ETHIOPIA: VISIT TO WEST OROMIYA REVEALS POLITICAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ADDIS ABABA 000956 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E AND DRL LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER CJTF-HOA FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KJUS ET SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: VISIT TO WEST OROMIYA REVEALS POLITICAL UNREST, HARSH GOE RESPONSE REF: ADDIS ABABA 03120 Classified By: ACTING POL-ECON COUNSELOR ERIC WONG. REASON: 1.4 (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A four-day visit to Ethiopia's western Oromiya region to assess the political climate in anticipation of local elections scheduled for the end of the year found that tension between opposition parties and local government officials remains high. Recent clashes with security services have resulted in severe beatings of Oromo student demonstrators and several deaths. Officials from leading Oromo opposition parties cited multiple incidents of continued harassment by local security forces and closures of their respective party offices. Unless this changed, they said, meaningful participation in local elections would be impossible. Zonal administrators were nearly identical in their denial of these claims. Local officials cited suspected involvement with OLF insurgents as justification for the detention and control of opposition officials and supporters. As Oromos comprise more than one-third of Ethiopia's population, and are the country's single-largest ethnic group, restrictions on Oromo political activity raise concerns about opposition parties' ability to participate in upcoming elections. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) DRL officer Karen Gilbride, accompanied by poloff and senior FSN political assistant, visited the western part of Ethiopia's Oromiya region (bordering Sudan) on March 18-21 to assess current political and human rights conditions. The team visited zonal capitals Ambo, Nekempt, Ghimbi and Dembi Dollo, and met with the Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO),part of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition; as well as with opposition Oromo National Congress (ONC) and Oromo Federal Democratic Movement (OFDM) party members. -------------- -------------- STRONG SHOWING BY OPPOSITION SET STAGE FOR CONFLICT -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Western Oromiya has long been a hotbed of political dissent. Until alternate political parties were allowed to participate in 2005 federal and regional parliamentary elections, the only outlet for opposition had been the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). A number of counties in the Oromiya region subsequently elected federal and regional representatives from either the ONC or the newly formed OFDM. Despite the relatively large gain by these legal parties, the OLF continues to be active. Two leading Oromo parliamentarians, ONC head Dr. Merera Gudina and OFDM head Bulcha Dimeksa, acknowledged that while their supporters did not advocate armed resistance, many were otherwise sympathetic to the OLF's political aims. ¶4. (U) The opposition won a record number of parliamentary seats in the 2005 Oromiya regional elections, surprising the EPDRF-affiliated OPDO who has administered Oromiya since the fall of the Derg. However, as the OPDO maintained a majority, the regional constitution allowed the OPDO to appoint the administration of every zone, regardless of local voter support. Postponed local elections for woreda (county) and kebele (district) administrations are anticipated to occur in December 2007 or early 2008 (reftel),and will be the first since 2001. -------------- ONC MAKING NO PROGRESS IN AMBO -------------- ¶5. (C) In Ambo, capital of the West Shoa zone, zonal ONC Secretary-General Tadesse Gelecha said the local political SIPDIS situation had deteriorated steadily since the 2005 elections, when the ONC had offices operating in all of the zone's 15 woredas; now, only one remained open. According to Tadessa and ONC regional parliamentarian Mekonen Wedajo, harassment and intimidation by OPDO cadres led to the closure of the other 14 offices. OPDO cadres commonly threatened the landlords of buildings housing ONC offices and forced them to evict opposition party officials. Tadesse reported that threats to ONC officials prevented the ONC from operating its lone office in Ambo. He said that on January 1 he witnessed OPDO officials confiscating the ONC party logo and flag from the building. When attempting to reinstall new ones at the ADDIS ABAB 00000956 002 OF 004 office on January 20, he was arrested and subsequently beaten by police, released a few hours later without being charged, and then told by police that if he opened the office again, he would be "shot on sight." Tadesse and Mekonen also complained of the arrest and detention of fellow regional ONC parliamentarians, harassment by zonal security services when attempting to meet with supporters, and constant surveillance of party officials. Tadesse and Mekonen were very pessimistic about campaigning in upcoming local elections. Despite strong support in the zone (the ONC won parliamentary seats in 14 of 15 woredas in 2005),unless able to reopen offices and free to meet to meet with voters, any ONC participation in local elections would be impossible, they said. ¶6. (C) Tadesse provided a list of 433 West Shoa students recently expelled en masse with no explanation from school, who had not been reinstated. (NOTE: Secondary schools in the zone are renowned for political dissent and activism. There have been several violent clashes between police and students since 2005. END NOTE.) ¶7. (U) West Shoa zonal administrator Yohannes Tadesse acknowledged the recent dismissal of many students, but asserted they had been involved in illegal opposition activities, and "were caught with rifles, grenades or subversive materials." Asked about OLF presence in the zone, Yohannes became visibly disturbed, but explained that police were effective in handling armed resistance. He said OLF activists used the cover of the ONC to perpetuate anti-OPDO activity, particularly since the last election, and were actively inciting students to engage in armed resistance. Despite this, the OPDO and the legal components of the ONC worked closely on many local social issues. He said that the ONC, as a legally registered political party, was free to open and maintain offices anywhere in the zone. However, "the ONC is not a coherent party," which he said led to diminished support and thus the ONC's inability to sustain party offices throughout the zone. He denied any OPDO party or police involvement in either the closure of ONC offices or the harassment of ONC officials. -------------- IN NEIGHBORING NEKEMPT, SIMILAR STORY -------------- ¶8. (C) ONC head in the neighboring zone of East Wellega, regional parliamentarian Gemechu Insermu, and ONC officials Mekonen Dinka and Lt. Fekadu Tefera, echoed concerns made by ONC representatives in Ambo. Gemechu said the ONC had won nearly all the regional parliamentary seats in East Wellega zone; the OPDO and the OFDM held a few. Prior to the 2005 elections, the ONC had operated 23 party offices in the zone, but 22 had since closed, due to pressure on landlords from the local security forces, leaving only the office in the zonal capital Nekempt. That office had also been closed several times, and supporters seen visiting the office were subsequently harassed by local police, Gemechu said. ONC officials in East Wellega were confident of winning support in local elections, but reiterated demands voiced in Ambo that unless offices were open, harassment ceased, and party members released from jail, the ONC would not participate. ¶9. (U) In a separate meeting, zonal vice administrator Abebe Defarsha dismissed accusations that ONC offices were closed due to pressure from security services. As West Shoa zonal administrators had asserted, Abebe said that following 2005 elections, the ONC began to lose support in the woredas and could not sustain offices outside the zonal capital. Any registered party in the zone was free to open offices and campaign in the local elections, he said. Following the last election, however, the ONC had been "propagating lies to the public": asserting that since the ONC had won regional parliamentary seats in the majority of the woredas, the ONC should also control the zone and the woredas. Abebe said the ONC was trying to take advantage of the ignorance of rural voters, and instigate upheaval against the OPDO. He said the OLF was active in the zone, but that it was "sometimes difficult to determine who is OLF," as "some of those in the opposition are similar to the OLF." -------------- NO OPENING FOR OFDM IN GHIMBI -------------- ADDIS ABAB 00000956 003 OF 004 ¶10. (C) In the West Wellega zone, the ONC has some presence, but the OFDM is the dominant opposition party. Competing in 5 of 20 woredas for regional parliamentary seats, the OFDM won all 5 and elected 7 federal parliamentarians from the area. In the zonal capital of Ghimbi, OFDM zonal head Endalew Kebede reported (like ONC representatives) that the run-up to the 2005 elections was contentious but mostly democratic, as the OFDM then operated many offices throughout the zone. After elections, however, all OFDM offices were subsequently closed, using the same tactics reported by the ONC (i.e., intimidation of landlords). Police regularly broke up meetings at other facilities. Endalew said that when attempting to reopen an office in Ghimbi, he was told by the chief of the local security services, "(the EPRDF) came to power by our blood and guns -- you will not take power by a piece of paper." Endalew complained of constant surveillance by security services, and harassment of supporters seen speaking to him or other party officials. For these reasons, he said, planning to compete in local elections was currently impossible. ¶11. (U) Deputy zonal administrator Getachew Bulcha said all three parties registered in the zone (OPDO, OFDM, and the ONC) had the constitutional right to open and maintain offices. He strongly denied local security services' involvement in intimidation. Opposition parties were free to come to his offices for discussions at any time, he said, urging Post to inform him directly of any intimidation. Like other zonal administrators, Getachew suggested that elements of the OFDM were actually OLF supporters, and that the two parties collaborated against the OPDO. Despite this, he said, security services did not face serious problems with the OLF, as they were a "paper tiger." -------------- FATAL SHOOTING OF STUDENTS CONFIRMED -------------- ¶12. (U) Asked about a recent letter to the GOE from Human Rights Watch (HRW) reporting a January 4 fatal shooting by militia and police near Ghimbi of two cousins trying to flee a police breakup of a peaceful student gathering, deputy zonal administrator Getachew acknowledged the incident and said it occurred in the nearby village of Guyi. Although he said he was unfamiliar with the details, he said eight members of the woreda security services had been arrested for their part in the incident: seven had been released on bail, while one remained in jail to face charges. He said the zonal administration had expressed regret for these killings to the local population. (NOTE: Witnesses of the shooting were arrested the day they were to meet with poloffs in Guyi, but were later released. END NOTE.) -------------- STUDENTS REPORT BEATINGS BY POLICE -------------- ¶13. (SBU) HRW in the same letter said a clash between students at the local secondary school and police in Dembi Dollo, capital of the neighboring Kellem Wellega Zone, resulted in several students being arrested, many hospitalized, and two killed. Two students from the school involved in the clash, a ninth- and a tenth-grader, told poloffs that in early January, a large group of students had witnessed police entering the school and detaining three students. To disperse students questioning the police's motive, police began to fire into the air. In response, students began to throw rocks at the police, who were immediately joined by a larger security team standing by. Several students were arrested following the ensuing melee. One student, Negassa Bedassa, was reportedly severely beaten by police and later died in police custody. Two weeks later, police returned, reportedly in response to a student gathering. To break up the crowd, police fired tear gas into the school, and a large number entered the school wielding batons. Many students, including the two whom poloffs met, were again inadvertently caught in the conflict. Showing poloffs a large scar on her head, as well as a broken hand with two permanently damaged fingers, the ninth-grader said both injuries were the result of being beaten by police batons. The tenth-grade boy said that he was beaten at the time, though not as severely, and that he was one of 22 students arrested. Most were later released, he said, given ADDIS ABAB 00000956 004 OF 004 the option of five months in jail or a 400 birr (USD 45) fine. He said similar incidents occurred in the past, following the last elections, and that students at the school now were very fearful. ¶14. (C) The OFDM maintains an office in the town of Dembi Dollo, but Oromo opposition parties are not as politically active in the zone, as many local residents support former President of Ethiopia, Negasso Gidada, who hails from Dembi Dollo and is now an independent federal parliamentarian. Negasso is not affiliated with any party, and has no local offices, but regularly cites harassment of his supporters by zonal security services. ¶15. (U) Zonal administrator Getachew Assefa said the opposition had little support in the zone, as most residents supported the OPDO. He nevertheless reiterated that any legally registered party was free to open an office in the zone. He denied HRW's allegations, saying tensions existed at the school but never reached the level of conflict reported. Getachew asserted that the only visits by security services to the school were by a specially trained unarmed crowd control unit, who had to "stabilize" groups of students who were "wearing masks and gloves" and dancing, thus "disrupting the learning process." Although repeatedly asked to cease, these students had continued to gather "to dance." After the third time, the police had arrested some of the "masked dancers," while others had escaped. He said that no one was injured at any time, and that he was unaware of reports that a student had been killed. Since that time, the school had been peaceful, he said. -------------- -------------- NO FERTILE GROUND FOR LOCAL ELECTIONS IN W.OROMIYA -------------- -------------- ¶16. (C) COMMENT: Meetings in the four zonal capitals of the politically charged region of western Oromiya underscored that tensions in the region remain high. Since the 2005 national elections, violent clashes between the federal police and protestors in Oromiya have led to dozens imprisoned and some fatalities. A consistent pattern of blame follows most clashes: the ONC and the OFDM blame the EPRDF-affiliated OPDO for staging attacks, while the OPDO blames OLF and OLF sympathizers within the ONC and OFDM for perpetrating terrorist activities. This has led to a crackdown on opposition activities, and party leaders frequently report office closures and widespread continuing harassment of party members. Emboffs noted surveillance by undercover security officials during their meetings in Oromiya. The presence of the OLF remains a complicating factor for both sides. The ONC and OFDM admittedly draws support from former OLF supporters, and the OPDO uses this to control their activities. Opposition party leaders claim that OPDO's pressure on their legitimate political activities drives former OLF elements "back into the bush", creating a more radicalized opposition. ¶17. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: Opposition party leaders believe they have strong popular support for seeking greater representation in local administrations throughout Oromiya, which are almost exclusively controlled by the EPRDF-affiliated OPDO. However, ONC and OFDM representatives underscore that current circumstances prevent them from considering participation in December local elections, as they cannot open offices or meet freely with constituents. Claims of harassment and intimidation must be remedied if local elections are to be conducted in a democratic manner. END COMMENT. YAMAMOTO