- The protests following Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's re-election in Ethiopia are turning more violent from week to week. The killing of an opposition leader and 36 other protesters has been confirmed and there are reports of widespread use of police violence and torture. International concern is now increasing as there are fears Ethiopia may enter a prolonged period of internal conflict.
Ethiopian authorities have now confirmed that Tesfaye Adane Jara, an opposition leader elected to parliament, was killed on Sunday. While the opposition claims he was shot dead by security forces, authorities say this yet has to be established. The Addis Ababa government informed that an investigation into Mr Yara's death had already been launched and that this investigation would be done in a transparent manner.
With this weekend's shootouts, around 40 people have been killed and several hundred injured in the protests following the announcement of the provisional results of Ethiopia's 15 May parliamentary elections. Protesters defied a one month post-election ban on demonstrations and demanded an investigation into alleged voting irregularities, including reported arrests and beatings of opposition candidates.
The government has also cracked down on the media amid the post-election unrest. The Information Ministry has revoked the accreditation of five local journalists working for foreign media. Several incidents of police harassment of journalists have also been reported in recent days and last week, a prominent newspaper distributor was arrested.
The post-election protests were started by students at the Addis Ababa University and rapidly spread to other Ethiopian cities. Following harsh police repression of the student demonstrations, larger groups of opposition sympathisers started taking to the streets. Human rights groups claim that several thousands of students and activists have already been put to prison and are concerned about the probable use of torture.
International pressure is now increasing against the government of Prime Minister Zenawi to stop the use of excessive force against the protesters. Amnesty International first documented and protested this police brutality last week, but even Western governments allied with Ethiopia are now expressing their concern and dislike.
The US State Department in a statement yesterday had called on both demonstrators and Ethiopian authorities to stop the violence. Today, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack was forced to change his wording, following a row of questions from perplexed journalists. "We want all sides to refrain from violence," Mr McCormack said.
However, he had to admit that the "use of excessive force" was being committed by state security forces. "We have specifically called upon the government forces and the security forces to conduct themselves in accordance with international principles, which would preclude the use of any excessive force," he clarified.
Hundreds of Ethiopians were also protesting peacefully outside the State Department in Washington yesterday, calling on US President George Bush to start demanding democratic reforms in Ethiopia. The US has accepted undemocratic practices by Prime Minister Zenawi's government due to his support in the "war against terrorism", protesters and human rights groups claim.
The US government meanwhile is concerned that the escalating violence in Ethiopia may turn its ally into another conflict zone. The strife between the Ethiopian opposition and the ruling party easily could get an ethnic dimension, as there are great tensions between many of Ethiopia's peoples.
Also the European Union (EU) is deeply concerned over the potential conflict in Ethiopia. EU representatives last week brokered a political truce between the government and opposition in Ethiopia. The deal however collapsed after new violence broke out late last week. Yesterday, however, the parties agreed to resolve election disputes peacefully, an EU spokesman informed.
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