Roundup: Expectations high as Ethiopian gov't pardons political prisoners, shuts notorious detention center

ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Expectations are rising in Ethiopia's political landscape as the government announced it would drop charges and free imprisoned politicians together with the shutting down of the notorious detention center in the capital Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, together with leaders of the four parties that make up the ruling party the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), made the announcement on Wednesday, which is said to promote national unity and dialogue among Ethiopians.

Desalegn also disclosed the shutting down of the notorious detention center, known as Maekelawi, which had been serving as Ethiopia's main investigation center since the Derg regime.

The prime minister also indicated that by turning Maekelawi into a museum, the government will set up another investigation center in line with the Ethiopian constitution and the country's human rights laws.

The Ethiopian government's announcement came amid a widespread protest which continued since the first half of 2016, prompting the East African country to undergo a 10-month state of emergency that ended in August 2017.

According to Desalegn, the recent move to release political prisoners, including those under prosecution and those who were convicted, would improve the national consensus and widen the east African country's political platform.

The announcement followed soon after the 17-day-long meeting of the executive committee of the ruling party, which was triggered by the country's recent condition.

According to state news agency ENA, leaders of the ruling party have discussed every problem and challenge in a bid to create unity of thought and laid the foundation for future measures in the country.

"Chairpersons of the four parties (ANDM, OPDO, SEPDM and TPLF) said all the national parties have come out as victorious and they took full responsibility for the current problems witnessed in the country," according to ENA.

EPRDF's executive committee, which took responsibility for the problems that occurred in the country, affirmed that it is in good position to take rectifying measures.

Noting that unity of thought is the basis for practical unity, the leaders said the executive committee had already started to identify problems that need urgent response.

In what appears to be a concrete answer to the preoccupations of the public, the Ethiopian government had been undertaking various measures over the past two and half years, which include a large scale anti-corruption investigation and arrest of government officials.

During the crackdown, 56 senior government officials, businessperson and middlemen were arrested in less than one month period.

The Ethiopian government indicated that the large-scale anti-corruption investigation and arrest of high-profile individuals was part of the Ethiopian government's reform agenda, which started at the end of 2016 following mass protests in different parts of the country.

Even though Ethiopians have witnessed their country's economy growing as one of the fastest in the world with double-digit growth for years, challenges spawned by bad-governance and corruption have led to violence.

The Ethiopian government, in its response to the public anger, had reshuffled majority of its senior officials and ministers soon after the declaration of the state of emergency back in October 2016.

Desalegn, who had promised the general public to reshuffle his government, had also introduced new cabinet members, of which only 9 of the ministers in the 30-member cabinet remained in their previous positions.

Even though protests decreased since then, renewed protests triggered by ethnic clashes and university students have also forced the Ethiopian government to re-consider the situation witnessed in the country.

Ethiopia's ruling party, in a statement issued after its evaluation last week, affirmed its full commitment to address the challenges faced by the country and to ensure the sustainability of the gains made so far. Enditem