JUNE  19/ 2007

PRESS RELEASE

SOCEPP CONCLUDES GENERAL MEETING AND ELECTS NEW EC MEMBERS

SOCEPP has held its general meeting on June 9 and elected a new executive committee for the coming four years.

 The SOCEPP general meeting was attended by delegates from various branches

• and it heard reports on the activities of SOCEPP in the past years,
• the problem encountered in one branch vis a vis human rights work and relations with the SOCEPP Centre (Germany),
• the overall human rights situation in the country, the tasks ahead and the difficulties confronting SOCEPP in its work.

 After examining its past work, SOCEPP has resolved to intensify its effort with special focus on the fate of the political prisoners "forgotten" by other human rights bodies and in this respect it has paid homage to the late Tesfaye Tadesse (lawyer, human rights activist and newspaper publisher brutally murdered in Addis Ababa by security agents of the regime on June 7/1998) who, as a member of the SOCEPP EC, helped SOCEPP's work in its earlier formative periods. The General Meeting has also discussed the problem encountered with one branch (with two members) which has failed to observe the statute and has turned "political" contrary to the nature and laws of SOCEPP. A new head has been named to this particular branch in Canada to redress the situation.

 The ongoing gross violation of human rights by the EPRDF regime and the acquiescence it seems to get from some international quarters have also been raised and the need to wage a more extensive and effective campaign to denounce the repression emphasised upon. In this respect, the role played by the SOCEPP website (www.socepp.de) has been praised and efforts promised to improve it even further. The general meeting has also discussed SOCEPP's future plans and entrusted the new executive committee to spare no effort on the realization of these tasks.

 The new Executive Committee of SOCEPP is as follows:

1.Dr. Gelaye Tadesse--  chairman   (socepp_australia@yahoo.com.au)

2. Teshale Tesfaye   -- vice chairman (soceppca@yahoo.ca)

3. Zemedu Lemma…………………………..    __secretary     ( secretary@socepp.de)

4. Zewelde Ingida     ---  treasurer    (treasurer@socepp.de)

5. Gedeon Tesfaye -- information head     (info@socepp.de)

 The following branch heads have also been named:

 Yonas  Girma:    for SOCEPP USA (soceppna@yahoo.com)

Teshale Tesfaye for SOCEPP Canada (soceppca@yahoo.ca)

Sultan Ali         for SOCEPP Denmark (soceppdenmark@yahoo.dk)

Gedeon Tesfaye  for SOCEPP Germany (info@socepp.de)

Mekonen Kitaw for    SOCEPP Holland (soceppholland@yahoo.com)       

Bayou Bogale  for SOCEPP England (soceppuk@yahoo.co.uk)

 SOCEPP calls on all human rights organizations to cooperate with these legal representatives of SOCEPP.

SOCEPP