Canadian Lawyer calls on Government to End Aid to Ethiopia

The lawyer for a Canadian jailed in Ethiopia has gone to court trying to block foreign aid payments to the East African country in protest over his client's treatment. Lorne Waldman filed papers in Federal Court on Thursday, April, 2, 2009, on behalf of Bashir Makhtal, who has been held in prison in Addis Ababa for two years.

Ethiopian authorities claim he is a member of an outlawed separatist group known as the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a charge he denies.

Two Canadian federal cabinet members, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Transport Minister John Baird, have expressed public support for Makhtal and vowed to work for his release and return to Canada.

The action filed by Waldman notes that Canada currently provides $89 million a year in aid to Ethiopia, some of which is earmarked to fund improvements to the country's legal system. The court documents contend that, given the treatment of Makhtal, the payments violate provisions in Canadian law that call for foreign aid to be "consistent with Canadian values" and with international human rights standards.

Waldman said in an interview he's not interested in cutting off aid for clean water projects, agricultural development or other worthy goals. But he does want an end to aid for a legal system he characterizes as corrupt, lacking in transparency and subject to political interference. "The purpose of this lawsuit is to prevent Canada from continuing to send aid to what we believe is an unfair legal system which is subjecting a Canadian citizen to an unfair process," said Waldman.

Makhtal, though born in Ethiopia, grew up in neighbouring Somalia and came to Canada in 1991. He studied computer programming, became a Canadian citizen and held jobs at two banks over the next 10 years, before deciding to return to East Africa to start a used-clothing business. He was in Somalia travelling on a Canadian passport when Ethiopian troops invaded in 2006, and was detained by Kenyan police in December of that year as he tried to cross the border into their country. He was held at first in Nairobi, then transferred to Somalia and eventually to Ethiopia, apparently as part of a multi-country roundup of suspects linked to the U.S.-led war on terror.

April 6, 2009

Source: ECOTERRA Intl.

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