By Bruck Shewareged — Te Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party dismissed its plan to hold a public meeting at Meskel Square on Saturday, 23 May 2009, as it was not able to secure permission to hold the event from the City Government of Addis Ababa.
In a letter issued by Markos Bizuneh, officer of Peaceful Demonstration and Public Meeting Notification of the City Government, the party was told that it can only hold its meeting in halls of the party’s choosing.
Dr. Hailu Araya, UDJ’s public relations head and vice president, said that the demonstration notification office told them that they can only make facilities available for the party to hold its meetings in a hall.
Although the party notified the city administration on Monday, the response came after three days which, according to him, contravened the law.
Article 6 (2) of Proclamation No. 3/1991 which provides for the establishment of the procedure for peaceful demonstration and political meeting says, “Where the municipal or Awraja administrative office is of the opinion that … it is preferable for the peaceful demonstration or public political meeting to be held at some other time or place, it shall so notify the organizers by giving reasons, in writing, within 12 hours of the time of submission of their notice.”
”We submitted our request on Monday but they responded on Thursday. Here you can see the law had been breached,” Dr. Hailu said.
Denying the party a space to hold its activities has its own danger, Dr. Hailu said.
“In many places, especially in Amhara and Oromia regions, many of our offices have been closed, party members detained and intimidated,” he added.
Despite the problems that the party is facing, they will continue the peaceful political struggle, according to him.
May 25th, 2009 at 4:56 am
ሁለ ለክሶ
May 25th, 2009 at 7:20 am
when you ask an illegitimate government for permits and permissions, you legitimize it.
May 25th, 2009 at 7:52 am
There again. When do they get it? I mean the UDJ people. Their leader is languishing in prison, Woyane is breaching all the rules which they made. They have told them many times that Woyane (TPLF) is the boss all the rest (parties) are made to legitimise Woyane. As for me they have to say goodbye to Woyane and join another form of struggle.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:38 am
This is once again the demonstration of Tigrayan hegemony and power in Ethiopia by suppressing any political force where the Amharas are seen playing significant roles. Tigrayan dictatorship and economic exploitation is impoversihing Ethiopians and millions are on the verge of death due to the depravation imposed on them by the Tigrayans.
We know that Meles Zenawi never trusts the agames or Tigrayans 100% because they are greedy, inferior and not reliable. However, he uses the inferior agames to do the dirty jobs for him like going to war and killing Amharas and others who oppose his rule. Meles Zenawi badly needs the experience and expertise of the reliable Tigrigna speakers of Eritrea to develop and manage his growing business empires in Ethiopia. Meles Zenawi knows that the Eritrean Tigrigna speakers are more disciplined, hard working and less prone to corruption. These are the qualities he seeks in them and reasons for his empowerment of them in Ethiopia. On the other hand, Meles Zenawi has not forgotten the sacrifices of the Tigrayans to bring him to power and he has improved Tigray signifcantly using the resources of Ethiopia. Though he is not treating them as equally as the Tigrigna speakers of Eritrea, Meles Zenawi has been able to produce more Tigrayan businessmen and intellectuals who are very loyal to him. The anti-Amhara policiies of Meles Zenawi are accepted and fostered by the people of Tigray who see the Amharas as the greatest threats to their favored status now. The Tigrayans believe that the marginalized and squeezed Amharas resent the exclusive use of Ethiopian resources to develop Tigray. Besides, the Tigrayans believe that it is only the Amharas and some Gurgagie elites, who do not accepting the superiority of the Tigrigna speakers. So the alliance of the Tigrigna speakers (both in Eritrea and Tigray) against the Amharas is what Meles Zenawi needs to maintain his control over Ethiopia. The next move of Meles Zenawi could be the mass displaceement and deportation of Amharas to any place on earth. He is expected to continue to get western support for his anti-Amharas measures because the west do also see the Amharas as part of anti-western forces. That is why the
big western powers have not condemned or even tacitly endorsed Meles Zenawi`s roles in the large scale killings of the Amharas in different parts of Ethiopia. Meles Zenawi and his TPLF used to believe that they have neutralized any threats from the Amharas but the advent of Ginbot7 which is becoming more popular among the Amharas is causing a great deal of concern and fear in Tigray. The Tigrayans are afraid of any force backed by the Amharas and would not hesitate to go to war against it.
Meles Zenawi is coming under increased pressure from Tigrayans to settle the issue of the Amharas once and for all to secure the economic and political dominations of the Tigrigna speakers in Ethiopia. The daunting task facing Meles Zenawi is thus to strike a deal with his western backers and financiers, to find a lasting solution to the threats Amharas pose to Tigrayan rule and western interests in Ethiopia.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:45 am
አሁንም የሰላማዊ ትግል ዘፈን ይዘፈናል ማለት ነው? ይገርማል!
May 25th, 2009 at 8:56 am
ወያኔ እኮ በጣም ፈርቱዋል!!!
እባካችሁ ጀግኖቻችን በርቱ!!!!
May 25th, 2009 at 9:08 am
ግንቦት 7
May 25th, 2009 at 9:33 am
ወያኔ ዓላማውን በተግባር እያሳየ ነው:: ሆቴሎችና አገልግሎት ሰጪ ድርጅቶች ተቃዋሚዎችን እየለዩ በራቸውን የሚዘጉ ከሆነ: ወያኔ በተሳካ ሁኔታ የፓለቲካውን እንቅስቃሴ አፍኖታል ማለት ነው:: ታዲያ ይሄ ሕዝብ ነው ተቃዋሚዎችን ወጥቶ የሚመርጠው?
የሚያስቀው ደግሞ አንድነት የሚባለው ተቃዋሚ ነው: ልክ እንደ አዲስ ፖለቲካ ጀማሪ ደብዳቤ ይዘው ከቢሮ ቢሮ መሮጣቸው ነው:: ወያኔ ይቀየራል በለው በማሰብ ነው: ወይስ እንቅስቃሴ አደረግን ብለው ራሳቸውን ለማታለል ነው? ህገ መንግስታዊ መብታቸውን ለይተው ያውቃሉ: መብታቸውን ተጠቅመው ማድረግ የሚገባቸውን ሕዝቡን በማስተባበር ማድረግ: ካዛ ተከትሎ ለሚመጣው ማንኛውም ዓይነት ጥቃትና ወከባ ራስን ዝግጁ ማድረግ: ሰላማዊ ትግል ማለት መብትን ለማስከበር ህዝብን አደራጅቶ መታገል መስዋዕት መክፈል ነው:: ካልሆነ አርፈው ይቀመጡ: ይልቁን ወያኔን እያስደነበሩ ህዝቡን አያስጨርሱ::
May 25th, 2009 at 9:53 am
This is the time for all opposition to unite & use the asab issue including the new directive law that passed for criminals anti ethiopia eritreans to get ethiopian people property back with out parliment approval.
This is the time for all oposition to use “directive law” to gain more support from all walks of ethiopians.There was a poll taken recently about eritreans in ethiopia.And 95% ethiopians wants eritreans to be deported from all over ethiopia.
The people main reason was eritreans living in ethiopia were pitting inocent people to start ethnic war in ethiopia.Remeber the etnic fight between the BORENAS & SOMALI was started by eritreans lived in that region.
So it’s vital for the opposition to use this henious law that passed against the will of ethiopia people for thier advantage to galvanized public support and teach the ruling class a lesson.
The people who were deported are well known criminals who kept ethiopia in poverty since the king haile sellasie time.They used to do all kinds of fraud to get ahead of other hard working ethiopians.While these deportees hate ethiopia & ethiopians down to thier bone.
The opposition must use this golden gift from the regime to exploited and garner public support which they need badly at this time.The regime blocking the opposition not to held a public meeting is an indication of fear to curtail the uproar from the public.
The question is how long can they keep blocking any peaceful opposition from holding a meeting is not to long.As long as the opposition plays it’s card wisely such as about the criminal hateful eritreans coming back to the holy land of ethiopia.
Keep in mind asab was never eritreans.It belongs to ethiopia people ,but the eritreans held it in the hope to destroy ethiopia economic.Once they realized thier evil agenda failed now they want to be back in ethiopia to destroy her WITHIN.
Wake up ethiopians…….
God bless Ethiopia….
May 25th, 2009 at 11:12 am
There you have it Dr. Hailu Araya. Uphold the 7-point prconditions before elections as negotiating point than to complain about limited political space allotted to you, where you managed to demonstrate with 250 signed on officials to stage a demonstration. Abandon your coalition and join AEUP for genuine peaceful struggle for freedom, peace, territorial integrity and soveregnty of Ethiopia and unity of Ethiopia, instead of batching with those with ethnic agenda with an appology and true confession about your misguided approach/political model.
May 25th, 2009 at 11:59 am
As far as i am concerened, eppf patriots are the only one who sacrfice their lives.
Many ethiopians are crossing borders and passing hundreds of kilometers to eritrea to join EPPF. You can credate local chapter to support the patroiots financialla and also by sending goods. They need cloth, medicine, shoes, radios etc… More info. www.eppfonline.org
May 25th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
It has been said many times in many ways that Peaceful Struggle is not going to work with TPLf. It is time for UDJ to think for changing their form of struggle in order to be fruitful.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I strongly suggest the UDJ and other poletical parties to breack the ice to get out of Woyane’s false egg shell to form a united front to tackel this ruthless regiem. Do not sit and fool yoursel and other Ethiopins under the name of peaceful struggle you will never successed. It is absolutly impossible to bring regiem changes in Ethiopia in a peaceful or constitution manner. The time has come for all Ethiopians to come together under one umbrella to get rid off the impartial, apartied, racisit woyane for once and for all.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
For how long our people have to suffer? Please unite and fight.
We can’t be loosers. we have more power than weyane does. Let us unite again to destroy the enemeis. And for those tplf’s supporters shame on you. shame shame. The guy u r worshiping like a god is destroying your own bro and sisters. Shame hodamoch.
Support G7……THE ONLY SOULTION.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
ዘር በማጥፋት ከሚወነጀል ድርጅት ጋር ሰላማዊ ትግል የሚለው ነገር በጣም ነው ግራ የሚያጋብኝ አንድነት የያዘው እብደት ነው ወይስ ፍዘት? እንደተረታ ጠበቃ ወረቀት ይዛችሁ ከአንዱ ወደ ሌላው ወያኔ ቢሮ መንከራተትና የወያኔ ባለስልጣኖችና ውሾች እንደ ኳስ ሲቀባበሉአችሁ በቃን የማትሉት እስከ መቼ ነው? ወያኔ እስኪፈቅድላችሁና አሁን ድርጅታችሁን አፍርሱና ተቀመጡ አልነካችሁም እስኪል የሚጠበቅ ይመስለኛል
“ሊገድል የመጣ ጠላት በስላሴ ቢሉት አይመለስም” ነው ነገሩ ይህን ደግሞ መለስ ራሱ ደግሞ ደጋግሞ ተናግሮታል “ዶሮ ማሰሪያዋን ቢያረዝሙላት የፈቷትይመስላታል ” “ፈረንጅ አያድናችሁ, አበሻ አያድናችሁ ማንም አያድናችሁ” “በደማችን ያገኘንውን ስልጣን በካርድ ልንቀማ አይገባም” ብዙ ብዙ ብሏል ማለት ብቻ አይደለም አድርጓል አስሯል ገሏል ገርፏል አስቃይቷል ማንኛውም የተራበና የተቆጣ አውሬ የሚያደርገውን ሁሉ አድርጓል እያደረገ ነው ወደፊትም ያደርጋል: “የበር ዳር እንጨት አንቺ አደናቃፊ ልመና ከልካይ” ብሏል አበሻ እና አስቡበት
ቸር እንሰንብት: ለነገሩ ወያኔ እያለ ምን ቸር ይሰነበታል::
May 25th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
እንግዴህ ክዝህ ወድያ መታግስ መጃጃል ነው:: ወያኔ ዲሞክራሳያዊ ግንባታ አይፈልግም:: ሌላ አማራጭ መፈልግ አስፈላጊነቱ መግለጥፅ አስፈልጊ አይሆንም:; ሁላችንም በያለንበት እንበርታ:: ህገ-መንግስቱ በተግባር ለማሳውል የሚክልክል መንግስት ህገ-መንግስታዊ መሰረት የለውም:: የውንበዴዎች መንግስት በመሆኑ መታገድ አለበት:: ነገሩ ከታሰበበት ቀልቅል ነው:: አስፈላጊውን መስዋእት በመክፈል ህዝባችን ከለበት አገቭጋቭኢ ሁነታ ነጻ ማስደርግ አለብን:: ወያኔ ብኃይል እንጂ በልመና ስልጣን ወደ ህዝብ እንዲቨጋገር አያደርግም::ነገሩ በያልንበት እንሰብበት:; እንተባበር::
May 25th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Why don`t these people understand that Meles has declared war on Ethiopian people, when he said you eighter live subjegated under my rule or go to the jungle and fight.People has to start fighting from everywhere they can and shorten the lifespan of fascism in Ethiopia.
May 25th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
እንደ ኢትዮጵያዊ ፈሪ የለም
May 25th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
PEACE FULL SRUGLE IS DEAD IN ETHIOPIA WHT ARE U DOING GUYS?
May 25th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Not even a single shot or fire in Ethiopia afterwards.
Ethiopia is in develpment path than ever before.
In the next two terms You will see more infrastructure colleges universties more Airlines routes bridges so on so forth.
Those(known) who dont want to see these things Enjoy living abroad write articles on the internet.
I select you the music called We aint stopping we are moving.while you are contemplating war!!listen it!
May 26th, 2009 at 12:34 am
No more peaceful struggle with the woyanne thugs. We all have to fight and continue our struggle until the last point.
No more peaceful struggle.
May 26th, 2009 at 6:02 am
I can not see why the old guys in the UDJP are losing their integrity and respect by pleading with the Ethno-fascist Meles Zenawi. The presence of 90+ parties in the country has been the source of disvisions and wranglings benefitting only the ethno-fascists. Meles Zenawi has enough loyal opposition parties and does not need any more like the UDJP. The cries of the UDJP to get some political space or favour from the ethno-fascist Meles Zenawi show their inherent weakness and lack of gut or resolve to stand against ethno-fascism. The UDJP has been promising to continue the peaceful struggle but we have not seen any sign of their promised peaceful struggle other than begging Meles Zenawi to give it some space. Even they are not putting forth some democratic demands or preconditions to open up the political space as they speak. The ethno-fascist, Meles Zenawi is treating the loyal opposition including the UDJP as his domestic servants who would never rise and revolt against his one man rule. The UDJP and others aligning themselves to serve the ethno-fascist via taking part in his periodic recrowning must learn from the insightful and astute leaders of Ginbot7. The ethno-fascists in power in Ethiopia do not understand the language of UDJP`s pleading and prodding or its version of peaceful struggle without any pre-conditions. The leaders of Ginbot7 have come to their popular political position after analysing the current suffocating and unfavorable political climate in Ethiopia.
May 26th, 2009 at 7:23 am
ከቢሮ ቢሮ እየዞሩ ለሰላማዊ ሰልፍ የወያኔ ቡችሎችን መለመኑ ከመቼ ጀምሮ ነው ሰላማዊ ትግል የሆነው?ከህዝብ ጋር መገናኘት ሳትችሉ እንዴት ነው ህዝብን የምታደራጁት?የአንድነት መሪዎች የወያኔን የጫወታ ህግ ለመረዳት ምነው ቸገራቸው? ወያኔ እኮ በተለሳለሱለት ቁጥር ልቡ እያበጠ የሚመጣ የወንጀለኞች ቡድን ነው::ታዲያ እንዲህ አይነት የማፍያ ቡድን በልመና ስልጣኑን ይለቃል::ይህ መፍዘዝ ወይም መደንዘዝ ነው::ወያኔ ያስቀመጠላቹ መስመር አለ:: ያንን መስመር ማለፍ አትችሉም::ለስልጣን ትንሽ የምታሰጉ ከሆነ ተለቅማቹ እስርቤት ነው የምትወረወሩት:: ይህ ደግሞ ወያኔ በብርትኳን ላይ አድርጎታል::ዓለም ዝም ነው ያለው::የወያኔው መሪ መለስ በግልጽ ቋንቋ አበሻም ፈረንጅም እነደማያስጥላቹ ነግሯቿል::ታዲያ ለንደዚህ አይነት ልቡ ያበጠበት ወንበዴ የሚገባውን ቋንቋ ማናገር ነው የሚሻለው::
May 26th, 2009 at 11:02 am
MUSTAFA SULEIMAN
YOU ARE HERE WITH YOUR PUB OR KITCHEN POLITICS WHICH IS A BRIDGE TO NO WHERE , WELL IF YOU ARE FROM WOYANNE CAMP IT IS TYPICAL AND IF YOU ARE FROM ETHIOPIAN SIDE LEAVE THE POLITICS FOR THE PEOPLES WHOM YOU CALL THEM OLD GUYS MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION IN AN OTHER WAY, WE LOVE ADORE RESPECT THESE OLD GUYS
May 26th, 2009 at 11:19 am
AHA LEAVE UDJ AND MAKE YOUR SACRIFICE FOR AEUP IN WHICH WE DONT HAVE A SINGLE PROBLEM WITH AS LONG AS THEY STAND FOR UNITY SOUVERAINITY AND DEMOCRACY . WE AS UDJ OR G7 HAVE SAID NOTHING AGAINST AEUP, BUT FOR YOU EVEN THOUGH I DONT KNOW WHAT YOUR POLITICAL STAND THESE 2 CIVILIZED OPPOSITION GROUPS ARE YOUR NIGHTMARES. THAT IS WHY I SOMETIMES THINK THAT YOU ARE HERE WITH SOME HIDDEN AGENDAS (SELL OUT)
May 26th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Talk, Talk, Talk, Talk, Talk, Talk, Talk, Talk, Talk, Talk.
I’m tired of hearing it. Do something people Instead of talking everyday let us do something, I never heard or read anyone with plans except Talk.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I thought UDJP IS DEAD when Bertukan was arrested. I have no idea who is talking on behalf of udjp. Forget about those hodams just support an armed struggle.
VIVA GINBOT 7!!!