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May 22, 2000 ILLEGAL MEASURES AGAINST STUDENTS AND TEACHERS Without ever bringing anyone of the students and teachers jailed in Ambo, Nekemte, Ginchiand Gimbi to trial, the government of the EPRDF has arbitrarily imposed restrictive and punitive measures on most of them. It is to be noted that there were student protests in Ambo, Dembi Dolo and other areas (Oromia region) following the forest fires that ravaged Bale and Sidamo. Female student Diribe Jifara and male student Getu Diribe were among the few killed while hundreds others were jailed. Many of those detained in March-April were releases but as SOCEPP had reported earlier quite a few had disappeared and others like Rikitu Chemeda, Berhanu Fufa, Galan Neda, Adugna Tujo, Gelassa Lemma,Bekele Tolosa,Zegeye Gurmusa, Tesfa Atomsa, Sileshi Ayana, Kebe Gudisa, Kumela Regassa, Belatchew Tadesse, Yonathan Dingade, Dereje Bobosa,Alula Wegi, etc... are still being detained. The EPRDF government has arbitrarily decreed that all those considered as student leaders (jailed or released at this time) will not be enrolled in any school in any region of the country and this for life. The government has also imposed the same punitive on the teachers (jailed or released) accused of inciting and organizing the students: they will never be allowed to teach anywhere in the country. Please write or fax to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (p.o.box 1031, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia : fax no. 251-1-552020) calling on him to release all the detained students and teachers and to lift the ban on their right to go to school or to work in the country SOCEPP
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