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Italian Foreign Minister, Mr. Franco
Frattini made an official visit to Ethiopia this week. During his
three day visit, January 12-14, Mr. Frattini met and held
discussions with Prime Minister Meles on wide-ranging bilateral
and regional matters of common interest. Ethiopia and Italy have
longstanding relations which have been consolidated in recent
years. The return of the Axum Obelisk in 2005 (erected for the
Ethiopian Millennium in 2007/2008) marked the opening of a new
chapter in bilateral relations. In addition to political and
cultural relations, Ethiopia regards Italy as a strategic partner
in the development of power resources for the fight against
poverty. Italy’s provision of a 220 million euro soft loan for the
Gilgel Gibe II hydro-power project is a clear manifestation of the
level of commitment and understanding existing between the two
governments.
Mr. Frattini attended the inauguration
of Gilgel Gibe II by Prime Minister Meles on Wednesday. Italy was
one of the main funders of the project, along with the European
Development Bank and the Ethiopian Government. Gilgel Gibe II uses
water from the reservoir from the Gilgel Gibe I project opened in
2004, and channels it through a 26 kilometer long tunnel, dropping
500 meters into the Omo River in the south west of the country. It
can generate 420 mw of electricity. Speaking at the opening, Prime
Minister Meles expressed his appreciation to the workers who had
achieved the project, and said the Government was committed to
doubling Ethiopia’s energy stock in the coming five years. Mr.
Frattini said the Italian Government was proud to have been
involved in such an impressive and important project. He expressed
the Italian Government’s readiness to continue co-operation with
Ethiopia in support of similar development projects. Among other
planned hydro-power projects are Gibe III, which will have a 1,870
mw capacity and is about one third completed, and Gibe IV which is
expected to have 1,900 mw capacity, for which a Memorandum of
Understanding has been signed with China. At the Gilgel Gibe
project site, Mr. Frattini signed a grant agreement of 3.61
million euro with Finance and Development Minister, Ato Sufian
Ahmed, to be used for water supply and sanitation, and for
increasing the economic productivity of traditional agricultural
products in Oromia State.
During his visit, the Italian Foreign
Minister also had a working breakfast with Foreign Minister
Seyoum. The two foreign ministers exchanged views on regional
matters with particular emphasis on the situation in Somalia. They
agreed on the need for urgent assistance to the TFG to enable it
to consolidate its security and governance structures. The need
for quick action was underlined as international extremist and
terrorist forces were strengthening their efforts to try to remove
the TFG and implement the next stage of their global agenda.
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On Monday, Prime Minister Meles met the
Republic of China’s Minister of Commerce, Chen Deming who was
heading a delegation to Ethiopia at the start of a five nation
African tour. The Prime Minister expressed Ethiopia’s keen
interest in scaling up economic cooperation with China, stressing
in particular the transfer of knowledge and technology. He hoped
Ethiopia could share China’s rich experience in infrastructural
development, manufacturing industry and economic administration.
Minister Deming who noted Ethiopia’s remarkable economic growth
over the last six years emphasized China’s willingness to continue
to support Ethiopia’s development endeavors and to assist
Ethiopia’s business communities to promote their products in
China.
Minister Deming, who also held talks
with Finance and Economic Development Minister, Ato Sufian Ahmed,
and Trade and Industry Minister, Ato Girma Birru, said China was
ready to increase its assistance to promote cooperation in matters
of transport, power and telecommunications and help Ethiopia
improve “the hardware of economic development”. He said China
planned to increase the volume of its trade with Ethiopia to US $3
billion by 2015. In the last eleven months China/Ethiopia trade
reached a historic high level of nearly US$1.4 billion, twenty
times more than a decade ago. Ethiopia’s exports to China had
risen to over US$200 million in the same period. Minister Deming
announced a major expansion of China’s quota-free access to
benefit Ethiopia, and another 29 African countries. This will
allow for the duty-free export of another 4,000 tariff lines in
addition to the 400 currently in use. Sixty percent of these products will
be able to benefit from preferential treatment immediately.
Minister Sufian noted that Ethiopia had
gained major benefits from cooperation with China including
extensive road building in rural areas. Although China was a
relative newcomer to Foreign Direct Investment in Africa, Chinese
firms are now increasingly moving into Ethiopia. Minister Sufian
said that China’s FDI in Ethiopia had now reached some US$900
million in various areas including steel, paper, and glass
manufacturing. Minister Deming pointed out that China and Ethiopia
were both large farming countries with big populations and that
they had had similar imbalances. They had much to share in
developing agriculture and manufacturing, job creation and the
promotion of balanced economic development. He said China was
ready to increase the transfer of practical technologies through
agricultural demonstration and the transfer of agriculture
expertise. China would also encourage businesses to participate in
Ethiopia’s agro-processing industries including sugar.
During his visit, Minister Deming signed
a number of bilateral agreements on economic and technological
cooperation, and a US$32.5 million aid and concessional loan
framework agreement. The loan will go to finance a supply of
equipment to be installed at customs import/export checkpoints.
Minister Deming also held discussions with African Union officials
and visited the site of the new AU headquarters and the
ultra-modern conference facilities being built by China.
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The UN Secretary-General has now
submitted his latest report on the situation in Somalia, dated
December 31st 2009, to the Security Council. It covers
developments since his reports of July and October last year,
assessing the political, security, human rights and humanitarian
situation in Somalia and the progress made in implementing the
UN’s proposed three-phase incremental approach set out in April.
The Secretary-General notes that the TFG
has continued to consolidate and expand its support basis on three
fronts, despite its continued lack of adequate and regular
resources. It has intensified its efforts to gain support among
the main opposition groups in Mogadishu with an increasing number
of elements from the armed opposition renouncing violence. This
includes the defection of two senior Al-Shabaab operatives and
some 550 fighters. The Government and Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a are
currently exploring their political and military cooperation, and
the Government has been carrying out an in-depth review of its
relationship with the Puntland authorities.
The Secretary-General draws attention to
the TFG’s improved functionality in its budget estimates for 2010.
Salaries for the security forces account for half of the $110.4
million expenditure. Eighty percent will be reliant upon external
sources; revenue from Mogadishu port and airport will provide the
rest. The lifting of the ban by Saudi Arabia on livestock imports
from Somalia will contribute to increasing Government revenues.
The TFG is working on a stabilization program based on the
political, social and development priorities identified for
implementation during the remainder of the transition period.
There have been changes in the police and military leadership.
The Secretary-General welcomed the
decision by the Government of Djibouti to reopen its embassy in
Mogadishu on November 1st. He also noticed the meeting of the
International Contact Group (ICG) on December 17th in Jeddah when
the Government presented its strategy for this year. This
reiterated the Djibouti process remained the framework within
which all international efforts should be undertaken and called on
the international community to assist in building up security
institutions, including help for the payment of stipends to
trained recruits. The Organization of Islamic Conference announced
its intention to open an office in Mogadishu and provide $50
million for humanitarian and recovery activities. The
International Contact Group (ICG) agreed
to hold an international conference on recovery and reconstruction
in the near future.
The Secretary-General noted that
insecurity remained widespread and that with the end of the
monsoon season, pirates have resumed their attacks. No hijacks had
been successful in the Gulf of Aden since July but pirates were
now attacking ships as far away as 1000 nautical miles from
Somalia. The deployment of warships by numerous countries
continued to have a positive effect. The Secretary-General also
emphasized that the humanitarian situation in Somalia was “dire”.
More than 3.6 million Somalis, nearly 50% of the population, will
need assistance or livelihood support into 2010. He noted that the
presence of “hard-line Al-Shabaab elements, hostile to
humanitarian organizations” had resulted in a further shrinking of
humanitarian space with threats against staff, rejection of
“foreign food aid” and demands for “registration fees” all
worsening. Despite the increase in need, there had been a
significant drop in funding. The 2009 consolidated appeal for
Somalia was only 60% funded at the end of November, leading to a
curtailment of water, sanitation and health programs and to
reduced or postponed rations.
The Secretary-General said the UN
continued to pursue its incremental approach to Somalia,
implemented through AMISOM and other partners. At the end of
November there were some 775 national and 57 international UN
staff deployed throughout Somalia in critical humanitarian and
other UN programs. UN staff had made some 17 visits in the
reporting period to Mogadishu to monitor operations and assist the
TFG’s processes of policymaking and planning. This also enabled
the UN Support office for AMISOM (UNSOA) to enhance AMISOM
capabilities and help create a more favorable environment for the
deployment of more troops. The UN is continuing to develop plans
for the expansion of its presence in Mogadishu as part of the
second phase of the incremental approach. On a visit to Mogadishu
in October, the Under Secretary-General for Safety and Security,
Gregory Starr, advised that there was scope to create the
facilities there that would allow UN international staff to spend
significantly more time there. Planning for a permanent UN
presence is now being taken forward.
The High-level Committee was re-launched
in October and expanded to include UNPOS, AMISOM and
representatives of the troop-contributing countries and the
international community. It is now expected to convene monthly.
The Secretary-General noted the significant and commendable role
played by AMISOM. He said the planned deployment of an additional
battalion each from Uganda and Burundi, and 400 troops from
Djibouti, had been delayed by logistics constraints, but UNSOA was
continuing to provide a logistics support package, and was now
going to support enhanced security measures as well as implement a
communications strategy.
While continuing to work towards a
national security strategy in accordance with resolution 1872
(2009), the UN is assisting the TFG in developing its security
institutions. UNPOS and the US have just completed a security
sector assessment mission, together with the EU, the AU and the
TFG. This will assist in the development of programs implemented
through the Joint Security Committee which held two meetings in
October and December. The Secretary-General noted that 600
soldiers had been trained in Djibouti. Another 350 are being
trained in Djibouti, 120 in Sudan, 750 soldiers and 30 officers in
Uganda, while Yemen and Algeria have airlifted troops to and from
training locations. Police training has been carried out at the
Armo Police Academy in Puntland.
The Secretary-General makes it clear he
believes the TFG is making progress in some critical areas, and
the implementation of the Djibouti Agreement generally remains “on
track”. The persistent attempts to overthrow the Government
through violence, however, should remind the international
community of the need for a coordinated effort to generate the
necessary political and security conditions to successfully
complete the transition by 2011. He urges continued commitment by
the TFG to dialogue for reconciliation and to consolidating its
authority, restoring the economy and delivering basic services,
and calls for national and international support for the process,
and for member states to urgently release their pledged
contributions to the TFG. He invites the Security Council to renew
its authorization for the deployment of AMISOM, and calls on the
international community to actively support AMISOM and provide it
with more reliable and timely resources. He says the three-phased
incremental approach remains valid. Planning for UN ‘light
footprint’ continues. He recommends a continuation of UNSOA
support for AMISOM. He encourages all donors to closely coordinate
with the Joint Security Committee and UNPOS to harmonize security
training initiatives. The Secretary-General also expresses his
deep concern over the decline on humanitarian funding, noting that
the consolidated appeal for 2010 seeks $700 million, a 17%
reduction on 2009. Without these funds the UN will be unable to
meet the urgent needs of 3.6 million Somalis.
It is to be recalled that this report
from the Secretary-General is coming out at the same time as a
similar report from the Chairperson of the African Union. As we
noted last week this was submitted to the AU’s Peace and Security
Council on January 8th. Following the report, the Peace and
Security Council reaffirmed its support to the TFG, reiterated its
condemnation of continued acts of terror committed by extremists,
and, inter alia, welcomed UN Security Council resolution 1907.
These developments can all be regarded
as positive for Somalia at the level of the African Union, the
United Nations and the International Contact Group. What now
remains is to turn these repeated expressions of political and
diplomatic support into concrete and meaningful assistance, to
provide necessary and timely financial, logistical and military
support for the TFG on the ground. This was the main burden of the
message the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Somalia,
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah gave the Security Council yesterday when he
told the Council that the Somali Government had made significant
progress and deserved greater commitment as well as material and
financial assistance from the UN and international partners. The
main challenges now, he said, were the absence of a concrete
commitment and a determined international policy towards Somalia,
and the failure to translate the massive consensus of support for
the TFG into the necessary material support.
Mr. Ould-Abdallah therefore proposed
four recommendations to the Security Council. The first was for
the international community to depart from its past practices of
uncoordinated actions and individual diplomatic efforts, and
support a common policy objective, with the Djibouti Agreement as
the means to achieve progress. Secondly, the Security Council
should send a strong and clear signal to the extremists by
strengthening the Government in a practical manner, with the
international community providing more vigorous moral, diplomatic
and financial assistance. “Assistance delayed is assistance
denied” he said; “…sitting on the fence is no longer an option”.
Thirdly, Mr. Ould-Abdallah said working more closely with IGAD,
and with the AU, the League of Arab States and the OIC was now
imperative. AMISOM as a matter of urgency needed support to
increase its troop allowances, and their timely disbursement, as
well as payment for equipment. The Council should also encourage
or pressurize all spoilers, internal or external, to cease
supporting violence. Lastly, Mr. Ould-Abdallah said, his
recommendations could be more effectively implemented if the UN
operated in an integrated and harmonized manner on Somalia. He
said Resolution 1863 (January 2009) had addressed this issue, and
he believed the Secretariat would be putting this into action in
the next few weeks. At the same time, he added, the move of the UN
and the international community to Mogadishu should be
accelerated. Failure to intervene to restore stability in Somalia
actively threatened the effectiveness of the international
community in addition to costing enormous resources. Failure to
act now in a decisive manner, he concluded, would only
dramatically increase that cost.
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The visit of the Egyptian Prime Minister
to Ethiopia at the beginning of the year has been characterized as
historic by both the Ethiopian and Egyptian media. Generally, the
coverage of the visit was more or less balanced though, as usual,
some reports were misguided. Several reporters misrepresented the
facts of the visit and its implications for both countries.
Commentators tried to make sense of the various reports of the
visit. A few were unduly critical of the Ethiopian Government,
some because they have a different agenda, others because they
were simply ill-informed. Most of these critics actually started
from the unfounded assumption that something was agreed between
Ethiopia and Egypt about the use of the Nile River during the
visit. Some of the news coverage of the visit also tried to give
added credence to such reports by relaying inaccurate comments
made by anonymous water experts. Disinformation about discussions
over the Nile River is neither new nor particularly surprising. No
doubt the visit by the Egyptian Prime Minister has contributed to
a better understanding of bilateral relations in various areas,
but there has been no change in Ethiopia’s position over the Nile.
It is in this context that a piece in
Egypt’s Al-Aharam’s weekly online newspaper of 7th -13th January
entitled “Eyeing Abyssinia: Egypt stakes out a special place in
Ethiopia,” deserves particular mention. This makes several
assertions that might well mislead Al-Aharam’s readers. The piece
gives an account of the visit of the Egyptian Prime Minister, but
in a number of places digresses wildly away from reporting and
gives some highly inaccurate opinions. The most glaring error is
the statement: “The Ethiopian compromise, publicly acknowledging
Egypt's right to its quota of Nile water, is an answer so obvious
that one wonders why it was not on the table already. Now that it
is, Ethiopia's pragmatism may produce better results” This is
quite wrong. If it is implied that Ethiopia has changed its
position, this is a pure fabrication and a distortion of what
actually transpired during the Egyptian Prime Minister’s visit.
Only the writer knows whether he is
trying to force a reaction from Ethiopia to sustain controversy or
to try to spoil the advances that were made in Ethiopia-Egypt
relations during the visit in a number of other areas. In fact,
the Egyptian Prime Minister’s visit did not include any
negotiations over the Nile River. The Nile, as a concept, was
raised merely to illustrate the symbolic importance of the river
as a link between the two countries and to underline the fact that
differences over the Nile should not detract from the pursuit of
mutually advantageous, wide-ranging and closer bilateral
relations. And the discussions exactly covered bilateral issues.
Negotiations over the Nile have reached the final stage within the
framework of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), which provides a
unique forum for finding a durable solution about the Nile.
Negotiations over the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) which
have lasted for over ten years, involving nine countries, are now
complete. The CFA to establish the Nile River Basin Commission is
being readied for signature by the riparian countries.
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The Foreign Ministry of Eritrea recently
issued a reckless statement accusing Ethiopian forces of attacking
Eritrea on 1 January 2010. It was an apparent attempt to create a
link between the Security Council’s targeted sanctions against the
Eritrean leadership, and the border dispute with Ethiopia.
Immediately after the Eritrean statement, however, two Eritrean
opposition groups claimed responsibility for the attack, providing
full details of their operations against Eritrean Government
forces at the same time and place. It is hardly surprising that
the regime in Asmara, far from acknowledging the real source of
the attack, should blame Ethiopia. The Eritrean leadership has
always adamantly denied the existence of any form of opposition.
In addition, Eritrea’s leaders would have the world believe that
the sanctions would provide the excuse for Ethiopia to launch an
attack against Eritrea even though they know this to be absolute
nonsense. Some of the media outlets in the Diaspora, sympathetic
to the Eritrean leadership, have also suggested the sanctions
would provide an incentive for Ethiopia to attack Eritrea.
All of this is no more than a futile
exercise to suggest Eritrea is the victim of an unjust
international diplomatic subterfuge when in fact what the Security
Council did was to take appropriate, if long overdue, action
against a government which has been wreaking havoc in the
sub-region and beyond for years, openly and repeatedly showing its
disdain for the rules that govern normal inter-state relations.
This time, the government in Asmara has little chance to deflect
the well-deserved sanctions imposed by the Security Council.
Whatever the government in Asmara may claim, the object of the
sanctions is clearly to force the Eritrean Government to change
its behavior and to stop arming, financing and training of
extremist and terrorist forces in Somalia and else where in the
region, and to withdraw its forces from Djibouti. Nothing in the
sanctions remotely suggests that Eritrea should change its system
of governance, however abhorrent it may be.
Ethiopia has no incentive to initiate a
conflict with Eritrea. This position has nothing to do with how
strong or weak Eritrea may be. Rather, Ethiopia has a lot more
important priorities than flexing its muscles against this or that
country. The Foreign and National Security Policy of Ethiopia
identifies poverty, not Eritrea, as the number one national
security threat to the country. The primary focus of the
Government of Ethiopia has consistently been to ensure sustainable
economic development; and it has had considerable success with the
economy registering double digit GDP growth over the last several
years, and with the Economist Magazine recently projecting
Ethiopia to achieve the fifth fastest growing economy in the world
in 2010.
Ethiopia views its relations with all
its neighbors, Eritrea included, in light of the need to ensure
sustainable economic development in the region. Its desire is to
forge neighborly relations based on mutual interest and respect.
Ethiopia has always maintained that any difference or
misunderstanding with any country must be resolved through
negotiation. Its persistent offer to resolve any problems with
Eritrea through dialogue at any level, at any place and without
any preconditions, is a testament to its commitment to these
principles. Ethiopia's military spending stands at 1.7% of GDP
well below the internationally accepted 2% threshold. That is why,
despite the Eritrean Government’s arming and training of terrorist
and armed opposition groups to try to undermine Ethiopia's
stability, Ethiopia has not reacted. Despite all the hostile
activities and provocations, Ethiopia has remained firm: only an
open invasion of sovereign Ethiopian territory would spark a
military response, not mere provocations. Ethiopia sincerely
believes war is incompatible with economic development.
It is this calculation which has always
kept Ethiopia from being dragged into belligerent posturing
against Eritrea, not the latter’s military might, real or
imaginary. Despite the numerous efforts at destabilizing Ethiopia,
it has been held back from any similar action by its conviction of
the need for peace and its commitment towards its fight against
poverty, not by the enormity of Eritrea’s war machine. That is the
stuff of Eritrea’s ruling party’s mythology. No one can seriously
assume the leadership in Asmara will become any more vulnerable to
attack from Ethiopia as a result of the sanctions. To the extent
that the regime may be under threat this will come from within,
and no attempt to invent external threats will make that go away.
The Eritrean Government has turned the country into an open
prison. It continues to use the conflicts it imposes on its
neighbors as a handy instrument to keep the people of Eritrea
under continuous military mobilization. Like all dictatorships,
the leadership of Eritrea continues to try to divert the attention
of the people from internal problems by making enemies out of
everyone else. These include all Eritrea's neighbors, as well as
IGAD, the AU, the UN, the USA and anybody else. But internal
problems can not indefinitely be ignored. Eritrean youngsters
continue to flee the country in droves every month despite
President Issayas’ explanation of this as a plot by foreign
intelligence agencies. Tens of thousands are thrown in prison as
traitors or dissidents. That is the reality of Eritrea today. The
attempt to link targeted Security Council sanctions against the
Eritrean political and military leadership, imposed because of its
association with terrorism, with a bilateral border problem with
Ethiopia is simply an attempt to trivialize the danger that
Eritrea’s acts of destabilization represent to the region.
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Ye Ethiopia Hidasse Mahiber (the
Association for the Ethiopian Renaissance), in collaboration with
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organized a day-long consultative
forum for Ethiopians and foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin this
week. Ye Ethiopia Hidasse Mahiber was set up to create a national
consensus among Ethiopians inside and outside the country,
disseminating information on current developments and the
democratization efforts being undertaken in the country which also
contribute to enhancing Ethiopia’s image. Tuesday’s meeting was an
extension of these activities. Executives from a number of companies
including Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, Ethiopian Telecom,
Ethiopian Airlines, the Addis Ababa Road Authority, the Ethiopia
Electoral Board, the Office for Government Communication and other
relevant government agencies briefed participants on their
achievements, their future plans and the opportunities that exist
for members of the Diaspora. In the first such conference, Waltainfo and
Ethiopian Civility.com organized and directed video and Internet
links allowing many to participate from around the world. In a
key-note address, President Girma Wolde Giorigis noted that the
Government has created an enabling environment for Ethiopians and
foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin for engagement in the national
development drive. He expressed his firm conviction that Ethiopians
standing together could promote Ethiopia’s image in their bid to
realize Ethiopia’s Renaissance. The State Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Dr. Tekeda Alemu, told the meeting to be wary of destructive
forces, and said it was necessary to bear in mind that the complex
dynamics of the prevailing global situation could involve serious
problems as much as enabling conditions for development. It was
important to remember that there are those whose activities are
aimed at tarnishing Ethiopia’s image and sowing discord among our
ranks, with the aim of undermining the realization of Ethiopia’s
potential. We need, he said, to encourage unity and respond to any
undeserved and image-tarnishing campaigns. In his closing remarks at
the Forum, Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said the economic growth
registered over the past few years signaled that Ethiopia was on its
way to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and the process of
democratization was showing significant progress. Minister Seyoum
told his listeners, in the Millennium Hall, and elsewhere in the
world, that they should maximize their engagement in development
endeavor in Ethiopia. Some 19,000 Ethiopians in the Diaspora have been issued
with Yellow cards entitling them to take part in all investment
activities. Projects implemented by members of the Diaspora are
valued at about 17 billion birr, and when fully completed will create
some 80,000 new jobs. This, the Minister said, was a major
contribution to the national development drive. The Minister called
on the Diaspora to intensify its engagement to promote Ethiopia’s
image and maximize its engagement in investment.
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The House of People’s Representatives has
adopted the Proclamation to Provide for the Code of Conduct for the
Political Parties. This is indeed a milestone in the democratization
process in Ethiopia. For the first time in the history of Ethiopia,
political parties negotiated, and agreed, a set of binding rules to
govern their conduct, rules which are now codified as law of the
land. It is a unique piece of legislation, and sets a far reaching
precedent going well beyond the bounds of party politics in
Ethiopia, and provides an example for the whole region. It is not
just aimed at ensuring that the 2010 elections are free, fair,
peaceful and credible. It also endows a legacy of a firmly and
legally institutionalized system to govern all political parties in
Ethiopia. It is particularly fitting that the ruling party and the
three opposition parties, which jointly initiated, negotiated and
agreed on the first draft of the Code of Conduct, have received much
deserved accolades from Ethiopians from all walks of life and from
members of the international community. To their credit, they strove
to include all interested political parties to contribute to the
further development of the code of conduct. They succeeded in
attracting the support of over sixty political parties and it is
fair to say that the final codification of the Code of Conduct by
the legislature stamps it as one of the major pillars of democracy
in Ethiopia. The inclusive processes of the adoption of the law, and
its highly innovative contents, have far reaching implications for
democracy in Ethiopia. It promises to be a standard bearer for
democracy well beyond the borders of Ethiopia.
The process and content of the new law
follows a model instrument prepared by the International Institute
for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).
International IDEA’s concept allows for a code of conduct to be part
of the electoral law, or to be provided for in legislation to
prescribe the conduct of parties, or to be agreed to by political
parties, as an outcome of negotiations either among themselves or,
more commonly, as a result of negotiations moderated by a third
party. It may be agreed to by the parties, and then embodied in law,
or it could be determined by a third party, such as an election
administration body. In Ethiopia’s case, the four parties chose to
negotiate among themselves, and once they had agreed on the text, it
was open to further improvement by other parties. It was this
revised text, endorsed by almost all the remaining political
parties, that was adopted into law by the national legislature.
Following this same International IDEA’s
model, the Proclamation to Provide the Code of Conduct for the
Political Parties provides clear guidance and an institutional
set-up to govern the conduct of political parties. Importantly, it
demonstrates that lessons were learnt from the 2005 elections and a
determination not to repeat the mistakes committed then. In this
regard, the law binds political parties, candidates, members and
supporters of political parties to ensure that this and all
subsequent elections are guided by ethical rules of conduct and that
they are transparent, free, legitimate, fair, peaceful, democratic
and acceptable to the people. A central point is that it
demonstrates full respect to the people as a source of state
authority. This, indeed, is a cardinal principle of any democratic
process, and it is closely linked to another critical element of the
Proclamation: human and democratic rights have to be fully respected
to foster a culture of civilized and peaceful struggle. The
Proclamation lays down the cornerstones of the rule of law: respect
for constitutional organs such as the National Electoral Board, the
mass media and the judiciary; their ability to function
independently and impartially, free from any political party
pressures; the enabling of the National Defense Forces to discharge
its responsibilities based on the Constitution and outside the
influence of any political party.
In a clear departure from the past
traditions of mutual distrust, the law emphasizes the need to work
together on matters of common interest and delimits a determination
to abide by the process and outcome of a legally conducted election
as an expression of the will of the people. It provides for the
promotion of tolerance and the conduct of political campaigns free
of hatred and suspicion. It makes it clear it rejects any attempt to
stay in power against the will of the people and emphasizes that any
activity aimed at taking political power, through any means other
than those provided by the Constitution, is not acceptable.
The Proclamation recognizes the imperative
for political parties to work jointly for its implementation and
thereby contribute to the freedom of the press, human rights,
democracy, the rule of law and the over-all development of the
peoples of Ethiopia. The environment thus created will enable all
parties to enjoy free and open competition. It is about sharing
responsibility for the nurturing of democracy in the country, about
the growth of a culture of democracy enhancing mutual respect and
tolerance. The Proclamation recognizes the need to ensure fairness
in terms of guaranteeing fair and impartial utilization by all
parties of the resources, property and services of the organs of
government for election purposes. It underlines the responsibility
of the political parties to ensure that exercising the right of any
Ethiopian to elect, or be elected, is not impeded by any influence
or obstacle. The parties are also responsible for creating awareness
of democratic processes and for the carrying out of education and
training. The need to institute procedures to investigate and
rectify grievances submitted by political parties on election
matters is another critical aspect of the Proclamation, which has
also established a Joint Council of Political Parties to ensure the
implementation of the Proclamation.
There is no doubt that the Proclamation,
and the process of its adoption, has broken the pattern of mistrust
and acrimony that has characterized party politics in the past.
Political parties are, of course, the essential linchpin of a
multiparty democracy. They make an organized and functioning
democracy possible. Political parties allow for different views and
political options of governance to be channeled for debate for the
electorate, empowering it to elect a government based on informed
choice through peacefully conducted elections. And as political
parties are central to a multiparty political system, it is
imperative that their conduct is governed by a set of rules
applicable to all. Such rules are designed to ensure a level playing
field. The rules of conduct also comply with Ethiopia’s
international obligations. It is worth noting that Ethiopia is one
of the only three African Union member states to have so far
ratified the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
It did so on 30 January 2007. Some of the most relevant objectives
of this Charter include the promotion and enhancement of adherence
to the principle of the rule of law premised upon the respect for,
and the supremacy of, the Constitution and constitutional order;
promoting the holding of regular free and fair elections to
institutionalize the legitimate authority of representative
government as well as democratic change of government; and the
prohibition, rejection and condemnation of unconstitutional change
of government. The Proclamation to Provide the Code of Conduct for
the Political Parties implements these and other objectives and
stipulations of the Charter in the most relevant way.
In the long term, the proper
implementation of the Proclamation in good faith will help guarantee
stability. It will prevent street violence, incitement or
recriminations. The new law is, in fact, another instrument for the
further entrenchment of democracy in Ethiopia, providing necessary
safeguards against undemocratic tendencies. Implementation of the
Proclamation on the Code of Conduct for the Political Parties
will ensure that the upcoming elections are free from intimidation,
instigation of violence, corrupt practices, and inflammatory or
defamatory speech. It will help preserve the elections at all
levels, and the entire electoral process, as celebrations of
democracy and establish the primacy of the electorate with the
exclusive prerogative to decide on which party can be entrusted with
the honor and responsibility of running the country for the next
five years.
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