(Borkena) Ethiopian ruling party is seemingly employing hooligans in its repression member of opposition parties.
Usually, TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) dominated government employs either outright repression through its Federal police members or legal repression where by it incarcerates dissenting voices through trumped up charges.
In the last Federal election, for lack of better phrase, members of opposition became victims of orchestrated homicide. Opposition Tigray region in northern Ethiopia lost a member when one of its member was stabbed to death in a situation which was made to seem nonpolitical killing in local bar. The case in Oromia was different ; member of policy was stabbed to death in a dramatized situation which was intended to make supporters of one of the leading the oppositions in the region,Oromo National Congress, hooligans. Obviously, motive was to create a situation to legitimize repression against supporters of opposition parties. The plot was not much of a success then.
Yesterday, members of Unity for Democracy and Justice leadership (UDJ)experienced harassment and robbery in Wolaita Zone in Southern Ethiopia. UDJ online newspaper ,Finote Netsanet, reported that Daniel Tefera and Daniel Shibeshi along with senior party officials in Awassa were harassed by hooligans while having scheduled meeting.
According to the report, an estimated 8-10 people stormed into venue of the meeting and plundered valuables,cellphone and party documents. Opposition party officials were beaten. Alleged attackers are said to have used vehicles with no plate number. Police in the city apparently, escorted the hooligans and acted in an irresponsible way.
Hailemariam Desalegne ,the much scoffed Prime Minister whom many citizens ascribe to puppet rubber stamp, was born in Wolaita.
Political opposition is not constitutionally banned in Ethiopia. However, the frequency and magnitude of repression against members of opposition parties and leadership including outright killing and incarceration makes it seem that way.
What implications does government practice of using hooligans to attack opposition parties has for the future of the Ethiopian society is something that the government does seem to care about. Social crisis in already crippling the country with significant increase in crime rates.