[JURIST] Several human rights and
civil society groups called on the
international community[press release] Thursday to address the killing 140
protesters [JURIST report] in Ethiopia's Oromia region. Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy
website] said that the protests over government plans to expand the capital of
Addis Ababa into the region began peacefully, but, as they increased, military
forces began to use excessive force against the protesters, labeling them
"terrorists." This has led several organizations such as CIVICUS:
World Alliance for Citizen Participation, and the East and Horn of Africa Human
Rights Defenders Project to rally together to attract the attention of the
international community. In addition to the violent reaction to the protesters
in the region, AI noted that many who were arrested were being held
"solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and
assembly," demanding that they be released immediately.
In December HRW reported that
activists had witnessed security
forces firing into throngs of protesters [HRW report]. That
report came a day after Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn [BBC
profile] warned[IBT
report] of "merciless legitimate action against any force bent on
destabilising the area." Ethiopian officials have been claiming that the
demonstrations are a front for those involved in the protests to insight
violence and threaten the stability of the nation. Ethiopia has used its broad
anti-terrorism laws to detain political opposition before. In October five
Ethiopian bloggers were acquitted of
terrorism charges [Zone9, in Amharic] relating to publications
on their website. The publications, critical of the government, landed nine bloggers
in jail [JURIST report], and one charged in absentia,
in April 2014 for violation of the laws. That same month UN Special Rapporteur
on counter-terrorism and human rights Ben Emmerson [official
profile] expressed
concern[press release] over the rising use of
counter-terrorism measures [JURIST report] around the world.
Many nations have used counter-terrorism as an excuse to restrict public
assembly and stop the activities of public interest groups, Emmerson said.
Source: Jurist.org
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