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PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #0143/01 0171408
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171408Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8649
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 000143 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E 
LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR KJUS KDEM ET
SUBJECT: COMMISSION INVESTIGATING ETHIOPIAN ELECTORAL 
VIOLENCE WILL HAVE LIMITED MANDATE 
 
REF: A. 05 ADDIS ABABA 4073 
 
     ¶B. ADDIS ABABA 49 (AND PREVIOUS) 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY.  The 11-member commission of inquiry 
established by Parliament to investigate anti-government 
demonstrations that occurred in June and November 2005 has 
yet to formally meet, but is scheduled to deliver its report 
in March.  According to its chairman, Frehiwot Samuel, a 
career judge, the commission's role is limited to determining 
whether government security forces responded with 
proportional force, determining whether the Government 
observes Ethiopian human rights standards, and calculating 
the number of casualties and value of property damaged.  The 
commission intends to hire investigators and call witnesses, 
but has not established any procedures to grant witnesses 
immunity from prosecution.  Only two of the commission's 11 
members have any legal experience.  The commission's findings 
are due to be released just as government prosecutors will 
likely be making their case in Ethiopia's High Court that 131 
opposition leaders and supporters, independent journalists, 
and NGO representatives should face life imprisonment or 
death for seeking to overthrow the government through violent 
demonstrations.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On December 27, deputy polecon counselor and French 
ambassador met with Frehiwot Samuel, a career judge appointed 
by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and approved by the House of 
People's Representatives (Ethiopia's parliament) on December 
6 to chair an 11-member commission on inquiry (ref A) 
reviewing June and November 2005 anti-government 
demonstrations.  The formation of an independent commission 
to investigate the June 8, 2005, killings of civilians was 
one of eight preconditions sought by the opposition CUD in 
October 2005 for CUD members to reverse its decision to 
boycott entering Parliament.  Parliament's approval of the 
commission in early December came one month after 
anti-government demonstrations rocked the capital in early 
November, and followed the GOE's arrest of at least 80 
opposition leaders and supporters on anti-government charges 
that include armed uprising, high treason, and genocide. 
International media and human rights groups report that armed 
security forces killed at least forty individuals during the 
November demonstrations alone.  Prime Minister Meles Zenawi 
appointed all the commission's members, who were subsequently 
approved by Parliament (ref A); a motion to have Parliament 
itself appoint the commission's members was not approved. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
COURTS, NOT COMMISSION, WILL DETERMINE WHO IS RESPONSIBLE 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶3. (U) Frehiwot explained that the proclamation establishing 
the commission limited its mandate to the following: 
-- establishing whether actions taken by GOE security forces 
(to respond to demonstrators) were proportional; 
-- determining whether the GOE is observing human rights 
standards promulgated in Ethiopia's constitution and in 
Ethiopian law; 
-- determining the number of casualties, and the amount of 
property destroyed, as a result of the June and November 
demonstrations. 
 
According to Frehiwot, the GOE asserts that up to 27 people 
were killed in November and 36 in June.  (NOTE: On December 
21, High Court prosecutors formally charged 131 defendants, 
including at least 39 leaders of the opposition Coalition for 
Unity and Democracy party, with capital charges ranging from 
"obstructing the Constitutional order" to high treason and 
genocide.  In its written charges, prosecutors allege that 
the 131 defendants are responsible for 34 deaths, injuries to 
167 people, and causing material damages or loss of one 
billion birr -- or approximately 116 million USD.  END NOTE.) 
 Frehiwot noted that while the commission is to consider 
Ethiopian, rather than international human rights standards, 
Ethiopia's constitution refers to the Universal Declaration 
of Human Rights. 
 
¶4. (U) Parliament's legal and administrative committee had 
determined that it was the role of the court, not the 
commission, to establish responsibility for the June and 
November anti-government demonstrations, Frehiwot said.  In 
contrast, he noted, the parliamentary commission previously 
established to investigate alleged human rights abuses 
committed in December 2003 by the military in Ethiopia's 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000143  002 OF 003 
 
 
western Gambella region, had been mandated to identify 
specific individuals who were responsible for abuses, who 
were instigators, or who had participated in the violence. 
That commission had presented its report to Parliament 
attributing blame to "military persons," he said; he did not 
know whether any had subsequently faced prosecution, however. 
 (NOTE: The commission investigating December 2003 incidents 
in Gambella issued its report in late 2004.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶5. (U) The commission of inquiry will submit its report 
directly to Parliament, Frehiwot said, but Parliament had not 
yet determined whether the report would be public or 
confidential.  Frehiwot said he preferred that the report be 
 
SIPDIS 
public.  He lamented that the three months given to the 
commission to produce its report was "quite short," as 
building public trust in the commission would likely require 
several weeks.  French ambassador noted that gaining the 
trust of the public was key, and observed that it would be 
difficult to establish the facts without implying that one 
side or the other (i.e., the GOE or the opposition) was wrong. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
COMMISSION AWAITING BUDGET FOR OFFICES, STAFF 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Frehiwot said he had only met with six of the 
commission's 11 members, and would not meet them again until 
"all arrangements" had been completed.  He explained that the 
commission did not have any office:  Parliament had not yet 
provided any funding for the commission, but was expected to 
do so soon.  Frehiwot also said that he was scheduled to meet 
with parliamentary speaker Teshome Toga, but had not yet done 
so. 
 
¶7. (U) While Parliament had established the commission, it 
was up to the chairman to establish its procedures, Frehiwot 
said.  The proclamation establishing the commission stated 
that no witnesses would be forced to testify, he said.  He 
added that the commission had the right to summon witnesses 
from "around the world" as well as to issue arrest warrants, 
but that doing so would be "the worst way" of obtaining 
information.  Asked whether the commission would grant 
immunity from prosecution to those who testified before it, 
Frehiwot only said that he felt strongly that witnesses 
should not be harassed:  he said he would establish a 
telephone hotline for witnesses to report harassment, as well 
as issue special identification cards to witnesses, who were 
to testify under oath.  The commission needed to hire its own 
expert staff, he said, especially investigators. 
 
¶8. (U) Commenting on the composition of the 11-member 
commission, Frehiwot said that is was unclear how they were 
selected: none had legal experience, with the exception of 
himself and Wold-Michael Meshesa (Vice President of the 
Federal Court of First Instance).  He said that other 
commission members included four clergy (a Roman Catholic 
priest, Lutheran church vice-president, vice president of the 
national Muslim council, and Orthodox Church archbishop); an 
Addis Ababa University professor who formerly served as the 
university's vice president; a Somali political scientist; an 
advisor to a pastoralist NGO; and one woman: an accountant 
from Harari regional state (the country's smallest). 
Frehiwot said that the commission's vice chairman, Shiferaw 
Jamo, had been a been a consultant to the GOE during both the 
reign of Emperor Haile Selassie and the Derg regime, who now 
served as an advisor to the Ministry of Capacity Building on 
civil service reform. 
 
¶9. (U) BIO-NOTE: A government legal expert, Frehiwot began 
his career as a legal advisor to the president and parliament 
of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples regional 
state.  He has been a supreme court judge for the last eight 
years, and chairs the supreme court plenary as well as the 
court of constitutional inquiry.  He previously worked on a 
World Bank project on civil service reform and currently 
serves on several GOE working groups addressing legal reform. 
 In his capacity as member of the national steering committee 
on legal education, he obtained a non-immigrant visa on 
December 27 to visit Georgetown Law School in Washington (he 
also plans to visit McGill University in Canada). 
 
¶10. (SBU) COMMENT: Frehiwot appears to be a career technocrat 
with extensive experience in Ethiopian law.  However, the 
commission he chairs faces the politically sensitive task of 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000143  003 OF 003 
 
 
producing a credible report on events for which government 
prosecutors have charged 131 opposition party members, 
independent journalists, and representatives of civil society 
NGOs with capital crimes.  The commission's findings, due in 
March, will likely be released just as the trial of CUD 
leaders and others is underway.  END COMMENT. 
HUDDLESTON