Ethiopia:
EU tells Meles regime to respect rights of Opposition
13 October 2005 - The European Parliament
is seriously concerned that the political dialogue between the government of
Ethiopia and the opposition has broken down due to the ruling party's (intransigent)
stance. It urges all parties to resume the talks immediately and work towards a
functioning democracy with the rights of the opposition
fully respected.
In a resolution adopted it also calls on the Ethiopian
government to end the persecution and intimidation of opposition parties and to
release immediately thousands of people who were arrested at an opposition
demonstration in June. MEPs (Memebers of European Parliament)
praise the opposition for having called off a demonstration on 2 October that
could have led to serious clashes.
Parliament refers to the findings of the EU Election
Observation Mission that the elections of 15 May, the first that were freely
contested, were marred by serious irregularities, although the run-up to the
elections was peaceful. It asks its president to write to the speaker of the
Ethiopian parliament expressing its strong concern over the refusal to
opposition members to take the floor, over the bill to strip parliamentary
immunity from all elected opposition MPs who did not take their seats and over
the bill to extend the previous administration of municipalities, in disregard
of electoral results. Parliament also calls on the government to provide
the opposition with access to the media and expresses its concern at a measure
pushed through by the government which requires an absolute majority in
parliament for introducing topics for debate.
Parliament asks the EU and the international community to
stay vigilant and to continue support for the democratic process. If necessary,
the European Commission should step up its humanitarian policy towards Ethiopia
and adjust its non-humanitarian aid.
REF.:
20051007IPR01173
Source: Europian
Parliament
