US embassy cable - 05ADDISABABA4073

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 004073 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF DAS YAMAMOTO AND AF/E 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, KJUS, ET, ELEC, UNREST 
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA NAMES COMMISSION TO PROBE 
ELECTORAL-RELATED VIOLENCE 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES VICKI HUDDLESTON.  REASON: 1.4 (D). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY.  In response to calls from the international 
community and its citizens, the GOE named members of a 
commission of inquiry to probe the June and November 
electoral-related violence.  Members of the new commission 
approved on December 6 by Ethiopia's parliament include 
religious leaders, judges, academics and business leaders. 
The commission is charged with preparing a report detailing 
the total number of deaths, the amount of property destroyed, 
and whether there were violations of constitutional or human 
rights; it has 90 days to release its findings.  Opposition 
and independent members of parliament questioned the 
selection process and voted en masse against approving the 
commission, but deemed only three of the 11 members 
unqualified and potentially biased.  Still, the commission 
faces an uphill battle in establishing its independence in 
the eyes of the domestic and international public.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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RELIGIOUS, ACADEMIC AND BUSINESS LEADERS 
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2. (U) The House of People's Representatives (Ethiopia's 
national parliament) voted on November 14 to create an 
independent commission of inquiry to investigate this year's 
June and November electoral-related violence.  Parliament 
charged the Legal and Administrative Affairs Committee (LAAC) 
with submitting a draft proclamation for the establishment of 
the commission and selection of members. 
 
3. (U) During an open floor debate in parliament, the LAAC 
presented its proposed list of members and explained to MPs 
that members of the commission were selected on the basis of 
four criteria:  political neutrality, professional competence 
and efficiency, social acceptance and ethical behavior. 
Furthermore, the LAAC said it selected members of the 
commission after an extensive and thorough evaluation 
process, and that none were members of the ruling EPRDF 
party.  LAAC-recommended members of the 11 person Commission 
were: 
 
-- Frehiwot Samuel (served as president of the Southern 
Nations, Nationalities and Peoples State Supreme Court), to 
serve as commission chair; 
-- Shiferaw Jamo (served as an advisor in various government 
offices), to serve as commission vice chair; 
-- Abune Paolos (Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church); 
-- Sheik Elias Redman (Deputy President of the Ethiopian 
Islamic Affairs Supreme Council); 
-- Abel Musie (Roman Catholic Church official); 
-- Dereje Jenberu (Deputy President of the Mekane-Yesus 
Church); 
-- Hikmet Abdela Metek (business leader); 
-- Gemechu Megresa (former Deputy President of Addis Ababa 
University); 
-- Tamrat Kebede (former official of the African Development 
Bank); 
-- Abdu Diad (Pastoralist Concern Association); and 
-- Wolde-Michael Meshesa (Vice President of the Federal First 
Instance Court). 
 
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OPPOSITION QUESTIONS COMMISSION MEMBERS 
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4. (U) Opposition and independent MPs expressed concern that 
commission members had not been chosen by the public and that 
three nominees (including Sheik Elias Redman and Gemechu 
Megresa) did not meet the LAAC's own criteria.  Opposition 
party members claimed that those with previous government 
experience or well-known ties to the current administration 
could not offer unbiased decision-making.  LAAC 
representatives countered opposition MPs claims and insisted 
that each member complied with its requirements.  Bulcha 
Demeksa, leader of the opposition Oromo Federal Democratic 
Movement (OFDM), reports that when he sought to object to a 
particular nominee, he was ruled out of order.  On December 
6, the EPRDF-dominated parliament voted along party lines 
(279 votes in favor, 99 objections, and five abstentions) to 
accept the LAAC recommendations, and authorized the 
commission to begin its investigation.  (NOTE: The opposition 
UEDF has 54 MPs, while the OFDM has 11, so many of the votes 
 
SIPDIS 
against the appointment of the commission must have come from 
MPs from the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) party, 
who have quietly slipped into parliament.  There appear to be 
59 such MPs.  END NOTE.) 
 
5. (C) COMMENT: Ethiopians are suspicious of 
government-appointed commissions or investigations in 
general.  While the opposition granted it some credit by 
objecting to only three of its members, the new commission of 
inquiry faces an uphill battle to prove itself as an unbiased 
and fair entity.  END COMMENT. 
HUDDLESTON