Ethiopian president urges public to renew efforts for peace, development

Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis said Thursday indulging the public to groundless gossip is a big mistake rather than finding ways in reducing poverty and bringing about rapid economic development.

In an interview he gave to journalists, Girma said the public in collaboration with the government should continue to strive day and night toward ensuring sustainable peace and development.

Development activities in some parts of the country seem to be slowed down following the May 15 parliamentary elections, Girma said, adding that the public should be duty-bound to ensure sustainable peace and development while disregarding cheap and chauvinistic propaganda.

Girma stressed that everybody should work harder toward bringing about rapid economic growth and social progress.

Expressing grievances is not bad by itself, the Ethiopian president said. However, disagreements should be solved through peaceful means, he said.

The government has the responsibility of addressing grievances whenever they occur so long as the disagreements are presented through legal and peaceful means without endangering the peace and stability of the country, said Girma.

Encouraging results have been registered in the floriculture development sector, Girma said, adding that trade and investment activities should be strengthened in other sectors in a bid to bring about rapid economic growth.

Asked about the new parliament, the president said that opposition political parties should complement efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the country through joining the parliament since the main objective of the parliament is ensuring peace, development, democracy and good-governance in the nation.

During the street violence in the country's capital Addis Ababa and some other cities one month ago, in which police clashed with opposition supporters, at least 46 people died. The violence began November 1 amid protests over the parliamentary elections.

The largest opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) has been boycotting the lower House of People's Representatives, saying it wants a solution to the contested results of the parliamentary elections.

The final election results indicate that the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Party, which has ruled the country for the past 14 years, has won 327 seats of the 547-seat HPR, enough to form the federal government.

CUD and another opposition party, the United Ethiopian Democratic Force, were in second and third places with 109 and 52 seats respectively. They held only 12 seats before.

The two opposition parties accuse the ruling party of massive electoral fraud.

The Ethiopian president said the opposition parties vow to eliminate Article 39 of the country's Constitution. But Article 39 is in fact key to the unity of the country since it guarantees the equality of the peoples of Ethiopia, he said.

The absence of Article 39 had caused a bloody civil war between Ethiopia and Eritrea for 30 years, according to the president.

Source: Xinhua