Ethiopia PM says opposition to be charged with treason

Ethiopia PM says opposition to be charged with treason
Wed Nov 9, 2005 3:55 PM GMT
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By David Mageria
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Wednesday the country's violence was a misguided attempt at a Ukrainian-style Orange Revolution and its leaders would be charged with treason.
At least 42 people were shot dead when police confronted demonstrators in the capital last week after the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) called for new protests against May polls it says the government manipulated.
The government denies ballot fraud.
"This is not your run-of-the-mill demonstration. This is an Orange Revolution gone wrong," Meles said, comparing Ethiopia's unrest with "people power" protests that ousted the pro-Moscow government in Ukraine last year.
"The violence has marred the image of Ethiopia ... but as far as the process of democratisation is concerned I don't think it has had an impact on the country," he told reporters.
In the first reported unrest since Saturday, residents said two students in the western town of Ambo were killed in clashes with police on Wednesday.
The violence in sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous country after Nigeria have fuelled fears of mounting political instability and prompted Western donors to urge both sides to show restraint.
"The CUD leaders are engaged in insurrection -- that is an act of treason under Ethiopian law. They will be charged and they will appear in court," Meles said, adding that several newspaper editors would also appear in the dock.
"For us, these are not just journalists. They will not be charged for violating the press laws. They will charged, like the CUD leaders, for treason," he added.
Meles said if found guilty, the court would decide whether the defendants would face the death penalty or serve a prison sentence.
It was not clear how many people face treason charges, but on Monday the government took a group of 24 opposition members, civic society leaders and journalists to court accusing them of instigating violence.
State-owned media later reported the government had published the names or photographs of 32 people -- mainly journalists and activists -- it says it wants to arrest in connection with the clashes.
DEMOCRATIC CREDENTIALS
Meles said he believed the worst of the violence was over and defended a security crackdown in Addis Ababa, saying 500 grenades were thrown at police during the clashes and two AK-47 assault rifles were stolen from police by rioters.
He said rioters attacked close to 100 buses, setting 10 of them on fire and smashing windows.
Criticised by human rights activists for using excessive force in the crackdown, Meles said he had ordered water cannons and tear gas to be imported for future use against unrest.
Last week's killings -- 42 in opposition stronghold Addis Ababa and four in the countryside -- followed the deaths of 36 people in June in similar protests over Ethiopia's second real multi-party vote in its 3,000-year history.
Meles, who has repeatedly accused the opposition of inciting violence and trying to topple his government, has ordered an inquiry into both bouts of unrest.
The May poll was widely regarded as a test of Meles's commitment to bringing democracy to the country of 77 million people, still struggling to emerge from centuries of feudalism, followed by nearly 20 years of Marxism under dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.
The vote gave the opposition its largest showing in parliament. But the European Union said flaws, including intimidation and murders of opposition officials, were so numerous that the polls did not meet international standards.
Once hailed by the West as part of a "new generation" of African leaders, Meles has come under growing scrutiny over his democratic credentials.
Most analysts blame the recent bloodshed on habits of political intolerance acquired over generations of dictatorship in the ethnically diverse coffee growing nation.
However, Meles said the violence had more to do with poverty levels in the country which receives more than $1 billion in donor funding every year.
"I would have thought this had more to do with class than ethnicity. We have over 300,000 unemployed youths in Addis. This is combustible material that can be ignited by any group, anytime," Meles said.
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