By TesfaNews,
THE 24-hour peaceful protest that was called by a coalition of 9 Ethiopian opposition groups is currently taking place in the capital Addis Ababa.
However, protesters have been blocked by a huge Police presence along the main roads that led to the main avenue – Meskel Square (aka Meskel Adebabay).
Club and batton wielding members of the Federal Police force quickly rounded up and use brute force against the civilian demonstrators, rally organizers and opposition party leaders.
Prominent among those arrested today was the leader of Semayawi (Blue) Party Eng. Yilikal Getnet.
The main purpose of the rally was to exert pressure on the ruling party to make the forthcoming election free and fair.
The vanguard EPRDF party rigged the 2010 general election to only win by 99.6% of the votes, leaving the oppositions with only one decorative seat in the parliament.
The regime has purposefully divide the Ethiopian mass along ethnic lines and that effectively left the country to be ruled under a repressive one-party since 1991.
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Hundreds Detained, Many Suffer Broken Arms and Legs
By Abraha Belai,
ADDIS ABABA (Dec 7) – Senior opposition party leaders and three busloads of protesters were admitted to the 3rd Police Station on Saturday night, eye-witnesses said. The 3rd police station is adjacent to the infamous Maekelawi Prison in the capital.
Many of the arrested were limping with injuries from police beatings. Engineer Yilikal Getnet, chairman of Semayawi Party, reportedly suffered a broken hand.
Families and friends who tried to take food and clothing to the detainees at the 3rd Police Station and elsewhere, were turned back, without passing the essentials.
Other activists who suffered beatings were also being held at Kazanchis and Cherkos police stations.
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