ETHIOPIA: ELDERS ANTICIPATE JULY 16 AMNESTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 002195

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E AND DRL: S.JOSEPH
LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER
CJTF-HOA AND USCENTCOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2017
TAGS: PHUM KJUS KDEM PGOV ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: ELDERS ANTICIPATE JULY 16 AMNESTY
ANNOUNCEMENT FOR CUD DETAINEES

REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 01420 AND PREVIOUS

B. ADDIS ABABA 02137 AND PREVIOUS

ADDIS ABAB 00002195 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: SEAN CELY, ACTING POL-ECON COUNSELOR.
Reason: 1.4 (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Professor Ephraim Isaac, the lead negotiator
from the team of Ethiopian Elders working on release of the
CUD detainees, has returned to Addis Ababa for the conclusion
of the trial, and the anticipated pardon announcement by the
GoE. During a July 12 meeting with PM Meles, Ephraim was
told that the groundwork had already been laid for the
detainees' release, there was no turning back, and that the
amnesty process would begin immediately after sentencing on
July 16. Since the prosecutor's recommendation of the death
sentence on July 9 (ref B),international attention has
refocused on the CUD trial. Post is urging an immediate
release of the prisoners and for both sides to begin the
process of reconciliation once the judicial process has come
to a conclusion. END SUMMARY.

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CHIEF ELDER RETURNS TO ADDIS FOR EXPECTED RELEASE
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2. (C) Ephraim, who is based in Princeton, New Jersey, has
been shuttling back and forth to Ethiopia to lead his team of
Elders in an effort to find a settlement that would allow the
release of the political detainees who have been in prison
for the past 19 months on charges of &Outrages Against the
Constitution,8 among others (ref A). He was asked by Prime
Minister Meles during his last visit to return to Addis Ababa
for the week of July 9, as the 38 defendants who had been
convicted on June 11 were due to receive their final
sentencing from the High Court on July 9. It was anticipated
that soon after, the GoE would announce an amnesty, which
would be followed by an official statement from the Elders,
by the Department, and by Post. Ephraim arrived on July 6 in
anticipation of this event. However, July 9 proved not to be
the final hearing, which has been postponed to July 16 (ref
B).

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MEETING WITH MELES RESTORES EPHRAIM'S CONFIDENCE
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2. (C) On July 12, following a week of meetings with numerous
individuals involved in the CUD trial, from lawyers and
defense advocates, to top-level GoE officials, including PM
Meles, Ephraim provided Ambassador a briefing on
stakeholders' attitudes regarding the trial and what might be
expected following the expected conclusion of the trial for
the convicted detainees on July 16.


3. (C) While Ephraim was quite concerned earlier in the week
when the bench, contrary to expectations, did not conclude
the trial, he was much more upbeat following his July 12
meeting with PM Meles. He recounted how PM Meles "poured his
heart out" to him in their meeting, treating him like a
confidant and "father figure." PM Meles lamented to him how
difficult it had been to keep the hard-liners in his party at
bay. He told Ephraim that many of them felt that the GoE
should not interfere in the trial, even after the sentencing,
and should let stand whatever sentence was passed. Many in
his party were illiterate, PM Meles said, and who were not as
sophisticated as he would like them to be. In the end,
however, the PM assured Ephraim that the party had already
voted on the matter, approving the release after much
pressure from the PM, and that there was "no turning back."
The PM expressed disappointment that the trial had not
concluded on July 9, and asked Ephraim to stay an additional
week, assuring him that July 16 would be the last day.


4. (C) On July 16, after the bench issues a verdict (which
the PM said would be finished by noon),the PM's office is to
contact the Ministry of Justice to inform them that an
application for amnesty is in process. Ephraim said that
such a process may take some time, however, as such things
"can get bogged down in bureaucracy." Ambassador stressed
that the amnesty process must be swift and the detainees
released very soon after the verdict, and that an

ADDIS ABAB 00002195 002.2 OF 002


announcement about their impending release should be made the
same day of the sentencing. Ephraim said that he would
attempt to contact the PM before July 16 to discuss the
matter of timing.


5. (C) Ephraim also assured the Ambassador that the
prosecution's appeal would be dropped once the amnesty
process was announced. Ambassador urged this to be done as
quickly as possible as well, as a return of the genocide
charge would counter any goodwill gained from the detainees'
release.


6. (C) On July 11, Julian Filochowski, the hired advocate for
the civil society defendants Daniel Netsanet and Netsanet
Demissie (two of the nine defendants not yet convicted),
provided Professor Ephraim with a copy of a statement that
these two detainees would be willing to sign in exchange for
their release. (NOTE: Ephraim reports that 59 defendants in
the CUD trials of Hailu Shawel et al and Kifle Tigneh et al
have signed the statement approved by the government. Only
Daniel and Netsanet refused, on grounds that they are not
part of the CUD and never took part in organizing civil
disobedience. END NOTE.) Ephraim reported that PM Meles
anxiously read this letter during their July 12 meeting, but
refused to accept it as sufficient for release, saying that
&the same formula applies to them as the rest,8 indicting
that they must sign the same statement as the 59 others.

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COMMENT: ALL EYES ON GOE ) AND ELDERS - AS SENTENCING LOOMS
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7. (C) The most recent one-week delay in the long-anticipated
end of the CUD trial frustrated family members of the
detainees and international observers alike. The
prosecution's recommendation for the death sentence for the
38 convicted political prisoners has created a great deal of
press and has refocused international attention on the trial.
Professor Ephraim has been working feverishly in his most
recent, and hopefully last, visit to Addis Ababa to
understand the thinking on both sides as the trial nears it
climax. Nearly all the detainees have signed a statement of
regret, which had been drafted by the Elders and approved by
the GoE, and PM Meles assures Ephraim that there is &no
turning back8 now that he and his party have agreed to
release the detainees after their sentencing. The question
of exactly when they walk out of prison remains fundamental,
with the PM saying that the amnesty application will be
submitted on July 16 (following the trial),but that this
must clear the bureaucracy. Post, in an effort to deflect
any future negative press on the matter, are urging the
Elders and the GoE to expedite this process and to bring the
19-month ordeal to quick conclusion.


8. (C) The release is a miracle because few, including the EU
and various human rights groups, believed it was possible.
It has taken so long to convince the GoE to release the
detainees, that now human rights groups, the diaspora, and
the press are all focused on the Ogaden and the GoE's fight
with insurgents.
YAMAMOTO