Ethiopia urged to assist Eritrean opposition to replace Afewerki

Feb 24, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — A member of the Eritrean opposition alliance which held a meeting in Addis Ababa last week, was openly calling for Ethiopia’s intervention to help oust President Isayas Afewerki from power.

Rezene Habte, who formerly fought against the Ethiopian government forces as an Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) fighter, told The Ethiopian Reporter that the opposition forces must be assisted to topple the government led by President Isayas which he labelled, “a government made up of bandits.”

He accused the US and Ethiopia for failure to help the opposition in their bid to remove the Eritrean president.

“If there is the political will, the Ethiopian government can replace [President] Isayas within a week,” said Rezene, who once fought in the late 1970s with the forces of Eritrean People Liberation Front (EPLF) led by Isayas when the EPLF routed out ELF from much of Eritrea while both fronts were fighting the Ethiopian army to secede Eritrea from Ethiopia.

“Forget a direct military action. If Ethiopia officially decides to remove Isayas and make some political move, Isayas’s government will tremble and tumble down,” argued Rezene.

He criticized the US for falling short of giving support to the Eritrean opposition,”…. if America gives the green light, no other country would dare to oppose.”

He said that President Isayas is enemy, not only to Ethiopia but also to the people of Eritrea, who have found it difficult to cope with the rapidly increasing cost of living.

(ST)