameroon/Nigeria border dispute.

We also have one of the prominent women judges, Birtukan Midekssa, and Serkalem Fasil, a woman journalist, in detention.

Trumped-up Charges

In the narrow context of the prisoners of conscience, Zenawi’s regime committed its first wrong by filing trumped up charges against them.

It is interesting to note that long before these prisoners were charged with any crime, Zenawi was openly telegraphing his intentions.

On May 6, 2005, 9 days before the elections and seven months before the November demonstrations and the arrest of the prisoners of conscience, Reuters quoted Zenawi accusing opposition leaders of trying to cause a “Rwanda-type genocide” by spreading ethnic hatred and strife, organizing a violent uprising aimed at overthrowing the government, and treason.

These comments anticipated three of the seven “criminal” charges -- high treason, armed uprising or civil war, and genocide -- that were leveled against the prisoners of conscience in November, 2005.

It is clear Zenawi had laid his plans to use the legal process to incapacitate the opposition long before any of the alleged crimes had been committed.

The charges against the prisoners of conscience originate from a section of the Ethiopian Criminal Code designated “Crimes Against the State”.

These “crimes” are not crimes in the ordinary sense of the word. Rather, they are prohibitions which aim to discourage dissent and stamp out opposition political activity, and criminalize the free exercise of human rights guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other related conventions.

The most preposterous of these so-called “crimes against the state” is genocide, later amended to attempted genocide, under Article 269 of the Ethiopian Criminal Code. The prisoners are alleged to have attempted to kill or inflict serious bodily harm with the intent to destroy a nation, nationality, ethnic, racial, religious or political group.

They are also accused of committing such exotic crimes as “outrages against the Constitution, obstruction of the exercise of constitutional powers, armed rising or civil war, attack on the political or territorial integrity of the state and impairing the defensive power of the state.

The “Evidence”

The chief prosecutor sought to prove attempted genocide with evidence of beatings causing bodily injury to individuals of a certain ethnic group, or causing fear to such persons.

At “trial”, the prosecutor piled on perjured testimony of victims of attempted genocide who claimed they were psychologically “traumatized” by ethnic insults and epithets, police officers who testified that they suffered mental anguish from seeing rioters flipping their middle fingers (the bird) at them, and suffering the outrage of being called God-awful names.

The Problem With “Crimes Against the State”

The problem with the so-called crimes against the state charges is that they are manifestly absurd and untenable. Charging a 76 year old retired university professor, a former UN genocide prosecutor at the Rwanda tribunal and former UN Special Envoy in the Cameroon/Nigeria border dispute, one of the most distinguished women judges in Ethiopia and a whole bunch of academics and newspaper reporters and editors with genocide just does not make sense.

At least not in a world governed by reason, due process and the supremacy of the rule of law.

Denial of Due Process

There in lies the second egregious government wrong.

Let me say point blank that to any fair-minded person or court, the outcome in the case against the prisoners of conscience should be a “no brainer”. The prosecution’s case is based entirely on lies, deceit, falsehoods, distortions, fraud libel and slander.

In its December, 2006 International Mission of Judicial Observation report on Ethiopia, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders concluded:

In view of its findings, the Observatory considers the charges to be arbitrary and disproportionate to the nature of the events that occurred in the aftermath of the 2005 elections. The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about the fairness of the trial, as it believes it to be a way to silence any political criticism of the current regime.

But due process violations can be demonstrated in each of the seven charges leveled against the prisoners of conscience.

Let’s just take one of those charges, the charge of “outrage against the constitution.” This offense involves the use of “violence, threats, conspiracy or other unlawful acts” with intent to “overthrow, modify or suspend the federal or state constitution.

The prosecution’s evidence against the Kality journalist-defendants for the commission of the crime of outrage against the constitution consists of published interviews with opposition leaders, and criticism of the government and the ruling party during the election process.

But the journalists are prosecuted for doing precisely what they are guaranteed under art. 29 (4) of the Constitution of Ethiopia, which states: “the press shall, as an institution, enjoy legal protection to ensure its operational independence and its capacity to entertain diverse opinions.”

Due Process Violations Documented by Trial Observers

The whole range of due process violations in the so-called trial of the Kality prisoner’s of conscience have been documented by international observers who monitored the proceedings, including representatives of various non-governmental organizations, and officials of foreign embassies; and the U.S. States Department and the European Commission who submitted confidential reports on the deficiencies of the “trial” to regime leader Zenawi.

The Observatory for Protection of Human Rights Defenders, among others, has summarized the observations of the trial observers.

Among the major breaches of due process include arrests without a court warrant, use of repeated dilatory tactics which has resulted in delays in court proceedings and denial of speedy trial rights, excessive delays in court rulings on motions, introduction of new evidence not previously provided in discovery to the defense or outright refusal to provide discovery to the defense, introduction of extraneous and irrelevant evidence, distortion of evidence by the prosecution in “extremely prejudicial manner”, prosecutorial tampering with the evidence, among others.

Zenawi’s Kangaroo Court

So we have a classic kangaroo court passing judgment over the Kality prisoners of conscience.

Article 79 of the Constitution of Ethiopia talks about an independent judiciary composed of jurists unaffiliated with any political organizations or causes, and insulated from political pressure and external influences.

But the reality is Ethiopian judges, particularly in high profile cases, are mere political puppets stage-managed by the regime.

The judges assigned to preside over the Kality matter were hand selected by the political authorities for their loyalty to the regime and its policies, and trustworthiness to deliver a guilty verdict.

So, the outcome of the so-called trial is pre-determined, and the so-called judges -- more accurately, political hacks in robes-- will bend the rules to deliver the preferred verdict of the ruling regime: Guilty on All Counts.

Zenawi’s Problems on February 19

On February 19, 2007, in eleven days, the kangaroo court is expected to rule, pursuant to art. 141 of the Ethiopian Criminal Procedure, on the sufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence “which, if unrebutted would warrant conviction.” Simply stated, the three judges will rule to acquit the prisoners (dismiss charges) if they believed the prosecution has not met its burden of proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Partial Acquittal

But could they acquit, even partially?

I don’t think so, but would love to be proved wrong on this issue.

An acquittal would mean the government did not have a case from the beginning, and that the whole thing was politically motivated. An acquittal would confirm the prisoners’ claim that the whole “trial” is merely one manifestation of the regime’s systematic program of persecution and suppression of regime opponents.

Also, I would argue that Zenawi has learned a hard lesson from his experiences with the Inquiry Commission. He will not allow another humiliating embarrassment to himself or his regime.

But he could direct his judges to acquit the prisoners on some of the charges while sustaining the prosecution’s case on the other charges; and order the defense to present its case on the remaining counts. This would allow him to claim that he has a real court instead of a real kangaroo court.

Withdraw All charges

Art. 122 of the Ethiopian Criminal Procedure allows the prosecutor to withdraw charges before judgment at any stage of the proceeding with the permission of the court. This can be done on the prosecutor’s own motion or at the “instructions of the government”. Zenawi could direct Kamal to withdraw or suspend the charges during the pendency of the supposed negotiations between regime officials and the prisoners of conscience. But I doubt it.

Dismiss All Charges

Could all of the charges against the prisoner’s of conscience be dismissed?

If the judges were to acquit on all charges, it would mean, first and foremost, a new day for Ethiopian justice.

It would mean the birth of an independent judiciary against all odds.

It would mean the end of political prosecutions in Ethiopia; and the end of perjury and suborners of perjury in the Ethiopian justice system.

It would be a New Millennium for the Ethiopian judicial system.

But, it is also very, very unlikely.

The $64K Question

The big question now is whether the prisoners of conscience should defend or in any way participate in the proceedings of the kangaroo court after February 19.

The fact of the matter is Zenawi and the world know that the Kality trial is a “tale full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”

Zenawi is the object of condemnation and scorn by the whole world -- Ethiopians in Ethiopia and the Diaspora, international donors and human rights organizations and groups, the European Union, the U.N., the U.S. Congress and others.

Major international organizations and governments have condemned or criticized the so-called trial of the prisoners of conscience, and demanded their release.

But, the prisoners of conscience have already won.

They have won the hearts and minds of the vast majority of their countrymen and women. They have won their cause for human rights and democracy in the court of world opinion.

The European Parliament has passed two resolutions demanding the release of the political prisoners, as has the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights.

But they can’t win in Zenawi’s kangaroo court. And they don’t need to win in Zenawi’s kangaroo court.

Zenawi just needs to let them go!

Zenawi, let my people go!!!

What Now?

What now?

Another incontrovertible fact is that Zenawi has thumbed his nose at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all of the other human rights covenants.

He has shown his utter contempt for the rule of law and the mandates of his own constitution.

He has become an outlaw!

Indeed, he continues to brutally suppress opposition and dissent, and has assumed dictatorial powers.

We in the international human rights community must go beyond mere moral condemnation and demand compliance with international human rights law.

We must not let Zenawi kill, torture and imprison his way out of democracy.

So, I ask you today, to support H.R. 5680, also known as the Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Act.

This bill, as its title suggests, aims to promote freedom, democracy and human rights by providing a system of incentives to Zenawi’s government.

The bill demands first and foremost the release of the political prisoners.

It also provides for a comprehensive scheme to advance democracy and human rights in Ethiopia.

The bill provides $20 million to the Ethiopian regime to undertake institutional capacity building, including technical assistance to train election workers, technical support for regional legislative bodies, assistance to develop an independent judiciary and professionalize the prosecutorial agencies, facilitate the growth of independent private journalism and privatization of the electronic media so that the government will no longer have a monopoly on radio, television and the internet, and allow the free operation of human rights defenders and organizations, among other things.

This past October, the bill passed the 50-member House International Relations Committee with a unanimous vote, only to be sabotaged from getting to the floor by none other than Dennis Hastert, the former Speaker of the House.

I am confident that H.R. 5680 will be reintroduced under a different bill number in Congress in the current session. I should like to think we have a much better chance of getting it passed this time around.

So, finally there is something we can all do to bring accountability to all of those who flagrantly violate the human rights of their people and thumb their noses at international law.

I respectfully ask you and the international human rights community to join those of us in the Ethiopian human rights community in advancing freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia.

Thank you.

Seattle Rising! Seattle Shining!

(full text of Prof. Al Mariam’s speech in Seattle, WA on January 28, 2007 )

Good afternoon Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Welcome to this event honoring special heroes in the struggle for human rights in Ethiopia.

Before I introduce our guest speakers today, I would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent meditation and prayer in remembrance of :

193 Ethiopian children, men and women murdered because they committed the crime of exercising their human right to petition for grievances by vocally protesting the theft of an election, the thousands of other Ethiopians who were maimed, who lost their limbs, became paralyzed or otherwise suffered great bodily harm for going out into the streets to stop a daylight robbery of an election, and the defiant and heroic leaders of Kinijit, the human rights defenders and civic leaders who languish in jails and prisons today in Ethiopia, and the many thousands of victims of torture and human rights abuses.

Thank you.

Before I introduce our guest speakers, I would like to thank certain individuals and organizations for sponsoring this event in Seattle today.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Ethio-Americans in Seattle for working collaboratively with the Coalition for HR 5680 in organizing this event, and for coordinating the itinerary of our guest speakers tonight.

Ethio-Americans in Seattle has been in the vanguard of the struggle to promote human rights in Ethiopia. We are especially indebted to them for their unflagging and unwaivering support of H.R. 5680, also known as the “Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006.”

I want to specifically recognize two individuals whose contributions to the human rights struggle in Ethiopia is second to none.

I want to thank my good friend and free press defender Abreha Belay, and the tireless young men and women who work to make Ethiomedia.com our window into our homeland.

Zenawi thought he could silence Abreha by charging him with laughable and bogus crimes. But Abreha did not even blink. He kept on telling the truth and exposing Zenawi’s lies.

Abreha, thank you for being our voice.

I want to thank my good friend and fellow lawyer, Shakespeare Feyissa.

As we all know, Shakespeare was the first fireman who showed up on the scene when Zenawi tried to burn down our First Amendment right to free speech by using the American court system to muzzle criticism of himself and his regime.

But it did not take much for this young and brave fireman to put out Zenawi’s fire.

Thank you Shakespeare for defending the greatest and most precious of all our American liberties -- the right to free speech -- and for giving Zenawi his first practical lesson in the ways of free people.

Let me also thank Ato Sileshi Tilahun for coordinating the logistics of the events here, and the Ethiopian American Council of Portland and our dedicated friends from Vancouver, Kinijit Hebret, Kinijit Seattle and all of our friends who publicized this event in the community and those facilitating things in this hall today. Thank you all very much.

Let me thank all of you again for coming here this afternoon.

I am happy and honored to be here with you today, as are our guest speakers.

It is my special privilege to be with the most energetic and dynamic Diaspora advocates of human rights in Ethiopia, bar none.

Now, I do not make this statement lightly, but rather grudgingly, because I would have liked to reserve that description for my hometown of Los Angeles.

But don’t rest on your laurels because many of us in LA, DC, NY, Boston, Chicago and others places are working hard to snatch away from you the title of “most energetic and dynamic Diaspora advocates of human rights in Ethiopia.”

My friends: I wish I and my distinguished friends had come here today to talk about pleasant things.

Perhaps share with you entertaining stories about a Christmas vacation we had in Ethiopia and all of the fun we had, and the carefree time we spent there.

Or talk to you about a summer of travel throughout the Ethiopian countryside enjoying the beauty of Ethiopia and its people.

Or even to report on the findings of a scientific or historical research on the land of 13 months of sunshine.

Perhaps even talk about the big houses we built there and the millions of dollars we invested and made there.

We are not that lucky, my friends.

We are here to talk about murders and attempted murders that occurred over a 14 day period in 2005: June 8, 2005 in Addis Abeba, and November 1-10, and 14-16, 2005 in Addis Abeba, in Oromia, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region and in the Amhara Regional States.

We are here today to talk about 193 cold-blooded murders, and 763 attempted murders.

Now, these casualty figures are just for starters.

If so many murders occurred over a 14-day period, I will let you do the arithmetic and calculate how many tens of thousands of murders and attempted murders have taken place all over Ethiopia over a period of 15 years.

Now, the murders that we are talking about today are not ordinary heat-of-passion murders, or murders that occur during the commission of an ordinary robbery.

No, these are calculated political murders intended to send chills of terror in the bodies of every man, woman and child in Ethiopia.

These are signal murders, murders intended to telegraph to every corner of the country that the ruling regime will resort to massacres and carnage to keep itself in power.

These are murders of individuals intended to strike fear in the hearts of the people, and execute their spirits and souls, and destroy their yearning for freedom and liberty.

These are murders committed as part of a systematic program of state terrorism-- a program of violence unleashed on a civilian population by those who have control over the state apparatus.

Now, there is no question -- none whatsoever -- that these murders were committed.

We have a mountain of evidence on these murders that dwarfs Mount Ranier, not too far from here.

We have testimonial evidence from 1300 witnesses, including survivors of indiscriminate shootings, and bystanders who saw the murders being committed.

We have evidence from the families of murdered and injured victims.

We have evidence from over 1,000 Edder leaders who coordinated the funeral services of the murder victims.

We have the medical records and autopsy reports, expert analyses and investigative reports, official statements, daily police logs and photographs of murdered and severely injured victims of indiscriminate gunfire, and a total of 16,990 documents proving the commissions of these murders.

So, there is no doubt whatsoever that these murders and attempted murders took place on the dates I mentioned above.

Today, we are here to find out the identity of the murderer of:

1. Tensae Zegeye, age 14, died from a high caliber bullet wound to the head

2. Debela Guta, age 15, died from a high caliber bullet wound to the head

3. Habtamu Tola, age 16, died from a high caliber bullet wound to the head

4. Binyam Degefa, age 18, died from a high caliber bullet…

5. Behailu Tesfaye 20, died from a high caliber bullet…

6. Yusuf Jamal, age 23, died from a high caliber bullet…

7. Adissu Belachew 25, died from a high caliber bullet…

8. Tiruwork G. Tsadik 41, died from a high caliber bullet…

9. Admasu Abebe, 45, died from a high caliber bullet…

10. Elfnesh Tekle 45, died from a high caliber bullet…

11. Abebeth Huletu, 50, died from a high caliber bullet wound to the head

….

189. Regassa Feyessa, 55, died from a high caliber bullet wound to the head

Then we have other murder victims whose identities are known to God but not to Man:

190. Victim No. 21760, male, died from a high caliber bullet…

191. Victim No. 21761, male, died from a high caliber bullet…

192. Victim No. 21543, male, died from a high caliber bullet…

193. Victim No. 21762, age 75, (female), died from a high caliber bullet wound to the head

Yes, we are here today to find out the identity of the mass murderer of these men, women and children, these martyrs.

Now you may ask, who are these victims?

I have never met any one of them in person, or even heard of them.

But I do know something for sure about them.

They were somebody’s son, somebody’s daughter, somebody’s father, somebody’s mother, somebody’s sister, somebody’s uncle, somebody’s aunt, somebody’s grandmother or somebody’s great grandmother.

I also know something else.

I know these murder victims were our brothers and sisters, who intoxicated on the sweet potion of democracy and inspired by the promise of freedom poured out into the streets to taste the sweeter flavor of liberty for the first time in their country’s 3,000-year history, only to be cut down like blades of grass.

So, my friends, we are here today to find out the identity of the murderer of our brothers and sisters. And after you hear the evidence from our witnesses, you will surely know beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Today you will hear from the murder victims and those victims who barely survived with their lives. They will speak to you from their graves and from wherever they are nursing their near-fatal bullet wounds.

You will hear their cries and wails for justice in the meticulous, dispassionate and unimpeachable reports of the members of the Inquiry Commission.

And no tribunal, no court or forum of justice can have more convincing and more persuasive witnesses than the witnesses we have here today.

No witness in the Diaspora can speak more eloquently, more knowledgeably, or more truthfully on behalf of the murder victims and the thousands of others who have been victims of arbitrary arrests and detentions and torture than the Chair and distinguished member of the Inquiry Commission, and the former Deputy Attorney General.

And now, I would like to introduce to you these witnesses.

Our first witness is an extraordinary young judge. Born in 1975, Judge Frehiywot Samuel graduated from the Faculty of Law of Addis Ababa University with an LLB degree in 1997.

Judge Frehiwot has held numerous positions in his short but amazing professional life.

He began his career as a legal advisor to the head of the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State in 1998. That same year, he was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State.

Judge Frehiwot has held numerous positions of significant responsibility. He was the President of Supreme Court or Chief Justice of the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State.

He has also served as Chaired the Supreme Court Plenum and the Regional Judicial Administration Commission.

Judge Frehiywot was appointed as Chairman of the Independent Inquiry Commission by the Ethiopian Parliament to investigate the clashes that occurred after the May 2005 elections. His appointment letter from the Parliament vouches for his integrity, professionalism, impartiality and high ethical standards.

Judge Frehiwot speaks English and five different Ethiopian languages.

As if all that is not enough, Judge Frehiwot was also the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Law of the Supreme Court. (Debube Yiheg Metshet).

Would you please give a round of applause to Judge Frehiwot.

We also have his wife Genet with us today. They got married a few days before Judge Frehiwot went into exile. Genet please stand.

We are indebted to Genet for standing by her man through these difficult times.

Our second witness is Ato Mitiku Teshome. Ato Mitiku is the father of two children and a lawyer by profession.

Ato Mitiku worked as a legal advisor and consultant for different organizations and institutions, including the Catholic Church in Ethiopia.

He was also a private entrepreneur and ran his own consultancy business.

Ato Mitiku was appointed to become a member of the 10-person Inquiry Commission, and his letter of appointment attests to his integrity, professionalism, impartiality and high ethical standards.

Ato Mitiku was one of the eight members of the Commission who voted to find that excessive force was used to quell protests that erupted following the May 2005 elections.

Ato Mitiku was the third Inquiry Commission member to follow Judges Frehiwot Samuel and Wolde-Michael Meshesha into exile.

Our third witness is Ato Alemayhu Zemedkun. Ato Alemayehu received his LLB from the Addis Ababa University Faculty of law.

He started his career as a High Court prosecutor, and served in that capacity for seven years.

He was subsequently promoted to the position of Cession Bench Prosecutor for the Ethiopia Supreme Court, and served in that position for four years.

Ato Alemayehu also served as Senior Expert at the Legal Research Institute for 3 ½ years.

In 2002, he was promoted to Deputy Attorney General, Civil Division. He held that position until he was forced to leave the country in August 2006.

In November, 2005, the State Minster of Justice, Dr. Hashim Mohammed, directed Ato Alemayehu to bring civil action against the jailed opposition leaders, human rights defenders, journalists and civic leaders, and obtain a multimillion dollar judgment against them for alleged damages caused by the protesters.

Ato Alemayehu declined to file the civil action because there was no evidence to link these individuals to any tortuous acts committed by any of the protesters.

He advised his superiors that proceeding with a civil suit against the jailed defendants, and very likely losing the lawsuit, could result in a multi-million dollar judgment against the government for filing and prosecuting a frivolous and groundless lawsuit.

By refusing to become a tool of injustice and taking such a heroic act, Ato Alemayehu thwarted Zenawi’s carefully laid plans not only to put the Kality defendents in the jailhouse, but also send their families to the poorhouse.

I am missing a fifth witness. This witness first broke the truth about the murders and indiscriminate use of deadly force against unarmed protesters in the aftermath of the May, 2005 elections.

This witness carried the evidence -- the documentary and other physical evidence on his back and crossed the wilderness and desert, stalked not only by the wild beasts of prey, but also shadowed by Zenawi’s goons and thugs.

At every checkpoint, this witness resolved his life was over because if any enemies of truth had discovered the evidence he was carrying, that would have been the end for him.

But through God’s grace he made it into exile in Europe.

And so, I regret to say that Judge Woldemichael Mesehsa will not be with us here in person today. We hope to have him join us long distance by telephone. (Judge Woldemichael was subsequently able to join the discussions by phone broadcast to the audience by a public address system.)

I call to the podium our first witness, Judge Frehiwot Samuel.

Closing Remarks

(Because of time constraints, the following closing remarks could not be delivered and were withheld.)

In my introduction, I said that today you will find out the identity of the mass murderer of innocent men, women and children on those dates investigated by the Inquiry Commission.

So, I am going to ask you a few questions:

Who murdered and maimed the hundreds of men, women and children in June and November 2005?

Were they murdered by untrained soldiers who were trying to defend themselves against a violent mob using deadly force against them?

No. None, none of the protesters was armed.

Were they murdered because of confusion and the improper channeling of orders and commands to the soldiers?

No. The orders were clearly channeled. There was no confusion in the directives sent to the soldiers. The order was: “Aim to the head and shoot to kill.”

Were the victims murdered and maimed by trigger-happy soldiers?

Well, the soldiers may have pulled the trigger. But there was an invisible hand, yes, there was one invisible hand that pulled the fingers that pulled the triggers.

Now, you know the true identity of the mass murderer!

We are truly fortunate to have these young truth-tellers with us this afternoon.

We hope you have learned a great deal about the human rights situation in Ethiopia.

The evidence they have presented to us today is as informative as it is shocking. But this afternoon we have learned the truth about human rights abuses in Ethiopia today.

It would be ungrateful of me not to offer a few comments on the reception and sheer enthusiasm for human rights, truth and justice that we have seen in Seattle today.

This large hall is packed to capacity, and I can see from the head table towards the back, there is barely any standing room left.

As I reflect sitting here on the huge turnout, I ask of myself what it is that “you got in Seattle that the vast majority of us in the Diaspora don’t got.”

Is it the energy of youth? Is it the harmony of collaborative work? Is it your keen awareness that concern for human rights transcends all political ideologies and differences? Is it a question of leadership, organization, tolerance and respect among yourselves? Could it be a case of super-patriotism for you? Or is it the water in the Evergreen State?

Whatever it is, you need to share your secrets with us. You have the template for collaborative work, and a solid track record for delivering on your promises. We are indebted to you for doing more than your fair share in the cause of human rights in Ethiopia over the past year.

So, thank you Seattle for giving the Inquiry Commission members such a magnificent send off.

They return to the East Coast overwhelmed by the warm embrace of your love, and the deep respect and honor you have shown them.

If they ever had any doubts that they had done the right thing in sacrificing everything for the truth, let me tell you that they have no doubts today. You have reaffirmed their faith that they did the right thing when they stood up for truth and justice, and walked out to make sure all of us knew the unvarnished truth.

I believe they will take back one message from their visit with you here today. “Onward, Onward, Messengers of Truth! Preach the truth to all of Disapora Ethiopia.”

So, on behalf of Ato Frehiwot, Ato Teshome and Ato Alemayehu and myself, thank you Seattle. Thank you for the privilege and honor of being with you, and may God bless you all!

Hooray! Seattle Rising! Seattle Shining!

IT’S TIME FOR US TO SAY "THANK YOU!"

Never was so much owed by so many to so few…

How does one thank those who put everything on the line to stand up for justice, truth and the Ethiopian way?

How does one express appreciation to those who left their families, friends, neighbors and country to expose the truth about unspeakable crimes committed against children, and call international attention to the massive human rights abuses committed by Zenawi’s regime?

How does one express admiration to those who left high positions of authority and willingly gave up their professions and livelihoods because telling the truth was far more important to them than any amount of personal gain or advantage?

How does one say thank you to Woldemichael Meshesha, Frehiwot Samuel, Mitiku Teshome, and Alemayehu Zemedkun?

I am overcome by deep emotion as I struggle to answer these questions. And I find myself lacking the eloquence of diction or enough words in my vocabulary to express my respect, admiration, gratitude and appreciation for what these young men have done in the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia.

Our Four Points of Light…

These young men are four points of light in a country gripped by the darkness of fear and terror. Frehiwot, Woldemichael, and Mitiku illuminated the dark secrets and the ugly truth about the massacre of hundreds of our children by Zenawi’s specially recruited storm troopers.

They undertook a thorough and meticulous investigation of the massacres. They conscientiously documented the facts of the murder of each child and young person, interviewed hundreds of witnesses including those who were wounded and maimed in the brutal assault and talked to family members of victims. They examined the photographs of the grotesquely disfigured and bullet riddled corpses of the young men and women, and evaluated all manner of physical evidence related to the killings.

They energetically interrogated evasive, cagey, cocky and imperious officials who spared no effort to stonewall their investigations. And they fearlessly pursued their fact-finding mission without backing down. Not even once!

Then they reported to the world the shocking facts by way of a briefing to the United States House of Representatives. The body count: at least 193 young people murdered in cold blood. Over 760 suffered life-threatening bullet wounds. These were only the victims for whom documentation could be obtained or their deaths and injuries forensically verified. There were thousands, tens of thousands of other innocent citizens who were executed, made to disappear or grievously injured in the prisons, in the streets and in their homes and places of work. No documentation could be found for them, but the whereabouts of these patriots is known only to God.

But that was not all: These young men documented what the world had suspected all along. The young protesters were righteously indignant in challenging the election results, and they went about it in a peaceful and civil manner. They destroyed NO private or public property. Not a single one of them was armed! They were just a feisty throng of youthful demonstrators.

And finally, they forced us to confront the shocking truth that caused the deepest wounds in our hearts. Zenawi’s troops fired on these children not disperse them, and not to scatter them away. No, No, No. Zenawi's troops intended to butcher as many of them as they could that day. They intended to mow them down like grass stalks and leave their bodies littering the streets. Yes, all of those young men and women died from bullet wounds to their heads and/or upper torso. Such are the facts these young men discovered.

In the end, Mitiku, Woldemichael and Frehiwot revealed to the world the truth about the monstrous crimes committed against Ethiopia’s future, its youth. Their report became a devastating indictment of Zenawi and his regime for crimes against humanity, and a testament of truth for history and succeeding generations that there once was a regime in Ethiopia so cruel, so vicious, so depraved, so barbarous and demonic that it massacred its youth in the streets in cold blood.

Alemayehu Zemedkun was the deputy attorney general for the civil division in the state ministry. He was ordered to initiate civil action against the imprisoned leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, human rights defenders and civic leaders for damages allegedly caused by the young protesters. “Sue them in civil court. Let’s take everything they got. Let’s not just send the opposition leaders to the jailhouse, let’s also send their families to the poorhouse,” Alemayehu was commanded.

But he declined to prosecute. He told his bosses that there was no evidence to prove the opposition leaders had anything to do with the protesters or any damage that may have been caused by them He told them the civil process can not be used to persecute citizens for their political views or beliefs. It is fundamentally unfair to have these individuals defend against both a criminal prosecution and a civil action at the same time, he told them. In any case, he was not in the business of using the law to steal from the people, or to oppress them.

He knew he had no place among a horde of thieves, and so he packed up and went into exile. By taking such a heroic act, Alemayehu thwarted Zenawi’s carefully laid plans to send the families of the opposition leaders to the poorhouse.

Godsend to the Diaspora…

Frehiwot, Mitiku, Woldemichael and Alemayehu are a Godsend to Ethiopians in the Diaspora at this crucial stage of our struggle to improve the human rights situation in the homeland. As we pursue our human rights agenda in the United States Congress and H.R. 5680 returns to the legislative process under a different number, we will have our unimpeachable witnesses to tell the American people of the horrific crimes that are being committed on Ethiopian citizens by Zenawi’s regime. We will show them how their tax dollars are being used to support a vicious and ruthless dictator.

And in time, these young men will make their mark on the human rights struggle and make their contributions to us in many ways and forms. In their West Coast Tour, we will be learning a great deal from them. As Inquiry Commission members and judicial officials, they have seen the ugly underbelly of Zenawi’s regime and the massive human rights abuses he has unleashed on the people. We want to know firsthand what really goes on in the “belly of the Beast” where the innocent are arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed, and often disappear altogether without a trace.

We aim to interact with them and sharpen our awareness of human rights abuses in Ethiopia, and tap their insights about what specific things we can do in the Diaspora to help out. So, as they begin their tour of the West Coast, we are confident that they will inspire us all to be better organized and become more effective advocates in the cause of human rights in Ethiopia. Ultimately, we are hopeful that their civic efforts, moral authority and legal skills will help us bring those who have committed crimes against humanity to the bar of justice.

Our Messengers of Truth…

As we think of the ways to thank these young men, we remain mindful of the fact that they are part of a generation that had faced the greatest challenges in Ethiopia’s modern history. For much of their lives, they have known and lived under tyranny and oppression -- first it was the red terror, then white, then terror in Technicolor under Zenawi’s regime.

During their adult lives, they lived in a country of extreme contrasts: a country with a few millionaires, and tens of millions of poor people. They lived in a city bursting with “economic development”, and a country agonizing under grinding underdevelopment. They walked among elites who spend their work and play time in posh and plush hotels sipping the best French cognac and champagne, and a country where the bar tab for the evening can sustain several families for a year. They grew up in a country where the powers that be believe that everybody has a price -- cash, a house, a fancy car, a good paying government job, influential position, title, whatever.

But there is no price to buy Alemayehu, Woldemichael, Frehiwot and Mitiku. Neither all of the gold mined and stolen out of Adola, nor the aid money siphoned off from international organizations and donor countries is enough to buy off these young men. Zenawi found out, much to his dismay and mortification, that these young men are not for sale, at any price.

But they will be available to us in America freely, to share the truth about the brutal dictatorship of Zenawi’s regime, the massive violations of human rights and ruthless suppression of dissent in Ethiopia. They will be our messengers of truth; and they will tell it like is! They will visit the cities of Sacramento, San Jose- Oakland-San Francisco, Los Angeles , Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego and Seattle to spread the truth.
(See their tour schedule at http://ethiomedia.com/addfile/ic_official_tour.pdf)

Forever indebted…

As we stretch out our hands and welcome these young men in our midst in the West Coast, it is going to be an extraordinary experience for most of us. Few of us have ever met real Ethiopian heroes. We know more about brutal dictators and child killers than heroes who tell the truth and uplift the spirit of their people, give them hope, and inspire faith in the future of their homeland. You could say we are besides ourselves having them in our midst.

And as they visit with us, we shall thank them profusely, but not necessarily in the usual way of lavishing them with empty words and hollow phrases. No, we shall thank them by asking them deep and probing questions that will help us better understand the human rights crises in Ethiopia, and inspire us to take effective collective action.

We want to know about the human side of their investigative work. How did they feel when they found out that 193 young people were intentionally shot and their bodies thrown into the streets like rabid dogs? How did they feel when they spoke to those young victims who suffered life-threatening bullet wounds or were maimed for life and learned about their pain and suffering? How did they handle their grief and sorrow? How did they feel when the world remained silent or made empty gestures and sounded hollow words about human rights violations and extrajudicial killings, yet did nothing to help bring the criminals to justice?

We want to know about how it felt to show courage under fire: What was it like to look the Beast in the eye and say: "No! No! No! We will not change the truth. We will not fudge the facts. We will not falsify our conclusions. You can do whatever you like, and if it must be so, we will go to our graves clutching the truth close to our hearts.” Halleluja!

And we can’t wait to learn about duty, honor and country from these young men.

Duty. We want to know the enormous difficulties they faced performing their fact-finding duties, and how they managed to find the truth and document it massively despite relentless official stonewalling and bureaucratic obstructions. And once they discovered the truth, we want to know how they made it their sacred duty to stand for the innocent children who were murdered, to speak out against injustice and to hold a candle of hope for human rights for all their countrymen and women who suffer in quiet despair under Zenawi’s regime.

We will ask them about how ordinary people like themselves -- fathers, husbands, brothers, uncles, neighbors and jolly ole’ good fellows in their communities -- become extraordinary moral leaders by merely performing their duties with fairness, diligence, expertise, meticulous care and professionalism. We want to know about the moral supremacy of those who perform their duties with unflinching fidelity to the truth, while upholding the virtues of honesty and integrity, over the wicked villains who extol corruption as their highest moral virtue.

Honor. These young men would rather honor the memory and suffering of their young countrymen and women, than sell their souls to the Prince of Darkness for a few pieces of silver. They chose honor over everything -- self, family, profession -- and never gave in. As Winston Churchill said: “Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.” Woldemichael, Frehiwot, Alemayehu, and Mitiku never gave in, except to the truth and the facts they discovered in their investigations. We hope to learn about honor from them.

Country. We want to ask them about patriotism and their love for their homeland and people. Like all patriots the world over, they did their duty out of love of country and pride in their people. They believed in their Ethiopia, no human life, no person, however poor or wretched, deserves to be killed or maimed for exercising basic human rights. They loved their country and people so much, and had such great hope for the future, that they stood ready to offer their own lives and liberties in exchange for liberty and justice for all!

We want to talk to them about others things as well. Perhaps talk them a little bit about character. What is it in the character of a man or a woman that will embolden them to stand up and shout a mighty shout when confronted by acts of injustice? We live in America in relative comfort with robust constitutional rights, but most of stand mute in the face of manifest injustice and unfathomable acts of political cruelty. We have the means to help bring about change, but we lack the will to act.

We can organize and use our resources to promote human rights and freedom, but we spend more time pointing accusatory fingers at each other and showing each other’s fault. We criticize others for being intolerant, oppressive and tyrannical, but we hardly practice the virtues of tolerance, respect, compassion or collaboration. We want to know what it is that these young men “got that we don’t got”?

Perhaps these young men can tell us a little bit about courage since they have practiced it so well. How does one acquire courage when one is overwrought by moral cowardice to the point that one is afraid to take a stand in public. Some of us write in pseudonyms and made-up names to criticize and castigate evil; yet we are afraid to show our faces or be known. Perhaps they can tell us where to shop for courage?

And while they are with us, we would like to tell them a little bit about ourselves in the Diaspora. They probably already know that far too many of us have gone into “survival” mode or AWOL from the CAUSE. We have become businessmen, learned men in the arts, sciences, the law and medicine. We are all very important people. We can’t be bothered by the situation of those poor little people who are dying over there. There is not really much we can do. We will probably explain to them in sophisticated scholarly language: “You must understand human rights abuses are systemic and structural problems. To improve things over there, you need process change and structural transformation.”

Perhaps we’ll change the subject and ask them: “By the way, how are things over there? We hear business is booming. We want to go back and invest, you know, help the poor people there, give them jobs. May be snag a parcel of land and build a house while setting up the business. What do they think?” They may look at us in disbelief and amazement, and ask themselves: “Are we on the same planet with these guys?”

But we are also apprehensive about some tough questions they might ask of us: “In our short stay in America, we have noticed the deafening silence of the Diaspora intellectuals on the human rights situation in Ethiopia, could you please explain why that is so?” Not an easy question. Got to do some hard thinking to answer this one.

Or they could ask: “It seems that Diaspora Ethiopians always react to what is done or not done by Zenawi or his regime. Many of you seem to be standing in a fog of uncertainty and vacillation about what you support and what you oppose. Could you please explain to us your agenda for Ethiopia?” Even tougher to explain this one.

Perhaps they may ask the most dreaded question of all: “What is the Diaspora’s vision for the future of Ethiopia?” We are mindful of the fact that these guys are lawyers and skilled fact-finders who will ask many follow up questions. Ummm! What to say?!

And we will ask them to join us in celebrating other great heroes and heroines of human rights in Ethiopia -- 193 young men and women slaughtered defending democracy along with 763 wounded, the leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy and other civic leaders and human rights defenders, and the thousands of unnamed political prisoners and torture victims, and their families who have sacrificed so much and suffered so greatly to advance the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights. Lest we forget, we shall also celebrate our sister in the cause of human rights, Ana Gomes.

So, how do we thank these young men? Let me count the ways…

It is hard to resist the temptation to use mere words to thank these young men. But thank them we shall: for speaking the truth, for helping wage a human rights struggle against a monstrous tyranny that has set a new benchmark for cruelty and viciousness in the modern annals of crimes against humanity.

We shall thank them for putting justice above ethnicity, human rights above personal gain and democracy above partisan interest.

We shall thank them for lifting our hopes, for giving us pride in the determination and steadfastness of purpose of the younger generation.

We shall thank them for reinforcing our faith that not all of Ethiopia’s heroes are dead and gone; and for proving to us that we need not look to history to learn about duty, honor and country.

We shall thank them for keeping the memories of the young people massacred by Zenawi’s troops alive, and for reminding us that though these young people have died, the principles of liberty, freedom and democracy for which they gave their lives will endure and outlive any two-bit tyrant.

We shall thank them for teaching us the true meaning of being an Ethiopian -- it is not ethnicity, religion, language, profession or bank account or residence -- which is love of justice and belief in the dignity and worth of every human being.

We shall thank them for making us aware that millions of our countrymen and women who suffer under tyranny, and whose true leaders languish in prison, look to us for moral leadership and encouragement, even though we are separated by space and time.

And we shall thank them for teaching us the greatest lesson of all: “Never to give in, never to give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never to give in” to the underhanded trickery, bullying, threats and intimidation of the bloodthirsty Beast who devoured so many of our children!

West Coast Challenge to the Rest of the Diaspora…

And so we freedom-loving human rights defenders on the West Coast call on all freedom-loving Ethiopians in the in the United States of America -- our home away from home -- to join us and say to Frehiwot, Woldemichael, Mitiku and Alemayehu: “THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR OUR HOMELAND AND OUR PEOPLE. THANK YOU FOR AWAKENING OUR CONSCIENCE AND FOR BEING OUR CONSCIENCE. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US HOPE. AND THANK YOU FOR REINVIGORATING OUR FAITH IN A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR ETHIOPIA.”

We on the West Coast also put out a challenge to all Ethiopians living in America -- from sea to shining sea, to those who live on the East Coast, in the Midwest, the Northeast and Northwest, the South, Southeast and Southwest -- upon whom God has shed his grace, to open your arms in a warm embrace and welcome these heroes into your communities and personally say to them: “THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.”

Postscript

On a personal note…

I am overcome with a sense of deep humility and great pride that these four members of the legal profession spearheaded the effort to expose the truth about the massacre of the young people after the 2005 elections, and for unearthing evidence of massive abuses of human rights in their investigations. In many ways, these young men remind me of the great African American lawyers who fought against racial segregation and discrimination in American society. Such dedicated lawyers as Thurgood Marshall, Charles Hamilton Houston, Oliver Hill and Elaine R. Jones, all great African American lawyers who stood up for truth and justice at great risk to their lives, and who ultimately cast their lot with the oppressed and the weak, and the wretched of the earth.

Though separated by distance, time and culture, our young lawyers also stood up before the court of world opinion and shouted a might shout: “193 children cry out for justice from their graves. Their families float in a sea of tears. Thousands of others are imprisoned daily, tortured and killed.” These young lawyers are now the voices of all of these victims from the grave, and from the prisons and jails, in exile and from wherever else Zenawi’s victims cry for justice. I have never been more proud of the members of my profession than I am now. I am overwhelmed. My cup runneth over!