By Jason McLure :

Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) — Seven farmers from northern Ethiopia were jailed last week after agreeing to testify to human rights groups that they were denied international food aid by the government for political reasons, two opposition leaders said. The farmers, six of whom are members of the Arena party, were detained on Dec. 23 after they came to the capital, Addis Ababa, to give evidence, said Gebru Asrat, the leader of Arena. They were released on Dec. 27.

The move is part of what the opposition says is a campaign by Meles Zenawi’s ruling regime to use food aid to intimidate the population ahead of national elections scheduled for May. The ruling thgs denied the allegations, saying the seven men were merely sent back to their homes and not arrested. “They were telling them that they betrayed the country and that if they tell secrets to foreigners they could face 40 years in prison,” Asrat said in a phone interview today. “This isnot an isolated incident.” The farmers say they have been denied access to Ethiopia’s Safety Net program, which provides food to about 7.5 million people. The program is funded by a group of foreign donors, including the World Bank, the U.S., and the U.K. Government Denial Communications Affairs Minister Bereket Simon denied the opposition allegations and accused them of trying to undermine the elections. “The tactics that the opposition are pursuing at this point are to discredit the whole process,” he said. “The Safety Net is given not for political reasons. It’s given for economic reasons.” “It is a systemic problem,” said Seeye Abreha, a leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party, an ally of Arena. “The government is nervous about this information coming out and consequently they are running after those people who show up to be a witness.” Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in Africa. About 13.7 million people, or one-sixth of the population, received foreign food aid in 2009 from the Safety Net program and a separate emergency assistance program.

The U.S., the largest donor to Ethiopia, gave the country more than $850 million in humanitarian aid in the 2009 fiscal year. Sudan’s government also blocked the Unity for Democracy and Justice party from holding a candlelight vigil today on the first anniversary of the arrest of opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa. Shimeles Kemal, a spokesman for the Ethiopian government, said a permit for the rally was blocked on safety concerns. “You know they are carrying candles. It could cause a fire,” he said by phone today in Addis Ababa.