Ethiopian government says opposition must abandon violence

Sept 30, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian government has said that abandoning the option of violence totally and acting in accordance with the legal provisions is the only option for the opposition.

In a weekly statement on Friday, the Ministry of Information said, “The Government has reiterated time and again, that we are at a critical point in time which demands that we engage with our full capacity and focus to overcome poverty and backwardness.”

The statement expressed the Government’s readiness to defend the Constitutional system from any threat and to foil any activity meant to disrupt the normal activities of the people.

According to the run-state ENA news agency, the main reason the opposition postponed the demonstration scheduled on 2nd October was due to their awareness that they would be held responsible for consequences of the violence they instigated. “It must be recalled that the government of the FDRE has warned time and again that staging such a demonstration which has a clear aim of dismantling the Constitutional system by force is illegal and therefore prohibited.”

Ethiopian opposition accuse the ruling EPRDF party of massive vote fraud and have complained that election authorities ignored their claims which led to protests in June that erupted in deadly violence when police opened fire on crowds during demonstrations in the capital.

The government has repeatedly rejected their calls for a unity government, arguing that such a move would be a rejection of democracy.

Opposition CUD vice president Berhanu Nega denied the government’s accusations saying the opposition wanted only to peacefully express its frustration with the election results which they believe are tainted.

“We are trying to exercise our constitutional right, we are not inciting violence,” he said in a press statement.

(ENA/ST)