According to a 30 April 1994 report in The Indian Ocean Newsletter, AAPO became a political party on 23 April 1994. A representative of the Ethiopian Studies Publication and Information Center (ESPIC) in Washington, DC, contacted by telephone on 26 January 1998, informed the Research Directorate that AAPO remains a legal organization in Ethiopia, but that official harassment has made it very difficult for AAPO to carry out its functions. A representative of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) in Addis Ababa, contacted by telephone on 27 January 1998, corroborated the ESPIC representative's statement that AAPO is a legal organization.

The EHRCO representative also informed the Research Directorate that all of the people arrested at Asrat Woldeyes' trial on 20 September 1994 in Addis Ababa have been released, although some were detained for up to ten months. The representative indicated that those arrested had been charged with petty offences and were subsequently acquitted. He stated that over 32 AAPO offices have been closed over the course of 1995 and 1996, and only the head office in Addis Ababa remains open. He also stated that AAPO is experiencing a high degree of harassment from the Ethiopian government and that some AAPO members have been killed while in police custody. According to a 13 April 1997 article in The Independent, an Ethiopian athlete, Askale Bireda, currently in Britain, has also claimed that her life was in danger in Ethiopia because of her activities in AAPO, and that her uncle had been killed by the Ethiopian government and her brother had disappeared.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate 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.

Ethiopian Human Rights Council, Addis Ababa. 27 January 1998. Telephone interview with a representative.

Ethiopian Studies Publication and Information Center, Washington, DC. 26 January 1998. Telephone interview with a representative.

The Independent [London]. 13 April 1997. Saeed Shah. "Athlete Faces 'Ludicrous' Deportation." (NEXIS)

Indian Ocean Newsletter. 30 April 1994. "Ethiopia." (NEXIS)