February 6/2004

THE EPRDF parliament has passed a proclamation against what it calls "dangerous vagrancy" (adegegna bozenenet") which gives the police almost unrestricted rights to detain anybody without a court order. Article 6, section 1 of the proclamation give the police the right to detain and jail anyone they suspect of being a "dangerous vagrant" and anyone arrested in this way can benefit from bail.

The EPRDF has often relied on such vague articles to jail people for long periods. The police are now given the right of determining who is a "dangerous vagrant" or not and no one can argue against their determination. This gives the federal police a wide cover to take action against the political opponents of the EPRDF or against anyone considered by the authorities as dangerous. It is to be noted that we are dealing with a situation in which hundreds of thousands of people in Addis Abeba and other towns are unemployed and forced to eke out a precarious and marginal living. Time and again over the years, the EPRDF police has been accused as "untrained, violent" and as totally controlled and used by the EPRDF for its own political ends and objectives.

The new proclamation is decreed by the EPRDF to justify planned detention of innocent people without due process of law. It is a law that violates the basic rights of the people and it should be revoked without any delay.

Please send your objections to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (p.o.box 1031, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia—fax 251-1-552020).