ETHIOPIA: Political Violence Intensifies as the fifth National Election Approaches

HRLHA Urgent Action

February 16, 2015

According to a schedule released by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, citizens will go to the polls to elect a new government on 24 May 2015. It will be Ethiopia’s fifth national election since EPRDF came to power in 1991.

In connection with the coming National Election of Ethiopia, the ruling EPRDF government has begun to wage a widespread campaign to secure again the 99.6% of parliamentarian seats it has controlled since 2010- the seats it acquired by electoral fraud.  As the election date of May 2015 approaches, the government of Ethiopia has unabashedly continued its systematic violence against opposition political parties’ leaders, members, and supporters.  Candidates of the opposition political parties are the major targets in all regional states in the country including the capital city, Finfinne/Addis Ababa.    For example, the information that the HRLHA has obtained through its correspondents indicates that hundreds of election candidates of the opposition OFC (Oromo Federalist Congress) party from most zones of Oromia Regional State have been arrested and sent to prisons.

In the most recent wave of arrests and imprisonments that has been going on since the first week of January, 2015 and which has touched almost all corners of Oromia, hundreds of OFC party leaders, members and supporters from all walks of life have been taken from their homes and work places and sent to prison.

According to the HRLHA reporter, in this particular political violence by the ruling party against the OFC party leaders, members and supporters in western Oromia zone Qellem, Dabidolo and Gambit districts, in the eastern Wallagga zone Guduru, Nunu Qumbq, and Wama Haagaloo districts, in the Eastern Oromia Zone in the Western Hararge zone in Masala district, in the Southern Oromia zone in Robe – Bale town Regional State of Oromia have been taken to prison.

The HRLHA reporter has managed to obtain the names of the following few OFC leaders   currently held in prison: 1, Mr. Dula Maatiyoos, chairman of the OFC political party in Qelem district, 2. Mr. Abiyot Tadesse, Chairman of the OFC political party in Dambi Dollo district, 3. Mr Zelalam Shuma,chairman of the OFC political party in Sayyo district, and 4. Mr. Mezgebu Tolessa, chairman of the OFC in Gidami district.

The HRLHA strongly condemns the EPRDF government’s move towards the systematic elimination of the opposition parties from the coming election in order to control again all parliamentarians’ seats for itself as has happened in the previous four elections. It should be remembered that the EPRDF has claimed victory in the elections of 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010- ever since the fall of the military/ Derg regime of 1991 and the adoption of a new constitution in August 1995.

The HRLHA calls on the Western allies of the ruling TPLF/EPRDF party as well as regional and international diplomatic, development and donor agencies to put pressure on the Ethiopian government and demand an immediate halt to this extra-judicial and unconstitutional act of violence and the unconditional release of those innocent citizens whose arrests and imprisonment are purely political. It also calls on those bodies to put additional pressure on the ruling TPLD/EPRDF party to organize a truly free and fair election, and prepare itself to participate accordingly.

This UA is copied to:

 Current Membership of the Human Rights Council

 Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters) E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr

 Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD)
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
Tel.: +41 22 917 97 06
Fax: +41 22 917 90 08
E-mail: cat@ohchr.org

 Secretariat contact details
Secretariat of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
Mailing address
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 917 97 44
Fax: +41 22 917 90 22
E-mail: opcat@ohchr.org
Internet: http://www.ohchr.org

 Committee on Enforced Disappearance (CED)
Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD)
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
Mailing address
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211 Geneva 10 (Switzerland)
Tel.: +41 22 917 92 56
Fax: +41 22 917 90 08
E-mail: ced@ohchr.org

 Office of the UNHCR
Telephone: 41 22 739 8111
Fax: 41 22 739 7377
Po Box: 2500
Geneva, Switzerland

 African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights (ACHPR)
48 Kairaba Avenue, P.O.Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia.
Tel: (220) 4392 962 , 4372070, 4377721 – 23 Fax: (220) 4390 764
E-mail: achpr@achpr.org
• Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights

 Council of Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, FRANCE
+ 33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
+ 33 (0)3 90 21 50 53

 U.S. Department of State
Short Echalar Julie A
shortJA@state.gov

 U.S. Department of State
Trim, Vernelle X
Ethiopian desk officer
trimvx@state.gov

 Amnesty International – London
Claire Beston
Claire Beston” <Claire.Beston@amnesty.org>,

 Human Rights Watch
Felix Hor
“Felix Horne” <hornef@hrw.org>,