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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDS #4182/01 3561129
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O 221129Z DEC 05
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8379
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY
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UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 004182 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF DAS YAMAMOTO AND AF/E 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM KJUS ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA:  LIVELY DEBATE ON MELES' "STATE OF THE 
UNION" 
 
REF: ADDIS ABABA 4073 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY.  Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi 
addressed Parliament December 13 on the impending prosecution 
of CUD opposition party members, a newly established 
commission set to probe the June and December violence, 
Ethiopia's commitment to pull military forces away from the 
border with Eritrea, and the temporary EPRDF administration 
of Addis Ababa City.  Acknowledging that the government was 
preoccupied with bringing "CUD violent hardliners" to justice 
and investigating its own actions in June and December, the 
Prime Minister admitted little progress had been made 
recently on other issues, such as parliamentary, electoral, 
civil service, justice and budget reforms. 
 
¶2.  (U) Replying to the Prime Minister's presentation, 
opposition party leaders questioned Meles' report.  UEDF 
President Dr. Beyene Petros called Meles' parliamentary 
reform program weak on details and criticized the lack of 
bipartisan cooperation.  OFDM leader Bulcha Demeksa said the 
Prime Minister has prematurely determined who was responsible 
for this year's electoral-related violence, despite the fact 
that the inquiry commission had yet to publish its findings. 
All of the opposition MPs questioned Meles' intentions for 
permanent administration of the Addis Ababa city government. 
Opposition MPs contend that as the CUD won the election, it 
should administer the city.  Meles replied that the city 
government had been appointed for a temporary period in the 
expectation that the opposition would agree to assume control 
of the city, since they had not done so the government must 
now decide what to do vis-a-via a permanent solution.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
MELES:  GOVERNMENT FOCUSED ON CUD AND BORDER 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Meles announced that the ruling EPRDF coalition was 
ready to engage in dialogue with opposition parties, but 
singled out the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) as 
one party with whom dialogue was not possible because its 
"violent leaders" were accused of illegal activities.  To 
those CUD members not already in detention (septel), but 
interested in political dialogue, Meles offered two choices: 
condemn the illegal activities of CUD and respect the 
constitution; or face legal action from the government if 
illegal activities continue.  The Prime Minister noted that 
some members of the CUD had shown a desire to work outside 
the umbrella of their party.  Meles indicated that out of the 
109 CUD representatives elected for the House of People's 
Representatives, no less than 66 had joined the Parliament. 
 
¶4.  (U) Meles noted that many had complained that the 
security forces used excessive force to quell the 
electoral-related violence in June and November.  He 
indicated the government had started the investigation 
process by establishing a "free and neutral" inquiry 
commission (reftel).  Meles said he stands ready to implement 
any decision that comes out of the inquiry commission's final 
investigation.  The Prime Minister argued that the government 
had successfully defended the rule of law in the face of 
efforts to overthrow the government. 
 
¶5.  (U) With regard to the Ethiopia-Eritrea border issue, 
Meles contended that the Eritrean government had taken 
measures to aggravate the tense situation and was "beating 
the war drum."  The only way to avoid war, Meles concluded, 
was to build up Ethiopia's military force in hopes of 
deterring the Eritrean government from conflict.  Ethiopia 
would, however, comply with United Nations Security Council 
resolution 1640 to move Ethiopia's defense forces to 
positions held last December.  The government remained 
committed to resolving the border issue with hopes of 
sustainable peace, he said, but labeled the Ethiopia-Eritrea 
Boundary Commission decisions "wrong." 
 
¶6.  (U) While Meles argued that residents of Addis Ababa 
should be governed by a party they elected (the CUD), he 
blamed the CUD for failing to take responsibility for 
administration.  In the CUD's absence, Meles said that the 
provisional administration should remain in power, but he 
would devise a permanent solution with the next month. 
 
¶7.  (U) Meles acknowledged that parliamentary and electoral 
reform may be necessary and that the government should take 
 
action.  Accordingly, he said he had authorized Parliament to 
hire external professionals to compare the code of conduct 
and operational procedure with those of experienced 
democracies, such as Canada, Germany, India and Great 
Britain.  The Prime Minister hoped to identify and correct 
processes and procedures that were "less democratic" and that 
restricted the role of the opposition.  With regard to the 
electoral process, Meles admitted that a considerable problem 
of "executive capacity" existed, but said the government had 
taken various measures to resolve these problems.  For 
example, the National Electoral Board (NEB) has hired foreign 
consultants to examine the previous election and provide 
capacity-building.  Other reforms in the civil service, 
justice and budgetary spheres had made little progress 
because of the GOE's preoccupation with the election and 
related violence. 
 
¶8.  (U) According to Meles, mass media plays an irreplaceable 
role in building a democratic system.  While he believed the 
state media played a constructive role during the election 
campaign, the opposition parties raised complaints regarding 
media utilization after the election.  Meles said he would 
investigate these complaints, but argued the private media 
had proven to be a tool for violence and upheaval.  The Prime 
Minister planned on establishing a legal framework and 
creating a strong accountability system to better isolate any 
illegal activities, likely to address the concern that 
independent press not promulgate what the Government 
considers hate speech. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
MELES LISTENS AS OPPOSITION MAKES ITS CASE 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (U) Immediately following the Prime Minister's speech, 
opposition party members took the floor to debate the merits 
of Meles' comments.  Opposition members of Parliament 
welcomed the Prime Minister's report, but claimed it fell 
short on a number of fronts.  United Ethiopian Democratic 
Front (UEDF) President Dr. Beyene Petros argued that while 
the government's parliamentary reform efforts and interest in 
hiring international consultants sounded reasonable, Meles 
offered far too little information about the program.  MP 
Tesfaye Challa of the CUD concurred, adding that any 
parliamentary reform activities should include input from the 
opposition. 
 
¶10.  (U) Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) MP 
Bulcha Demeksa applauded the Prime Minister for speaking 
about parliamentary shortcomings, but asked for more 
information about the violence that had permeated Ethiopia. 
He stressed that the government, his own party, and the 
general public, had little information about those 
responsible for the violence of the past year.  He warned 
about speaking "as if we know who did it" and recommended 
allowing the commission of inquiry (reftel) to do its work. 
Furthermore, Oromo National Congress (ONC) MP Gerbru 
Gebre-Mariam cautioned the Prime Minister about focusing the 
investigation on violence in Addis Ababa.  There continue to 
be widespread problems outside of Addis Ababa and, in 
particular, the Oromiya region, he said. 
 
¶11.  (U) All opposition MPs speaking in response to the Prime 
Minister's speech questioned his decision to leave the EPRDF 
in control of Addis Ababa city government.  ONC MP Tolosa 
Tesfaye believed that in this case the "people's decision has 
been averted."  Beyene called for Meles to respect the wishes 
of the voting public and install those who were elected. 
Bulcha questioned the legality of Meles' decision to 
essentially appoint the current Addis Ababa city government 
leaders.  (Note: The CUD leadership, prior to the arrest of 
many of its members, voted not to take over the Addis Ababa 
Regional Council, where the coalition had won an overwhelming 
majority of the seats.  End Note.) 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  (U) The political discussion following Prime Minister 
Meles' address to Parliament highlights the divide between 
government and opposition parties, but also underscores the 
opportunity for real debate that already exists in Ethiopia's 
evolving Parliament.  Not only were opposition party members 
given a public forum to express their opinions, but 
English-language state-run media outlets also published their 
 
rebuttals to the PM's speech.  Opposition parties have 
enjoyed no state media access since the election, so the 
appearance of opposition points of view in state media is a 
small, but important breakthrough. 
HUDDLESTON