From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Nov 20 2009 - 13:35:57 EST
US concerned at restrictions on Ethiopia opposition
(AFP) – 5 hours ago - November 20, 2009
ADDIS ABABA — A senior United States official voiced concerns on Friday
about the restrictions on opposition parties and human rights abuses in
Ethiopia ahead of elections next year.
"The US is concerned by what we see as reduction in political space and the
ability of opposition parties to operate and do what opposition parties
should do," Karl Wycoff, deputy assistant secretary of state for East
African Affairs, told reporters.
"There are continous reports of human rights abuse," said Wycoff, who
arrived is in Ethiopia for an official visit.
Ethiopia's polls on May 23, 2010 will be the first since 2005 when disputed
election results sparked violence that claimed some 200 lives.
More than 60 parties, including the ruling EPRDF, have agreed to a code of
conduct for next year's polls, but a leading opposition group has shunned
the rules as insufficient in confirming the electoral board's neutrality.
The Forum for Democratic Dialogue in Ethiopia has also accused Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi's government of arresting its members and supporters
in a bid to discourage its following ahead of the polls, a charge the
government has repeatedly denied.
The head of Ethiopia's now-defunct opposition Coalition for Unity and
Democracy which won unprecedented seats in the 2005 polls is currently
exiled in the US.
He fled the country after a two-year detention and now chairs another
opposition group which has vowed to wage a war against Addis Ababa.
Authorities have accused him of masterminding an alleged coup plot over
which 26 suspects were convicted on Thursday.
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