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Members of the business community in Sekota, a small
rural town 719Km north of Addis Abeba, would like to
see former Defence Minister Tamrat Layne – who also
served as prime minister during the transitional
government in the early 1990s - granted amnesty and
released before he finishes an 18-year jail
sentence.
It was one of six requests the town’s businesspeople
would like to see resolved, according to Amare
Mesele, chairman of the Sekota Chamber of Commerce
and Sectoral Association, who read a two-page
statement on Thursday, August 23, 2007, in front of
the Amhara Regional State President, Ayalew Gobeze,
and Misrak Mekonnen (Veterinarian), speaker of the
region’s Parliament.
“He is only making the request on our behalf,” a
businessman who owns a bar in the town told
Fortune. “It is a collective desire articulated
by him after we have conducted a meeting.”
Businesspeople in Sekota, a town with a population
of 29,000 people, are pleased with the progress the
town has made over the past 10 years; contrary to
its history of isolation and deprivation, it now has
a hospital built at a cost of over 10 million Br,
there is provision of mobile and landline telephone
services, while three all-weather roads connect it
to other towns such as Korem, Lalibela and Mekelle.
What is seen as most remarkable by many of the
residents is the provision of electricity to Sekota
and some of the other weredas in its zone, Wag-Himra,
since the late 1990s. Nevertheless, the hospital
suffers from lack of skilled doctors and health
officers, as the roads need regular maintenance.
Although they are pleased to see the federal
government has granted amnesty and freed opposition
leaders, they also would like to see similar
opportunity extended to the man they largely
credited for helping them get access to electricity
right after the end of the armed struggle against
the Derg.
The Wag-Himra Zone and the town of Sekota have a
special place in the history of armed struggle
against the military regime. A place approximately
25Km out of Sekota town, which now hosts the Misig
Michael Church, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic
Movement (EPDM) - one of the four parties in the
EPRDF under its current name of Amhara National
Democratic Movement (ANDM) - heralded the launch of
the armed struggle against the Derg, in 1981. The
people of Wag and Hirma were subjected to brutal
attacks by forces of the Derg in the following 10
years; the town was bombed 11 times up until 1991.
Tamrat Layne was one of the 36 founders of the party
and subsequently its chairman before he was jailed
in 1997, after being convicted of involvement in
grand corruption. He was charged with three counts
of abuse of power and office, including his decision
to borrow 16 million dollars from Sheik Al-Amoudi on
the government’s behalf and helping his associates
benefit from illegitimate transaction of coffee made
to repay the loans.
“We would like you [the president] to deliver our
request to authorities at the federal government,”
said Amare, in an address he made inside a small
hotel named Mamo.
It is not a view shared by few in this town, for
many were seen nodding in agreement. Tamrat is
highly regarded by people of Sekota for his history
of bravery, simplicity and sense of justice as a
guerrilla leader during the armed struggle.
According to some accounts, party leaders have had a
difficult time to convince people in this area when
he was first arrested and convicted.
“Tamrat was not accused of undermining the
constitution as is the case with opposition
leaders,” said a senior official of the regional
administration. “I believe their request is fair and
it needs to be given serious consideration.”
The President and Speaker of the Parliament were
there to attend an annual cultural festival known as
“Ashenday”; the Wag-Himra Zone Administration
has organised competition among girls and women from
the seven weredas in the area. It was also a
festival attended by prominent personalities such as
Andrias Eshete (Prof.), president of Addis Abeba
University (AAU).
The request to grant amnesty to Tamrat was also made
a day before the President and Andrias jointly
inaugurated a centre opened at a cost of 20 million
Br to conduct research focusing on arid areas.
“I will certainly pass their desire to the officials
at the federal government,” Ayalew told Fortune.
There are those in the Regional Administration who
are hoping that the federal government may include
Tamrat in the much anticipated amnesty where close
to 13,000 prisoners are reported to be granted in
connection with the Millennium. Prison officials,
both at the federal and regional levels, are
currently reviewing cases of inmates that they
believe deserve this amnesty.
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