EPRDF MOVES TO FURTHER STRIP POWER OF FORMER CUDP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 001531 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E, DRL FOR SJOSEPH LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER CJTF-HOA AND CENTCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PGOV EAID PHUM KJUS ET SUBJECT: EPRDF MOVES TO FURTHER STRIP POWER OF FORMER CUDP REF: ADDIS ABABA 00145 ADDIS ABAB 00001531 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) At the May 21 quarterly address by PM Meles Zenawi to Parliament, leader of the former Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP),Temesgen Zewdie, attempted to present his response and questions following the PM's speech, as is traditionally allowed for party leaders. However, before he could complete his question, which was to be about recent reports of Ethiopian farm land along the Ethio-Sudanese border being confiscated by Sudanese military groups, he was cut off by the Speaker and told that he will not be allowed to address Parliament. ¶2. (SBU) In a May 22 meeting with Poloff, Temesgen explained that following the May 21 Parliamentary session he was called into the office of chief Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Forces (EPRDF) ruling party whip Shiferaw Jarso. Shiferaw allegedly told Temesgen that he and those approximately 40 MPs that are aligned with him will no longer be allowed to sit on standing committees and Temesgen will no longer have the right (unless special permission is granted) to address Parliament, due to the fact that he no longer represents a block of over 10 MPs with a registered party name - the two key requirements for such privileges in Parliament. (Note: In January the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) granted the CUDP name to Temesgen's nemesis Ayele Chamisso who is not a member of Parliament and has the support of only two MPs (reftel). On February 14, Temesgen and 40 other MPs elected under the CUDP name signed a letter that they are not aligned with Ayele Chamisso. End Note.) Shiferaw told Temesgen that since he and his followers had renounced the party name under which they had been elected, they would from then on be considered as non-aligned individual MPs. Shiferaw also instructed Temesgen to vacate his office in Parliament as such is a privilege reserved only for the leaders of recognized parties or blocs. (Note: Of the remaining 71 seats won by the CUDP in the 2005 election, only 2 have declared allegiance to Ayele, approximately 20 aligned with United Ethiopian Democratic Party (UEDP-Medhin) party leader Lidetu Ayalew, and the remaining either never took their seat in Parliament, or later fled the country. End Note.) Temesgen further told Poloff that following the meeting with Shiferaw, he was later called into the office of the Speaker of Parliament, Teshome Toga, and told the same. ¶3. (SBU) Temesgen reported that he later heard from Oromo Federal Democratic Movement (OFDM) party leader Bulcha Demeksa, saying that he and his party had also been stripped of these rights, due to the fact that he had less than 10 MPs aligned with his party (following the death or disappearance of several MPs in the last three years). Additionally, Dr. Beyene Petros, leader of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF),said that he had been similarly threatened and was told that his party officially has only 12 MPs (just over the necessary threshold),not the 48 he claims. Teshome explained that the other 36 MPs are considered to be aligned with Tolossa Tesfaye of the Oromo National Congress (ONC), not UEDF coalition partner and head of the Oromo Peoples Congress, Dr. Merera Gudina. (Note: In reality, Tolossa only has one MP that has pledged allegiance to him - the rest have pledged support to Dr. Merera and the UEDF. End Note.) ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The EPRDF's move to strip Temesgen and his followers, as well as the OFDM, of their party rights in Parliament is the latest in a long series of maneuvering to cut Ethiopian opposition parties off at the knees. Though the EPRDF now employs more subtle techniques, such as using the NEBE to weaken parties by asigning opposition party names to EPRDF-associated "opposition" groups, the effect on opposition parties is as crippling as jailing party leaders. The net effect to Parliament is very little organized opposition to the EPRDF - Ayele (himself not an MP) and Tolossa have nearly no following, leaving only Lidetu Ayalew as the primary opposition party leader in Parliament, and most voters would no longer consider him "opposition" because of his strong support for the EPRDF. The remaining seats won by the opposition are filled by what are now considered "independent" MPs, or were filled in the recent April by-elections by the EPRDF in the by-elections (for those seats not occupied or vacated later by fleeing MPs). As the 2010 federal elections draw closer, the EPRDF continues to progressively show less and less tolerance for political opposition. Political space continues to shrink, painting a ADDIS ABAB 00001531 002.2 OF 002 very dim picture for anything resembling a democratic system or free elections on the horizon. The US, UK and French Ambassadors stressed the need for political space with the PM. Ambassador stressed in a meeting of Ambassadors hosted by the UN that if a tough coordinated effort is not initiated by the entire diplomatic corps now, the 2010 elections will not see much opposition gain. Frustration will increase and violence will be highly likely. END COMMENT. YAMAMOTO