In an interview with VOA earlier this week, Gizachew Shiferaw dismissed Meles Zenawi’s claim that Ethiopia is becoming a dominant party system, as was the case in Japan and Botswana.
Gizachew said that Medrek will resist the oppressive system that Zenawi has imposed on Ethiopia in the last 19 years. “We are going to chanllenge the whole move of the EPRDF. The Forum exists to change the oppressive political environment, and that will be our political agenda. This is a peaceful struggle. One has to learn from the struggle instituted in South Africa. It may take time, but we think we are on the right road,” he said.
According to Gizachew, the unjust imprisonment of Birtukan Mideksa was a similar case to that of Nelson Mandela, who was unjustly jailed by the Apartheid regime for 27 years. “Birtukan has become a national as well as international political figure, and I don’t think you can simply lock her up in a prison and allow her to stay there because now there is an international movement,” said Gizachew.
In his latest press conference, Zenawi derided any possibilities of releasing Birtukan. While he called on armed groups to negotiate with his regime, he asserted that releasing the pro-democracy leader was not part of the package. “It was not part of the package then, it is not part of the package now, and it will not be part of the package tomorrow. This is a purely legal issue, and it is between her and the law. No one can come between the two. No one. Not opposition parties, not our friends abroad,” the tyrant said.
