2005 Ethiopian Election Timeline
23rd January : The Prime Mister appears on the BBC’s TALKINGPOINT programme answering questions from people around the world. An Ethiopian from Israel asks: ‘ you have led your party for at least 15 years and you have been leading Ethiopia for 14 years, when will you give up your place for the new generation? ‘The PM answers: ‘the beauty of democratic system is that these decisions are not made by me or any incumbent leader in any country. Those decisions are made by the people . Whenever the people want to hire a new prime minister, they do so, that’s why we have elections. ‘
30th March : The Ethiopian government expels six United States election observers from the country giving them 48 hours to leave on the grounds that ‘they did not have a permit to work and were interfering in local matters’. They were there to monitor the elections due in six weeks time.
26th April : Ethiopian opposition leaders accuse the ruling party of killing and intimidating their supporters ahead of parliamentary polls on 15 May. In this very first accusation since the beginning of the election campaign, the opposition says at least two opposition supporters had been shot and more than 40 jailed and tortured in March alone.
5th May : In a nationally televised address to the people ofEthiopia, the Prime Minster accuses the opposition parties of fomenting ethnic hatred and compares their election campaigns to those used in the Rwandan genocide
1st May : More than 300 international election observers arrive inEthiopia . The European Union, the US-basedCarter Center and the African Union get ready to observe the election process.
8th May : In an unprecedented display of support for the opposition parties , hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the Ethiopian capital ahead of the general elections in a week time.
9th May : European Union election observers send a letter to Ethiopia ‘s ruling party voicing their concerns about the killings and intimidations of opposition members and supporters. Chief EU election observer Ana Gomez told the AFP news agency that she was concerned about beatings of opposition officials and disruption of their rallies. She is quoted as saying ‘I myself spoke with people who have been beaten’.
10th May : Human Rights Watch issues a report on the situation in Ethiopia . The report accuses the government of systematic political repression in the Oromia region and says that elections in that region will be a ‘hollow exercise’. The executive director of this international human right’s organization – Peter Takirambudde – says in a statement that ‘the Ethiopian government claims that the elections demonstrate its commitment to democratic principles. But in the run-up to the elections, the authorities have intensified the repression they have used to keep themselves in power for 13 years.’
15th May : Election Day – 26 million Ethiopians cast ballots at 35,000 polling stations across the country.
16th May : The Prime Minster tells Ethiopians that his ‘government has decided to bring all the security forces, the police and the local militias, under one command accountable to the prime minister’. And declares that any public meetings and demonstrations are outlawed for a month. This ban on demonstrations and public meetings was later extended further.
17th May : Provisional results suggest a landslide victory for the CUD in the capital; it won all 23 seats in the capital – Addis Ababa – with several government ministers losing their seats in parliament.
17th May : Ethiopia ‘s ruling party says it has won the country’s general election before the counting of the votes hasn’t been finalized.
17th May : The chief European Union election observer – Ana Gomes – criticizes the ruling party for announcing results before counting is over. She says ‘this is improper and it is particularly improper from the ruling party to do it at this stage’.
20th May : The opposition parties lodge complaints about massive electoral fraud and vote rigging committed by the ruling party in several rural and regional areas. The two main opposition parties say they won’t accept election results unless the Electoral Board investigates their 300 complaints of allegations of vote rigging and fraud in 547 constituencies
25th May : European Union election observers express regret at the slow pace of vote counting. The EU observers also accuse the state media of bias in its coverage of statements by political parties. They said ‘the government’s actions are seriously undermining the election process.’
28th May : The National Electoral Board releases provisional results saying Ethiopia ‘s ruling party has won an overall majority. At the same time, the board says that it is investigating the oppositions’ claims of fraud in 139 constituencies.
3rd June : The National Electoral Board says it won’t release final results on 8 June as planned and it will release them in another month time. And opposition parties vow to stage mass protests if the provisional results are validated.
6th June : Addis Ababa University students protest accusing the ruling EPRDF party of fraud. Baton-wielding police storm the two main university campuses killing at least two and arresting hundreds. Police were seen beating students with batons and rifle butts. A young student by the name of Shibire Desalegn
- pictured – is believed to be the first victim of the regime’s atrocious killings following the election crisis.
8th June : EPRDF’s heavily armed forces deployed in the streets of Addis Ababa massacre at least 42 innocent civilians for taking part in a demonstration demanding the respect of the outcome of the elections in the country. Most of the dead had gun shots to the head and hundreds were wounded while thousands were abducted and sent to remote military prison camps.
8th June : Business owners, taxi and mini-bus drivers take strike action to protest over the ruling party’s alleged massive election fraud and its fierce violations of human rights. The streets of Addis Ababa under the intimidating control of the EPRDF’s armed forces. The government places opposition leaders under house arrest.
9th June : Amnesty International issues a press release saying that ‘over 1,500 students and other demonstrators are at risk of torture [and] further arrests are reportedly continuing in Addis Ababa and in other towns where student demonstrations took place’. The organization condemnes the excessive use of force by the police, who it says ‘used live ammunition against peaceful protestors’. ‘The excessive and indiscriminate use of force is in contravention of international human rights standards,’ said Kolawole Olaniyan, Amnesty International’s Africa Programme Director.
11th June : In an interview with the Reuters news agency, the Prime Minster describes the events of the previous few days as ‘ an indication that our democracy is maturing .’
11th June : The EPRDF government strips of the credentials of Voice of America and Deutsche Welle Radio reporters in Addis Ababa and says they cannot do reports on the situation. Journalists who went to opposition leaders’ homes were beaten by police with fists and clubs and had their cameras confiscated.
11th June : Thousands of Ethiopians from around America gather in Washington carrying placards saying: ‘ Stop the massacre in Ethiopia ! ‘ , ‘Side with the Ethiopian people not with the dictator!’, ‘President Bush, Secretary Rice, Ethiopians deserve justice & democracy!’. Thousands in Washington and London also hold candlelight vigils to remember and pray for those who were murdered in the streets of Addis Ababa on 8 June.
11th June : An opposition MP-elect by the name of Tesfaye Adane shot and killed by police near his home in Arsi Negele – south of the capital.
12th June : Ethiopian expatriates across the world mobilize to send a message of peace and to demand the respect of law and human rights in their homeland as well as to show solidarity with the people in Ethiopia . Ethiopian communities virtually from every major city in Europe, America and Australia as well as Ethiopians in South Africa and Israel have been taking part in demonstrations in the wake of the mass killings, arbitrary detention, ban on demonstrations, and fierce intimidation by the EPRDF regime.
13th June : International media reports reveal that more than 3,000 people have been arrested in Ethiopia in the preceding few weeks alone.
13th June :The United States government issues a statement on the situation in Ethiopia . State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says the following in a statement: ‘we urge the government to respect the rule of law, international principles of human rights, and due process with regard to those arrested or detained’.
14th June :The Ethiopian Human Rights Council issues an urgent appeal. It says: ‘[EHRCO] calls on individuals, national and foreign non-governmental organizations as well as foreign governments and inter-governmental organizations who stand for the respect of human rights, the prevalence of the rule of law and the flourishing of democracy, to condemn the acts of imprisonment, beatings, repression and killings being committed by the Ethiopian government, and to exert pressure to bring it to the right direction’.
15th June : UK Development Minister Hilary Benn announces that his government has suspended a $36m aid increase to Ethiopia after the government killed protestors in the streets of the capital Addis Ababa .
19th June : The Ethiopian Human Rights Council says six of its human rights activists have been taken by uniformed police from their offices and residences and there whereabouts are not known
21st June :Eight army pilots training in the former Soviet republic of Belarus ask for political asylum saying that they could be used by the EPRDF regime to carryout atrocious criminal acts against opposition supporters.
22nd June : The National Electoral Board drops more than half of the investigations into alleged election fraud without explanation.
2nd July : The EPRDF dominated parliament passes bills federalizing the responsibilities of numerous institutions that thus far have been under the authority of the Addis Ababa City Government . The ruling EPRDF party makes this move following the opposition’s landslide victory in Addis Ababa thereby depriving them of political, economic and administrative decision making powers in particular areas when they start governing the city as of October 2005. The institutions that so far have been under the authority of the Addis Ababa City Government and now federalized are: t he Addis Ababa Road Transport Authority; the Addis Ababa Quarantine Service Department; the Authentication and Registration Bureau; the bureau registering local and international NGOs operating in Addis Ababa; and the Public Rally Permit Office.
4th July : In an interview with Stephen Sackur on the BBC’s HARDTALK programme, the Prime Minster refuses to apologize to the Ethiopian people for the massacre his army committed under his command. Instead, he said that ‘all international observers without exception said that the election process in Ethiopia was free, fair and transparent by any standard’. Stephen Sackur interrupted to set the record straight by saying ‘no, no they didn’t prime Minster, with respect, they didn’t say that… [The Carter Center]…said and I quote ‘that there was evidence ballot boxes had been removed improperly or improperly secured , party agents were excluded from the count, they also confirmed cases of intimidation and harassment and said national election officials were slow to respond or failed to provide any information”.
5thJuly : Hailu Shawel – the leader of Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – the CUD – appears on the BBC’s HARDTALK programme. Stephen Sackur asks: ‘Are you optimistic about Ethiopia’s future, till the last year people wanted to believe that this country was dragging itself out of extreme poverty, now the outlook looks much bleaker, doesn’t it?’ And Mr. Hailu Shawel replies ‘well, it is easy to solve, let the government take its guns away and we have a beautiful future ; I can tell you.’
August : A hit song emerges – in Amharic – saying the Rwandan genocide will never happen in Ethiopia (as a direct reply to the Prime Minster’s bleak prediction) urging the people of Ethiopia to unite against the atrocious regime and the military not to engage in harming its civilian brothers and sisters to keep the collapsing tyranny in power.
9th August : After a number of postponements the National Electoral Board says the ruling party has won the election.
11th August : Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party calls for a formation of provisional government of national unity. In a news conference the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) requests the ruling party to form a “caretaker” government of national unity that would last no longer than one year. The Party says that the interim government would end the ruling EPRDF party’s links with the judiciary, the press and the electoral board, and would prepare for new polls.
20th August : Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – CUD – elects Dr. Berhanu Nega as Mayor of Addis Ababa . The CUD won a landslide victory in the capital in the 15 May election.
25th August : An Australian television documentary describes the Ethiopian election as ‘ anything but free and fair ; in fact, it turned out to be what many cynics have come to expect from African elections: vote-rigging, intimidation and even murder…’. It also adds that ‘ Ethiopia ‘s historic ballot was marred by widespread fraud, political assassination, and the killing of more than 40 unarmed protestors’. The DATELINE documentary on the SBS channel describes itself as ‘ a story about a
2005 Ethiopian Election Timeline
23rd January : The Prime Mister appears on the BBC’s TALKINGPOINT programme answering questions from people around the world. An Ethiopian from Israel asks: ‘ you have led your party for at least 15 years and you have been leading Ethiopia for 14 years, when will you give up your place for the new generation? ‘The PM answers: ‘the beauty of democratic system is that these decisions are not made by me or any incumbent leader in any country. Those decisions are made by the people . Whenever the people want to hire a new prime minister, they do so, that’s why we have elections. ‘
30th March : The Ethiopian government expels six United States election observers from the country giving them 48 hours to leave on the grounds that ‘they did not have a permit to work and were interfering in local matters’. They were there to monitor the elections due in six weeks time.
26th April : Ethiopian opposition leaders accuse the ruling party of killing and intimidating their supporters ahead of parliamentary polls on 15 May. In this very first accusation since the beginning of the election campaign, the opposition says at least two opposition supporters had been shot and more than 40 jailed and tortured in March alone.
5th May : In a nationally televised address to the people ofEthiopia, the Prime Minster accuses the opposition parties of fomenting ethnic hatred and compares their election campaigns to those used in the Rwandan genocide
1st May : More than 300 international election observers arrive inEthiopia . The European Union, the US-basedCarter Center and the African Union get ready to observe the election process.
8th May : In an unprecedented display of support for the opposition parties , hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the Ethiopian capital ahead of the general elections in a week time.
9th May : European Union election observers send a letter to Ethiopia ‘s ruling party voicing their concerns about the killings and intimidations of opposition members and supporters. Chief EU election observer Ana Gomez told the AFP news agency that she was concerned about beatings of opposition officials and disruption of their rallies. She is quoted as saying ‘I myself spoke with people who have been beaten’.
10th May : Human Rights Watch issues a report on the situation in Ethiopia . The report accuses the government of systematic political repression in the Oromia region and says that elections in that region will be a ‘hollow exercise’. The executive director of this international human right’s organization – Peter Takirambudde – says in a statement that ‘the Ethiopian government claims that the elections demonstrate its commitment to democratic principles. But in the run-up to the elections, the authorities have intensified the repression they have used to keep themselves in power for 13 years.’
15th May : Election Day – 26 million Ethiopians cast ballots at 35,000 polling stations across the country.
16th May : The Prime Minster tells Ethiopians that his ‘government has decided to bring all the security forces, the police and the local militias, under one command accountable to the prime minister’. And declares that any public meetings and demonstrations are outlawed for a month. This ban on demonstrations and public meetings was later extended further.
17th May : Provisional results suggest a landslide victory for the CUD in the capital; it won all 23 seats in the capital – Addis Ababa – with several government ministers losing their seats in parliament.
17th May : Ethiopia ‘s ruling party says it has won the country’s general election before the counting of the votes hasn’t been finalized.
17th May : The chief European Union election observer – Ana Gomes – criticizes the ruling party for announcing results before counting is over. She says ‘this is improper and it is particularly improper from the ruling party to do it at this stage’.
20th May : The opposition parties lodge complaints about massive electoral fraud and vote rigging committed by the ruling party in several rural and regional areas. The two main opposition parties say they won’t accept election results unless the Electoral Board investigates their 300 complaints of allegations of vote rigging and fraud in 547 constituencies
25th May : European Union election observers express regret at the slow pace of vote counting. The EU observers also accuse the state media of bias in its coverage of statements by political parties. They said ‘the government’s actions are seriously undermining the election process.’
28th May : The National Electoral Board releases provisional results saying Ethiopia ‘s ruling party has won an overall majority. At the same time, the board says that it is investigating the oppositions’ claims of fraud in 139 constituencies.
3rd June : The National Electoral Board says it won’t release final results on 8 June as planned and it will release them in another month time. And opposition parties vow to stage mass protests if the provisional results are validated.
6th June : Addis Ababa University students protest accusing the ruling EPRDF party of fraud. Baton-wielding police storm the two main university campuses killing at least two and arresting hundreds. Police were seen beating students with batons and rifle butts. A young student by the name of Shibire Desalegn
- pictured – is believed to be the first victim of the regime’s atrocious killings following the election crisis.
8th June : EPRDF’s heavily armed forces deployed in the streets of Addis Ababa massacre at least 42 innocent civilians for taking part in a demonstration demanding the respect of the outcome of the elections in the country. Most of the dead had gun shots to the head and hundreds were wounded while thousands were abducted and sent to remote military prison camps.
8th June : Business owners, taxi and mini-bus drivers take strike action to protest over the ruling party’s alleged massive election fraud and its fierce violations of human rights. The streets of Addis Ababa under the intimidating control of the EPRDF’s armed forces. The government places opposition leaders under house arrest.
9th June : Amnesty International issues a press release saying that ‘over 1,500 students and other demonstrators are at risk of torture [and] further arrests are reportedly continuing in Addis Ababa and in other towns where student demonstrations took place’. The organization condemnes the excessive use of force by the police, who it says ‘used live ammunition against peaceful protestors’. ‘The excessive and indiscriminate use of force is in contravention of international human rights standards,’ said Kolawole Olaniyan, Amnesty International’s Africa Programme Director.
11th June : In an interview with the Reuters news agency, the Prime Minster describes the events of the previous few days as ‘ an indication that our democracy is maturing .’
11th June : The EPRDF government strips of the credentials of Voice of America and Deutsche Welle Radio reporters in Addis Ababa and says they cannot do reports on the situation. Journalists who went to opposition leaders’ homes were beaten by police with fists and clubs and had their cameras confiscated.
11th June : Thousands of Ethiopians from around America gather in Washington carrying placards saying: ‘ Stop the massacre in Ethiopia ! ‘ , ‘Side with the Ethiopian people not with the dictator!’, ‘President Bush, Secretary Rice, Ethiopians deserve justice & democracy!’. Thousands in Washington and London also hold candlelight vigils to remember and pray for those who were murdered in the streets of Addis Ababa on 8 June.
11th June : An opposition MP-elect by the name of Tesfaye Adane shot and killed by police near his home in Arsi Negele – south of the capital.
12th June : Ethiopian expatriates across the world mobilize to send a message of peace and to demand the respect of law and human rights in their homeland as well as to show solidarity with the people in Ethiopia . Ethiopian communities virtually from every major city in Europe, America and Australia as well as Ethiopians in South Africa and Israel have been taking part in demonstrations in the wake of the mass killings, arbitrary detention, ban on demonstrations, and fierce intimidation by the EPRDF regime.
13th June : International media reports reveal that more than 3,000 people have been arrested in Ethiopia in the preceding few weeks alone.
13th June :The United States government issues a statement on the situation in Ethiopia . State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says the following in a statement: ‘we urge the government to respect the rule of law, international principles of human rights, and due process with regard to those arrested or detained’.
14th June :The Ethiopian Human Rights Council issues an urgent appeal. It says: ‘[EHRCO] calls on individuals, national and foreign non-governmental organizations as well as foreign governments and inter-governmental organizations who stand for the respect of human rights, the prevalence of the rule of law and the flourishing of democracy, to condemn the acts of imprisonment, beatings, repression and killings being committed by the Ethiopian government, and to exert pressure to bring it to the right direction’.
15th June : UK Development Minister Hilary Benn announces that his government has suspended a $36m aid increase to Ethiopia after the government killed protestors in the streets of the capital Addis Ababa .
19th June : The Ethiopian Human Rights Council says six of its human rights activists have been taken by uniformed police from their offices and residences and there whereabouts are not known
21st June :Eight army pilots training in the former Soviet republic of Belarus ask for political asylum saying that they could be used by the EPRDF regime to carryout atrocious criminal acts against opposition supporters.
22nd June : The National Electoral Board drops more than half of the investigations into alleged election fraud without explanation.
2nd July : The EPRDF dominated parliament passes bills federalizing the responsibilities of numerous institutions that thus far have been under the authority of the Addis Ababa City Government . The ruling EPRDF party makes this move following the opposition’s landslide victory in Addis Ababa thereby depriving them of political, economic and administrative decision making powers in particular areas when they start governing the city as of October 2005. The institutions that so far have been under the authority of the Addis Ababa City Government and now federalized are: t he Addis Ababa Road Transport Authority; the Addis Ababa Quarantine Service Department; the Authentication and Registration Bureau; the bureau registering local and international NGOs operating in Addis Ababa; and the Public Rally Permit Office.
4th July : In an interview with Stephen Sackur on the BBC’s HARDTALK programme, the Prime Minster refuses to apologize to the Ethiopian people for the massacre his army committed under his command. Instead, he said that ‘all international observers without exception said that the election process in Ethiopia was free, fair and transparent by any standard’. Stephen Sackur interrupted to set the record straight by saying ‘no, no they didn’t prime Minster, with respect, they didn’t say that… [The Carter Center]…said and I quote ‘that there was evidence ballot boxes had been removed improperly or improperly secured , party agents were excluded from the count, they also confirmed cases of intimidation and harassment and said national election officials were slow to respond or failed to provide any information”.
5thJuly : Hailu Shawel – the leader of Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – the CUD – appears on the BBC’s HARDTALK programme. Stephen Sackur asks: ‘Are you optimistic about Ethiopia’s future, till the last year people wanted to believe that this country was dragging itself out of extreme poverty, now the outlook looks much bleaker, doesn’t it?’ And Mr. Hailu Shawel replies ‘well, it is easy to solve, let the government take its guns away and we have a beautiful future ; I can tell you.’
August : A hit song emerges – in Amharic – saying the Rwandan genocide will never happen in Ethiopia (as a direct reply to the Prime Minster’s bleak prediction) urging the people of Ethiopia to unite against the atrocious regime and the military not to engage in harming its civilian brothers and sisters to keep the collapsing tyranny in power.
9th August : After a number of postponements the National Electoral Board says the ruling party has won the election.
11th August : Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party calls for a formation of provisional government of national unity. In a news conference the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) requests the ruling party to form a “caretaker” government of national unity that would last no longer than one year. The Party says that the interim government would end the ruling EPRDF party’s links with the judiciary, the press and the electoral board, and would prepare for new polls.
20th August : Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – CUD – elects Dr. Berhanu Nega as Mayor of Addis Ababa . The CUD won a landslide victory in the capital in the 15 May election.
25th August : An Australian television documentary describes the Ethiopian election as ‘ anything but free and fair ; in fact, it turned out to be what many cynics have come to expect from African elections: vote-rigging, intimidation and even murder…’. It also adds that ‘ Ethiopia ‘s historic ballot was marred by widespread fraud, political assassination, and the killing of more than 40 unarmed protestors’. The DATELINE documentary on the SBS channel describes itself as ‘ a story about a government that promised free elections but took it back when it didn’t like the result ‘.
26th August : The European Union’s chief election observer in Ethiopia says the elections failed to meet international standards in several key respects. Ana Gomes says ‘solid evidence of irregularities presented by the opposition had been dismissed’. She concluded that ‘the EU Observation Mission regrets [that the election process] did not live up to the international standards and to the aspirations of Ethiopians for democracy’.
27th August : The EPRDF government accuses EU observers of contributing to post-election violence. 29 August : The Prime Minster gives an official response to the European Union’s report that criticized the election process by saying that the report was ‘garbage’. Reuters News Agency has quoted him as saying: ‘we shall, in the coming days and weeks see what we can do to expose the pack of lies and innuendos that characterize the garbage in this report’.
5th September : The National Electoral Board confirms final results from the disputed polls with the EPRDF winning 360 seats and the opposition winning 175.
22nd September : The opposition parties call upon the Ethiopian people to hold a peaceful demonstration on the 2 October to express their disapproval of the election results and the widespread human rights violations in the country by the EPRDF regime. The demonstration would be the fist rally since the ruling party was declared winner of the elections.
24th September :The Prime Minster appears on national television to deliver a personal message of warning to the people of Ethiopia against taking part in the 2 October demonstration. He calls the demonstration ‘illegal’ and says the aim of the demonstration is ‘to overthrow the government by an unconstitutional means’.
26th September : EPRDF police arrest at least 43 opposition members in regional areas for allegedly plotting against the government . Hundreds of opposition supporters throughout Ethiopia go missing as the EPRDF intensifies its crackdown on the oppositions ahead of the 2 October rally.
27th September : At the annual bonfire celebration of the Meskel festival residents of Addis Ababa express their disapproval of government officials and the Patriarch who has long been accused by the Christian population and many Clergymen of belonging to the ruling party and having blatant pro-government stances as opposed to simply being a religious leader. The mood of the religious festival turned political when the president arrived at Meskel Square followed by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They were greeted with boos and jeers by the attending crowed and the Patriarch was forced to cut his speech short. Police arrested more than 50 people at the scene.
29th September : The government refuses to issue permit for the 2 October demonstration and forces the opposition parties to cancel it. The two main opposition parties tell the Ethiopian people that the demonstration has been called off on the grounds that they have been denied permit and alternative and peaceful ways of expressing their disapproval would be announced soon.
30th September :The opposition parties ask the Ethiopian people to take strike action for 3 consecutive days from 3 October. A statement from the opposition parties says: ‘ we call upon our fellow Ethiopians to stay in your homes for three consecutive days … to express to the ruling party and the government in unequivocal but peaceful, legal terms your legitimate discontent ‘.
30th September : Amnesty International issues a report on the situation in Ethiopia . The report says: ‘hundreds of opposition party officials and members are being held incommunicado without charge in order to stop them attending nationwide demonstrations which had been planned for 2 October. Several of those detained have reportedly been beaten in detention, and all the detainees are at risk of torture or ill-treatment. There has also been widespread intimidation and harassment of suspected opposition supporters, particularly youths. Amnesty International believes that those arrested may be prisoners of conscience, detained solely on account of their non-violent opinions’.
1st October : Western diplomats in Addis Ababa play a mediating role and the Prime Minster suddenly announces that he is ready to hold direct talks with the opposition parties. In the wake of the PM’s readiness to hold talks, the opposition parties call off the general strike. A statement issued by the opposition parties says: ‘we are committing ourselves to press for our objectives through a democratic and parliamentary process. We believe this advances the democratic process in a peaceful and constructive manner’.
7th October : The two main opposition parties announce that agreed talks with the government couldn’t proceed on the grounds that the government couldn’t accept their agenda . Among other things, the oppositions wanted to talk with the government about restructuring the electoral board , recounting the votes from the 299 constituencies in which the electoral board refused to investigate fraud and vote rigging allegations, and also about forming a government of national unity . Even though the Prime Minster agreed – less than a week ago – to hold talks with the oppositions reportedly ‘on any issue’, his characteristic deceit has come into play, prompting the collapse of the talks before they could even begin.
10th October : Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – the CUD – officially boycotts parliament . The CUD says a number of preconditions will have to be met in order for the party to take up its seats in parliament. Among the preconditions, the complete reform of the electoral board , the setting-up of an independent panel to probe into the killings of at least 42 civilian protesters in Addis Ababa on 8 June, the release of detained opposition members, the reopening of CUD’s offices in rural and regional areas, the provision of equitable access to the media by opposition parties, and the development of an independent judicial system are the key ones. The second most popular opposition party – the UEDF – however says that 35 of its newly elected MPs will join parliament when it reopens on 11 October.
10th October : Ethiopian parliament re-opens and re-appoints Meles Zenawi as Prime Minster. He has been in power since 1991 .
11th October : The EPRDF dominated parliament strips opposition MPs who boycotted parliament of their immunity from prosecution . A total of 334 legislators voted in favor of lifting opposition members’ immunity, while 35 voted against and two abstained. Members of the second most popular opposition party – the UEDF – who decided to take up their seats left parliament in protest of the decision.
13th October : In a resolution adopted today, the European Parliament 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’. The parliament praises the opposition for having called off a demonstration on 2 October that could have led to serious clashes. The European Parliament says it is ‘seriously concerned that the political dialogue between the Ethiopian government and the opposition has broken down due to the ruling party’s stance [and] it urges all parties to resume the talks immediately and work towards a functioning democracy with the rights of the opposition fully respected .’ The parliament also asked its president to write to the speaker of the Ethiopian parliament expressing its strong concern over the bill to strip parliamentary immunity from all elected opposition MPs who did not take their seats.
15th October : In an interview with Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), the Prime Minster accuses the leader of Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party of an act of treason . He was quoted as saying ‘the chairman of the CUD [opposition Coalition of Unity and Democracy, Hailu Shawel] has on a number of occasions publicly declared his intention, the intention of his party, to remove the government through street action . That is an act of treason in any country and under any language. And treason as far as I know treason is a very serious crime in any country.’
19th October : Police arrest at least 34 members and supporters of Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party about 250km east of Addis Ababa . The reason given by police for the arrests is that ‘they were found with a cache of weapons and were suspected of planning violence’. The state controlled media said ‘police found 23 rifles, five pistols, three hand grenades, other firearms and 626 rounds of ammunition’.
19th October : The secretary-general of the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union, which works to promote representative democracy around the world, criticizes the way the opposition parties are treated in Ethiopia . In an interview with Voice of America Mr. Anders Johnsson said that ‘he’s surprised by the Ethiopian government’s decision to lift immunity from opposition members [and] the move restricts the ability of legislators to debate and formulate national policy on behalf of the electorate’. He also said that ‘without the “human right” of parliamentarians to dissent or enjoy freedom of assembly, it is unlikely there will be human rights for average person ‘.
21st October : The chairman of Ethiopia’s leading opposition party – the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) – accuses the government of killing 6 of its members , arresting 837 opposition members and breaking into and closing 25 branch offices over the preceding three weeks. In a statement, the CUD chairman Hailu Shawul said that ‘the burning issue today is the right of the people to resist and protect themselves against government’s unconstitutional measures’.
21st October : The chairman of Ethiopia ‘s leading opposition party – the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) – urges the people of Ethiopia to prepare for peaceful demonstrations , strikes and stay-at-homes to protest the killing of six members and detention of hundreds of opposition members. He said that the protest actions will be held in the first week of November .
29th October : Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – the CUD – urges the people of Ethiopia to take strike actions and stay-at-homes as of 14 November 2005 to protest the results of the recent general elections, the killings and detention of citizens and the relentless violations of human rights in the country.
29th October : Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – the CUD – urges the Ethiopian people to boycott products and services owned by the ruling party and its associates and sympathizers to express their disapproval of the government and its relentless violations of human rights in the aftermath of the flawed general elections. The opposition says effective from today , the boycott is part of its peaceful struggle against the regime and the scope and duration of the protest action will depend upon how the government reacts to it. Radio stations, newspapers, media and publishing companies are among the products and services to be boycotted.
31 st October : EPRDF Police arrest and revoke the licenses of several taxi divers in the capital Addis Ababa who have been taking part in a demonstration called by the main opposition party.
1st November : EPRDF police massacre scores of Ethiopians in the capital Addis Ababa . Reports on the day say that at least 8 people were shot in the chest and head causing them to die in the streets of Mercato while many others were seriously injured. Some of the dead and injured are said to have been taking part in a demonstration that had been called by the main opposition party.
BBC: 
Ethiopia Clashes in Pictures
1st November : EPRDF police arrest the chairman and the deputy of Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – the CUD – including Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam – a prominent human rights activist. Engineer Hailu Shawel, Dr. Berhanu Nega and Professor Mesfin Wolde Mariam ‘s arrest today follows the massacre yesterday of unarmed civilians in Addis Ababa by the EPRDF army.
2nd November : A day of continued bloodshed in the Ethiopian capital – Addis Ababa . EPRDF army continues to massacre the people of Ethiopia in the capital Addis Ababa . Reports on the day say that at least 33 people were shot dead and large number of others seriously injured. In addition to the indiscriminate killings of civilians, hundreds, possibly thousands of Ethiopians have been randomly picked up in the capital and arrested in undisclosed locations
3rd November : EPRDF army continues the indiscriminate killings of civilian Ethiopians. Reports on the day suggest that at least 3 more people were shot dead and many others seriously injured on the streets of Addis Ababa . In addition to the indiscriminate killings, hundreds, possibly thousands of more Ethiopians have been randomly picked up in the capital and arrested in undisclosed locations.
3rd November : Britain ‘s foreign ministry urges its citizens against non-essential travel to Ethiopia saying that ‘there have been further serious disturbances across the capital , resulting in a number of deaths’. The statement given by the ministry adds ‘opposition leaders have been arrested and further violence in Addis and other towns cannot be ruled out . We advise against non-essential travel to Ethiopia until the situation settles’.
4th November : The bloodshed continues in Addis Ababa with 3 more people shot and killed by the EPRDF army who are patrolling the city heavily armed with heavy machine guns and sniper rifles and shooting indiscriminately . Teenagers and mothers are among the dead shot by members of the army in their homes and in front of their loved ones. Businesses and private taxis have been shut and frequent gunshots have been heard all day. Reports by Associated Press suggest that diplomats in Addis Ababa ‘ had reports of police continuing to round up suspected opposition leaders overnight , perhaps as many as 3,000 people ‘. The BBC reported that ‘arrests continued overnight with truckloads of opposition supporters being taken out of Addis Ababa .’
4th November : Protests spread from the capital to other parts of Ethiopia . Reports say protests erupted in Dessie , Gondar , Bahar Dar , Arba Minch , Awassa and Dire Dawa . 4 people were shot and killed by EPRDF armed forces in Bahar Dar and 11 were wounded. The protesters were calling for an independent investigation into the mass killings in the capital and the release of political prisoners all over the country.
4th November : European Union chief election observer Ana Gomes sends a letter of urgent appeal to EU governments and the Commission to act to end what she calls the ‘ bloodbath ‘ in Ethiopia. The letter asks European governments to ‘stop the killing of Ethiopians who dare to believe that democracy is possible in Ethiopia ‘. The letter also adds: ‘most ironic is that Europe counts in Ethiopia , a country which depends on European aid, the largest recipient in Africa . Europe could definitely make the difference for democracy in Ethiopia ; instead, current European leaders are choosing to fail it . In doing so, they are not just failing Ethiopians. They are also failing Europe .’
4th November : The United States government says ‘anybody who might have been arrested in these demonstrations for political reasons should be released immediately.’ The message was delivered by department spokesman Sean McCormack on Friday. He said ‘the deaths as a result of the actions surrounding these protests are senseless – these are senseless deaths , and they’re tragic .’ He added: ‘violence is not the way forward for either side . The United States calls upon both sides to engage in a peaceful dialogue, to back away from the use of violence [and not] to try to provoke the other side into violence.’ The Meles regime is an ally of the Bush administration in the so-called ‘ war on terror ‘ which explains why the administration is notably reluctant to condemn the massacre in Ethiopia.
5th November : 2 students shot and killed by EPRDF army in Debre Markos – 305 km north of the capital Addis Ababa.
7th November : Ethiopia ‘s main opposition party – the CUD – which has most of its leadership and legislative body detained without trial calls for a week long strike to begin today to protest at the violent killings of large numbers of Ethiopians for the last six days. On this very first day of the latest strike, shops and businesses in Addis Ababa are closed and almost no taxis are running . The EPRDF military armed with heavy machine guns and sniper rifles constantly patrol the city from every direction.
7th – 14th November : This week Ethiopians have witnessed the unthinkable : hundreds of families have lost fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters to the atrociously indiscriminate bullets of the EPRDF regime; across the city of Addis Ababa , heavily armed police have been making late night raids on houses in a massive crackdown on citizens. Young men, some barefoot, being marched through the city to police stations and remote detention locations have become a familiar sight. Citizens have been made to pay as much as 1,500 Birr to collect the corpses of their loved ones from the government; citizens who went to hospitals to recover the bodies of their loved ones have been told that they had to sign a document saying that the opposition party was responsible for the killing and some have been made to sign papers that say their loved ones were shot dead while plotting against their country ; thousands of citizens arrested for being sympathizers of the opposition party; scores of opposition leaders arrested on a charge of treason ; thousands of citizens held in rugged conditions outside the capital without their families knowing their whereabouts; several print journalists under siege; many reporters viewed as sympathetic to the opposition have been detained; other journalists have gone into hiding, and the army took into custody two journalists’ mothers as a pressure tactic. Meanwhile Ethiopian expatriates in the west continue asking their respective governments to put pressure on the regime in Ethiopia to respect human rights and the rule of law.
14th November : A New York based independent organization dedicated to defend press freedom worldwide says that at least 8 journalists running privately owned newspapers in Ethiopia have been arrested by the government. It says the last two were arrested in the last couple of days and many others are hiding after their names appeared on the government’s wanted list . As part of its violent crackdown on anyone who is critical of the government, the EPRDF has been arresting members of the independent media saying they will be charged with treason . The organization known as The Committee to Protect Journalists says it ‘is outraged by these ongoing arrests’. The organization’s executive director – Ann Cooper – also says in a statement that ‘we call on the Ethiopian authorities to abandon any idea of bringing treason charges against journalists, and to end this.
Independent Report On the NewsEthiopian police massacred 193 protesters in violence following last year’s disputed elections, an independent report says
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