Ethiopia said Friday a group led by an Ethiopian-American professor had planned to assassinate officials and blow up public utilities in a plot to topple the government. Bereket Simon, head of information for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government, said in a press briefing Friday that 40 people were under arrest. “While six of the suspects were army officers on active duty, including one general, 34 of the suspects were ex-army men expelled from the army on grounds of misconduct,” he said. Bereket said the plotters belonged to the Ginbot 7 (May 15) opposition group, saying it was linked to the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) headed by Berhanu Nega, currently living in the United States. “Several individuals were targeted for assassination,” Bereket told reporters, without saying who were the intended targets. “They were intending to pave the way for street actions to overthrow the government,” he said, adding that the group had planned to target telecommunications and power sectors. Some 200 opposition supporters were killed and hundreds arrested following the disputed 2005 parliamentary election. Berhanu's organization “May 15th” is named after the date of the 2005 poll. He had made statements in the US, where he teaches economics at Bucknell University, saying his group wants to violently overthrow the government. Bereket said the government believed that the “desperado” group was not planning to stage a coup, but intended “assassinating individuals, high ranking government officials and destroying some public facilities and utilities ... like telecom services and electricity utilities. “The police have also found evidence implicating some ex-CUD members released on pardon. With the exception of some three or four of the desperado group who are still at large, the police have arrested almost all members of the conspiracy,” he said. Berhanu's group called the accusations “baseless.” “No amount of scurrilous accusations, threats or blackmail by the regime will deter us from pursuing the cause of democracy and freedom,” it said on its Web site www.ginbot7.org last week. The government may ask for Berhanu and others from the United States and Britain to be extradited, Bereket said. “If a court of law adjudicates that they are criminal, then as with any criminal we would want their extradition,” he said. Bereket said the group had received money to buy weapons from Berhanu and other diaspora opposition members. Meles was initially hailed as part of a new generation of African leaders, but rights groups have increasingly criticized the rebel-turned-leader for cracking down on opposition.
