Washington Update 

 
Dec. 2, 2008 
 
The All Ethiopia Unity Party brought its message of democracy, human rights and peaceful struggle for political change to the streets of Addis Ababa for three days starting November 27. Two trucks carrying banners with the AEUP name and the Ethiopian flag traveled the streets of the Capital city, attracted large, friendly crowds and distributing 50,000 flyers. 
 
The AEUP assured the Ethiopian people that it will not again subject them to the danger they faced during and after the last national elections, when thousands were beaten and imprisoned and hundreds killed, all guilty of nothing more than peacefully asserting their human and democratic rights. In the future, the AEUP, the only independent opposition party challenging the ruling regime in Ethiopia, will only participate in elections if eight preconditions are met, including freedom of expression and the=2 0press; an independent judiciary; an independent electoral board; and immediate release of all political prisoners (including the singer known as Tedros Kassahun - Teddy Afro). 
 
After two successful, calm days, on Nov. 29 the police detained the AEUP personnel in one of the trucks, released them after several hours, and warned them that distributing flyers was illegal. The AEUP workers on the second truck, and the crowds who greeted them enthusiastically, were not as fortunate. They were attacked by the police and suffered serious injuries. 
 
Although the site of opposition political activity in Addis Ababa came as a complete surprise and provoked an enormous amount of support and excitement, there was absolutely no coverage in the Ethiopian media, which the Meles regime either controls or has intimidated into silence. Remarkably, there was also no mention of the peaceful political activity, or the government’s violent response, in the international media. International journalists based in Ethiopia have been warned that if they report about opposition political activities, they will be accused of inciting violence and will be expelled from the country. The political violence is far more severe in the countryside, where the Meles regime acts with complete impunity, knowing that there is little chance that the outside world will learn of its activities. 
 
The Meles regime’s thuggish repression of even the most modest attempt at po litical expression is typical of its behavior over the last 17 years. In addition to preventing peaceful political change, the regime’s suppression of the media and intimidation of critics is having a devastating impact on the Ethiopian people. The country is in the midst of a terrible famine – at least 8 million lives are at risk – and the international community has not mobilized to deal with the threat in large part because the Meles regime has downplayed its significance. Meles and his comrades prefer massive starvation to the embarrassment of acknowledging that a combination of corruption, cronyism and Marxist economic policies have impoverished Ethiopia. 
 
The situation in Ethiopia is growing more dangerous ever day, as young people in the cities have no jobs, no hope for the future, and no legitimate outlets for their frustration, and rural areas are facing famine.

Mesfin Mekonen