May 8, 2001

REPRESSION AGAINST THE SEPDC STEPPED UP IN THE SOUTH

Reliable reports reaching SOCEPP affirm that the government of Prime Minster Meles Zenawi has dispatched more soldiers to the South (with some 250 arriving two days ago in Shoniye, Hadiya, to take part in the ongoing repression against the militants of the Southern Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Coalition (SEPDC/Opposition) and against students.

 In this connection, a number of SEPDC militants have been arrested in Shonie, including Ato Alemu Guntisso and several elders. Several arrests have also been reported from Aleta Wendo, Dilla and other places. In Mazoria, Kembata and Tambaro zones, one SEPDC militant has been killed and another injured. Many students have also been detained. It is to be noted that the government has over the past year intensified its repression in the South and especially against the SEPDC members and supporters.

 SOCEPP calls on the government to stop the repression and to release all the SEPDC militants detained illegally.

SOCEPP