ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Senior military officers in Ethiopia, including a general, had plotted to assassinate top government officials, Communications Minister Bereket Simon said Friday, adding that 40 people [including 80-year-old father of an opposition party leader] were under arrest.
“While six of the suspects were army officers on active duty, including one general, 34 of the suspects were ex-army men expelled from the army on grounds of misconduct,” he told a press conference.
Bereket said the plotters belonged to the {www:Ginbot 7} (May 15) opposition group, saying it was linked to the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) headed by {www:Berhanu Nega}, currently living in the United States.
He said the government believed that the “desperado” group was not planning to stage a coup, but intended “assassinating individuals, high ranking government officials and destroying some public facilities and utilities … like telecom services and electricity utilities.
“The police have also found evidence implicating some ex-CUD members released on pardon. With the exception of some three or four of the desperado group who are still at large, the police have arrested almost all members of the conspiracy.”
Berekt told AFP the government knew about the plot from its inception, adding, “If there had been laxity from the government, there would have been problems.”
The mass arrests were reported on Sunday by state media, which said the National Security Taskforce had also found weapons including bombs, computers and communications equipment, military uniforms and documents.
The CUD won an unprecedented number of seats in the May 15, 2005 elections, which the European Union and other observers said fell short of international standards.
Around 200 people died in violence that erupted after the CUD accused the party of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of rigging the ballot.
Berhanu, 51, currently a university professor in the United States, was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in the polls. He was subsequently jailed for two years along with other leaders of the CUD, and left the country after his release.
Ethiopia’s next general election is scheduled to be held in June 2010.
In a statement on its website following the initial reports of arrests Ginbot 7 said it “has no desire to engage in a tit-for-tat with the dictators in Addis Ababa, nor the time to waste replying to baseless accusations by a regime that rules Ethiopia by the barrel of the gun.”
“Ginbot 7 remains committed to work for the establishment of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Ethiopia. No amount of scurrilous accusations, threats or blackmail by the regime will deter us from pursuing the cause of democracy and freedom,” it added.
Bereket said evidence showed the plotters aimed “to create conducive conditions for large scale chaos and havoc. ”
“Assassinating people was intended as a preliminary measure” to street actions similar to those of 2005, he charged.
“Berhanu Nega is the mastermind, he’s deeply involved in it, and he’s not anyway vehemently denying it. Nega has been saying that anything that can be done to bring down this government is welcome.”
The minister said some of those arrested were “disgruntled” at reforms launched in the army.
“Our army is in a very good shape,” he asserted, saying it was “based on democratic and constitutional values.”
Bereket said preparations were under way to prosecute the “suspected terrorists” and a court hearing was planned for May 11.
21 thoughts on “Senior Ethiopia military officers “plotted assassinations””
I believe the suspects and terrorist in todays Ethiopia’s miserys are, 1- Legesse Z., 2- Azeb Mesfin, 3- Seyoum Mesfin, 4- the rest of the weyane mafia family, and 4- Mebrahtu G/hiwot (Bereket Simon) and the traitors/opppotunists/masters/advisors Eritreans who are worshipped as gods. Ones these creatures are eradicated from the face of the planet peace and harmony will in the horn of Africa.
ምን የሚሉት ነገር ነው? የ80 ዓመት አዛውንት ከማሰር ሊጠረጠር የሚገባውና የሚመች አማች አለላቸው አይደል? ለምንስ ግንቦትን ማግነን ፈለጉ እነ በረከት? የሆነውን አልሆነም , ያልሆነውን ሆኗል ማለት የማይታክታቸው አውሬዎች ያውጠነጠኑት ተንኮል; ሊያጠምዱት የፈለጉት አለ ማለት ነው;; ግንቦቶችን በአሸባሪነት ፈርጆ ከምእራብ መንግስታት ጋር ለማቃቃር ቢሆንስ ያንን ሁሉ ጦር መሳርያ ተማረከ ብለው ማሳየታቸው;; ወገን! ያልጠረጠረ ተመነጠረ ነውና መጠርጠሩ አይጎዳም::
የማይሳካ እና ሊሆን የማይቻለውን ይህን ጠንካራ መንግስት መገልበጥ ሳይሆን ማሰቡም ይከብዳል
Oh my gosh! Now the story changed quickly in a span of 48 hours from attempted coup to attemted assasination of senior weyane thugs. This shows weyane is in constant fear for the unknown and doesn’t know what to say and do. At this point in time weyane is in it’s death bed but resfusing to accept the inevitable.
It is obvious that the plot is dramatized by bereket simon who devote most of his time on finding ways of how woyane can stay long. What is surprising is that the same weapons have been arrested more than four times as an exhibit when they say captured from OLF, ONLF, SHEABIA and now ginbot 7. As a master mind DR. birhanu said woyanes have left nothing to lie. How ever they immoraly and unethicaly will do what ever is posible for them to stay in power.I dont think that a healthy and normal individual can be illusioned by the woyanes elementary dramas.
Yes, that is absolutely right! Ginbot7’s growing popularity is really scaring the dictators of Ethiopia to death!; they have been sacking up Millions of dollars in assistance from the US and European governments as they had managed to cheat the Bush administration in the name of the Ethiopian people and ‘Anti terrorism activism’.
It is clear to guess from there past activities that now they are clearing there already one ethnic populatd army so that they will not have any fear of violation in the coming election. Look just because they fear for what would happen in the coming election some people are dramaticaly victimed may be prosecuted and killed. They can do what ever they feel in a low less country. Oh my god i pray for those hundreds of prisoners who are victims of immoral dramas.The gun is thire`s, the media is thire`s the court is thire`s, the money is there`s. In this modern time there is a country in east part of Africa called ethiopia where people doesent have the right to live,
I think there is not any surprise for any thing told by ‘Bereket’ or ‘Meles’ or the likes. These guys are talented in lying and trying to cheat people. But the good thing is every single Ethiopian even what they call them selves ‘OUR REAL PEOPLE’ know them very well though it might have taken us long time to realize.
But we have come to notice the inconsistent allegation by Weyane. They were saying ‘ Coup’ and now ‘Assassination’. I am sure they will say some thing different tomorrow. Do you know why? Because it is a FABRICATED LIE and a tactic to divert our attention.
Any way, let the scared cheap beggar Weyane bark as usual but the Hero Ethiopian People will definitely prevail if and only if we work together hand in hand.
Wow! Is this a mainstream Western media report or a report by a woyane reporter on a woyane owned media? I can’t tell the difference. It is unbelievable how low the so-called independent Western media have sunk. It has been a while since we came on to them that they really are not there to serve the truth, but they are getting ridiculous by the day. Can money buy you an article of your choice on the front pages of AFP these day?
It is clearly obvious this report was written by a woyane. Aside from it being completely one sided, lets check these paragraphs: “Bereket said the plotters belonged to…”,
and another one: “Bereket told AFP…”.
Would a Western reporter call anyone by his/her first name, let alone a government official?
Remember folks this is the very same regime who accused the late Professor Asrat Woldeyes off Organizing a Coup de etat against them of by force -TPLF/EPRDF is never been Short supply of making up Stories, as the matter of fact the ruling Circles are Suffering from Chronic lieing practices.TRUTH IS SO PRECIOUS IN TPLF CIRCLES,IT CAN ONLY BE USED OCCASIONALLY :-)
Woyane is throwing all kinds of accusation until it finds that will stick and get the attention of the West to be on their side. Woyane, being desperate is trying to link Ginbot 7 to Terrorist group identified by the US. I wouldn’t be surprise if somehow Woyane links Ginbot 7 to Al Qaida.
If you tell a kid to draw an evil face, it’s a good chance it will look like Meles. If you tell a kid to draw a war torn village, good chance it will look like Bereket’s face
Weyanie is in its last legs. It resorting to such fabrication is not new as the saying goes… One can’t teach an old dog a new trick. The weyanie had also accused & jailed, in the past, a former Ethiopian teacher Union leader Mr Alemayoh on similar (if not identical) fabricated charge.
peop
I quess this is the begining of the end for the brutal regime of Meles. Bereket Simon now playing the final episode before their demise.
Remember the old Arabic maxim “The sign of the rain is the cloud”. The Woyanne’s end is near. Meles and his junta is overtaken by fear. They know they rule the house by fear and that fear is now driving them into madness. They think everyone is plotting against them. They are afraid of even feeble 80-year old man. Their lies are now drawing only more sarcastic laughs.
bravo dr. berhanu! you see how woyanne afraid Genbot 7. Even mekelakya serawit believe is dr. berhanu is important for ethiopia. all
mekelakya serawit members support Genbot 7.
I wish it was successful. Wayane and its lackeys are evils.
This is another political opposition cleansing plot by woyanne for the next 18 years. Thank you Zenawi, by coming up with this fabrication, you let the world know there is a critical problem in that country.
I beleive it is a setup.It looks like it is well planned, I’m sure he was expecting demonstration this month, but if he come up with this assassination, coup plot.. . he will divert the whole situation.I read articles on Weyana Web (Aiga ) ,all their writting is directly or indirectly terrorizing people. They keep saying TERROR ! TERROR ! Do you know why ? It helped them till this day to convince the outside world, I don’t know about the future. If they start arresting and terrorizing people then it is fear, we have to realize that they are panicking, which they should by the way.
“You are under arrest!”
We believe all humans have free will to do whatever they want to do; however, if a person cannot voice his opinion freely, cannot write what he wants to write, cannot vote the way he wants to, cannot sell his products at any price or according to the market price, he is then under some kind of involuntary political arrest.
In a sense, most Ethiopians are today psychologically under arrest until their everyday tormentor, Meles Zenawi, leaves office willingly or pushed away by a mighty force of the Ethiopian people.
Today, in Addis Ababa, a city of more than two million people, there are four catch words, and these commonly used and practiced by the Woyanne Federal police and well feared even to mention them by the citizens of Addis Ababa are :“You are under arrest.”
These four frightening words happen at any time: day time or night time, middle of the day or middle of the night, at work, at Church, at Mosque, at Synagogue, at family gatherings or at night clubs. It does not matter whether it is Christmas, Easter, New Year or Meskel, these four words can be pronounced, announced, and expressed at any time by the Woyanne Federal Police to an old man, taking his afternoon nap, to a mother, nursing her new born baby, to a sick person, lying on his bed, and, for that mater, to any Ethiopian in the countryside or in the urban areas.
The sad thing though is that these four words do not include the words: “You are free until you are proven guilty.” In Ethiopia, as soon as a person is under arrest, that person is considered criminal and could be locked up for a number of days or even years according to the lawless regime of the Woyanne government.
To prove themselves as the agents of the most oppressive government, the Woyanne Federal Police arrest people without first issuing them a written document ahead of time before they arrest them. Such a document could give enough time to the crime-suspected Ethiopian citizens to prepare themselves before they appear in front of a judge.
Yes, Ethiopia is not America or England, or Canada, where a crime-suspected person is not considered criminal “until he is proven guilty” of certain crimes he might have committed. Even if he is proven guilty, he would not be treated inhumanely. He is fed three times a day while he is in jail, and his family is allowed to visit him and bring him some essentials; he can learn many skills that would help him in the future to find good jobs when he gets out of jail.
In the Ethiopian jail, what can a prisoner learn except pains, torture and hunger, deprivation of sleep, sunlight, and family visitation? And more than anything else, he has no clue why he is in jail with the other criminals.
In short, the Woyanne Federal Police could say to you that you are under arrest while you are in bed with your wife whom you love. They could say that you are under arrest while you are reading a newspaper or discussing some political issues with your friends. They could even say that you are under arrest while you are worshiping God in a church.
When an Ethiopian child watches his father is under arrest and is being handcuffed by the police and taken away from his home to an unknown location, what would that small child imagine in his mind about the police, about his father, and finally about himself? I have to leave the trauma of such a child to a psychologist to analyze it in detail.
The Woyanne regime that orders some of its brutal Federal Police with a harsh message to arrest a crime-suspected citizen cares nothing about the well-being of its citizens; if it does, it would never say: “You are under arrest” to a father while he is reading Bed-Time Stories to his children.
The Woyanne Federal Police is not like a Western Santa cloth that comes in the middle of the night to give Christmas gifts to a child; rather it is an Angel of darkness that frightens many of the Ethiopian families and finally throws them away into a dungeon; however, this man-made dark prison would not crash the spirits of the Ethiopian heroes: they would come out of it triumphantly and fight the Woyanne regime to the end.
What do you expect from Bereket Simon. He is the “MINISTER OF LIES”
Assta B. Gettu, the Ethiopian peoples will surprise your every time confusing or confused comments. Your article of few monthes ago, which has put the Amharas people as a suprior mankind on the heads of others Ethiopians has terrorized the ethiopianreview website as well as the ethiopians too. And today you start saying the removal of Meles will happen by ” Mighty force of Ethiopian people “. This time i believe that your this statement will atract the Ethiopian peoples. No any party can alone move Woyane from the power without except the combined one of Ethipian peoples forces. And that combination will come only if we will refrain from our emotionality, supriority and inferioriy, all which come from the human beings peronal complexity.