• Ethiopia: The Ginbot 7 party (Landinfo Report)

    INTRODUCTION

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    This report deals with the Ethiopian party Ginbot 7 (G7). The report illustrates the party's establishment and program, activities inside and outside of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian government's reactions to people suspected of being affiliated with the party.

    The report is based on information from a variety of open sources, from meetings Landinfo has had with various sources during their stay in Ethiopia and from conversations with Ethiopians in exile who were affiliated with the party.

    The possible impact of Ethiopians’ political activities in exile is discussed in the response Political activities in exile (Sur Place) (Landinfo 2012).

    BACKGROUND

    Since the transfer of power to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)1 in 1991, Ethiopian politics has been characterised by a Marxist and centralised political model which leaves very little room for oppositional political activity. This authoritarian trend has roots in the Ethiopian political culture, but is also characterised by an ideological, revolutionary democracy and carries experiences from the armed resistance to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)2.

    The government held elections for parliament in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010, but the implementation has been criticised for favouring the ruling party, which is the dominant party with strong influence on the administration and the courts. There are registered opposition parties in Ethiopia, but their scope is significantly restricted by law, a politicised central government and ethnic conflict (Abbink 2010). 70 registered parties participated in the election in 2010. The ruling party won all the seats except one in parliament and 1904 seats in the regional assemblies. The opposition won four seats in the regional assemblies.

    Since 1991, several Ethiopian parties inside and outside Ethiopia have had armed rebellions as a means of regime change. Amongst these are the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) (see Landinfo 2010b), the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) (see Landinfo 2011) and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) (see Landinfo 2010a). These parties are illegal (Criminal Code 2005), and any activities in Ethiopia are mainly underground.

    THE PARTY’S ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRAM

    Ginbot 73 (referred to as G7) was established 15 May 2008. The name means 15 May in Amharic and refers to the date when the election for the parliament in Ethiopia was held in 2005. The party was established on an initiative from Berhanu Nega4 and Andargachew Tsige. Both have roots in the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP), and they were active in the opposition coalition the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD)5 before and after the election in 2005.6

    G7 has not developed concrete plans for alternative politics, but there is a several page-long program on the party's website (Ginbot 7 n.d.). Party leader Berhanu Nega told Landinfo in May 2009 that the party primarily wants a regime change, and that it has a goal of embracing all ethnic groups in Ethiopia and creating a comprehensive oppositional alliance. G7 does not exclude the use of violent means to overthrow the current ruling coalition EPRDF.7 The party did not place candidates in the election in May 2010, because they had no confidence in the electoral process.

    Since the establishment of the party, the leadership has mobilised Ethiopians in exile in Europe, Africa, Australia and North America. They want to mobilise support for the group's goals and create a cohesive network of Ethiopian opposition groups in exile. In August 2010, the party joined with two other unregistered political groups in Ethiopia; Afar People’s Party (APP) and Ethiopian Movement for Unity and Justice (Ethiopian Review 2010). The coalition's new name is “Alliance for Liberty, Equality and Justice in Ethiopia” (ALEJE).
    The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), under the leadership of Kemal Gelchu, announced on 2 January 2012 that the party no longer demands independence for the Oromo and sought cooperation with other Ethiopian groups for regime change. The day after, the ALEJE coalition confirmed the agreement. This marked a new alliance between Kemal's faction of OLF and G7 (Mohamed 2012).

    THE PARTY’S ACTIVITIES IN ETHIOPIA

    In a conversation with Landinfo in March 2011, party leader Berhanu Nega said that G7 has a widespread, secret party network in Ethiopia. He said that the party is organised in a cell structure and is active throughout Ethiopia. The cells are autonomous and each cell consists of four to five people.

    Another central G7 leader (conversation in Oslo February 2012) has described the organisation as quatero (Amharic for cell system). According to this G7 leader, the cells are found in all universities and colleges in Ethiopia, and this cell organisation was reportedly presented on Ethiopian TV in 2011 in a news broadcast in which the government asked Ethiopian to be vigilant for such activity.
    A Western diplomatic source (e-mails September 2010 and December 2011) emphasised that there is no confirmed information regarding G7 activities in Ethiopia. The source considered it likely that any activities ceased after the arrests of dissidents in the spring of 2009 (see chapter 6). This is confirmed by German, Swiss and Austrian immigration authorities, who, after conversations with a number of sources in Ethiopia in 2010, concluded that the movement is barely present in the country (Bundesamt für Migration (Schweiz), Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (Deutschland) & Staatendokumentation des Bundesasylamtes (Österreich) 2010).

    Information on G7's ideas and organisation are available in Ethiopia. This especially applies in urban, academic environments where there is access to Internet and satellite TV. Meanwhile, the restrictions the government wants to put on oppositional political activity, and especially on illegal political groups, are so extensive that any organised activity would be difficult to track. Neither the Ethiopian government nor G7 can be considered reliable sources for the presence of a widespread G7 cell structure in Ethiopia.

    THE PARTY’S ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE ETHIOPIA

    G7 has been active in the diaspora and since 2008 has built up an organisation with many former CUD members in Europe, Australia and North America. The party has offices in many European countries, including Norway, Denmark, England, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Germany (Berhanu Nega, conversation in Oslo March 2011).

    The party operates the website ginbot7.com. This and a series of other similar websites are sometimes shut down by the authorities in Ethiopia (U.S. Department of State 2011).8 G7 is also responsible for radio broadcasts which are transmitted to Ethiopia twice a day, three times a week. The radio broadcasts are transmitted on four different bandwidths to avoid the government's attempts to block the transmissions (Ginbot 7 n.d.). The signals for international radio broadcasts are sometimes blocked (Freedom House 2011).
    Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) started transmissions to Ethiopia by satellite in April 2010, and was presented as the first independent news provider of TV signals in Ethiopia. ESAT broadcasts programs, including G7 programs, 24 hours a day. It is unclear how much of a viewership these transmissions have, but there are an increasing number of Ethiopians who have access to satellite TV (Freedom House 2011). ESAT was blocked eleven times in 2011 by the Ethiopian government (Amnesty International 2011a). Two Ethiopians in exile with connections to ESAT were charged in absentia with violations of criminal law and anti-terrorist law in 2011 (Amnesty International 2011a).9 ESAT and G7 are partially financed by the same sources, but are otherwise separate entities, according to a central G7 leader (conversation in Oslo February 2012).

    6. THE GOVERNMENT’S REACTION TO G7 IN 2009 AND 2011

    6.1 ARRESTS IN THE SPRING OF 2009

    In April 2009, G7 was the subject of extensive attention for the first time, both inside and outside Ethiopia. 35 Ethiopians were arrested in Addis Abeba for trying to overturn the constitution. In May 2009, 11 more people were charged. On 4 June 2009, the government brought charges against these 46 Ethiopians. They were charged with membership in an illegal group, G7, and for planning the executions of government officials (Abbaymedia 2009). Further information was not provided on who these government officials were.
    According to a diplomatic source Landinfo contacted in December 2009, the group of 46 defendants were primarily current and former officers in the Ethiopian army. According to the journalist Peter Heinlein (2009), there were also people in civil government sectors amongst those arrested. Most of the 46 defendants denied having connections to G7 and accused the government of constructing this association.10 The majority of those arrested were reportedly of Amharic origin.

    The Ethiopian Federal Court convicted 40 of the 46 defendants in 2009. They were found guilty of five of the charges in accordance with the Ethiopian Penal Code, including (i) planning killings of government members, (ii) plots against electrical and power supplies and (iii) planning to remove Prime Minister Meles Zenawi from power (Well-informed diplomatic source, e-mail December 2009).
    Five11 of the defendants were sentenced to death, 3312 were sentenced to life in prison, while two were sentenced to ten years in prison based on having admitted to the charges. Eight of those who were sentenced to life in prison were in exile.

    Several of the accused have explained that they were subjected to physical assault with the intent of getting them to confess (U.S. Department of State 2010). In connection with the death sentence for five of the defendants, the judge explained that these were people who had previously been convicted of similar charges.13

    After appeals, the Ethiopian Supreme Court confirmed 25 life sentences on 11 November 2010.14 The Ethiopian Supreme Court upheld the death sentences for Berhanu, Andargachaw, Muluneh and Melaku. Only Melaku was in Ethiopia during the conviction (Ethioplanet n.d.).

    Those who were convicted of planning regime change mainly had military backgrounds. Whether they were actually active for G7 is uncertain, according to a Western diplomatic source (e-mail December 2009). It is not inconceivable that some of the charges of assault may be justified, at least in part, according to the diplomatic source. However, the same source said it was unlikely that G7 as an organisation was behind a conspiracy of such dimensions.

    Two of those who were sentenced in absentia, Habtewold and Yenealem, were editors of G7's political newsletter, which is banned in Ethiopia (Committee to Protect Journalists 2010).

    G7's leader, Berhanu Nega, has claimed (conversation in Oslo May 2009) that the arrests in 2009 were primarily the result of an internal rebellion in the army, and not politically motivated. According to Berhanu, it was military leaders with Amharic backgrounds who were behind the rebellion.

    6.2 THE CASE AGAINST ANDUALEM ARAGE ET AL. 2009

    Since March 2011, at least 114 journalists and opposition politicians have been arrested in Ethiopia, accused of being involved in various terrorist groups (Amnesty International 2011). Sources Landinfo met in Ethiopia in March 2012 pointed out that the number of arrested people could be higher. An Ethiopian dissident (meeting in Addis Abeba March 2012) estimated the number arrested to be 401 as of March 2012. This constitutes the largest wave of arrests since the government cracked down on regime critics after the parliamentary election in 2005 (Western diplomatic source, e-mail September 2011).

    Most of the accused are members of the two largest Oromo parties, the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and the Oromo People’s Congress (OPC). However, amongst the defendants are a group of 24 people who are accused of G7 activity. This is the case against Andualem Arage et al., also referred to as the Ginbot 7 case.

    Arrests in Ethiopia

    On 14 September 2011, the journalist Eskinder Nega and the opposition politicians Andualem Arage, Nathanial Mekonnen, Asaminew Berhanu and Zemene Molla were arrested in Addis Abeba. Andualem, Nathanial and Asaminew15 have prominent positions in the opposition coalition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ)16, while Zemene is the Secretary-General of the Ethiopian National Democratic Party (ENDP).17 The four were arrested on the basis of suspicion of participation in G7 (Amnesty International 2011, p. 9). According to a well-informed Ethiopian dissident (meeting in Oslo February 2012), none of those arrested were connected to G7.
    In addition to these four, Yeshewale Yehunalem (member of UDJ), Mitiku Damte (member of UDJ in Desse), Yohannes Terefe (unknown background) and Andualem Ayalew were arrested. Andualem was abducted in Sudan, according to a well- informed diplomatic source (1) Landinfo spoke with in Ethiopia in March 2012. Andualem allegedly had a list of other G7 members. It is unclear why Yeshewale, Mitiku and Yohannes were arrested and what relation they had to G7.

    On 10 November 2011, all eight of these people were accused of violating a number of provisions in the anti-terrorism law (Anti-Terrorism Proclamation).

    Charges against 16 people in exile

    In addition to the eight already mentioned, 16 exiled Ethiopians were charged in the same case (Andualem Arage et al.) in absentia (see attachment 8.1). Four of these are G7 leaders (Andargachew Tsige, Berhanu Nega, Efrem Madebo and Mesfin Aman), while one (Colonel Alebel Amare) is a member of the Amhara Democratic Force Movement (an armed opposition movement in exile).

    According to Amnesty International (2011, p. 19), three of the accused in exile have unknown political affiliation: Desalegn Arage Wale, Wube Robe and Elias Molla. However, a well-informed Ethiopian dissident Landinfo met in February 2012 explained that Desalegn and Elias represented ENDP and not G7. The source also said that the G7 leadership in exile gave orders to G7 members in Ethiopia to support ENDP in the country. According to the same source, Alebel Amare reportedly had meetings with G7 outside Ethiopia, but did not belong to the organisation himself. According to the source, Wube Robe was a pseudonym.

    There are also five journalists amongst the accused in exile (Fasil Yenealem18, Abebe Belaw19, Abebe Gelaw20, Mesfin Negash21 and Abiye Teklemariam22), one human rights activist (Obang Metho), one political leader (Zelelie Tsegaselassie23) and the leader of Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) (Neamen Zeleke).

    The charges

    The 24 in the Andualem case were charged in accordance with paragraphs 3, 4, 5 (not all), 6, 7 (not all), 248 and 252 of the Criminal Code (2005). They were charged with the following offences:

    1. Terrorist acts by being guilty of another person's death or serious injury, by exposing the public to serious risk, by kidnapping, by destroying government buildings and by disrupting public services
    2. Planning, preparing/conspiring and attempting to carry out terrorist acts 3. Encouraging terrorism 4. Treason, by having contact with a nation at war with Ethiopia (Eritrea) 5. Espionage
    6. Participation in a terrorist organisation through activities as leader or decision maker in the organisation (for defendants 1 through 18, see Appendix 8.2)
    7. Participation in a terrorist organisation by recruiting members, training or holding membership (for defendants 19 and 20, see attachment)

    Sentencing

    On 27 June 2012, 24 of those charged in the Andualem case were found guilty of multiple charges by the Lideta Federal Court in Addis Abeba. The sentencing occurred on 13 July 2012, and prison sentences of eight years to life were pronounced (Reuters 2012).

    The basis for the arrest

    It is uncertain what the basis for the arrests in the Ginbot 7 case was. Several of those arrested are affiliated with the opposition party UDJ. EPRDF made a clear warning to UDJ in March 2011 that members of the party were conducting "illegal activities under the guise of legal opposition," and that the government was following them closely and was going to crack down on them (Western diplomatic source, e-mail September 2011). This can be understood as an indirect reference to G7. Both G7 and UDJ have roots in CUD (Qinijit) and recruit members from the same environments. UDJ is different from G7 in being a legal political party which recognises the constitution and places candidates in elections. According to a Western diplomatic source (e-mail December 2011), the government has presented examples of opposition politicians who formerly advocated a peaceful line, now having contact with G7. In connection with the arrests, the federal police in Ethiopia said that they had proof that the accused were connected to what they referred to as G7's terrorist plans (Tekle 2011).

    At a press conference held on 16 September 2011, UDJ categorically denied that the arrested members were involved in illegal activities. The party claimed that EPRDF used anti-terrorist legislation in order to stop critics, and that the arrests would also increase dissent amongst the population, which was already high due to inflation, rising prices and inspiration from the Arab Spring (Western diplomatic source, e- mail September 2011).

    A dissident who Landinfo met in Ethiopia in March 2012 explained that there are three pieces of evidence in the Andualem case:

    Contact over social media on the Internet between Ethiopians affiliated with G7 and accused Ethiopians at home
    E-mails sent from G7 in exile to people at home Transmission of G7's party program from G7 in exile to Ethiopians at home
    The source emphasised that many thousands of Ethiopians received similar e-mails from G7. Several well-informed, diplomatic sources (1, 2 and 3) Landinfo met in March 2012 explained that the evidence presented in these cases is thin, and that the threshold to convict a person of terrorism is low.

    According to Landinfo's assessment, the fear of the spread of similar rebellions to those which took place in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and Yemen, amongst others, in 2011 was the most important reason for the government making these arrests. Those arrested were considered to have the capacity to promote protests against the Ethiopian government. In fact, the Arab Spring was the topic of Eskinder Nega's speeches prior to the arrests in September 2011.

    The evidence which was presented during the trial against these 24 people in March 2012 was thin, according to several of the sources we met in Addis Abeba in the spring. In addition to Andergetchew Tsige, Berhanu Nega, Efrem Madebo and Mesfin Aman, who are all recognised to be G7 leaders, it is uncertain what relation to the movement the other 20 defendants had.

    http://abbaymedia.com/2012/11/22/ethiopia-the-ginbot-7-party-landinfo-report/
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