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Lidetu Ayalew, leader of the Ethiopian Democratic Party, was welcomed to London by a delegation led by Robert Woodthorpe Browne, Chairman of the Liberal Democrats International Relations Committee and Vice-President of Liberal International.
Meeting at the National Liberal Club, Ato Lidetu provided a brief summary of the political situation in Ethiopia following the elections earlier this year in which the ruling EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front) secured all but two of the seats in the parliament, wiping out independent opposition parties. The group discussed the findings of a recent Human Rights Watch report on how donor aid contributes to political repression in Ethiopia, an issue which the Liberal Democrats are keen to take up with the UK Government.
Finally, the participants debated ways for the Africa Liberal Network to support the EDP, perhaps through organising a regional meeting in Addis Ababa, and how the Liberal Democrats might be able to use their Westminster Foundation for Democracy programme to contribute to the development of the party.