Nearly All Ethiopia Now Under Control, New Leader Declares

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia —  This African nation’s new leader, Meles Zenawi, said Monday that his forces now control virtually all the war-torn country.

Soldiers of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) were reported advancing into remote districts and restoring law and order in the turbulent east and southwest.

“The EPRDF forces control almost all of Ethiopia,” Meles said in an address on state television.

Residents said buses left Addis Ababa, the capital, on Monday for Asmara, capital of Eritrea province in northern Ethiopia, for the first time in 15 years.

Meles said a referendum will be held in Eritrea to decide the future of the Red Sea province, which is now controlled by the EPRDF’s ally, the secessionist Eritrean People’s Liberation Front.

“We cannot force people to be part of Ethiopia,” Meles said. “There has to be a free decision, and people should be proud to be Ethiopian.”

Meles said in a conciliatory address that the new Ethiopia will have a free press in which all opinions can be voiced and that peaceful demonstrations will be tolerated.

“We have allowed demonstrations in all areas we have occupied. So long as they do not use firearms, people are free to express themselves,” he said.

Meles, 36, a former medical student, said the rebels have temporarily banned demonstrations in Addis Ababa because of the delicate security situation there. He said an estimated 70,000 firearms are in private hands.

Meles said a new, smaller army will soon be created, to include professional soldiers from the forces of ousted Marxist strongman Mengistu Haile Mariam.

“Ethiopia does not need to form the greatest army in Africa as the previous government did,” he said. “What we seek is a small but professional army which can maintain peace along our borders.

“We do not believe that the present EPRDF forces alone will constitute the future Ethiopian army,” he added. “It should be broad-based. . . . Those who are professional soldiers will be asked to be part of it.”