AUSTRIAN REACTION TO ETHIOPIAN POST-ELECTION PERIOD

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 001770

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/E AND EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2015
TAGS: PREL KDEM PGOV PHUM ET AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN REACTION TO ETHIOPIAN POST-ELECTION PERIOD

REF: STATE 99185

Classified By: ECONOMIC-POLITICAL COUNSELOR GREGORY E. PHILLIPS. REASO
N: 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (SBU) EconPolCouns discussed reftel points on May 31 with
Caroline Gudenus, the DAS-level head of African affairs in
the Austrian Foreign Ministry's Bureau of Middle East and
African Affairs.


2. (SBU) Gudenus noted that the EU Presidency had issued a
statement referring to the EU election observer mission's
comments of May 17 "concerning both positive aspects and
reported irregularities, which will need to be looked into
later." Gudenus pointed out that the statement said the
election observer mission "will continue to monitor the
remaining part of the electoral process." The statement went
on to say that there will be a further official statement
after the National Election Board has counted votes, and "any
other declaration on the results is therefore premature."


3. (C) Gudenus said the EU's election observer mission did
not have a mandate to observe the National Election Board's
investigations into election complaints. However, the EU
election observer mission and EU diplomats in Addis Ababa
were working with both the government and the opposition to
push the democratic process forward. In this connection,
Gudenus said the EU was playing a mediating role between the
government and opposition, and held the first meeting in this
capacity on May 28. She noted further that the presence of
Javier Solana and Louis Michel in Addis Ababa was a strong
indication of the EU's interest in the Ethiopian electoral
process.


4. (SBU) Gudenus asked that we continue to consult as our
thinking develops on how to address the situation in Ethiopia.
Brown