Expand Dr. Merera Gudina briefing the European parliament about the crisis in Ethiopia on November 9, 2016. © FacebookMerera is the chair of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), a legally registered political opposition party. Instead of taking actions that would demonstrate genuine resolve to address long-term grievances, the government again used politically motivated charges to further crack down on opposition parties, reinforcing a message that it will not tolerate peaceful dissent. Instead of responding to criticism with yet more repression, the Ethiopian government should release opposition politicians jailed for exercising their basic rights, including Bekele and Merera. Only then can a meaningful and constructive dialogue with opposition parties take place that can begin to address long-term grievances.

Source: Ethiopian News February 27, 2017 16:30 UTC