Abbay Media News
Yassin Ibrahim
The Chairpersons of the four political parties that form the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is said to have given a press conference on Tuesday, January 02, 2018 according to the Amhara Mass Media Agency (AMMA) and Fana Broadcasting Corporation (FBC).
The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, who is also the chairman of EPRDF is quoted to have said “in order to create a better national consensus and broaden the democratic space, the government has decided to release some political prisoners that are serving sentences or are under arrest due to charges by the Prosecutor’s office”.
He is also quoted to have said “it is decided the notorious interrogation center, that was used for torturing arrestees during the Derg era and commonly known as Maekelawi, will be shut down and converted to a Museum”. In its place, the PM continued, “an Investigation Center of International standard will be built and construction will be decreed by the people’s representatives (parliament)”, AMMA and FBC reported.
The two pro government media outlets also released photos and listed the names of four chairpersons of EPRDF member parties as follows:
- PM Hailemariam Desalegn – Chairman of EPRDF and Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM),
- Demeke Mekonnen – Deputy Chairman of EPRDF and chairman of Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM),
- Lemma Megersa – President of Oromia and chairman of Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) and
- Dr Debretsion Gebremichael – Chairman of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
There hasn’t been any audio or video released to the public showing the press conference till this news is published. There is also no explanation of what prompted the press conference and when and how those decisions will be implemented.
Abbay Media is following the development closely and will update its readers in due course.
