Ethiopian PM says opposition planning violence

Sept 25, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Sunday a rally called by the opposition next month was part of a plot to spark violence and topple his government.

“The demonstration that opposition political parties are contemplating is part of a serious crime,” he said of the planned October 2 protest against alleged poll fraud and rights abuses.

Relations between the government and opposition have deteriorated dramatically since Ethiopia’s disputed May 15 election and ensuing violence in which 36 people died.

The main opposition parties — the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces — allege massive fraud and harassment of their supporters.

However, official results showed Meles’ ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won the election and the new parliament is scheduled to convene on October 10.

International observers have broadly endorsed the result, while noting that there were some irregularities during the election in sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous nation.

“The goals of opposition parties are to dismantle the constitutional order, depose the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front by force as well as change the constitution through intimidation,” Meles added in a statement read on television.

He gave no evidence for his assertion but may have been trying to prepare public opinion for another stern response to street protests. In July, police shot dead 36 people during demonstrations and rioting, and arrested several thousand.

“There should be no doubt that the government will take necessary measures not only to prevent the danger, but also to make sure that it shall never happen again,” Meles added.

Berhanu Nega, a top CUD official, said opposition parties’ cooperation with the new parliament depended on an improvement in human rights.

Opposition parties accepted and operated under the country’s constitution, but the question was whether the ruling party did the same, he said.

“The debate is: does the EPRDF accept the constitution not as a propaganda instrument but as a real law of the country?”

The May 15 election was only the second real multi-party poll in Africa’s biggest coffee producer, which has a population of 72 million.

Meles was feted by Western leaders in the past as part of a new generation of African leaders, but has seen his democratic credentials called into question over the election wrangling and the handling of protests.

(Reuters)