Donors review foreign aid to Ethiopia

Nov 11, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — International donors Friday said they were reviewing aid to Ethiopia following last week’s deadly street riots over allegations of fraud in the May legislative elections that left at least 48 people.

The donors, including African Development Bank and World Bank, are “collectively reviewing development co-operation modalities to Ethiopia with a view to ensuring our contributions reach the poor effectively in a non-partisan manner,” they said in a statement.

Riots erupted in the capital Addis Ababa and four regional towns when the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) called on Ethiopians to protest alleged fraud in May 15 elections, which were won by the country’s ruling coalition.

The unrest left at least 48 people dead, more than 200 injured.

According to diplomats, at least 11,000 people were arrested in the fracas, but federal police have not confirmed the figure. This week, police released 2,417 people from detention.

“These disturbances weaken the environment for aid effectiveness and poverty reduction, jointly built between government and the donor community over the past few years,” said the donors, also known as Development Assistance Group (DAG).

The CUD’s entire leadership remains in police custody and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has warned that the detained opposition leaders could face treason charges, punishable by death.

Ethiopia, a poverty-impoverished nation of about 70 million people, suffers from recurrent famine and depends for foreign support for development programmes.

In 2005, donors agreed to contributed 365 million dollars (about 312 million euros) to support the country’s budget, which was about 10.4 percent of its annual budget.

(AFP/ST)