Ethiopia's new Prime Minister dines with the opposition

Ethiopia's new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hosted a dinner reception last night for opposition leaders and promised to widen the democratic space here.

It was a rare, direct meeting between the government and the groups.

He told them that they should offer alternative solutions for solving Ethiopia's worst political crisis in recent history.

In his speech, Mr Abiy said was ready to listen to alternative voices in a country where the government has often being accused of clamping down on the opposition and stifling media freedom.

He said his government was ready to open honest and constructive dialogue with the opposition.

Today(Friday), the prime minister is in the northern city of Mekelle as he continues his nationwide tour days after he was sworn into office.

He has hit the ground running, visiting thousands of people displaced by inter-ethnic clashes and also toured an area that has been the epicentre of widespread demonstrations witnessed in the country since 2015.

Earlier this week, the US congress passed a resolution condemning the killings of innocent civilians during the protests.

Ethiopia, a staunch ally of the US in the fight against terrorism, has said the non-binding resolution was untimely and unfortunate.

The country is currently in a state of emergency imposed in February to deal with nearly three years of protests in which hundreds of people have been killed.



BBC


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