Ethiopian opposition leader released as factions renew non-violence pledge

ADDIS ABABA, June 14 (AFP) — Under heavy international pressure, the Ethiopian government and opposition on Tuesday renewed a pact to peacefully resolve election disputes after deadly clashes rocked the capital last week.

Yet even as the sides recommitted themselves to non-violence and the leader of the country’s main opposition group was released from house arrest, more detentions were reported in a massive police crackdown.

The European Union, which brokered the truce following the collapse of an earlier deal sealed on Friday, hailed the new agreement as a “breakthrough” in resolving the crisis over the disputed May 15 polls.

“This is a breakthrough and should get the political process back on track,” said Tim Clarke, the EU representative in Addis Ababa, where at least 36 people were killed last week during protests against alleged vote fraud.

Ethiopian Information Minister Berekat Simon, who signed the first agreement on behalf of the government on Friday, confirmed that a second deal had been done. “We have agreed and produced a statement,” he told AFP.

The earlier agreement, hastily conceived by alarmed foreign donors after at least 35 people were killed when police opened fire on crowds on Wednesday, broke down shortly after it was signed.

The opposition said it was effectively worthless given the violence and heavy-handed tactics of the security forces in comments the government said were a violation of the deal.

The new declaration is virtually identical to the first one but includes a formal retraction of the offending statements made by the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD).

“The CUD retracts its statements on 10 June that appeared to question or put pre-conditions to its commitment to the joint declaration,” it said. “The other signatories welcome this retraction.”

“The signatories confirm that they stand ready to implement their 10 June declaration in an open, constructive, inclusive and consensual manner,” the agreement said.

Shortly after the deal was inked, the CUD said its chairman, Hailu Shawel, was released from house arrest after spending three days confined to his home.

Tuesday’s agreement was also signed by the other main opposition group, the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) which said Monday that two of its members, including a politician elected to parliament, had been shot and killed by police at the weekend.

In addition to those killed in the clashes, more than 3,000 people, mainly opposition members and supporters have been rounded up by police in a post-violence crackdown, according to a local human rights group.

Earlier Monday, that group, the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), said that two of its investigators probing alleged abuses by authorities during the protests had themselves been arrested and were being held incommunicado.

It said the pair, Yared Haile Mariam and Berhanu Tsigu, were detained at their office on Monday and taken away by uniformed members of the Ethiopian security forces.

“Their whereabouts are unknown,” EHRCO, said in a statement, appealing for international pressure to be placed on the government “to release unconditionally these two human rights defenders.”

Late Monday, the United States harshly criticized the actions of the security forces which Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has defended as necessary to preserve the peace.

“The United States condemns the violence and unnecessary use of excessive force in the continuing election-related violence in Ethiopia,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.

In his first televised address since the clashes began, Meles on Monday extended a ban on all demonstrations in the capital until at least July 8 when the national election board is due to issue official results after considering nearly 300 complaints of vote rigging and fraud.