Ethiopian Govt. Capable of Maintaining Stability: PMEthiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has stressed that the Ethiopian government is still capable of guaranteeing peace and security in the country.Zenawi made the remarks in an interview with local media on Wednesday on issues concerning the government's current posture in maintaining peace, stability and security, the background of the recent student unrest, riots and destruction by hooligans, the assassination of Ato Kinfe Gebremedhin, head of the Ethiopian National Security Authority. However, the prime minister admitted that there have been some delay in taking prompt actions and laxity in handling particularly the unlawful acts of the hooligans. Meanwhile, Meles dismissed allegations that the government's accusation of the opposition of having incited the recent disturbances was a pretext to crack down on the opposition, saying that the opposition cannot have the liberty to operate both lawfully and unlawfully. They will need to choose between declaring themselves legally registered opposition and act as such, or to bear the consequences of legal action as dictated by the law of the country, should they operate outside the confines of the law, Meles said. They cannot, he emphasized, vacillate between lawful and unlawful acts and expect to get away with it. |
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