Previous editions of this article on the Web and in print misspelled the name of Ephraim Isaac, chairman of the committee of elders that negotiated their release. This version has been corrected.
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Ethiopia Pardons 38 Opposition Leaders
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Following an Ethiopian tradition of resolving disputes, a group of prominent elders had been negotiating the terms of the prisoners' release, which finally included a letter signed by the prisoners accepting some responsibility for the election violence, despite findings of a government investigation that blamed Ethiopian security forces.
That inquiry found that the protesters were unarmed. At least 193 people were killed in the crackdown, which Meles deemed necessary to quell what he called an "insurrection" and what the opposition called free expression.
The two sides spent months haggling over the wording of the letter the prisoners signed, with Meles insisting on some kind of amnesty of his own for the election violence, and the prisoners steadfastly refusing to apologize.
Signs of strain in the agreement appeared Friday, as Hailu Shawel, leader of the opposition group Coalition for Unity and Democracy, told reporters the letter was signed under duress.
"They don't change, these people," Hailu told the Associated Press. "They want to cover their losses. They know they lost an election. We know we won."
Ephraim Isaac, a former Harvard University professor and chairman of the committee of elders, said the group would continue to work toward releasing the remaining political prisoners, adding that the talks were "a tremendous struggle."
"I guess people cannot understand how difficult this is," he said. "What is important is that all of us look ahead. For the ultimate good, we shake and say, 'I'm sorry.' We all make mistakes, on both sides. We all love this country."
Special correspondent Kassahun Addis in Addis Ababa contributed to this report.
