Secretary General of Ethiopia’s major opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit), has resigned this week saying that he is unable to carry out his responsibilities because of the worsening political climate in the country.
Ato Muluneh told ER sources that as of this week he is a private citizens and that he will not be involved in any type of political activity in Ethiopia until the political repression by the ruling Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne) stops.
A few months ago, Woyanne has forced Kinijit to change its name in order to ‘legally’ operate in Ethiopia. Woyanne also gave the name “Kinijit” to an individual named Ayele Chamiso, a low-ranking former staff member of the party to humiliate the leaders and millions of Kinijit supporters. As a favor, the Meles regime, in collaboration with the American embassy, allowed all family members of Ayele Chamiso, including his wife, two children, a brother and others, to settle in Washington DC as political refugees, even though they have not been persecuted in Ethiopia. The American embassy in Addis Ababa may have thus violated the U.S. laws by knowingly collaborating in fabricating claims of persecution by Woyanne and Ayele Chamiso. Ethiopian Review has also gathered reliable information that Ayele Chamiso is asking and receiving thousands of dollars from Ethiopian families in the U.S. who want to bring their relatives to the U.S. claiming that he can help them get U.S. visa. Ethiopian Review is willing to share this information, including evidences of bank transactions, with the U.S. law enforcement officials.
Ayele Chamiso currently also receives a 4,000-birr monthly salary and is given a large house free of rent in Addis Ababa.
This is just one evidence of how the American embassy in Addis Ababa is an active player in the corruption of Ethiopian politics.
Back to Kinijit …
After the Kinijit leaders have complied with the demand by the Meles regime to change their party’s name, the election board, which is controlled by Meles, has continued to ignore their request for legal status, effectively blocking them from engaging in any type of political activity in the country.
The only thing for Kinijit, which is now named Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), left to do is to stop all their political activities in the country after formally announcing that they are reclaiming their original name — Kinijit.
It is expected that other high-level officials of Kinijit-UDJ will follow Ato Muluneh’s lead and quit in protest in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Kinijit-UDJ leader Birtukan Mideksa has decided to travel to the U.S. next month to consult with her supporters in the Diaspora. It is not clear yet who among the top leadership will join her in the trip.