VZCZCXRO9723
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDS #0370/01 0531335
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221335Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7864
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEWMFD/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEPADJ/CJTF HOA PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 000370 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: 
TAGS: 
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL ALLEGATIONS GENERATE PROTESTS, MASS ARRESTS 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1. (SBU) Residents of Shakiso Wereda accuse Laga Dembi Mine, owned 
by billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, of releasing toxic 
chemical waste into a nearby river, causing illness to people and 
animals in the area.  Local residents and students submitted a 
petition to the local government arguing that a second gold mine 
should not be given to MIDROC before it cleans the toxic waste that 
it has released from Lega Dembi, and the company brings benefits to 
the community.  Local government officials, who were allegedly 
instructed by federal authorities to halt an ongoing investigation 
into the toxic dumping, resorted to mass arrests of the protesters. 
According to Members of Parliament (MPs) from Guji and Borena Zones 
of Oromiya region, over 100 people remain detained in Yabello prison 
awaiting trial, and opposition political party members and 
candidates were specifically targeted.  According to Human Rights 
groups and MPs, the whereabouts of three university students and two 
political leaders is unknown.  End Summary. 
 
Local Residents Accuse MIDROC of Dumping 
Toxic Chemicals at Mine 
------------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) Beginning in December 2009, residents of Shakiso Wereda 
(Oromiya Region) accused Laga Dembi Mine of releasing toxic chemical 
waste into a nearby river, causing illness to people and animals in 
the area.  (Note:  According to Demboba Boku, Member of Parliament 
for the area, several local experts found evidence of dangerously 
high mercury levels in the water.  However, Post has not reviewed 
scientific or medical analysis examining the correlation between 
chemicals from the mine and human and animal health.  End note.)  On 
December 3, 2009 students from Shakiso town submitted a petition to 
Wereda officials detailing the adverse effects of noxious chemicals 
released by the gold mine on the health of the community.  They 
further protested that the mine owner harvested gold from their 
land, but did not invest in the development of the community.  Most 
of the mine's employees are brought in from other regions, while 
employment from the local community is minimal. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Guji Zone and Shakiso Wereda administrators told the 
students they would study the situation and respond on December 16. 
According to parliamentarian Demboba (of the opposition Oromo 
Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) party), officials of the 
federal and regional governments pressured local officials to nip 
the budding dissent.  Students and residents who went to hear the 
response from their local leaders on December 16 were surrounded by 
federal and local police.  Demboba said a student "planted" by local 
officials stood up from the crowd and said, "We residents of Shakiso 
Wereda are sick and tired of officials of the Oromo Peoples' 
Democratic organization (OPDO).  The current local officials should 
hand over office to more capable groups that could bring development 
to our Wereda."  Immediately after the inflammatory statement by the 
student, police reportedly started beating people gathered there and 
arrested Assefa Arure, Guji Zone OFDM coordinator, and Dulecha Robe, 
OFDM member.  The whereabouts of the two are still not known. 
According to Demboba, the arrests continued and on December 18, over 
100 OFDM and Oromo Peoples' Congress members and sympathizers were 
arrested. 
 
Background on Sheikh Al Amoudi's 
Lega Dembi Gold Mine 
-------------------------------- 
¶4. (U) Lega Dembi Gold Mine is owned by Mohammed International 
Development, Research Companies (MIDROC), a company owned by 
billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, believed to be the largest 
foreign investor in Ethiopia.  It is the only active industrial gold 
mine in Ethiopia.  On November 24, 2009 MIDROC signed a 10-year 
agreement with the Ministry of Mines and Energy for the extraction 
of 20,483 kg. of gold from the Sakaro area, three kilometers from 
the existing Lega Dembi gold belt in the Guji Zone of the Oromiya 
Regional State.  Gold is Ethiopia's major mineral, and the 
government is counting on a six-fold increase in production.  MIDROC 
has reportedly earned USD 466 million from Lega Dembi mine since 
¶1998.  The granting of Sakaro Gold Mines to MIDROC in the midst of 
allegations of pollution and lack of community involvement at Laga 
Dembi angered residents of Shakiso Wereda. 
 
 
¶5. (U) The office of the Chief Executive of MIDROC on its website 
advertizes its contribution to the development of the Lega Dembi 
Community by financing the Shakiso Clean Water Project, but 
residents of Shakiso disagree.  Demboba Boku told PE FSN that the 
multi-million dollar company did not invest in the community. 
 
 
Police Allegedly Refused to Respect 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000370  002 OF 003 
 
 
Bail Order from Court 
------------------------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) Demboba Boku told Poloff and P/E FSN that only eight of the 
over one hundred detainees appeared at Shakiso Wereda Court on Dec. 
¶18.  Police requested 14 days of investigation time, which the court 
granted.  The eight detainees appeared in court for the second time 
on January 1.  The police asked for a second 14-day extension to 
further investigate the case.  The Court did not grant the 
extension.  Instead, the court decided to release all eight 
detainees on bail.  According to Demboba, police defied the court 
order and continued to keep the eight individuals in detention. 
Demboba added that the court had not taken any measures against the 
police who defied the court's orders.  In an interview with the 
international press, Government of Ethiopia (GoE) spokesman Shimelis 
Kemal dismissed the allegations that students and residents of 
Shakiso were unjustly detained.  Shimelis said the disturbances were 
fomented by rebels from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and the 
innocence or guilt of the detainees would be decided by a court of 
law. 
 
Over 100 Protestors Remain in Detention 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Dembela Halekie, Member of Parliament from OPC representing 
Hageremariam Wereda, Borena Zone of Oromiya Region told PE FSN the 
eight defendants whose right to bail was rejected by police and over 
100 other detainees are currently jailed in Yabello Prison, Borena 
Zone.  According to Dembela, all detainees will appear before a 
roving Supreme Court and will answer to charges of fomenting an 
uprising to disrupt peace and stability.  Dembela did not know the 
trial date. 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) According to Demboba, eight OFDM candidates for the Federal 
Parliament and four candidates for the Regional Council are among 
the 100 detained by police.  OFDM reported the case to the National 
Electoral Board of Ethiopia, but received no response.  OFDM was 
forced to register new candidates in place of those of those 
detained. 
 
 
The Whereabouts of Three Students and 
Two Party Leaders is Unknown 
--------------------------------------- 
¶9. (SBU) On January 8, Human Rights League for the Horn of Africa 
(HRLHA) reported that three students from Awassa University were 
arrested by the Federal Police on January 5 and January 6 in 
connection with the riot in Shakiso Wereda, Guji Zone of Oromiya 
Region.  The three Awassa University students who are natives of 
Shakiso are:  Nega Gezaw, Dhaba Gire and Jatani Wario.  Demboba told 
Poloff and PE FSN that the three students were not physically 
present in Shakiso during the riot, but police picked them up from 
Awassa town for alleged involvement in the riot.  According to HRLHA 
and Demboba, the whereabouts of the three students is unknown. 
Similarly, the whereabouts of Assefa Arure and Dulecha Robe, both 
members OFDM are still unknown. 
 
Residents Not Impressed by Officials 
and Mine Owner Visit 
-------------------------------------- 
¶10. (U) According to Demboba, Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, owner of 
MIDROC, Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of Mines and Energy, and Aba Dula 
Gemeda, President of Oromiya Region visited Shakiso on January 20 to 
appease the community.  Sheikh Al Amoudi granted 15 million Birr 
(USD 1,125,000) for the 15 Weredas in Guji Zone to be used for 
community development.  According to Demboba, handpicked residents 
attended the meeting and thanked the visitors for the attention they 
gave to their community.  Demboba said the majority of residents -- 
who did not attend the meeting -- were unimpressed by the visit and 
donation, and characterized it as "too little, too late."  According 
to Demboba, the community continues to demand the immediate release 
of their loved ones and the cleanup of toxic waste generated by Lega 
Dembi Gold Mine before MIDROC is granted rights to Sakaro Gold Mine. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶11. (SBU) Genuine grass-roots opposition to hazardous pollution on 
the part of Ethiopia's largest investor appears to have fomented in 
Shakiso Wereda.  Local authorities' willingness to launch an 
investigation into Lega Dembi's environmental practices has clearly 
evaporated, and MP Demboba's allegation that they have been ordered 
by federal officials to "make the problem go away" is entirely 
believable.  While Demboba's allegation that the arrest of 
protestors was a form of political party harassment is congruent 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000370  003 OF 003 
 
 
with broader trends Post has observed, Demboba provided little 
evidence of his claims.  Neither Demboba nor other community leaders 
appear to have developed a strategy for highlighting this issue. 
With community members rightfully frightened by the mass arrests of 
peaceful demonstrators, this case will only attract further 
attention if Demboba or other high-ranking officials make it their 
own.  End comment. 
 
YATES