THE BLUE PARTY LEADERS ARE ARRESTED IN THE EASTERN CITY OF DIRE DAWA

The Ethiopian Police in the Eastern City of Dire Dawa has arrested dozens senior member of Ethiopia’s youngest opposition movement, the Blue Party while campaigning for a public meeting at one of the hotels in the city tomorrow 23/02/2014. The police have confiscated driving licence of the minibus driver they hired to complain in Dire Dawa. 

According to the country’s law police officers can only confiscate someone’s driver’s license at the scene of an accident or alleged motor vehicle violation. This was not the case.

The Blue Party held the first large demonstration by a political party since 2005 in July, when several thousand supporters marched in downtown Addis Ababa. Their demand is the release of jailed politicians and journalists, as well as action against corruption, unemployment and inflation.

Instead of allowing Ethiopians to hold public meetings and let people demonstrate their anger, the government forcefully break up the public meeting and protests, upsetting even those normally supportive of the government.

The Ethiopian government is labelled as one of the world’s most repressive governments in the world.