As expected, the court today delayed sentencing the 38 Kinijit politicians, journalists and civic leaders. Government prosecutors demanded death sentences, again turning justice on its head by accusing the victims of governmental violence of committing and plotting violence.
The court’s decision to postpone sentencing for a week is part of a process of attempting to manipulate the international community. The most likely next steps will be additional delay, followed by a harsh sentence and hints that Meles regime is considering some kind of amnesty. The government will then claim that Meles regime cannot appear to be bowing to foreign pressure. Thus, the prisoners will remain in jail as hostages for as long as the Meles regime can manage.
A U.S. State Department official issued a carefully worded, neutral statement in response to a question today about the recommendation. “The United States is surprised by the recommendation by the Ethiopian Government prosecutor that the High Court sentence the 38 opposition leaders found guilty on June 11th with the death sentence. We call on the Ethiopian Government and High Court to take action in making a final sentencing determination which is consistent with the greater objectives of bolstering the rule of law and promoting much-needed reconciliation.”
Congressional staff have been briefed on the latest developments, particularly the Meles regime’s failure to live up to its pledge to free the prisoners within ten days if a scheduled June 26 markup meeting was postponed. Ethiopians must continue to contact members of Congress to communicate their disappointment with the slow pace of action on HR 2003, the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, and to demand that it be enacted as quickly as possible. Unless we press for action, the legislation will not rise to the top of the very busy congressional agenda. When you call members of Congress, make it clear why action on HR 2003 is urgent: that the Congress must act immediately to call for the release of political prisoners and that the U.S. must support human rights and democracy in Ethiopia.
Ethiopians in Europe must contact members of the European Parliament and press them to act, and Ethiopians in other parts of the world should also work to raise awareness of the human rights abuses in Ethiopia and to solicit support from other governments. The international community must act in a resolute manner; the Meles regime will exploit any weakness it perceives.
Mesfin Mekonen, Kinijit International Council Foreign Relations
