Ethiopia to charge 100 persons for terrorism

Ethiopia to charge 100 persons for terrorism

Ethiopia's government has said that it is preparing to charge more than 100 prisoners with terrorism, dismissing calls by a rights group to release them immediately.

Government spokesman, Shimeles Kemal , said that the government had arrested 121 people in March and accused them of being members of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rebel group.

Crackdown on opposition

Campaign group Human Rights Watch said the arrests were part of a government crackdown on opposition campaigners from Ethiopia's Oromo ethnic group.

Human Rights Watch said Ethiopia had arrested more than 200 Oromos since March.

"The authorities should immediately free the Oromo opposition members unless they can bring credible charges against them," the New York-based group said in a statement.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is Washington's closest ally in the Horn of Africa but has come under increasing criticism from rights groups accusing him of crushing dissent.

Opposition officials in the capital, Addis Ababa, said they suspected the arrests were motivated by government fear of a public uprising.

Government claims

Ethiopia's government defended the arrests and said there was no limit to how long the suspects could be held as long as they were regularly remanded by the courts.

"Ethiopia has the right to defend itself against terrorism and these groups have no right to question that ... Nobody was arrested only for involvement in opposition politics," Shimeles Kemal told newsmen.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament on Tuesday that some "terrorists" were using membership of political parties to cover up their activities.

He said that Eritrea was stepping up attempts to destabilise Ethiopia by arming rebel groups including the OLF.

Opposition parties said their supporters had been arrested in recent weeks.
"We have more than 80 people detained since mid-March," Merera Gudina, leader of the Oromo People's Congress, told Reuters. "The government, however, says they are members of the OLF. The arrests are ongoing."

The OLF has been fighting since 1993 for more autonomy for the Oromia region, which is Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group with 27 million out of a population of 80 million.

Oromia produces most of the coffee in Africa's biggest grower, along with oil seeds, sesame and livestock, which are all key exports.

REUTERS/Williams/Ekata