February 14/2001

 EDITOR OF TOMAR JAILED

BEFEKADU MOREDA, editor of the weekly TOMAR newspaper, was taken from his office today by the police of Bensi Shangul region and transferred to the CID. How the regional police of Beni Shangul can come and arrest an independent editor in Addis Abeba may stretch any legal justification to its limit but there is little doubt that the TOMAR editor is being hounded by the central government, EPRDF itself.

TOMAR is an independent weekly that is distributed in many parts of Ethiopia including the Beni Shangul region. There are fears that Befekadu Moreda may be taken to Beni- Shangul and subjected to the excesses of the local officials .

SOCEPP demands the immediate release of BEFEKADU MOREDA and holds the EPRDF government responsible for any action that may be taken against him. There is absolutely no way in which the regional police can arrest people in Addis Abeba without the complicity of the EPRDF itself.

 STOP THE REPRESSION AGAINST THE INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS!!

SOCEPP