Anxiety Grips Ethiopian Capital

Sub-Saharan Africa - Ethiopia
8 Jun 2005 - Pan African News Agency

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Residents of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa woke up Wednesday to sleepy streets without the usual bustling as a wave of fear for public riot swept across the city.

Most of the shops remained closed, few taxis were on the roads and several business places were shut.

According to some observers, disgruntled opposition leaders and their agents had pressured business operators to close down.

A vendor at the central market, Merkato, said stallholders were seeking police protection to carry on with their normal business but few shoppers were around.

The public anxiety follows a demonstration by students of Addis Ababa University on Monday, which the police described as "criminal activities" instigated by some opposition parties.

At least 370 students were put in custody following the demo that disrupted academic programmes at the university that day, the police said.

Political parties claimed to be behind the disorder at the university were named as All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) and Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD).

The two parties had on Sunday held a meeting with some university students and other youth at the AEUP office.

During the meeting, CUD executive committee members charged that the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) were releasing fraudulent and wrong information on the national and regional parliamentary elections held 15 May 2005.

According to the Police Commission, the meeting decided "to stage violence and strike as an alternative since, they said, they did not have trust in NEBE and courts."

Meanwhile, the Federal Police force was keeping tabs on activities of opposition political parties "in line with its responsibility of safeguarding the Constitution," the government- run daily, The Ethiopian Herald, reported Wednesday.

Also, the paper said that police investigation was underway regarding cases of students who were arrested this week after attempting to wreck havoc at Awassa, Alemaya and Jimma universities.

The police have warned students of higher learning institutions to refrain from taking part in disorderly activities while the nation awaits the official announcement of the final results of the elections.

Copyright PANA 2005