Second day of violence in Ethiopia poll protest

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopian security forces beat rock-throwing students protesting against the result of the May 15 parliamentary election they say was rigged, opposition parties and students said.

A second day of demonstrations turned violent after protests on Monday at Addis Ababa University left on person dead and saw more than 500 arrested.

On Tuesday, about 100 students at a technical college tried to stage a protest march but were forced to stay inside their campus by riot police and paramilitary soldiers, witness Sao Okutsu, a teacher, told Reuters.

The ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and police have accused the main opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) of inciting the students.

Tension has been rising in Africa's top coffee grower since the election, with the opposition accusing the EPRDF of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of intimidation and vote-rigging.

Preliminary results show the EPRDF, which has ruled the country for 14 years, and its allies have won enough seats to form the next government, but with a sharply reduced majority. Final results are due on July 8.

"I am weak, I can't tell you what they did to us. They beat us too much on our heads, they pulled our hair, beat our eyes and our feet," said student Aserat Made.

The government imposed a month-long ban on public demonstrations after the polls.

The CUD and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces said the students had protested because the ruling party was trying to "defraud the public of their votes". They urged the government to release those arrested.

"The harsh measures taken by the government would worsen the already unstable and tense environment and is a great concern," the opposition said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from the government.

On Tuesday, students began throwing rocks, which littered the streets outside the college near the city's Mexico Square, prompting security forces to storm the campus and force the students to the ground.

Police then fired teargas to disperse scores of relatives and friends of the students who had arrived to plead for their release.

A student leader said the students would continue to boycott classes until arrested colleagues had been released.

"We can't continue to study unless they release our fellow brothers," said a 16-year-old student who gave her name as Leya.

Police have been deployed throughout the city, with armed security forces blocking roads with armoured cars to keep pedestrians and journalists away from the college.

Ethiopia's state television said the ministry of information had on Tuesday revoked the licences of five Ethiopian journalists working for the Voice of America and Deutsche Welle for writing "unsubstantiated and unbalanced" stories about the election.

"As of today, the licence of the journalists has been revoked and they will not be allowed to practise in Ethiopia," the state television quoted a statement from the information ministry as saying.

- REUTERS