ADDIS ABABA, June 28 (Reuters) – Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi slammed on Thursday calls by Western diplomats for the release of 38 opposition officials as “shameful”.
In an address to parliament, Meles lambasted the Addis Ababa-based Western ambassadors, some of whom were listening to his speech in the gallery, and accused them of pressuring him.
“In Ethiopia there is nothing that can be resolved as a result of external pressure,” he said.
The officials were convicted this month of charges relating to violent protests over disputed 2005 polls that altered the political landscape in the country of 81 million by handing the opposition a vastly increased share of parliament.
Meles, a one-time rebel leader, said diplomatic appeals for the group to be freed were “shameful and wrong”.
The officials, who may face the death penalty, are among 131 opposition leaders, reporters and activists charged in 2005 of treason, inciting violence and attempting to commit genocide.
There has been widespread speculation of a deal to free the 38 this week. But Meles ruled out a pardon for any prisoners while their cases were pending in court.
“We know the country is rife with rumours about their impending pardon … but the government has not discussed this issue with anyone because it violates the right of the court,” he said in response to a question by a parliamentarian.
Once the donor darling of the West, Meles has come under growing criticism for his human rights record after allegations of a secret detention programme targeting suspected Islamist militants, and a post-election crackdown that killed 193 people.
Even his greatest ally, the United States, has criticised donor-dependent Ethiopia for the arbitrary arrests of tens of thousands of opposition supporters and restrictions on media freedom, including the detention of journalists.
Meles has said he regretted the post-poll violence, but blamed it on opportunistic rioters and an opposition conspiracy to topple him by force.
“I had advised them (the opposition) not to violate the constitution, which they did not heed,” he said.