Covering events from January - December 2000

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Head of state: Negasso Gidada Head of government: Capital: Addis Ababa Population: 58.8 million Official language: Amharic Death penalty: retentionist

The border war with Eritrea resumed in May. Heavy fighting stopped with a cease-fire in June and a peace treaty was signed in December. Each side accused the other of committing human rights abuses against its own nationals. Armed conflict continued within Ethiopia between government forces and Oromo and Somali opponents, with many human rights violations and abuses reported. Suspected rebel supporters were detained, tortured or sometimes extrajudicially executed. Several thousand remained in detention, some having been held for years without charge or trial. Journalists, demonstrators and other critics of the government were arrested, most of whom were held without trial, although some received unfair trials. During preparations for elections in May, several opposition party supporters in the south were shot dead by police and scores were detained. The trials of officials of the former Dergue government proceeded slowly on charges including genocide and extrajudicial executions. Several death sentences were imposed but no executions were reported.

Background

War with Eritrea The border war with Eritrea erupted again in May after a year's tense confrontation along the 1,000-kilometre border. Both sides had continued to expand their forces and to buy weapons. Forced recruitment was reported in southern Ethiopia, with some children allegedly recruited.

In May Ethiopia attacked and captured large parts of southwestern Eritrea, forcing Eritrean troops out of areas they had occupied since the war began in May 1998. The UN Security Council urged a cease-fire and imposed an arms embargo on both sides. After three weeks of fighting with heavy casualties, a cease-fire was signed in June under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity. Ethiopian troops withdrew to a buffer zone 25 kilometres inside Eritrea, administered by a UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). Recriminations and allegations of human rights abuses by each side against the other's nationals in their country continued. More than 300,000 Ethiopians were displaced by the fighting.

A formal peace treaty was signed in December in Algeria in the presence of the UN Secretary-General. This provided for UN supervision of the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops and temporary UN administration of the buffer zone, neutral demarcation of the border, and examination of claims by both sides for compensation. The UN Secretary-General promised international help to both sides to recover from the destruction caused by the conflict.

In December UNMEE began deploying troops and human rights observers into the Ethiopian-occupied zone. An exchange of prisoners of war and civilian internees began under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which had previously registered 2,600 Eritrean prisoners of war in Ethiopia and 1,000 Ethiopian prisoners of war in Eritrea. Over 1,200 Eritrean civilians were also held by Ethiopia, most of whom had been detained without charge or trial since May 1998. The future remained uncertain for the substantial long-standing community of Eritreans in Ethiopia, who had been stripped of their Ethiopian citizenship when the war broke out.

Human Rights Commission and Ombudsman In July the Human Rights Commission and the Office of Ombudsman were formally established, but members had not been appointed by the end of 2000.

Internal and regional armed conflicts The government continued to face long-running armed opposition in the Oromo region from the (OLF), and in the Somali region from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and Al-Itihad, an Islamist group allied to the ONLF with ties to Islamist groups in Somalia. Many human rights abuses were reported in these two conflicts, particularly by government troops against civilians suspected of supporting the rebels. International and national humanitarian staff were at risk of attacks and kidnapping by Somali rebels.

Ethiopian troops remained in Somalia's Gedo, Bay and Bakol regions, supporting particular local Somali factions. Ethiopia was involved in the Somali peace talks held in Djibouti which led to the formation of the new interim Somali government.

Elections Elections for the national and regional parliaments were held in May. More than 50 political parties took part, including 23 opposition parties. The government barred international election observers but allowed over 1,500 national observers, including those from the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, which was finally granted legal registration. There were numerous complaints by opposition parties of repression and intimidation during voter registration and campaigning, particularly in the southern region. The All-Amhara People's Organization and several southern opposition parties, including the Southern Peoples' Democratic Front Coalition, the Hadiya National Democratic Coalition and the Gambela People's Democratic Congress, complained of supporters being beaten and detained, offices closed, candidates prevented from registering and supporters dismissed from government employment. In Hadiya zone in March, police reportedly shot dead two demonstrators and detained scores of people. Five people were allegedly killed by government forces on election day in Hadiya zone. Following complaints, the election was re-run there in June. Elections in the Somali region were postponed to August because of drought and insecurity.

The ruling Ethiopian Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Tigray People's Liberation Front won more than 90 per cent of seats. In October a new government headed again by Meles Zenawi was sworn in.

Political imprisonment Hundreds of people were arrested for political reasons, most of whom were detained without charge or trial, some in secret. Some were prisoners of conscience, and others might also have been prisoners of conscience although supposedly detained on suspicion of having links with armed opposition groups.

Detentions were particularly frequent in the Oromo and Somali regions, where some thousands of detainees arrested over the previous eight years continued to be detained without charge or trial.

Journalists Police arrested journalists from the private media on the grounds that articles criticizing the government were false or a threat to security. Arrests continued despite the government's unexpected decision in March to allow the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association to be registered, alongside the Ethiopian Journalists Association which mostly represented the pro-government and state media. Dozens of journalists were taken for questioning and released on bail with charges pending, and several fled the country after repeated court appearances and police summonses. The Press Law (1992) allows courts to imprison journalists for publishing false information or for allegedly inciting ethnic conflict. At the end of 2000, eight journalists were in prison as prisoners of conscience.

● In January Tessalegne Mengesha of Mabruk magazine was jailed for a year and Tewodros Kassa of Etiop magazine was sentenced to one year's imprisonment in June. The charges were dubious, and their trials unfair. ● Mairegu Bezabih, a veteran journalist and the European Union's Information Officer in Ethiopia, was arrested in March in unclear circumstances - the authorities accused him of involvement in human rights violations 13 years previously.

Election-related arrests In certain southern constituencies, particularly Hadiya, Kambata and Gambela zones, members of opposition parties were detained during the election process.

● Abula Obang, an education official, and 17 others who formed the Gambela People's Democratic Congress and were arrested in early 1999 remained in detention without charge or trial as prisoners of conscience throughout the election period.

Oromo demonstrations In March there were widespread demonstrations by Oromos in Addis Ababa, Ambo, Nekemte and several other towns in western . The demonstrators accused the authorities of failing to take sufficient action to stop a huge forest fire in southern Oromia. Hundreds of demonstrators, notably schoolteachers and students, were arrested and held for several weeks without charge or trial. At least one person, Diribe Jifara, was reportedly shot dead by police. Most detainees were non-violent protesters and were prisoners of conscience. There were further demonstrations and short-term arrests of Oromos in October and November on account of the government's decision to move the Oromia regional capital from Addis Ababa (where there is a large Oromo community) to Nazareth in the southeast. In late December up to 200 students were arrested at Addis Ababa University after a dispute over an Oromo political issue. After some days in custody, where they were ill-treated and forced to do harsh exercises, most were released but 18 Oromo students were taken to court and remanded in custody.

Eritrean detainees In March and April, when war was again imminent, nine Eritreans were sentenced to between one and 15 years' imprisonment on charges of spying for or collaborating with the Eritrean armed forces. More than 1,200 other Eritreans were still detained without charge or trial after mass round-ups in 1998 and 1999.

Political trials The group trial in Addis Ababa of more than 60 Oromos for armed conspiracy with the OLF entered its third year. The defendants faced a variety of mostly separate charges. Among these prisoners were seven human rights defenders who had founded the Human Rights League to protect Oromos against human rights violations, and two journalists. They were prisoners of conscience.

● Taye Wolde-Semayat, president of the Ethiopian Teachers Association and a former university professor, lodged an appeal against his 15-year prison sentence imposed in 1999 for alleged armed conspiracy. A prominent critic of the government, he was a prisoner of conscience, convicted in an unfair trial.

Dergue trials The trial of 46 members of the former military government of Mengistu Haile- Mariam (which was known as the Dergue) entered its sixth year. They were charged with genocide, war crimes and other crimes against humanity. Some trials began of more than 2,200 other former officials, most of whom had been held since 1991 and were facing lesser charges. A few trials were completed. Several people were convicted and sentenced to prison terms, a few were acquitted, and at least one was sentenced to death in his absence. The majority of trials, however, had not yet started and many detainees, including Mammo Wolde, the former Olympic athlete, remained in prison with little chance of an early opportunity to defend themselves.

Torture/ill-treatment

Reports continued to be received of a persistent pattern of torture of political prisoners. Torture took place during unlawful and incommunicado detention in official and unofficial places of custody. Judges did not investigate complaints of torture made when prisoners were brought to court. Torture was particularly common in certain police stations and security centres in Addis Ababa and in zones of armed conflict or intense political conflict, such as Oromia, the Somali region and parts of the south. Prison conditions were generally harsh and medical treatment was inadequate.

Extrajudicial executions There were reports of suspected rebel supporters being extrajudicially executed by government forces, but these proved difficult to verify.

Death penalty Several people were sentenced to death for murder but no executions were reported. Up to 100 prisoners were under sentence of death.