Security forces 'massacred' 193

2006-10-18 12:24

Nairobi - Ethiopian security forces massacred 193 people - triple the official death toll - during anti-government protests after last year's election, said a senior judge appointed to investigate the violence.

Wolde-Michael Meshesha, vice-chairperson of the government-backed inquiry, said unarmed protesters were shot, beaten and strangled to death.

He said he believed the Ethiopian government was trying to cover up the findings. Ethiopian officials refused to comment on the claims.

Wolde-Michael said: "This was a massacre. These demonstrators were unarmed yet the majority died from shots to the head. There is no doubt that excessive force was used."

Wolde-Michael fled the country last month after receiving anonymous death threats, leaving his wife and five daughters behind. He was now claiming asylum in Europe and would not disclose his exact whereabouts out of fear for his safety.

40 teenagers killed

Last year's elections were followed by a government crackdown on its opposition and increasing questions about its commitment to democracy.

A draft of the team's report, which should had been presented to the Ethiopian parliament in early July, said that among those killed were 40 teenagers, including a boy and a girl, both aged 14. Both were shot dead.

Six policemen were also killed in the June and November 2005 riots, bringing the overall death toll to 199. The report added that at least 763 people were injured.

Wolde-Michael said the figures could be higher because many people were too afraid to speak out. The government claimed at the time that 35 civilians and seven police were killed in November. In June, 26 people were killed.

Ana Gomes, who was the European Union's chief observer during the 2005 elections, said the report "exposes the lie" that the Ethiopian government was moving toward democracy.

Ethiopian regime 'weak'

She said: "It is time the EU and the United States realise that the current regime in Ethiopia is repressing the people because it lacks democratic legitimacy and is actually weak. It is driving Ethiopia to more poverty, conflict and war."

Wolde-Michael and the other commissioners spent six months interviewing more than 600 people, including Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, police officers, witnesses and other government officials.

According to Wolde-Michael, Meles said he didn't authorise police to use live bullets.

The inquiry's mandate was to determine whether excessive force was used. In early July, shortly before completing its report, the team held a vote and ruled eight to two that excessive force was used.

The vote and comments of the commission members were recorded on video.

An inquiry chairperson and supreme court judge Frehiwot Samuel, who was also believed to have fled Ethiopia, was heard saying on the video: "Many people were killed arbitrarily."

- AP