Copenhagen backstory: Ethiopia PM accused of genocide is top African negotiator

By Alexander Kelly

COPENHAGEN – Deafening chants rocked the entrance to the conference center where negotiators tried to piece together a global treaty to fight climate change Friday – chants that shed light on the intricate nature of the talks and the difficulty of concluding a deal.

As 130 heads of state took their place at the negotiating table, just hours before the talks were scheduled to come to a close, the cries outside came largely from Ogadenians, people from a southeastern territory in Ethiopia, 3,600 miles from Denmark. They made their way to Copenhagen to tell United Nations leaders not to negotiate a climate deal with an alleged génocidaire.

That would be Meles Zenawi, prime minister of Ethiopia. Months ago, he was appointed as the African Union’s spokesman for the final days of the UN climate talks. Now, as he appears to be willing to accept less than most Africans want from the industrialized North out of a climate finance deal, many – including the Ogadenians outside – are calling for his removal from power as top-level negotiator. 

“This is death to millions of Africans,” Mithika Mwenda of Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance said.

Read full story here at InvestigateWest.

View related video here from InvestigateWest, in which a protester alleges widespread killing and raping by Ethiopian military, as well as environmental damage. Here's another short video interview, in which protesters allege Zenawi went to Copenhagen to collect cash, not fight climate change. More anti-Kenawi video here.

Click here to view photo slideshow, including images of President Obama at the Copenhagen climate talks.