In Ethiopia, the ruling Ethiopia People's Revolutionary Democratic
Front says it's unaware that hundreds of opposition members have
allegedly been jailed ahead of next year's election. Opposition parties
accuse the government of jailing at least 450 of their members to
prevent them from running as candidates in next May's general elections.
But Bulcha Demekssa of the opposition Oromo Federalist Democratic
Movement (part of Medrek-FDD opposition) stands by the allegations that
hundreds of opposition members have been jailed.
"The government always denies everything. They even say that there
is nobody in prison for political reasons, but this happens every day
in rural areas. They put in jail anybody who does not readily join
their party or anybody who does not go to their meetings. Anybody who
is not buddy- buddy with them goes to jail," he said. Bulcha laments
the arrests have affected opposition membership. "As a result everybody
now says he is a member of the government, practically everybody and
the government claims that they have four million seven hundred
thousand members. Of course this kind of membership is not obtained
through just persuasion. You can be sure everybody is afraid not to be
a member of the government," he said.
