Ethiopia’s government has rejected international condemnation of a police crackdown on demonstrators angered over a disputed election, holding opposition politicians responsible for violence that has left at least 27 people dead.
Information Minister Bereket Simone added on Friday that if opposition leaders are found to have organised the protests, they will be arrested.
”Their objective was to undermine the electoral system and overthrow the government,” Bereket said. ”If anyone can stabilise this situation, it is the opposition; attention should be focused on them.”
Shopkeepers kept their stores shuttered and taxi drivers stayed off the streets for a third day on Friday in a strike to protest a crackdown that saw security forces opening fire on demonstrators.
In a letter signed by 22 diplomatic missions to Ethiopia, international donors condemned the violence and called on all sides to show restraint.
The ambassadors expect ”the government and its security forces to show utmost restraint in handling peaceful demonstrations by civil society and to uphold international principles of human rights”, the letter said.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a statement late on Thursday calling ”on the Ethiopian government and the opposition leaders to do everything possible to resolve their differences through dialogue and legal means”.
Amnesty International accused the police in Addis Ababa of using excessive force, saying the protesters were mainly peaceful.
Amnesty estimated that more than 100 others were injured and said as many as 1 500 students and other protesters were at risk of torture after being arrested in Addis Ababa and other towns where demonstrations took place.
Citizens have been reflecting on what will happen next in a country that has suffered dictatorship, political terror and hunger for much of the past 50 years.
Brahiru Zewdu, one of Ethiopia’s most eminent historians, said the past three days were a shock.
”We had thought we were over this kind of violence, it was very unexpected,” he said. ”After the last two months, when the country has been enjoying open discussions about the elections, this is clearly a setback for all of us and something we never wanted to see again.”
Ethiopia’s ruling party, which has pledged itself to democratic reform but shown authoritarian tendencies, claimed victory in May 15 elections based on provisional results. Opposition supporters say the vote and counting was flawed by fraud, intimidation and violence.
The violence threatens to destabilise Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, which faces cyclical drought and widespread hunger. It also could strain Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s dealings with the international community.
Meles is a member of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa, which has called on the developed world to increase aid and trade to Africa and decrease its debt and asked African leaders to embrace democracy and improve their citizens’ security.
In London, Britain’s Conservative Party questioned on Thursday whether Meles should remain on the commission. Britain has called for an urgent investigation into the deaths and has urged Meles to show restraint.
The United States government has touted Meles as a progressive African leader and a key partner in the war on terror; US troops have even trained with Ethiopian troops that patrol the porous border with Somalia.
The US on Thursday urged all sides to show restraint.
White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said US officials have discussed the violence with Ethiopian officials and opposition leaders. He said US President George Bush also discussed the situation in a phone call with Annan. — Sapa-AP