Anxiety grips Ethiopian capital
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June 8, 2005 (PANA) — Residents of the Ethiopian capital
Addis Ababa woke up Wednesday to sleepy streets without the usual
bustling as a wave of fear for public riot swept across the city.
Most of the shops remained closed, few taxis were on the roads
and several business places were shut.
According to some observers, disgruntled opposition leaders and
their agents had pressured business operators to close down.
A vendor at the central market, Merkato, said stallholders were
seeking police protection to carry on with their normal business
but few shoppers were around.
The public anxiety follows a demonstration by students of Addis
Ababa University on Monday, which the police described as
“criminal activities” instigated by some opposition parties.
At least 370 students were put in custody following the demo that
disrupted academic programmes at the university that day, the
police said.
Political parties claimed to be behind the disorder at the
university were named as All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) and
Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD).
The two parties had on Sunday held a meeting with some university
students and other youth at the AEUP office.
During the meeting, CUD executive committee members charged that
the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front
(EPRDF) and the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) were
releasing fraudulent and wrong information on the national and
regional parliamentary elections held 15 May 2005.
According to the Police Commission, the meeting decided “to stage
violence and strike as an alternative since, they said, they did
not have trust in NEBE and courts.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Police force was keeping tabs on
activities of opposition political parties “in line with its
responsibility of safeguarding the Constitution,” the government-
run daily, The Ethiopian Herald, reported Wednesday.
Also, the paper said that police investigation was underway
regarding cases of students who were arrested this week after
attempting to wreck havoc at Awassa, Alemaya and Jimma
universities.
The police have warned students of higher learning institutions
to refrain from taking part in disorderly activities while the
nation awaits the official announcement of the final results of
the elections.