Rights body accuses Ethiopia
2005-05-10 10:39
Chris Tomlinson
Addis Ababa - Systematic political repression in Ethiopia's largest state has kept people there from freely participating in the country's third general election campaign, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
In a report, the rights group calls into question the fairness of the electoral process in one the United States' closest allies in Africa, saying the ruling party has cracked down on political activities in the state of Oromia.
The southern state is home to the Oromo people, who make up 32% of Ethiopia's 73 million people, and it has been the centre of dissent against the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front.
"The political freedoms required for elections to be a meaningful exercise of Ethiopian citizens' fundamental right to participate in the selection of their government do not exist for many Ethiopians," the New York-based organisation says in the report.
Government officials did not respond to phone calls for comment.
Fair election 'almost impossible'
"Oromia is a big problem," said Berhanu Nega, vice chairman of the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy. "From the information I have, in a good part of Oromia it is becoming almost impossible to hold a fair election."
He said his party would ask the National Electoral Board to suspend the elections in many areas of Oromia and other places where the opposition has been unable to campaign freely.
Since 2001, the United States has increased relations with Ethiopia, despite two previous elections that were generally considered unfair. US troops have been working with Ethiopian soldiers to improve security in the region, as Ethiopia shares a long border with Somalia, a lawless country the US fears could be used by suspected terrorists as a hideout.
The May 15 elections are considered an important test of the ruling party's willingness to bring democracy to Ethiopia, which has invited international observers into the Horn of Africa country for the first time.
Bush steps in to help
US President George W. Bush has made promoting free and fair elections an important issue in foreign relations, and US officials will be observing the elections. But three independent US groups promoting fair elections were expelled from Ethiopia last month for what the government said were visa violations.
Human Rights Watch noted in its report the government has made some progress in opening up the media to the opposition, but the situation in the countryside, where most Ethiopians live, remains oppressive, especially in Oromia.
The government has used a largely defunct rebel group, the Oromo Liberation Front, as an excuse to limit civil liberties in the state, the report says. Alleged participation in the rebel movement has been used to imprison thousands of Oromo, though there is little evidence the rebels are still capable of carrying out significant attacks in the country, it says.
- AP