Ethiopian opposition says government detaining its members

A coalition of Ethiopian opposition groups accused the government Thursday of detaining nearly 200 of its members on spurious charges ahead of next year's elections. The newly formed Forum for Democracy and Dialogue, comprising eight parties, said the arrests had been carried out in the last three months. "EPRDF (ruling party) cadres are jailing our potential candidates. They simply plant in their homes documents related to rebel groups," Bulcha Demeksa, head of one of the coalition parties, told reporters. Ethiopia is to hold general elections next June. The group also said recent talks with the ruling party over poll observers, funding, access to state media as well as the electoral code have stalled due to disagreements.