For information on the treatment of members of the Amharic Youth Association by the current government, please refer to Response to Information Request ETH17356.E of 16 May 1994. This document is currently available at your Regional Documentation Centre.

According to the editor of the Ethiopian Register, a Los Angeles-based anti-government newspaper that covers Ethiopia, Africa and African-American affairs, "Wetat" means "youth" in Amharic (15 June 1994). The editor stated that "Wetat" is not an organization and that the Amharic Youth Association did not exist during the Mengistu administration (ibid.). The only youth association allowed to operate in Ethiopia during the Mengistu period was the Revolutionary Ethiopian Youth Association, a government organization responsible for the mobilization of Ethiopian youth for the Mengistu revolution (ibid.).

The editor stated that during the Mengistu era "thousands of Ethiopian youth were arrested, and some died under the oppression of the regime" (ibid.). However, the editor could not state definitively whether those who were arrested, detained or who died were organizing for a particular ethnic youth association.

A representative of the Coalition of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (COEDEF), a Washington, DC-based multiethnic coalition of organizations opposed to the Ethiopian People's Democratic Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) government, corroborated the information provided by the editor (15 June 1994). The representative added that "the degeneration of Ethiopia into ethnic politics" on the present scale began after the overthrow of the Mengistu regime in 1991. The Amharic Youth Association is a creation of the post-Mengistu period.

The COEDEF representative stated that he did not know whether some Ethiopian youth were arrested or detained during the Mengistu era because of their association with an ethnic organization. There were no ethnically based youth associations in Ethiopia during the Mengistu period (ibid.). An official of the Ethiopian Studies Publication and Information Centre in Washington, DC corroborated the information provided by the COEDEF representative (15 June 1994). According to the official, the only youth association that operated in Ethiopia during the Mengistu period was a government youth organization. A representative of the Ethiopian Community Centre in Washington, DC corroborated the information provided by the official of the Ethiopian Studies Publication and Information Centre (15 June 1994).

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Coalition of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (COEDEF), Washington, DC. 15 June 1994. Telephone interview with representative.

Editor with the Ethiopian Register, Los Angeles. 15 June 1994. Telephone interview.

Ethiopian Community Centre, Washington, DC. 15 June 1994. Telephone interview with representative.

Ethiopian Studies Publication and Information Centre, Washington, DC. 15 June 1994. Telephone interview with official.