Ethiopia Denies Coup Plot, Calls 40 Detainees 'Desperadoes'
By Peter Heinlein VoA
May 02 2009
Ethiopian officials say 40 people arrested over the past week had been plotting a campaign of assassinations and strategic bombings aimed at disrupting public order. Most of the suspects are said to be current or former army officers.
Ethiopia's communications minister Bereket Simon Friday attempted to reverse earlier claims that the government had foiled an attempted coup led by an exiled political leader living in the United States.
Speaking to foreign journalists, Bereket denied the suspects were part of a coup plot. He described those arrested as 'desperadoes" intent on creating havoc.
The intention of these people was not to conduct coup d'etats. We're not implicating them (in) coup d' etats. We know this desperado group was intending to assassinate people and demolish public utilities and that was intended to attack, the attack was intended on the government.
The initial statement announcing the arrest of the first 35 suspects in the case identified them as members of 'Ginbot 7', or 'May 15th', the date of Ethiopia's disputed 2005 election. Ginbot 7 was founded by Berhanu Nega, who was elected mayor of Addis in that election, but later convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison along with more than 100 other opposition leaders in connection with post-election violence.