Addis Ababa Mayor-Elect Dr Berhanu Nega and colleagues will give a press conference tomorrow, Wednesday, to announce the formation of a new political movement. The press conference will be held in the afternoon (4:00 PM) at the Ethiopian Television Network’s studio in Alexandria, Virginia — a suburb of Washington DC.

The announcement — which is planned to coincide with the 3rd anniversary of the May 15, 2005 elections — has created a great deal of interest in Ethiopian communities around the world. It is currently a subject of much discussion by almost every Ethiopian who follows Ethiopian politics closely. It is not without a reason. Since he was released from prison last July, Dr Berhanu has become the most articulate and forceful voice in demanding the end of Woyanne’s illigitimate rule. His uncompromising stand on respecting the choice the people of Ethiopia made on May 15, 2005, has positioned him as a leading opposition figure. While his colleagues in the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) chose to continue working within the system inside the country, Dr Berhanu has reached a different conclusion: we have seen the extreme savagery and lawlessness of the Woyanne regime and that the people of Ethiopia have the right to use any means necessary and available to them to protect themselves from the regime’s atrocities.

Dr Berhanu is joined by some highly experienced and smart individuals such as Ato Andargachew Tsige, Ato Mesfin Aman, Ato Daniel Assefa and others who are expected to make up the core of the new movement’s leadership.

According to sources close to the group, talks have already started with the Oromo Liberation Front and other major Ethiopian opposition forces to establish a politico-military alliance against the Woyanne junta. The talks could and is hopped to lead to a transitional government in exile.

The press conference will be carried live via Ethiopian Review Radio Network tomorrow, Wednesday, starting at 4:00 PM.