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Rights group: Ethiopia cracks down before May vote
Ethiopia's government is waging a coordinated attack on rights activists, journalists and political opponents ahead of the country's national elections in May, a leading human rights group said Wednesday.
Some radio broadcasts from the Voice of America were jammed by the government earlier this month, and the country's most prominent independent newspaper was shut down late last year, said New York-based Human Rights Watch, which presented its report in neighboring Kenya. Journalists and activists have fled the country recently because of government repression, the report said.
"The ruling party and the state are becoming one, and the government is using the full weight of its power to eliminate opposition and intimidate people into silence," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
Attempts to reach Ethiopian officials for comment were not successful.