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Headlines
Guardian: How food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grab

Guardian: How food and water are driving a 21... By John Vidal We turned off th

Ethiopia: The Slaying of Medrek MP Candidate Stirs Calls for an Inquiry

Ethiopia: The Slaying of Medrek MP Candidate ... By Howard LesserThe stabbing d

Bob, Band Aid and how TPLF bought their arms

Bob, Band Aid and how TPLF bought their arms... By Andrew Whitehead A quarter

Ethiopia : Opposition Parliamentary Candidate Stabbed to Death

Ethiopia : Opposition Parliamentary Candidate... By Jason McLure (Bloomber

Ethiopia: Keeping Them Honest  - Where Does Medrek Stand on the Issues?

Ethiopia: Keeping Them Honest - Where Does M... By Oromsis AdulaGadaa.com has

Oromo:  Green Revolution or Neo-Colonial Land Grab?

Oromo: Green Revolution or Neo-Colonial Land... By Peter Heinlein, Addis Ababa

Ethiopia Attacks Press : 2009 Report

Ethiopia Attacks Press : 2009 Report... Ahead of national elections sc

Ethiopia : Government and the Opposition Trade Allegations

Ethiopia : Government and the Opposition Trad... By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA, F

Opposition Denies Ethiopia's Claim of Alliance  with Eritrea

Opposition Denies Ethiopia's Claim of Allianc... By Jason McLure Feb. 17 (

Dr. Merera Gudina discusses 2010 Ethiopian Election

Dr. Merera Gudina discusses 2010 Ethiopian El... Dr. Merera Gudina, a leading o

Jan
27
2010

By Africa Action and FPIF Staff

Ethiopia

Meles Zenawi has been in power as prime minister of Ethiopia since August 23, 1995. He has forged very strong military ties to the United States, and his loyalty has resulted in billions of dollars in U.S. military support and aid.

Ethiopia’s controversial election five years ago resulted in a military crackdown, with over 200 deaths and thousands imprisoned or exiled. Furthermore, because the United States needed support from the government of Ethiopia to lead an invasion of Somalia, it turned a blind eye to numerous human rights violations and all but endorsed Zenawi.

In May 2010, Ethiopia is scheduled to have new elections. The incumbent party is the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) headed by Zenawi. At the beginning of November 2009, after two months of comprehensive negotiations, the ruling EPRDF and three opposition political parties signed a historic joint agreement on an electoral code of conduct and implementation guidelines. The code was designed to affirm basic constitutional rights and ensure free and fair elections in 2010. However, it excluded other leading opposition political parties.

Medrek, a forum for eight political parties, walked out of the negotiations after accusing the ruling party of imprisoning 450 of its members and candidates “to stop them [from] running as candidates in national elections.” One Medrek member in prison is Birtukan Mideksa, a charismatic young former judge. After her party won more than a third of the legislative seats in the 2005 election, government forces arrested and sentenced her to life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.” A storm of international protest from human rights activists ensued, and the government pardoned her in 2007. Touted as a potent force in the 2010 vote, Birtukan was re-arrested in 2008 and remains imprisoned today.

Since September 10, 2009, security forces have arrested dozens of politicians and opposition supporters, accusing them of plotting against the government. Melaku Teferra, another prominent associate of Birtukan’s party, was among 40 people arrested and accused in October 2009 of participating in a coup plot allegedly directed by Berhanu Nega, the former mayor of Addis Ababa. On November 19, the government accused 27 additional opposition leaders of conspiring to overthrow Prime Minister Zenawi. Despite the pretense of democracy, Ethiopia remains a police state under the firm control of Meles Zenawi, not the people of Ethiopia.

--- Full Report : Africa Policy Outlook 2010, Foreign Policy In Focus

Comments  

 
-1 #2 Truth 2010-01-27 22:49
We are very blessed to have a great leader Meles Zenawi. OLF,ONLF and Shabia are a terrorist organizations. You know that he is from the Hero tribe that no one can defeat him. He is the African Obama (meles Zenawi). Death to terrorist and fundamentlists.
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0 #1 Dan 2010-01-27 18:20
In a country located in the horn of Africa, with enemies both foreign and domestic, ETHIOPIA HAS to be a police state. Liberal freedom will not work in a society that only respects gun law. OLF,ONLF, and others are not peaceful rebels, who just want to sit for tea and talk their problems out.
Quote
 

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