ENVIRONMENTAL ALLEGATIONS GENERATE PROTESTS, MASS ARRESTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 000370



SIPDIS



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: E.O.12958: N/A

TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, SENV, KDEM, EMIN, ET

SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL ALLEGATIONS GENERATE PROTESTS, MASS ARRESTS



SUMMARY

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1. (SBU) Residents of Shakiso Wereda accuse Laga Dembi Mine, owned

by billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, of releasing toxic

chemical waste into a nearby river, causing illness to people and

animals in the area. Local residents and students submitted a

petition to the local government arguing that a second gold mine

should not be given to MIDROC before it cleans the toxic waste that

it has released from Lega Dembi, and the company brings benefits to

the community. Local government officials, who were allegedly

instructed by federal authorities to halt an ongoing investigation

into the toxic dumping, resorted to mass arrests of the protesters.

According to Members of Parliament (MPs) from Guji and Borena Zones

of Oromiya region, over 100 people remain detained in Yabello prison

awaiting trial, and opposition political party members and

candidates were specifically targeted. According to Human Rights

groups and MPs, the whereabouts of three university students and two

political leaders is unknown. End Summary.



Local Residents Accuse MIDROC of Dumping

Toxic Chemicals at Mine

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2. (U) Beginning in December 2009, residents of Shakiso Wereda

(Oromiya Region) accused Laga Dembi Mine of releasing toxic chemical

waste into a nearby river, causing illness to people and animals in

the area. (Note: According to Demboba Boku, Member of Parliament

for the area, several local experts found evidence of dangerously

high mercury levels in the water. However, Post has not reviewed

scientific or medical analysis examining the correlation between

chemicals from the mine and human and animal health. End note.) On

December 3, 2009 students from Shakiso town submitted a petition to

Wereda officials detailing the adverse effects of noxious chemicals

released by the gold mine on the health of the community. They

further protested that the mine owner harvested gold from their

land, but did not invest in the development of the community. Most

of the mine's employees are brought in from other regions, while

employment from the local community is minimal.



3. (SBU) Guji Zone and Shakiso Wereda administrators told the

students they would study the situation and respond on December 16.

According to parliamentarian Demboba (of the opposition Oromo

Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) party),officials of the

federal and regional governments pressured local officials to nip

the budding dissent. Students and residents who went to hear the

response from their local leaders on December 16 were surrounded by

federal and local police. Demboba said a student "planted" by local

officials stood up from the crowd and said, "We residents of Shakiso

Wereda are sick and tired of officials of the Oromo Peoples'

Democratic organization (OPDO). The current local officials should

hand over office to more capable groups that could bring development

to our Wereda." Immediately after the inflammatory statement by the

student, police reportedly started beating people gathered there and

arrested Assefa Arure, Guji Zone OFDM coordinator, and Dulecha Robe,

OFDM member. The whereabouts of the two are still not known.

According to Demboba, the arrests continued and on December 18, over

100 OFDM and Oromo Peoples' Congress members and sympathizers were

arrested.



Background on Sheikh Al Amoudi's

Lega Dembi Gold Mine

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4. (U) Lega Dembi Gold Mine is owned by Mohammed International

Development, Research Companies (MIDROC),a company owned by

billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, believed to be the largest

foreign investor in Ethiopia. It is the only active industrial gold

mine in Ethiopia. On November 24, 2009 MIDROC signed a 10-year

agreement with the Ministry of Mines and Energy for the extraction

of 20,483 kg. of gold from the Sakaro area, three kilometers from

the existing Lega Dembi gold belt in the Guji Zone of the Oromiya

Regional State. Gold is Ethiopia's major mineral, and the

government is counting on a six-fold increase in production. MIDROC

has reportedly earned USD 466 million from Lega Dembi mine since

1998. The granting of Sakaro Gold Mines to MIDROC in the midst of

allegations of pollution and lack of community involvement at Laga

Dembi angered residents of Shakiso Wereda.





5. (U) The office of the Chief Executive of MIDROC on its website

advertizes its contribution to the development of the Lega Dembi

Community by financing the Shakiso Clean Water Project, but

residents of Shakiso disagree. Demboba Boku told PE FSN that the

multi-million dollar company did not invest in the community.





Police Allegedly Refused to Respect



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Bail Order from Court

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6. (SBU) Demboba Boku told Poloff and P/E FSN that only eight of the

over one hundred detainees appeared at Shakiso Wereda Court on Dec.

18. Police requested 14 days of investigation time, which the court

granted. The eight detainees appeared in court for the second time

on January 1. The police asked for a second 14-day extension to

further investigate the case. The Court did not grant the

extension. Instead, the court decided to release all eight

detainees on bail. According to Demboba, police defied the court

order and continued to keep the eight individuals in detention.

Demboba added that the court had not taken any measures against the

police who defied the court's orders. In an interview with the

international press, Government of Ethiopia (GoE) spokesman Shimelis

Kemal dismissed the allegations that students and residents of

Shakiso were unjustly detained. Shimelis said the disturbances were

fomented by rebels from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF),and the

innocence or guilt of the detainees would be decided by a court of

law.



Over 100 Protestors Remain in Detention

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7. (SBU) Dembela Halekie, Member of Parliament from OPC representing

Hageremariam Wereda, Borena Zone of Oromiya Region told PE FSN the

eight defendants whose right to bail was rejected by police and over

100 other detainees are currently jailed in Yabello Prison, Borena

Zone. According to Dembela, all detainees will appear before a

roving Supreme Court and will answer to charges of fomenting an

uprising to disrupt peace and stability. Dembela did not know the

trial date.





8. (SBU) According to Demboba, eight OFDM candidates for the Federal

Parliament and four candidates for the Regional Council are among

the 100 detained by police. OFDM reported the case to the National

Electoral Board of Ethiopia, but received no response. OFDM was

forced to register new candidates in place of those of those

detained.





The Whereabouts of Three Students and

Two Party Leaders is Unknown

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9. (SBU) On January 8, Human Rights League for the Horn of Africa

(HRLHA) reported that three students from Awassa University were

arrested by the Federal Police on January 5 and January 6 in

connection with the riot in Shakiso Wereda, Guji Zone of Oromiya

Region. The three Awassa University students who are natives of

Shakiso are: Nega Gezaw, Dhaba Gire and Jatani Wario. Demboba told

Poloff and PE FSN that the three students were not physically

present in Shakiso during the riot, but police picked them up from

Awassa town for alleged involvement in the riot. According to HRLHA

and Demboba, the whereabouts of the three students is unknown.

Similarly, the whereabouts of Assefa Arure and Dulecha Robe, both

members OFDM are still unknown.



Residents Not Impressed by Officials

and Mine Owner Visit

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10. (U) According to Demboba, Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, owner of

MIDROC, Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of Mines and Energy, and Aba Dula

Gemeda, President of Oromiya Region visited Shakiso on January 20 to

appease the community. Sheikh Al Amoudi granted 15 million Birr

(USD 1,125,000) for the 15 Weredas in Guji Zone to be used for

community development. According to Demboba, handpicked residents

attended the meeting and thanked the visitors for the attention they

gave to their community. Demboba said the majority of residents --

who did not attend the meeting -- were unimpressed by the visit and

donation, and characterized it as "too little, too late." According

to Demboba, the community continues to demand the immediate release

of their loved ones and the cleanup of toxic waste generated by Lega

Dembi Gold Mine before MIDROC is granted rights to Sakaro Gold Mine.





Comment

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11. (SBU) Genuine grass-roots opposition to hazardous pollution on

the part of Ethiopia's largest investor appears to have fomented in

Shakiso Wereda. Local authorities' willingness to launch an

investigation into Lega Dembi's environmental practices has clearly

evaporated, and MP Demboba's allegation that they have been ordered

by federal officials to "make the problem go away" is entirely

believable. While Demboba's allegation that the arrest of

protestors was a form of political party harassment is congruent



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with broader trends Post has observed, Demboba provided little

evidence of his claims. Neither Demboba nor other community leaders

appear to have developed a strategy for highlighting this issue.

With community members rightfully frightened by the mass arrests of

peaceful demonstrators, this case will only attract further

attention if Demboba or other high-ranking officials make it their

own. End comment.



YATES