Over 300 civil society orgs in Ethiopia issue open letter to AU over govt change attempts by some actors

Addis Ababa, December 3, 2021 (FBC) – More than 300 civil society organizations based in Ethiopia have issued an open letter to the African Union (AU) highlighting attempts being made by certain actors at an unconstitutional change of government.

The letter which is referred to President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chairperson of the African Union asks the African Union to condemn, and reject any attempts at an unconstitutional change of government in Ethiopia an African Union Member State.

The letter says “Ethiopia was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity (the OAU), a Member of the African Union (AU), and has been the seat of this unique regional body since 1963.”

“Article 3 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union provides that the objectives of the African Union include the Promotion of democratic principles and institutions, and defending the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of its Member States. Ethiopia has ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter} and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance.”

“Coalition of Civil Societies for Ethiopians (CoCSE} comprises more than 300 civil society organizations based in Ethiopia and abroad. It aims to beam on and address contemporary challenges that the people of Ethiopia and the country might face. Since the establishment of the coalition, we have been carrying out several activities at the national and international levels to promote unity, brotherhood, and Peaceful coexistence of the people of Ethiopia.”

“Accordingly, 34 a civil society, we call on the United States and some European countries, and the media to stop the unnecessary interference in our country Article 13 of the African Charter guarantees the rights of citizens to freely participate in the government of their country, through freely chosen representatives.”

“On 21 June 2021, the Ethiopian people cast their votes in what was largely a free and fair election with an unprecedented turnout, after decades of rigged elections that only served to consolidate a repressive regime’s grip on power.”

“The African Union Election Observation Mission, on its press statement of 23 June 2021, found that “despite some Operational, logistical, security, political and COVID-19 related challenges, overall, the pre-election and Election Day processes were conducted in an orderly, peaceful and credible manner.”

“Over the last few weeks, a rebel group from the Tigray region has been on the move towards the capital city, Addis Ababa, openly vowing to depose the democratically elected government of Ethiopia.”

“While this has been widely publicized on mainstream media, there has been little, if any, reaction from intergovernmental organizations such as the African Union and United Nations.”

“On 25 November 2021, a video was leaked in which a top leader of the rebel group met a group of former senior diplomats from Western nations to discuss the overthrow of the current Ethiopian government and its replacement by a transitional government.’ This is clear contempt by the diplomatic community towards the people of Ethiopia including Ethiopians who did not vote for the current leader but accepted the results of the country’s first democratic elections, the letter indicates.”

“The citizens of Ethiopia and Africa wish to remind the African Union, seated here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of its obligation to prohibit, condemn, and reject any attempts at an unconstitutional change of government in an African Union Member State.”, the letter said.