Letter from the Ambassador of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, London to the Chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee
I am writing to you to set out the Government
of Ethiopia's response to the very serious allegations made by
Amnesty International this week in respect of the activities of
Ethiopian military forces in Somalia.
The Government of Ethiopia categorically rejects
the allegations of atrocities levelled by Amnesty International
against its armed forces in Somalia. We deplore these allegations
in the strongest terms and deeply regret that one of the world's
most prominent human rights organisations should publicise deliberately
invented stories. It is our firm view that these stories are based
on lies and fabricated information from sources affiliated to
Al-Shabaab, a recognised terrorist organisation active in Somalia.
Ethiopian troops are well-disciplined. They
are educated in, and committed to, the principles of human rights,
to the protection of civilians in conflict areas and the implementation
of international humanitarian law. They have proved this time
and again in a wide variety of situations in Somalia and in UN
peacekeeping operations around the world, including currently
in Darfur.
Amnesty International's latest report avoids
any mention of terrorist groups active in Somalia. Amnesty International
devotes most of the report to fabricated allegations against Ethiopia
and its armed forces. It purposefully ignores the widespread violations
of human rights committed by Al-Shabaab whose activities include
a widespread campaign of murder and targeted assassination of
political and religious leaders, a deliberate and admitted disregard
for civilian life in its operations, the desecration of dead bodies
and the cutting of throats of Muslim clerics who oppose it, as
at the Al Hidaya mosque only two weeks ago. In this report Amnesty
International deliberately ignores all mention of these atrocities.
This Amnesty International report has in fact
been published at a time when Al-Shabaab is finally on the run
in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia. Yet it is at this juncture
that Amnesty appears to be engaged in efforts to assist in the
recruitment of Al-Shabaab terrorists by deliberately inciting
hatred and animosity based on lies. This in no way helps the political
reconciliation process which the Government of Somalia is engaged
in.
All serious observers of Somalia accept that
there is a real `window of opportunity' for the Somali peace process,
a process substantially brought about by Ethiopia's successful
military support for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia
(TFG). This progress will be demonstrated in two weeks time when
representatives of the TFG and of the opposition hold preliminary
talks in Djibouti. The peace process does, of course, have determined
enemies, notably among terrorist groups.
It has always been Ethiopia's stated intention
that our forces would withdraw from Somalia when AU peacekeeping
forces arrived. The vast majority of Ethiopia's military forces
withdrew in 2007 but forces still remain in Mogadishu where they
have been engaged in support of the TFG against remnants of extremist
and terrorist groups. Our forces have carried out all operations
in a carefully targeted and disciplined way and taken extreme
care to minimise any possible effect on civilians.
Although Uganda has contributed a contingent
of 1,600 troops, deployment of the remaining AU forces (AMISOM)
has been severely delayed. Ethiopia wants to bring an end to its
deployment but to withdraw now before the arrival of adequate
numbers of AMISOM forces would leave a dangerous and potentially
destabilising security vacuum.
The Government of Ethiopia rejects absolutely
the allegations of Amnesty International, an organisation which
has a long record of refusing to respond to our criticisms of
its reports, and of its uncritical use of sources which have their
own agenda.
I would be very happy to meet you to discuss
these serious issues in more detail.
7 May 2008
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