Over 1800 arrested despite talks
By Our Staff Writer October 5, 2005
ADDIS ABABA - The number of opposition supporters thrown into jail within one week has skyrocketed to over 1,800 nationwide in spite of "talks" between the ruling party and the two major opposition parties to resolve the post-election crisis, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Quoting CUDP coordinator for Addis Ababa Endeshaw Basha, the online Reporter said 35 of 76 Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP) detainees appeared before court on Tuesday but the detainees were sent back to jail over hearings adjourned for October 10. The detainees are accused of attempts to "incite violence."
Dereje Kebede, an executive official of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) also told Reporter 500 UEDF members and supporters were in prison in Tigrai, Amara, Oromia, and Southern Regions.
Both CUDP and UEDF officials said government crackdown on opposition supporters has continued and the number of detainees has risen sharply despite an agreement by the ruling party to release all those jailed in the course of negotiations with opposition leaders.
On the fifth day Wednesday, a VOA Amharic Service correspondent in Addis told the Washington DC-based US government radio program that there were no new developments as the parties ended formulating main talking points. At the end of the day, officials from the government and the opposition parties refrained from answering questions from reporters.
CUDP and UEDF focus on pressuring the ruling party of Meles Zenawi to agree to form a national unity government that would administer the country for the next two years before national elections were held to form a government.
Though Meles Zenawi, whose party suffered a major defeat in the May elections, set a pre-condition that the opposition parties call off their three-day strike to start talks, which they did, opposition calls for the release of all jailed opposition members and supporters turned for the worse as the government continued to throw more opposition activists into the overcrowded prison cells.
"Are CUD and UEDF losing the momentum, and playing into the deceptive trap of Meles Zenawi?" That is the question buzzing in the public mind. (EthioMedia)
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ADDIS ABABA - The number of opposition supporters thrown into jail within one week has skyrocketed to over 1,800 nationwide in spite of "talks" between the ruling party and the two major opposition parties to resolve the post-election crisis, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Quoting CUDP coordinator for Addis Ababa Endeshaw Basha, the online Reporter said 35 of 76 Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP) detainees appeared before court on Tuesday but the detainees were sent back to jail over hearings adjourned for October 10. The detainees are accused of attempts to "incite violence."
Dereje Kebede, an executive official of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) also told Reporter 500 UEDF members and supporters were in prison in Tigrai, Amara, Oromia, and Southern Regions.
Both CUDP and UEDF officials said government crackdown on opposition supporters has continued and the number of detainees has risen sharply despite an agreement by the ruling party to release all those jailed in the course of negotiations with opposition leaders.
On the fifth day Wednesday, a VOA Amharic Service correspondent in Addis told the Washington DC-based US government radio program that there were no new developments as the parties ended formulating main talking points. At the end of the day, officials from the government and the opposition parties refrained from answering questions from reporters.
CUDP and UEDF focus on pressuring the ruling party of Meles Zenawi to agree to form a national unity government that would administer the country for the next two years before national elections were held to form a government.
Though Meles Zenawi, whose party suffered a major defeat in the May elections, set a pre-condition that the opposition parties call off their three-day strike to start talks, which they did, opposition calls for the release of all jailed opposition members and supporters turned for the worse as the government continued to throw more opposition activists into the overcrowded prison cells.
"Are CUD and UEDF losing the momentum, and playing into the deceptive trap of Meles Zenawi?" That is the question buzzing in the public mind. (EthioMedia)
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