Woubshet Taye, editor-in-chief of the Amharic weekly "Awramba Times," reportedly resigned after the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi threatened to arrest him for the content of his newspaper.
Awramba Times is one of the rare private newspapers in Ethiopia that is not affiliated with the ruling party. The Meles government claimed the newspaper is inciting election related violence and Woubshet would be held responsible for any bloodshed in the country. Meanwhile the exiled staff of the Addis Neger private paper launched an online version of their defunct newspaper (http://www.addisnegeronline.com/ )
According to local media, the Meles government has also rejected a request by the Medrek opposition party to hold a rally in Addis Ababa. Five years ago, over 2 million Ethiopians attended a rally by the UDJ/Medrek opposition party while half a million attended a rally by the OPC/Medrek opposition party in the cities of Oromia.
