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Viewing cable 09ADDISABABA2873, ETHIOPIA'S NOMINATION: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09ADDISABABA2873 2009-12-08 05:27 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Addis Ababa
VZCZCXRO0076
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #2873/01 3420527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080527Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7063
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 002873 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR S/GWI AND AF/E - JWIEGERT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA'S NOMINATION: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD 
2010 
 
REF: STATE 111471 
 
1. (U) Embassy Addis Ababa would like to nominate Ms. Birtukan 
Midekssa Deme, Chairperson, Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, 
as our nominee for the 2010 Secretary's Award for International 
Women of Courage.  The remainder of this cable is tracked to 
nomination detail criteria outlined in reftel. 
 
2. (U) Nomination Details: 
 
Full Legal Name of Nominee: Birtukan Midekssa Deme.  (Note: 
Ethiopians are given a single first name.  Their second and third 
names are their father's and paternal grandfather's first names 
respectively.  For passport purposes, the grandfather's name "Deme" 
is used as the surname, but for all other purposes women go by the 
Amharic equivalent of "Mrs" followed by their first name, i.e. 
Woizero Birtukan.  End Note.) 
 
Job Title: Chairperson, Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) Party. 
 
 
Date of Birth: April 27, 1974 
 
Country of Birth: Ethiopia 
 
Citizenship:  Ethiopian 
 
Address, Telephone, and E-mail: 
     Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 
     +251-911-406-739 
     BIRTUKANMIDEKSSA@YAHOO.COM 
     (Note: Because Birtukan remains incarcerated as a political 
prisoner, her e-mail and telephone numbers are effectively 
defunct). 
 
Passport Number: EP0374810 
 
Confirmation of Notification:  Post confirms that we discussed this 
nomination with the nominee prior to her nomination for the 2009 
award.  At that time, she did confirm her appreciation for, and 
concurrence with, our intention to nominate her.  As Birtukan 
remains in near solitary confinement and is denied her 
constitutional right of visitation, Post cannot confirm her 
concurrence with this nomination for the 2010 award. 
 
3. (U) Justification for Award: 
 
     Birtukan Midekssa shattered the Ethiopian political system's 
glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to lead a political party 
in the country's more than 3,000 year documented history.  Despite a 
challenging political environment and having been the personal 
target of prominent persecution, Birtukan not only made history for 
the role of women in politics, but fundamentally altered Ethiopia's 
political landscape by establishing the country's first truly 
national political party.  Threatened by the challenge that she 
posed to the ruling party, in late-2008, the Ethiopian government 
revoked her pardon (for a previous politically-motivated conviction) 
and is currently detaining her in near-solitary confinement for a 
life sentence. 
 
     Soon after graduating with honors from law school, Birtukan 
Midekssa was appointed as a judge in Ethiopia's High Court in her 
early 20s.  From her position on the bench, Birtukan personally 
observed the lack of judicial independence and strong-handed efforts 
by the Ethiopian Government (GoE) to influence the courts.  When the 
GoE arrested former Defense Minister and ruling party founder Seeye 
Abraha on spurious charges for having dissented with the ruling 
party's position, Birtukan ordered his release -putting her clearly 
in the GoE's targets.  Unable to change the political manipulation 
of the courts from within, Birtukan forewent the job security of 
lifetime judicial tenure to join the political opposition.  Birtukan 
quickly rose within the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), 
assuming a position as Vice-Chair, and winning a seat in Parliament 
in the tumultuous May 2005 national elections. 
 
     After months of legal challenges to contest the election 
results, police detained Birtukan and over 100 senior opposition 
leaders in November 2005, holding her for seven weeks without charge 
in violation of the constitution.  The GoE finally charged Birtukan 
and her colleagues with seven capital offenses, including Treason 
and Genocide, which Post and Ethiopia-watchers have declared 
politically motivated.  With a one-year old daughter at home, 
Birtukan spent the next 19 months in prison.  In June 2007 the 
Ethiopian court convicted Birtukan of five capital offenses and 
sentenced her to life in prison.  In late July, Ethiopian elders 
helped secure a GoE pardon, and release, for Birtukan. 
 
     After being released, Birtukan remained committed to forming a 
strong opposition party.  Recognizing the inherent weakness of 
Ethiopian political parties which are uniformly oriented toward an 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00002873  002 OF 002 
 
 
individual leader or ethnic group, Birtukan struggled successfully 
to ensure that the new Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party 
was truly national in complexion, leadership, and support.  On June 
18, 2008, UDJ held its founding general assembly with participants 
reflecting Ethiopia's diversity.  Birtukan's strong credentials, 
dynamic vision, and persuasive rhetoric convinced the founding 
members to elect her as the first woman to lead an Ethiopian 
political party. 
 
      In December 2008, the GoE re-arrested Birtukan, arguing that 
her (legally and factually accurate) statements in the autumn in 
which she argued that she had never asked the GoE for a pardon 
violated the terms of her pardon.  The GoE revoked her pardon and 
reinstated her life sentence without judicial review or option of 
appeal.  The GoE then placed Birtukan in solitary confinement for 
five months allowing only once-per-week visits by her 70-year old 
mother and four-year old daughter.  While she has since been moved 
to a cell with two other women, the GoE continues to flout a court 
order to permit her constitutionally guaranteed visitation rights. 
 
4. (U) U.S. Mission Priorities: 
 
     The introduction of robust democratic practices and 
institutions is a fundamental objective of the United States.  As a 
strong political leader, an accomplished professional, and an 
individual willing to face personal adversity rather than compromise 
her integrity, Birtukan Midekssa is a role model for all Ethiopians, 
but particularly young women who tend to be excluded from Ethiopia's 
political environment.  In recognizing Birtukan with this award, the 
United States would send a very strong message to the people of 
Ethiopia that we continue to uphold American democratic values of 
fair play and rule of law.   Recognizing this persecuted but very 
brave woman with the Secretary's Award for International Women of 
Courage would appropriately acknowledge the respect and admiration 
that she holds among the Ethiopian people and signal the U.S. 
government's concern for her treatment. 
 
MUSHINGI