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Reporter, Ethiopia December 12, 2009 “We will not repeat the mistakes committed in the 2005 elections” Prime Minister Meles Zenawi Prime Minister Meles Zenawi yesterday said that his government would not repeat the mistakes committed in the May 2005 election in the May 2010 elections. At a press conference he gave yesterday at his office, Meles told local reporters that his government was not prepared for the election riots of 2005. “Starting from putting in place a sufficient police force to monitoring the activities of armed groups we were not well prepared to control riots. But the EPRDF is known for one thing - it could make mistakes but it will not repeat them,” Meles said. Asked about the possibilities of forming a coalition government with opposition parties, Meles said such ideas were floated by those who do not know about the country’s election law. He pointed out that the party which wins a majority seat forms a government. “If the EPRDF doesn’t win adequate seats, it will hand over power. It can not work together with opposition parties, which have a completely different objective. What has been done in Kenya and Zimbabwe is they tried to eliminate the ruling party from power though chaos and when they failed they said that they had established a coalition government. They said so after many lost their lives. This doesn’t work here,” he said. The premier assured journalists that the chaos that unfolded in the 2005 national elections will not happen in the coming elections. He said that the government was monitoring and taking appropriate measures against armed groups like the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) who wanted to meddle in the election. “Some may believe in the need of foreign pressure to ensure that the government holds democratic elections. We do not need any pressure from outside. The pressure exerted by the constitution is enough. This government does not accept pressure from outside in whatever form.” Meles was asked why his party did not accede to demands by the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Forum), a coalition of eight parties, to negotiate with it on the electoral code of conduct separately. In response he said he did not see why it was necessary to negotiate with the Forum alone while there exist about ninety registered political parties in Ethiopia. "Personally, I do not have a problem in talking to anyone. I sat for negotiation with Dergue. But I could not find a satisfactory reason justifying that we negotiate with Forum alone.” Regarding the editors of Addis Nehger, the Amharic weekly, who recently fled the country saying that they were threatened by security personnel and that the Ethiopian government was preparing terrorism charges against them, Meles refuted their claim and said there was no threat posed by his government against the newspaper. He said he had never read Addis Neger. “I do not either read Addis Zemen [the state-owned daily]. Journalists should not leave the country because of a critical article published on another newspaper. If that it is the case there were many who would have left the country a long time ago and should reach Mars by now. What surprised me most are the statements issued by the international press institutions. They just accepted the allegations without verifying them. Their statements are akin to those made by opposition parties and human rights activists." Meles said the actions taken by the journalists was a premeditated act which was aimed at discrediting the government adding that he suspected it had something to do with the Diaspora politics. Concerning the recent detention of traders for alleged tax-related crimes, journalists said the business community was gripped by fear in connection with VAT payment and asked why the government did not opt for soft solutions. Meles said it was not the government's intention to harass the business community as it played a pivotal role in the country’s economic development. “The first measure should not be detention or fine. Business persons should be taught a lesson. But the government has been preaching about VAT for several years now and some did not take it seriously. So the Revenue and Customs Authority is now taking punitive measures. The business community knows what is expected from it and it should pay its taxes. Accumulating wealth through tax evasion is unacceptable.” Speaking of the restriction imposed on banks in disbursing loans, Meles said the measure was taken to curb the spiraling inflation rate observed in the past years adding that though inflation was below zero it is not yet time to lift the remedial measures. He disclosed that the government would maintain a tight monetary policy for some time to come.