Ethiopian army chief picks politics

2001-07-29 18:59

Addis Ababa - The Ethiopian army chief of staff, Abadula Gemeda, has resigned so that he can focus on politics, the government press reported late on Saturday.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi accepted Abadula's resignation in early July, the reports said.

In a letter dated July 4 from Meles to Abadula, published in the Amharic-language government daily Addis Zemen, the prime minister hailed the general's "services rendered to the army and the Ethiopian people" and said he was relieved of his military obligations.

Another government daily, the Ethiopian Herald, reported on Saturday that Abadula had asked several times to be allowed to resign so that he could "go back to party life and contribute his share to the advancement of the renewal movement within the OPDO and the EPRDF".

The Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO) is a party in Ethiopia's ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary and Democratic Front (EPRDF).

A brigadier general in charge of military intelligence before Ethiopia's 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea, Abadula was promoted to major general in July 1999.

He was one of the founding members of the OPDO, and currently co-chairs an ad hoc committee formed to overhaul the party, which has been rocked by corruption scandals.

The party last week suspended its secretary general, Kuma Demeksa, on charges of corruption, "anti-democratic practices," abuse of power and nepotism. - AFP

- SAPA