 public meeting cancelled amid apparent government pressure. Read more.){kind=link}
Borkena
Toronto – When the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) announced a public meeting this Saturday at Hotel d’Afrique in Addis Ababa, there was a noticeable doubt that the government would not allow it.
It was right. On Friday, the party announced that its meeting has been cancelled for unspecified reasons.
What is known so far is that the party made a payment for meeting hall rental at the hotel. The hotel contacted the party officials and announced that it can not take place and a refund for it can be collected.
In addition to making payment, the party had other preparations needed for the meeting.
The motto for the meeting was “Addis Ababa Speaks.” The party has been promoting the event until Thursday.
It would have been the first public meeting in the city after many years.
In a statement it released on Friday, the party disclosed that it resorted to meeting hall rental in a private hotel after prohibiting the use of government owned meeting halls in the capital.
The party has, it appears, approached several hotels and movie theaters to secure a meeting place. “They initially express willingness and when we are close to signing a contract, they decline to offer the place for reasons they can not disclose,” the party noted in its statement, a copy of which is sent to Borkena.
There appears to be no direct evidence that the government was behind the cancellation of the booking in Hotel d’Afrique.
“We know that a business entity established to make profit from rental and other services could not do that [cancel the event] in the eleventh hour had there not been something beyond its control,” EPRP wrote.
Also, the party noted in the statement it released that ruling party affiliated activists and mass media have been engaged in character assassination of EPRP leaders after the party announced about the meeting.
Furthermore, the party is questioning whether opposition parties could take part in the upcoming election under existing conditions where organizing a meeting is not allowed.
EPRP painted a picture of the political space in the country when it said “After all, what good is a political party other than being a cheerleader and clique of the ruling party if it is unable to call a public meeting and hold discussions?”
Yet the party vows that no prohibition of meeting halls will stop EPRP’s struggle and it will continue to engage in other activities that will not require a meeting hall.
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