Resolution on Ethiopia

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Ethiopia.

The resolution was tabled by the EPP-ED, PES, ALDE, Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL and UEN groups.

The Parliament is disturbed by the arrest and expulsion from Ethiopia of two Commission officials on the alleged grounds that they tried to help Yalemzewd Bekele, a lawyer and women's rights campaigner, working for the Commission in Addis Ababa, to leave the country. Following high-level EU intervention on her behalf, Yalemzewd Bekele was released on 27 October 2006.

The resolution also recalls that the Ethiopian Parliament established a Commission of Inquiry with the task of investigating the June and November 2005 killings. The Ethiopian Government has put pressure on the members of the Commission of Inquiry to alter the findings and three of the members have left the country after refusing government orders to alter the findings of the final report. This report overwhelmingly condemns the government's handling of the crisis, which left 193 citizens dead following demonstrations in June and November 2005.

The Parliament welcomes the EU's efforts to secure the release of Yalemzewd Bekele and regrets deeply the expulsion from Ethiopia of the two Commission officials.

The Ethiopian Government is called upon to:

• publish unamended and in its entirety, and without any further delay, the final report of the Commission of Inquiry;
• refrain from acts of intimidation and harassment against national leaders, including court judges and members of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association, carrying out their professional obligations;
• immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners;
• disclose the total number of persons detained throughout the country, to allow visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and to allow all detainees access to their families, legal counsel and any medical care that their health may require;
• respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Union Charter on Human and People's Rights, including the right of peaceful assembly, freedom of opinion, and an independent judicial system.

The Parliament calls on the Council and the Commission to monitor closely the situation in Ethiopia and to explore ways of organising an all-inclusive inter-Ethiopian dialogue with the participation of political parties, civil society organisations and all stakeholders.