By Jason McLure
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia’s ruling party (Woyanne) has increased harassment of opposition supporters before a May 23 election in the Horn of Africa country, opposition coalition leader Prof. Merara Gudina said.
Activists loyal to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front have thrown stones at his car, breaking its windows and puncturing its tires over various occasions while campaigning in the Oromiya region in the past two weeks, said Merara, who is a parliamentary candidate.
“It looks like sort of a war, not an election,” Merara said in a phone interview from the capital, Addis Ababa, today.
Public meetings for Medrek, an alliance of opposition parties, are often blocked by local officials in Oromiya, Merara said. Medrek leaders have been barred from hotels and from buying fuel in some areas of the region, he said. The ruling alliance is defending a majority of 400 seats in the 537-seat parliament.
A video camera was stolen that had been used to document what activists described as abuses, Merara said.
Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal could not immediately comment on the allegations when reached on his mobile phone. Seikuture Getachew and Hailemariam Desalegn, spokesmen for the ruling party, did not answer calls to their mobile phones.
Two Medrek activists have been killed since March. The government has denied the two deaths were connected to the campaign.
The opposition is planning to use violence to topple the government, Tedros Hagos, head of the political bureau of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front which rules the country in a coalition with Meles’ party, said on April 28.
Security forces loyal to Meles killed 193 demonstrators in the aftermath of the country’s disputed 2005 poll. Opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa is in jail on a life sentence for treason given after the election.
9 thoughts on “Woyanne thugs attack Prof. Merara Gudina”
Meles is a devil. He has to go to hell. He is a killer, a robber, a liar and a cheater. It is time that he disappear from this world. We are fed up and angry with Meles.
For those of us who know the current situation in Ethiopia, the only way to democratic governanace in Ethiopia should come through people’s uprising and crushing of tyranny – not through legitimizing a mockery of election by people like Merera and Beyene Petros. As a matter of fact they are helpin Meles and Woyane tyranny by creating the appearance of fair and free election falling for Woyane trap!
For those of us who know the current situation in Ethiopia, the only way to democratic governanace in Ethiopia should come through people’s uprising and crushing of tyranny – not through legitimizing a mockery of election by people like Merera and Beyene Petros. As a matter of fact they are helping Meles and Woyane tyranny by creating the appearance of fair and free election – needless to say falling for Woyane trap!
It is a joke to even try to challenge Woyane at the current situation. How can you imagine to have a fair playing field while Woyane is in control of the voting machine, forget it.
Why am I so concerned, worried, sleepless, and nostalgic about Ethiopia, a country of criminal, crooked, and thief leaders, a country that has embraced Meles Seitanawi, Jezebel (Azeb), Al Amoudi, and Aba Paulos for two decays, and, that is not enough by itself, a country which has consented to be governed by the same clods for another five years?
Most Ethiopians are used, of course, to receive orders from an intimidating leader rather than to give orders to bring down their oppressive rulers. The Ethiopian people are accustomed to glorifying powerful kings, ruthless dictators, and abusing ministers rather than to questioning the poor services they receive from such idiotic leaders.
In Ethiopia, people of great ideas are often ignored while people of great wealth and power are easily recognized or accepted to become the supreme rulers of the country. Until this culture of complete submissiveness removed from the hearts of the Ethiopian people, Ethiopia will always be governed by bigoted and conceited individuals who always bully their subjects to death.
Mr. Gudina should lead his people to liberation through the barrel of a gun. This peaceful bla bla can not take you any where. Your enemy is a narrow nationalist. It has the backing of the people of tigray plus hodam amara and hodam oromo. Weyane care less about democracy. Join the movement soon or later victory will be with the PEOPLE OF ETHIOPIA.
It is just the beginning. There will not be a free and fair election as long as Meles and his revolutionary party are in power.
zenawi will never give up power
prof merera is great man but he needs to give up and join OLF
I don’t know about his politics. But what makes me worry about is that lately many Ethiopians are appearing with huge and multiple titles before their name without justification how they got it.
Merara did attend a post graduation program at the school of social study (ISS) in the Netherlands. This is a very small institution has no significant standard of any well-organized school. What did he their? For how long? How committed and often was he present at that institution and so on are the questions to be answered before accepting anyone’s title that would play big roles in the nations important matters.
Let say he has gotten his post graduation title from that small institute. How is he became a professor?
Leave aside for a moment the political situation here. It is very dangerous to our nation when many individuals are appearing with education titles before their name without evidences they have really got it after proper education and sacrifices.
Many in the ruling elite also have many questions to answer when many of them are now with higher education titles while non of them has attended a school with direct contact.
Ethiopia doesn’t deserve with a kind of commodity education title comes with money exchange.