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By David Mageria ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian opposition leaders, whose call for anti-government protests led to unrest in which 46 people were killed in street battles with police, appeared in court on Monday but were returned to jail without being charged. At a closed hearing before three federal high court judges, 24 senior opposition members, civic leaders and journalists were denied bail and returned to jail until November 22 but were not charged, an opposition lawyer who was in court said. Anti-government demonstrations broke out in the capital Addis Ababa and several rural towns last week after the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) called for new protests over what it says was manipulation of polls in May. "Initially they were very anxious," Teshome Gebremariam told Reuters of those brought to court, among them two women. "But when we told them that their families were safe they became very buoyant." The detainees were arrested on suspicion of instigating the five days of violent unrest. The CUD earlier said its members were heeding a call for a strike over the disputed election and the 46 deaths, but many residents said they were staying home for fear of new violence. The government rejected the opposition's claim of a successful strike call, saying life was returning to normal after last week's disturbances, which diplomats say fuelled fears of increasing political instability. "This is a continuation of the protest measure we asked our supporters to follow to show the government cheated in the May elections," said a CUD official who asked not to be named. "We told them (our supporters) to demonstrate peacefully last Monday and to go on strike today on the 7th. They have heard us and the strike has been successful," he told Reuters. There was uneasy calm in Addis Ababa, with little sign of taxis and public buses. Most shops remained closed, and security forces patrolled the streets, keeping a close eye on the Mercato market where riot police confronted stone-throwing youths last week. "INCITING VIOLENCE" Opposition members said the CUD appeal for a strike had been spread mainly through word of mouth. But some Addis Ababa residents said they stayed at home for fear of renewed violence, not because they supported the CUD. "You saw what happened last week," said one man who gave his name as Woldemariam. "I do not want to be caught up in that." Information Minister Berhan Hailu said most people had rejected the strike call. "The call for a strike by the extremist wing of CUD is a continuation of their illegal means to create unrest in the country," Berhan told Reuters. "The public at large has rejected the call for a strike and have started coming back to work." Ethiopia's worst political unrest in months has driven major donors -- the United States and the European Union -- to urge the government and opposition to hold talks, and to call on the opposition to distance itself from any incitement to violence. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Saturday an independent commission of inquiry would be set up to investigate the disturbances. He has repeatedly accused the opposition of inciting violence and trying to topple his government.
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