Call for national reconciliation
Indian Ocean Newsletter N° 1201 04/11/2006

A group of a dozen partisans of the Coalition for United and Democracy Party (CUDP) has issued a call for a government of national unity.The Citizens’ Charter Group formed by a dozen or so members of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP, opposition) issued a call on 27 October to create a government of national unity in Ethiopia. These militants (the group includes Abate Kassa, Berhanu Abegaz, Elias Wondimu, Fekadu Fullas and Mammo Muchie) have drawn up a Charter for a Democratic Ethiopia based on the respect of three basic principles: representative democracy, cultural pluralism and economic deregulation. This charter calls the political parties and civil associations, whether pro-government or opposition, to put an end to sectarianism and adopt a common platform in order to prepare for a transition period before instigating a government of national unity. A variety of opposition organisations have been invited to accept the principles of this charter. The United Ethiopian Democratic Force (UEDF) and the leaders of the CUDP in North America have responded positively to this idea but without endorsing the charter. The Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AFD) has not yet given a formal response.