The Guardian
Mark Tran
Monday 26 January 2009
Human rights activists have accused the Ethiopian government of tightening its grip on power through a new law on charity funding that they claim will criminalise human rights work and clamp down on political debate ahead of next year’s elections.
At the core of the charities and societies proclamation (CSO law) that came into force this month, is a provision stating that any organisation receiving over 10% of its funding from abroad is a “foreign NGO”.
Once designated as “foreign”, an organisation is not allowed to engage in activities concerning democratic and human rights, conflict resolution or criminal justice.
Ostensibly, the law is designed to ensure those who engage in Ethiopian politics should be Ethiopian nationals. However, not even the largest human rights groups in Ethiopia can raise enough money domestically in what is one of the world’s poorest countries.
Ethiopian officials say the law is simply in line with the constitution, which forbids foreigners from taking part in domestic political activities. But human rights groups and Ethiopians abroad view the law as a draconian act by an increasingly authoritarian government, especially since the contested elections of 2005. Read more.
US warns Ethiopia new law could curtail aid
AFP
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — The United States, Ethiopia’s main donor, warned Friday that a new law adopted by Addis Ababa restricting foreign-funded aid groups may curtail its assistance.
Under the new law, any group that draws more than 10 percent of its funding from abroad will be classified as foreign, and thus banned from working on issues related to ethnicity, gender, children’s rights and conflict resolution. “We recognise the importance of effective oversight of civil society organisations… However we are concerned this law may restrict US government assistance to Ethiopia,” a State Department statement said.
Despite criticism, Ethiopia’s parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed the bill, which the government argues is solely to safeguard citizens’ rights. Read More.
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It is obvious that EPRDF is beyond hope to rule Ethiopia based on its constitution and it knows very well that it will lose the next election if the playground is leveled for all political parties and all civic organizations to participate. So the only option left is to close all doors for any opposition parties and to deter all civic society activities. But one thing that it has forgotten is that the time for all dictators is too short.