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Procedure : 2017/2682(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Select a document :

Texts tabled :

RC-B8-0369/2017

Debates :

PV 18/05/2017 - 9.2
CRE 18/05/2017 - 9.2

Votes :

PV 18/05/2017 - 11.2
CRE 18/05/2017 - 11.2

Texts adopted :

P8_TA(2017)0219

Verbatim report of proceedings
Thursday, 18 May 2017 - Strasbourg Revised edition

9.2. Ethiopia, notably the case of Dr Merera Gudina
Video of the speeches
PV
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  President. – The next item is the debate on seven motions for resolutions on Ethiopia, notably the case of Dr Merera Gudina.

 
  
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  Charles Tannock, author. – Mr President, as host of the African Union and a key regional contributor to UN peace missions, Ethiopia’s role is strategic. With conflicts in neighbouring South Sudan and Somalia, in addition to the repressive regime of Afwerki in Eritrea to its north, Ethiopia has found itself host to the largest refugee population in Africa. For one of the poorest countries in the world by GDP per capita, such responsibilities place great strain on the country’s resources. I hope therefore that today’s resolution can be seen in a constructive manner, reminding Ethiopia’s government that the EU is here to support its actions but that fundamental human rights to free speech and a right to peaceful protest must still be upheld.

I welcome the calls in the resolution for a UN-led inquiry into the heavy-handed actions taken by the government in response to the protests in Oromia state. This, along with the release of political prisoners including Dr Gudina, will be vital to improving Ethiopia’s record of enforcing the rule of law and democracy – a key part also of honouring its obligations under the EU’s Cotonou agreement.

 
  
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  Fabio Massimo Castaldo, autore. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, quando parliamo di Etiopia parliamo di un paese chiave negli equilibri dell'Africa subsahariana, un paese firmatario dell'accordo di Cotonou che però, purtroppo, lo sta smentendo con le sue azioni.

A seguito di un'audizione organizzata dall'onorevole Ana Gomes, che saluto, alcuni leader dell'opposizione, tra cui Merera Gudina, sono stati arrestati semplicemente per aver partecipato a questa audizione e sono stati imputati di aver esercitato pressioni contro il governo e minacciato la società, addirittura mediante violenza, perturbando l'ordine costituzionale. Non hanno diritto alla difesa e sono stati contestati loro ben quattro violazioni del codice penale.

In Etiopia, purtroppo, avvengono ancora violazioni dei diritti umani, c'è un uso eccessivo della forza contro gli oromo e altri gruppi etnici e, contestualmente, il governo sta abusando della legge antiterrorismo contro chiunque lo critichi, attaccando giornalisti, blogger e manifestanti.

Proprio per la sua importanza nella regione, noi richiediamo il rilascio di tutti i prigionieri politici, tra cui Merera Gudina, Berhanu Nega e Jawar Mohammed, e un'inchiesta veramente internazionale e indipendente che chiarisca tutte le violazioni dei diritti umani, non possiamo permetterle più.

 
  
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  Jordi Solé, author. – Mr President, Ethiopia is a key partner and a hope for economic improvement and political stability in a troubled region, but the truth is also that the country’s regime is authoritarian, cracking down mercilessly on those who voice dissent. Economic growth and enforced political stability are prioritised at the expense of human rights and civil liberties, and especially the fundamental rights of the country’s unrepresented groups are being violated on a daily basis. Most of these groups are systematically marginalised by the central government. Those living in the Ogaden and Oromia regions are most vulnerable to the persecution, as the case of Dr Gudina and others show. There is a need for greater ethnically-diverse democratic participation and more equal access to political, economic, social and cultural opportunities among the different groups. Being aware of the importance of Ethiopia for the economic and political stability of the region should not relieve us from the moral obligation of addressing and denouncing the severe human rights violations still taking place there.

 
  
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  Soraya Post, author. – Mr President, a decade of strong development in Ethiopia has lifted many out of poverty, of which it can be proud, but now this is all at risk. Ethiopia is in its eighth month of emergency rule. The government is systematically repressing freedom. In November, the leader of the opposition, Professor Merera Gudina was detained shortly after arriving in Addis Ababa from Brussels, where he gave a speech in this House. Independent media and civil society are also under attack. If the Ethiopian government values its long-standing cooperation with the EU and the great achievements of Ethiopia, it has to start respecting its own constitution. The government needs to immediately end emergency rule and let the United Nations in to visit political prisoners. Crucially, it needs to immediately release Professor Merera Gudina from prison.

 
  
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  Marie-Christine Vergiat, auteure. – Monsieur le Président, l’Éthiopie est un grand pays, riche de son histoire et de la diversité de sa population. C’est un pays clé dans la région, qui compte beaucoup d’amis, y compris dans cette enceinte. Mais respecter un ami, c’est savoir lui dire les choses; aujourd’hui notamment, avec l’arrestation du Docteur Merera Gudina, à son retour d’Europe, où il est venu témoigner, ici même, de la situation des Oromos, nous ne pouvons pas nous taire. À plus forte raison quand on nous dit que les relations UE-Éthiopie pourraient pâtir de notre vote, notamment en matière de migration. Cela s’appelle du chantage.

Depuis plusieurs mois, la situation se dégrade, en particulier depuis la mise en œuvre de l’état d’urgence. On parle de 26 000 arrestations, de centaines de morts – plus de six cents, selon un rapport officiel –, de tortures dans les prisons. Nous ne pouvons pas nous taire. Il faut demander aux autorités éthiopiennes de faire la lumière sur ce qu’ils appellent des allégations, d’accepter une enquête internationale et de libérer les prisonniers politiques arrêtés au nom de la lutte contre le terrorisme, qui a bon dos.

 
  
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  Tunne Kelam, author. – Mr President, there is no doubt about EU sympathy towards Ethiopia. Only 11 months ago, EU-Ethiopia strategic engagement agreement was signed, recognising the crucial role of Ethiopia in Africa, especially for providing stability for the region of the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia also has generously received almost one million refugees from neighbouring countries. However, today we are very much worried that the leader of the opposition party, Dr Merera Gudina, has been under arrest for almost half a year. Ironically, following his visit to the European Parliament, he is accused of creating pressure against the government – that is the opposition’s constitutional role – and so disrupting the constitutional order. Sadly, Dr Gudina is not alone. Our resolution lists several names – journalists, one-line activists – who are kept in detention. Today, therefore, we strongly urge the Ethiopian government to release immediately Dr Gudina and all other political prisoners; to allow international investigation on the killings of protesters on government-sponsored land grabs; to start genuine dialogue with the opposition, which is the only way toward a more democratic society; to stop using anti-terrorist laws and a state of emergency to suppress peaceful protests and dissent; and to provide unrestricted access for human rights organisations and NGOs to all parts of the country. These are also criteria for meaningful and credible implementation of our strategic engagement agreement.

 
  
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  Marietje Schaake, author. – Mr President, Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world and the people suffer from drought and other dire challenges that leave millions hungry and dependent on aid. It is important that the EU cooperate to help people and save lives, but it would be a grave mistake only to look at the challenges of people in Ethiopia through the lens of ‘managing migration’ and not to address the dire human rights violations which risk being overshadowed. Counter—terrorism laws are being abused, critics are being silenced and farmland has been expropriated. Hundreds of people were killed last month, according to Ethiopia’s Human Rights Commission itself. However, human rights organisations and NGOs claim that even more people were killed in demonstrations.

Today we call on the government of Ethiopia to respect the rights to freedom of expression, including the press freedom of critics, to lift the remaining elements of the state of emergency, and especially to give access to aid organisations for all areas and all people who are in need of assistance. It is important that political prisoners, journalists and human rights defenders be freed from detention and for the Ethiopian Government to adhere to its own commitments made under the African Charter, in the context of the Cotonou Agreement, towards democracy and respecting human rights.

 
  
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  Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz, w imieniu grupy PPE. – Panie Przewodniczący! Szanowni państwo! Etiopia odgrywa kluczową rolę w zapewnianiu bezpieczeństwa w Rogu Afryki, a borykając się z klęskami suszy, z epidemiami, z napływami i odpływami uchodźców, dźwiga naprawdę ogromne ciężary na swoich barkach.

Jest ważne, by te wszystkie problemy rozwiązywać w sposób szanujący prawo i demokrację, także w oparciu o niedawno zawartą umowę o współpracy z Unią Europejską. Tymczasem władze Etiopii wielokrotnie nadużyły siły wobec opozycji, tłumiąc pokojowe demonstracje, dopuszczając się aktów prześladowań, arbitralnych aresztowań i zabójstw wobec mniejszości etnicznych, dziennikarzy, blogerów i działaczy politycznych.

Dlatego wzywamy rząd Etiopii do zwolnienia za kaucją i wycofania zarzutów wobec dra Merery Gudiny i pozostałych więźniów politycznych, a także apelujemy do przedstawicieli Unii Europejskiej, by podjęli działania na rzecz wszczęcia pod egidą ONZ międzynarodowego dochodzenia, które dotyczyłoby zabicia demonstrantów.

 
  
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  Ana Gomes, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, in Ethiopia two days ago Yonatan Tesfaye, spokesperson for the opposition Blue Party, was sentenced as a terrorist for comments he made on Facebook about human rights. Last November, Dr Merera Gudina, the Oromo opposition leader, was arrested and tortured under terrorist charges for the crime of participating in a public hearing here, at the European Parliament, with Dr Berhanu Negra, another opposition leader democratically elected in 2005, then sent to jail, now in exile, and also deemed a terrorist. Thousands of political prisoners languish in jail in Ethiopia, jailed by a totalitarian government which was never elected, and whose last farcical election emulated North Korea, with the ruling party winning 100% of the votes. The violation of human rights in Ethiopia is systematic and aggravated under the state of emergency, with excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, massacres like at Irreecha, brutalising victims of the garbage dump landslide last March, brutal repression against the Roma community and other ethnic groups, arbitrary arrests, torture, killings, and terrorist charges against those who dare to dissent.

In this resolution we call on the High Representative to mobilise members to support a UN-led inquiry into the killings in Ethiopia. The Commission and Council must stop the pretence that they are dealing with a respectful government in Ethiopia as justification for wasting piles of EU taxpayers’ money on development aid, security capacity and the migration compact. They are, in fact, assisting a corrupt dictatorship which rules by terror, thus fuelling rebellion and insecurity. Ethiopia is indeed strategic. When Ethiopians revolt all Africa will tremble.

 
  
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  Bodil Valero, för Verts/ALE-gruppen. – Herr talman! Igår röstade vi för kommissionens förslag om att lägga till Etiopien på EU:s lista över högriskländer, för bl.a. korruption och penningtvätt.

Jag vill berätta om fallet Fikru Maru, som är en svensk läkare som 2006 startade ett hjärtsjukhus i Addis Abeba. 2010 anklagades han för att försöka smuggla in sjukhusmaterial, då han vägrade betala en muta. Anklagelserna lades ner och han släpptes.

I maj 2013 arresterades han för händelsen 2010 p.g.a. korruptionsmisstankar mot Etiopiens tullminister. Efter tre och ett halvt år i fängelse i Kaliti dömdes han för kännedom om korruption på ministernivå. Han fick fyra år och åtta månaders fängelsestraff förutom böter.

I september 2016 anklagades han för att ligga bakom upploppet i fängelset, och därmed terrorbrott, som innehåller dödsstraffet i straffskalan, trots att han samtidigt befann sig på sjukhus för behandling av en kollapsad lunga. Vittnesförhören de ogiltigförklarades därefter i högsta domstolen i Etiopien, men den 11 maj var det fyra år sedan som Fikru Maru fängslades och han är fortfarande inte fri.

 
  
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  Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, au nom du groupe ENF. – Monsieur le Président, chers collègues, la situation de l’Éthiopie est fragile. Elle compte parmi les pays africains qui connaissent la plus grande croissance économique, mais reste extrêmement pauvre. Sa situation sécuritaire se dégrade, particulièrement en ce qui concerne les rapports entre l’ethnie majoritaire et les autres ethnies.

Dans ce contexte, il est important de voir garantir effectivement les droits fondamentaux. Certes, nous avons un rôle de vigilance sur les droits de l’homme, mais essayons aussi de regarder d’abord chez nous.

L’Afrique a ses propres institutions multilatérales. A-t-elle besoin de nos leçons sur les droits de l’opposition? Les pays africains ont leur propre voie vers la démocratie.

Renforçons le pouvoir de l’Union africaine, qui saura, je l’espère, affronter cette complexité. Nous ne sommes pas mandatés par les Nations unies pour organiser ce gendarme des droits de l’homme.

 
  
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  Josef Weidenholzer (S&D). – Herr Präsident! Die Menschenrechtssituation in Äthiopien beschäftigt uns in diesem Haus kontinuierlich. Auch der Menschenrechtsbeauftragte Stavros Lambrinidis hat sich nach seinem letzten Besuch besorgt gezeigt. Entgegen offiziellen Beteuerungen macht die äthiopische Regierung keine Anstalten, von ihrem restriktiven Kurs abzurücken. Ein besonderer Affront war die Verhaftung von Dr. Godina, unmittelbar nach seinem Auftritt hier im Europäischen Parlament.

Mit diesem Kurs schadet sich die äthiopische Regierung selbst. Sie gefährdet damit die nicht unbeträchtlichen Mittel für die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Und wieso soll so eine Politik belohnt werden? Indem sie diese Mittel gefährdet, gefährdet sie auch den wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung im Land, der sich abzeichnet.

Man kann es nicht oft genug betonen: Die Einschränkung der Menschenrechte und die Beseitigung demokratischer Strukturen schaffen niemals Stabilität. Im Gegenteil, sie gefährden Stabilität, und das muss man sich angesichts der dramatischen Lage am Horn von Afrika mit Millionen von Flüchtlingen auch vor Augen halten.

 
  
 

Catch-the-eye procedure

 
  
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  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, the case of Dr Merera Gudina offers a worrisome insight into the state of freedom of expression, association, and assembly in Ethiopia. I therefore strongly support calls on the Ethiopian authorities to prevent ethnic, religious or political discrimination and to encourage and act in favour of a peaceful and constructive dialogue between all communities.

I also wish to remind the Ethiopian Government of their obligations to guarantee fundamental rights, including access to justice and the right to a fair trial, as provided for in the African Charter. There can be no denying that the political, economic and democratic stability of Ethiopia is crucial to the development of the countries of the Horn of Africa. We must therefore remain dedicated to the fostering of a healthy working relationship between the EU and the Ethiopian Government in order to advance democratic values in this state. We have got to keep working and we intend to do so.

 
  
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  Julie Ward (S&D). – Mr President, colleagues, I am very glad to see the issue of human rights in Ethiopia brought to this agenda. However, I am deeply concerned that the resolution bears no mention of the systematic and widespread sexual violence against women as part of the persecution of ethnic minorities in Ethiopia. We have had testimonies in this Parliament from victims, survivors and civil society activists. We heard of mass rape and torture in prisons and camps, we heard of systematic abuse to break up Ogaden and Oromo communities. These are horrifying crimes, taking place far away from the cameras and the gaze of the world’s media. All of us here must give voice to the voiceless and issue a strong call to the Ethiopian Government to stop these atrocities immediately, investigate reports and bring the perpetrators to justice.

 
  
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  Jean-Paul Denanot (S&D). – Monsieur le Président, l’état d’urgence ne peut en aucun cas signifier l’emprisonnement des opposants politiques. Ce n’est pas par la violence et la terreur que se résoudront les problèmes. Quelle que soit la situation stratégique des États, l’Union européenne ne peut tolérer que les systèmes démocratiques soient bafoués.

Lorsque le docteur Merera Gudina est venu témoigner ici même, devant ce Parlement, de la situation dans son pays, il n’a fait que son devoir et ne peut en aucun cas être condamné pour cela, bien au contraire.

Au Parlement européen, nous devons rappeler sans cesse qu’un pays démocratique doit se caractériser par le respect du droit démocratiquement établi, notamment d’un droit d’expression de l’opposition, et par l’existence d’une justice indépendante.

Partout, particulièrement avec des États partenaires, nous devons exiger que la démocratie et les libertés d’expression soient garanties, de même que tous les droits de l’homme.

 
  
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  Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η Αιθιοπία είναι μια σημαντική χώρα για το Κέρας της Αφρικής, πραγματικά μπορεί να διαδραματίσει ένα ακόμα πιο σημαντικό ρόλο. Έχει υπογράψει συμφωνία με την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, βεβαίως δεσμεύεται και από την συμφωνία του Κοτονού, αλλά απ’ ό,τι φαίνεται η κατάσταση έχει ξεφύγει, διότι έχουμε πλέον μία κατάσταση επιβολής έκτακτης ανάγκης, έχουμε φυλακίσεις, έχουμε συλλήψεις της αντιπολίτευσης, έχουμε αρπαγή γαιών, έχουμε μια κατάσταση η οποία πλέον είναι ανεπίτρεπτη. Δεν σέβονται την ελευθερία της έκφρασης, ούτε την ελευθερία του Τύπου και βεβαίως συλλαμβάνουν και δημοσιογράφους και bloggers. Νομίζω ότι πρέπει να σταλεί ένα αποφασιστικό μήνυμα στην κυβέρνηση της Αιθιοπίας, ότι η κατάσταση δεν πάει άλλο και θα πρέπει πλέον να τηρήσει τα συμφωνηθέντα και βεβαίως να προστατεύσει τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα.

 
  
 

(End of catch-the-eye procedure)

 
  
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  Corina Crețu, on behalf of the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. – Mr President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, of course, the European Union watches with great concern the difficult domestic situation in Ethiopia and follows closely reports of human rights violations. Ethiopia faces multiple challenges and a deteriorating humanitarian situation, including several droughts and a cholera outbreak, but also persisting pockets of violence throughout the country. The European Union is aware of the difficult situation that the Oromo People’s Congress and other key opposition parties face and has repeatedly highlighted these concerns to the government. The EU delegation in Ethiopia closely follows the case of Dr Merera. They attend his trials and have regular contact with his lawyers. The delegation equally monitors trials of other opposition leaders detained and has regular contacts with their remaining leadership.

The situation has further deteriorated under the state of emergency, and the stability of the country and of the wider region remains at serious risk.

Ethiopia is an important partner, and the situation warrants the EU’s close attention. The EU-Ethiopia Strategic Engagement is the right framework to address and follow issues of concern. The visit of High Representative Mrs Mogherini to Addis Ababa in March was an opportunity to discuss political developments with the Prime Minister, emphasising the imperative to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms under the state of emergency as well as for a credible political dialogue with the opposition.

She reiterated him again in the margins of the Somalia conference in London, and he was grateful for the EU’s continuous engagement. It is important to note that the first dialogue at the EU-Ethiopia Strategic Engagement was the governance and human rights sectoral dialogue. It was formally launched in the presence of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Stavros Lambrinidis, during his visit to Addis Ababa from 4 to 6 April. Topics discussed included due process of law and detention conditions; youth empowerment and children’s rights, including female genital mutilation; and migrants’ rights. We are now working on concrete follow-up, in particular on the strengthening of independent civil society, the establishment of a strong political dialogue, and the improvement of conditions in detention centres. Since this visit, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has reported to the Parliament on its findings on the violence that led to the current state of emergency.

We welcomed the recommendation that security personnel responsible for the excessive use of force should be held accountable. We have encouraged the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to work with the independent civil society organisations and human rights defenders and to publicly share all of their reports. We also welcome the recent visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Al Hussein, to the country and strongly encourage Ethiopia to cooperate with UN special procedures. The EU continues to stress the need to address guidance of the population and encourage tangible changes to laws and practices to ensure more outlets for citizens to express their views and concerns freely and peacefully, including through independent media, political parties and civil society. The arrest of senior leaders of the opposition such as Dr Merera is detrimental to a process of reconciliation and dialogue. We have called for the release of the leaders of the opposition and supported calls for independent investigations into all acts of violence.

The European Union stands ready to work together in addressing these issues. Given the enormous task that the country is facing in terms of humanitarian challenges and its key role in issues of common concerns – regional peace and security, migration, climate change – we must be ready to support them to foster democracy and prosperity and we think that one cannot exist without the other.

 
  
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  President. – The debate is closed.

The vote will be held at the end of the debates.

Written statements (Rule 162)

 
  
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  Mark Demesmaeker (ECR), schriftelijk. – Ethiopië is een belangrijke politieke bondgenoot van de EU en vele andere westerse landen. Het land speelt een sleutelrol binnen de Afrikaanse Unie en is een belangrijke partner bij talrijke VN-veiligheidsmissies. Ook economisch doet het land het lang niet slecht. Met een gemiddelde groei van 10 % is het een van de snelst groeiende economieën van Afrika.

Toch is het niet al goud dat blinkt. Behalve met droogte en armoede worstelt het land ook met een overheid die de democratische basisprincipes aan haar laars lapt. Zo beschuldigt de Ethiopische regering activisten, journalisten en bloggers al te gemakkelijk van terrorisme, worden protesten van de Oromo-minderheid bloedig neergeslagen en wordt het afkondigen van de noodtoestand misbruikt om oppositieleden de mond te snoeren. Daarom steunt de N-VA-delegatie de voorliggende resolutie die de Ethiopische regering oproept om Merera Gudina en alle andere politieke gevangenen vrij te laten en de rechtstaat te herstellen.

 
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