Meles Zenawi’s regime in Ethiopia has so far this week rounded up and thrown in jail over 200 members of Medrek, a coalition of eight opposition parties.
Most of the detainees are from the Oromo People’s Congress (OPC) and the Oromo Federal Democratic Movement (OFDM).
According to Medrek secretary general, 217 OFDM and 40 OPC members have been arrested this week. The whereabouts of many of the detainees are not known.
The Meles regime is rounding up opposition members in a preemptive action to prevent the popular uprising that is sweeping through northern Africa and the Middle East from erupting in Ethiopia.
Meles is also purging some of his own officials in the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), a member of the ruling Woyanne coalition. It’s reported that over 150 high- and mid-ranking OPDO officials have been arrested in during the past few days and charged with corruption.
Meanwhile, at least two youth groups, Ethiopian Revolution May 2011 and YeDil Qen, are preparing for nationwide protests to be launched on May 28, 2011. Their Facebook sites are attracting thousands of members.
In Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, food prices are increasing by the day, and sugar and oil are in scarce supply.