Dissidents form new opposition party to
prepare for elections
ADDIS
ABABA, June 21, 2008 (AP): Opposition
politicians are forming a party similar
to the alliance that presented the most
credible challenge to date to Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi's 17-year hold on
power, the party's leader said on
Friday.
The Unity for Democracy and Justice
party will contest the 2010 general
elections and is confident of winning,
said Birtukan Midekssa, the party's
chairwoman.
Many of the people who made up the main
opposition alliance that won the most
seats that any opposition group has won
in the Ethiopian lower house of
Parliament in 17 years are now members
of the Unity for Democracy and Justice
party, Birtukan told journalists.
"If you talk about the minds and the
hearts of the people, I don't think the
(ruling party) is bigger than us,"
Birtukan said. "If you talk about the
head count, maybe."
Birtukan said they have applied to the
National Electoral Board to be
registered as a party.
In 2005 elections, what was then the
main opposition alliance, the Coalition
for Unity and Democracy, won 109 seats
in the lower house of parliament. That
was more than any opposition party has
won since Meles took power in 1991. But
allegations of electoral fraud prompted
protests during which government
security forces killed 193 protesters.
More than 100 leaders and members the
Coalition for Unity and Democracy were
arrested and charged with treason.
Diplomats and Ethiopian elders
negotiated a deal under which the
opposition members pleaded guilty to the
charges and asked for pardon before the
government released them last year.
Meles and his Ethiopian Peoples
Revolutionary Democratic Front first
came to power in 1991 when they ousted
Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam
after a 17-year insurgency.
In
support of Unity for Justice and
Democracy
Kinijit North America Association of
Support Organizations
The emergence of Andenet Party UJDP
(Unity for Justice and Democracy Party)
is a very important event in the
Ethiopian political scene. Kinijit North
America Association of Support
Organizations (KNAASO) together with our
sister Canada Council is honored to wish
congratulations to the over 400
delegates from all corners of Ethiopia.
We salute this important event where
ordinary citizens voluntarily gathered
to work together to form a just and free
Ethiopia. We aware that this is the
first for our country in our over 3000
years of history.
We in the Diaspora are heartened by the
courage of the delegates from all over
Ethiopia. We are in awe of the patience
exhibited by the founders of Andenet in
the face of the hardship they faced in
the process of organizing for this
important conference. We will not forget
the hurt and sorrows of our fellow
citizens since the 2005 elections. The
official formation of Andenet is a
response to the continuing repression
and lack of basic rights.
This meeting that took place against all
odds is a testimony that you are
committed to the hard and arduous
struggle ahead of us. Andenet is the
result of hard work by so many who are
committed to bring democracy to our
country.
KNAASO with Canada Council is proud and
committed to stand with you. We are also
conscious that the quest for freedom is
a long and protracted struggle. Events
in last three years since the historical
2005 election have proven to us that the
only lasting solution towards building a
viable and democratic institution is to
base it on a solid foundation of the
rule of law and democracy. We are a very
vibrant and all inclusive association of
Chapters operating in all of North
America including Canada due to our
commitment to democracy.
We congratulate the founding members of
Andenet (UJDP) and promise to double our
efforts to help you reclaim our country
and lead it in the right path.
Ethiopia will prevail !!!!
Kinijit North America Association Of
Support Organization (KNASO)
Kinijt Canada Support Council
20/06/08
