Ethiopia may probe poll deaths
2006-02-12 21:05
Pretoria - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and British Prime Minister Tony Blair discussed the post-election violence in Ethiopia over the weekend.
Both were attending the progressive governance summit in South Africa and were seated next to each other in the post-summit news conference.
Blair said Britain believed that the election in May last year in Ethiopia was the most free poll ever held in that country.
However, he believed the Addis Ababa government had overreacted in the way it dealt with members of the opposition who protested against the outcome.
"We must try and dissolve the situation - the human rights issues - but I want to do that in a manner that supports Ethiopia," Blair said.
He stressed that it was important that economic progress Ethiopia had made be retained.
Aid
In January, Britain said it would suspend all $88m planned in humanitarian aid to the Ethiopian government, because of human rights concerns.
Zenawi said the suspension of this aid did not mean the suspension if support to Ethiopia.
"They respect my responsibility to make a decision on Ethiopia and I respect their responsibility to make a decision about their own money.
"It's their tax payers' money.
"If they want to make a political point, I shall not (deny) their right to make a political point even if we don't agree with it," Zenawi said.
Questions were raised about Zenawi's invitation to the progressive summit, with critics such as the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) questioning whether he was really progressive if his government's human rights record showed otherwise.
Overreaction
Opposition party leaders, human rights activists, journalists and members of civil society were detained following riots after the bitterly disputed May elections.
About 90 people died, according to reports.
"What we have said to our friends is this: indeed if there was an overreaction, let's have and independent investigation and if the by the results of this investigation we notice flaws in our reaction, we shall not hesitate to learn from our mistakes and move on," Zenawi said.
- SAPA