Leader of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit), Ato Hailu Shawel, has been denied medical treatment for the past 20 days, according to a family member who spoke with Ethiopian Review.

Ato Hailu’s communication with the other Kinijit leaders has also been restricted.

Meanwhile, journalists who are held in Qaliti prison with Ato Hailu and the other Kinijit leaders have been suffering from various sicknesses that are associated with lack of hygiene. They are detained in inhumane condition. They are calling on the Red Cross to visit them.

The nationwide boycott of elementary and high school exams that is underway is succeeding in transforming the student-led struggle from an ad hoc to a well-coordinated nationwide movement with a well-defined message.

Even though not all the schools in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa are participating in the boycott for various reasons -– mainly logistics -– the objective of confronting the Meles dictatorship in a more coordinated way is being accomplished.

Next week, more schools, particularly those outside Addis Ababa, are scheduled to take exams.

Tegbar League representatives in Ethiopia expect that the boycott will be more successful in those areas. Already in Dessie, Ambo, Wollega and many other cities and towns, schools have been closed since yesterday. Students and teachers in these cities are not only boycotting classes, they are also staging protest rallies and clashing with Federal Police.

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In Ethiopia it called for the release of political prisoners and said it “deplored the death of civilians during confrontations with security forces”.

An African human rights commission has criticised the continent’s worst rights offenders, including Sudan and Zimbabwe, in a report analysts say marks a “coming of age” for the organisation.

The African Union’s commission issued candid reviews of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the report, obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. Those countries said they wanted a chance to reply before the report became public, ensuring it remained confidential.

“If the African Union is to have a strong voice it has to foster constructive criticism, not bury it,” said Reed Brody from the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The report expressed concern at “the intimidation of independent judges and the interference of the executive in the judiciary” in Zimbabwe. It also expressed alarm at the number of people displaced because of government demolitions and urged Harare to immediately stop the policy which has made 700,000 people homeless.

It condemned Eritrea for arbitrary arrests and long detentions of ex-ministers, journalists and parliamentarians, and demanded their immediate release. In Ethiopia it called for the release of political prisoners and said it “deplored the death of civilians during confrontations with security forces”. It also urged an inquiry into the clashes over elections last year.

Summit host Sudan, snubbed for the chairmanship because of atrocities in its western Darfur region, was urged to immediately cease all attacks on civilians and to support aidworkers trying to feed 2 million refugees. Sudan should fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is probing alleged war crimes, the commission said. Sudan says it will not let ICC investigators enter Darfur.

The AU is reluctant to criticise members, but at a summit this week it elected judges for an African human rights court and fought a fierce diplomatic battle not to allow host Sudan tobecome its head, showing it would no longer ignore atrocities.

One AU official said this report was a challenge to member states and proof the rights commission was a serious organ. “Here we see how sensitive our member states are to criticism, but the commission is finally fulfilling its mandate and challenging them,” said the AU official, who declined to be named because the report was not yet public.

“The states will get their chance to comment but then the reports will be released,” he added. Brody said this was a sign of maturity in the AU rights commission. “The African commission is coming of age. Now it is the African Union’s turn to do so,” he said.

A bomb exploded in front of Addis Ababa University’s Sidist Kilo campus this morning around 11 AM local time. Roads in the area are closed. There is no report of casualty or major property damage.

The university students and residents in the area are pointing fingers at the Meles regime saying that it’s not a coincidence that a series of bomb expressions are occurring while a high level U.S. official is in town.

The nationwide call for boycott of exams and classes is more successful than expected by the organizers. ER is able to confirm that all schools in Dessie have heeded the call and walked out of class today even though the exam was scheduled for next week in Wollo.

In Addis Ababa, all students at three high schools–Ayer Tena, GCA and Shimelis Habte– boycotted exams. The schools are now empty.

At Medihane-Alem, Winget, and Dilachin schools, a few students took exam, but the rest were outside school compounds clashing with Federal Police. At least five busses and unknown number of government vehicles were hit with stones.

Many schools in Addis Ababa postponed exams until Wednesday. There were few police presence in all the schools as the murderous Federal Police is stretched thin trying to cover all schools. In Winget area, students did not face the usual brutal police response as they threw stones. It seemed that the police were outnumbered.

Mean while, the newly formed Association of Kinijit Supporters is also making its presence felt today. It has distributed flyers through out the city calling Addis Ababa residents to heed the call by CUD leaders in prison and rise up.

A nationwide boycott of exams and classes is underway in Ethiopia. In Dessie, all schools are closed today. In some parts of the city students clashed with Federal Police through out the day. In Addis Ababa, some schools such as Ayer Tena and Addis Ketema students boycotted exams and walked out of classes. Students clashed with police around Addis Ketema and Medihanialem. Other schools are scheduled to give exams tomorrow and through out the week. In Gonder and Gojjam, exams will be given next week, but students who spoke with Ethiopia Review said that they will not only sit for the exam, but they will stage daily protest.

Also today, Ethiopian Review has confirmed that a bomb has exploded near Tikur Anbesa hospital’s medical school. The student dormitory and cafeteria sustained some damage. Another bomb exploded at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Lideta causing heavy structural damage to the building. Residents of the area told Ethiopian Review that they believe the bombs were planted by the police to convince the visiting high level U.S. Department of State officials that the opposition has engaged in terrorist activities.