Ethiopia arrests Oromo rebels after raid on dam site

Medeshi
Ethiopia arrests Oromo rebels after raid on dam site
June 26, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopian authorities on Friday arrested three rebels from Oromo Liberation Front accusing them of carrying a raid on a dam construction site in the western part of the country and beating Chinese workers.
Ethiopia TV reported that rebels were planning "terrorist activities" there, and were later caught by security forces. "The culprits beat Chinese technicians working at the site, robbed laptops, printers, digital surveying machines and other equipment at the site," it further said.
The Chinese technicians were transported to hospital after being badly beaten by the OLF gang during the attack this week at the Neshie Dam..
The three were paraded on TV, together with guns, communications equipment and bomb-making materials.
Established in 1973, Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which Ethiopia considers it as "Terror group" has been fighting for the liberation of the southern Oromo region since 1993, alleging government discriminates the Oromos, largest ethnic group of the nation.
The Ethiopian government which describes the Oromo rebels as "anti-peace elements" accuses arch-foe Eritrea of supplying weapons to destabilize political stability in the country.
However an opposition figure told Reuters that the government’s version on the arrests was not credible.
"Unless there is ample evidence that the three persons apprehended as terrorists were attempting to carry out terrorist activities along the dam site, we cannot trust what the government is alleging," said Gebru Gebremariam, chief whip in parliament for United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF).
"The government always carries out massive arrests of the Oromo people under the pretext of terrorism."
ST