Ethiopia’s movements of political opposition are being silenced

In the light of the new wave of arrests of regime critics in Ethiopia the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) charged the Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, on Tuesday with trying to silence the political opposition in his country. "With the systematic arrest of dissidents, critical students, independent journalists and persons working in non-governmental organisations and the systematic disregard for the independence of the courts Zenawi is destroying all hopes of democratisation in Ethiopia in the near future”, criticised the GfbV Africa expert, Ulrich Delius.

Since the 10th November 2005 more than 1,000 members of the Oromo people have been arrested. At least ten Oromo have been killed in the province of Oromiya in the towns of Ambo, Dedessa, Jeldu, Kofele, Lalo and Tukur-Inchinni in the bloody suppression of student demonstrations for the release of four workers of the Oromo welfare organisation, Mecha Tulema Association (MTA). The authorities have frequently overridden court decisions for the release of these four persons, who have been in custody since May 2004.

Last week Zenawi announced that charges would be brought against 3,000 supporters of the opposition movement "Coalition for Unity and Democracy” (CUD) because they had protested against the manipulation of the parliamentary elections on 15th May 2005. In these demonstrations at least 88 people were killed.

Charges are going to be brought against a first group of 131 opposition politicians, journalists and workers of NGOs on 17th December for high treason and genocide. "The charges are absurd. They will simply serve to increase the tensions between the different ethnic groups in the multi-ethnic country”, fears Delius. Fair trials cannot be expected as the independence of the courts is not recognized by the government. For years now presumed supporters of the Oromo organisations above all have been sentenced to long terms in prison on the charge of genocide.

Anybody can be prosecuted for genocide in accordance with the penal statutes dating back to imperial times whose "propaganda is aimed at the destruction of the nation or parts of Ethiopia and leads to the death of persons”.