By JACEY FORTIN
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The Ethiopian government has canceled a widely promoted plan to integrate the capital, Addis Ababa, with the surrounding region after it touched off protests and violence that has killed scores of people since late last year.
Opposition activists belonging to the Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, called the plan unfair because it threatened the sovereignty of their communities in the Oromia region on the edges of the capital.
The so-called master plan was abandoned after the Oromo branch of the governing coalition decided to withdraw its support, according to Getachew Reda, a government spokesman. He added that he did not expect violence to decrease, claiming that the protests have been hijacked by antigovernment elements.
“This is not an attempt to pander to some violent people,” Mr. Getachew said Wednesday. “This is a decision by the ruling party in Oromia, which believes in heeding the call of the people.”
But Merera Gudina, chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, expressed suspicion as to whether or not the plan would be scrapped for good. “They say they stopped it, but it could be temporarily,” he said.
The estimated death toll of at least 140, he said, was still rising.
Read more at The New York Times »
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Ethiopia confronts its worst ethnic violence in years (The Washington Post)
Women mourn at the funeral for Dinka Chala, a schoolteacher who family members said was shot to death by military forces during a protest in Holonkomi, in the Oromo region of Ethiopia. (Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)
By Paul Schemm
January 14th, 2016
WENCHI, Ethiopia — The cows are back in the valley near the village of Wenchi in Ethiopia’s highlands, after being driven out five years ago by the arrival of a Dutch agricultural company.
They returned in the past few weeks, after villagers burned the warehouses filled with seed potatoes that were to be planted on communal grazing lands that authorities had turned over to the Solagrow PLC company.
This attack is among dozens of demonstrations taking place for the past two months across Ethiopia’s Oromo state, which comprises a third of the country.
Protesters from the Oromo ethnic group say the government is trying to take away their lands and use them for everything from industrial development to luxury housing projects.
The response has been harsh, with Human Rights Watch estimating that 140 people have been killed by security forces using live rounds to quell the protests. The demonstrations are threatening Ethiopia’s goal of transforming itself into a new industrial and agribusiness powerhouse for the continent and harming its reputation for stability.
The violence has also earned Ethiopia a rare rebuke from the U.S. government, which considers it a key ally in the fight against terrorism.
“We were protesting peacefully and marching around the town when we heard about the deaths in the other villages, and so we became angry and attacked the farm,” said 27-year-old Drabuma Terrafa, standing near the charred remnants of a Solagrow potato warehouse.
Ethiopia’s federal police and army counterterrorism units have poured into the state. In more than a dozen interviews, people described arbitrary arrests, beatings and killings by security forces.
“I think the strategy is to terrorize people by shooting them point blank,” said Merera Gudina, the chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress party.
Read more at The Washington Post »
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Related:
The United States Calls for Meaningful Dialogue About Oromo Community Concerns
The Washington Post Editorial on Deadly Crackdown in Ethiopia Land Dispute
140 Dead In Ethiopia Land Dispute: The Problem With Government Ownership Of Land (Forbes)
Residents in Addis Ababa Worried at Ongoing Protests and Deadly Crackdown (RFI)
White House: US Wants Journalists Detained in Ethiopia Set Free (VOA)
US urges Ethiopia to free jailed journalists (Daily Mail)
White House says concerned by arrest of journalists in Ethiopia (Reuters)
In Ethiopia a Second Journalist is Arrested in a Week, Zone 9 Bloggers Summoned (BSN)
Professor Bekele Gerba Arrested Over Land Protests in Ethiopia
Ethiopian opposition figures arrested over land protests (Reuters)
Ethiopia Opposition: 80 Killed in Protests Against Land Plan (AP)
U.S. State Department, Human Rights Organizations Address Crackdown on Protestors in Ethiopia
Crackdown Turns Deadly In Ethiopia As Government Turns Against Protesters (NPR)
US Concerned About Protester Deaths in Ethiopia (VOA)
At least 75 killed in Ethiopia protests: HRW (AFP)
‘Unprecedented’ Protests in Ethiopia Against Capital Expansion Plan (VOA News)
Ethiopians on Edge as Infrastructure Plan Stirs Protests (The New York Times)
Opposition: More Than 40 Killed in Ethiopia Protests (VOA News)
Violent clashes in Ethiopia over ‘master plan’ to expand Addis (The Guardian)
Protests in Ethiopia leave at least five dead, possibly many more (Reuters)
Why Are Students in Ethiopia Protesting Against a Capital City Expansion Plan? (Global Voices)
Yet Again, a Bloody Crackdown on Protesters in Ethiopia (Human Rights Watch)
Anger Over ‘Violent Crackdown’ at Protest in Oromia, Ethiopia (BBC Video)
Ethiopian mother’s anger at murdered son in student protests (BBC News)
Minnesota Senate Condemns Recent Violence in Ethiopia’s Oromia State
The Brutal Crackdown on Ethiopia Protesters (Human Rights Watch)
Deadly Ethiopia Protest: At Least 17 Ambo Students Killed in Oromia State (VOA)
Ethiopia protest: Ambo students killed in Oromia state (BBC)
Students killed in violent confrontations with police in Ethiopia’s largest state (AP)
Ethiopia: Oromia State Clashes Leave At Least 11 Students Dead (International Business Times)
Ethiopia: Discussing Ethnic Politics in Social Media (TADIAS)