Ethiopia in chaos as police kill 22 during protests

You can add Ethopia to the list of countries in Africa that have managed to fall into societal collapse.

Apparently from what I've been reading about Ethiopia, what happened was that on May 20th of this year, Ethiopia's national electoral board investigated widespread allegations of fraud in the recent general election. Both the main opposition coalition and the ruling party lodged complaints, which covered more than one third of the 547 constituencies. The first official results showed opposition landslides in the capital. Though the ruling party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) claimed victory they did grudgingly accept that the opposition had made huge gain, winning at least a third of all seats.

However, in various parts of Ethiopia there were reports of rampant voter fraud, I believe especially so in rural areas. Following the oppositions allegation of fraud, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, whom has been accused of clinging to power by said voter fraud, ordered a month-long ban on demonstrations. Mr Zenawi also took control of the security forces in the capital Addis Ababa, in moves he said were meant to ensure post-election stability. This move has led us to where we are now where protesters are violating the ban and being mowed down for it.

Further complicating matters is a statement made by election observer and history's greatest monster (editors note, that's a Simpsons reference)...I mean former President Jimmy Carter who stated the following on his website in reference to the elections:

"The May 2005 elections, the third to be held under the current constitution, showed great promise in the deepening of Ethiopian democracy. For the first time in history the majority of Ethiopian voters were presented with choices when they went to the polls. We believe that Ethiopia has made tremendous strides toward democracy in the last several months, including more open debate, greater political participation, large rallies, and enormously high voter turnout on election day."

Mmm not so much Jimmy, not so much.

I don't know what you would call democracy but this;

"Addis Ababa is in a state of emergency after Ethiopian police killed 22 and arrested 600 anti-government demonstrators in clashes that threaten to destroy one of Africa's most stable countries. Gunfire echoed across the city yesterday when protesters clashed with security forces who had been ordered to disband all protests and demonstrations."

...is not my idea of Democracy.

You can read more about the terrible developments in Ethiopia by clicking here.