Ethiopia: Information on the ethnic composition of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and the likelihood of permission to return to Ethiopia for EPRP supporters
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 December 1992 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ETH12459 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ethiopia: Information on the ethnic composition of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and the likelihood of permission to return to Ethiopia for EPRP supporters, 1 December 1992, ETH12459, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aba678.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) is a multi-ethnic party according to an immigration counsellor at the Ethiopian Community Centre in Washington, D.C. (21 Dec. 1992). Africa Contemporary Record (1987-1988) states that the EPRP was formed in 1972 and was a "self-professed community party." The party was virtually annihilated during Mengistu's "Red Terror" against it (Ibid.). Notwithstanding, the EPRP has since changed and now claims to be "a multinational democratic force which accepts the democratic right to self-determination of 'all oppressed nations/nationalities'" (Ibid.). The EPRP military activities are the responsibility of its military wing known as the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Army (EPRA), which also runs four training centres in Gojjam and Gondar (Ibid., B292).
Additionally, the EPRP is a founding member of the foreign-based opposition group the Ethiopian Coalition of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (COEDF) which has headquarters in Washington, D.C. COEDF is a coalition of oppostion groups and "believes in promoting political organizations that cut across ethnic and religious lines as opposed to political fronts based exclusively on primordial sentiments" (COEDF 21 Dec. 1992).
The representative of the Ethiopian Community Centre and the COEDF representative both concur that the EPRP is actively fighting against the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) in Gojjam and Gondar. They further noted that EPRP supporters would be targets for harassment if and when they return to Ethiopia because the party remains banned and the EPRP cannot hold meetings in the open in Ethiopia (Ibid.). The government follows the EPRP very closely and uses its embassies abroad to monitor the activities of opposition parties outside Ethiopia. The COEDEF representative added that some EPRP members were abducted while in Sudan in recent months (Ibid.).
Additional or corroborating information is currently unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa.
References
Legum, Colin et Marion E. Doro, Eds. 1989. Africa Contemporary Record: 1987-88 Annual Survey and Documents. New York: Africana Publishing Company.
Coalition of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (COEDEF), Washington. 21 December 1992. Telephone interview with a representative.
Ethiopian Community Centre, Washington. 21 December 1992. Telephone interview with an immigration counsellor.
