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ETHIOPIA DECRIES AID PULL-OUT BY DONORS January 1, 2006
Apunyu Bonny
(SomaliNet) The Ethiopian government has condemned plans by international donors to withhold $375 million in direct budgetary support to the country following a recent crackdown on the opposition and revelations about large-scale human rights abuses. Reports Observer, 1st January 2006.
Ethiopian officials have also decried the decision by donors – like the World Bank, European Union and the UK - but diplomats in the region said such a development had become inevitable after a breakdown in trust with the government following recent unrest in the country.
Last week more than 100 people, including opposition leaders, and journalists were charged with treason, genocide and other offences, despite calls from donors that political detainees should be released. Ethiopia ‘s finance Minister, Sufyaan Ahmed, described the move as 'unacceptable'
'Ultimately it is the poor who are the victims of this decision. It is their basic services that will be affected at the community level.' He said.
In Addis Ababa, government newspapers have echoed his line as the authorities rail against the move and officials continue to blame opposition leaders for the recent violence, which they say is part of a plot to overthrow Zenawi.
The $1.9bn Ethiopia receives yearly makes it one of the largest recipients of foreign aid in Africa.