January
21, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – The European Parliament condemned in strong words the
recent use of excessive force against protesters as well as increased number of
cases of human rights violations and other forms of abuses including arbitrary
arrest and torture in Ethiopia.
A
group of protestors carry placards in support of Oromia region (Opride.com)
Since
November, Ethiopia’s largest region, Oromia, has been hit by a wave of
anti-government protests over a controversial “Addis Ababa Integrated
Development Master Plan” aimed to expand the capital into parts of the region.
At
least 140 ethnic Oromo protesters, most university students, are killed and
many more wounded in clashes with the security forces during the two months
long unrest, the worst crisis to hit Ethiopia since 2005 when post-election
violence in the capital led to deaths of nearly 200 protesters.
Concerned
by the current development in Ethiopia, the EU Parliament on Wednesday tabled
an urgent motion to vote for a resolution on the current situations on cases of
breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
According
to a tweet by Ana Gomes, member of the EU Parliament, the resolution was voted
by all, except the “extreme right wing” who make up less than 100 votes of the
751 seats in the Parliament.
The
motion is expected to be debated soon by the entire European Parliament
Adoption
of the resolution comes only few days after ethnic Oromo Diasporas in Europe
gathered at Place du Luxembourg, outside the European Parliament in Brussels,
to express their condemnation against the recent killings of protesters by
security forces across Oromia region.
The
Oromo communities who also staged demonstrations in Belgium, Netherlands and
Germany urged on the European Union to withhold financial aid to Addis Ababa
until the Ethiopian government complies with its human rights obligations.
They
stressed Addis Ababa must be held accountable for the “crimes and violations”
of international law.
The
motion adopted by the EU parliament calls for an immediate release of all
jailed students, farmers, opposition politicians, academics, bloggers and
journalists for exercising their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of
expression.
It
urged authorities in Ethiopia to carry out a credible, transparent and
impartial investigation into the killings and other alleged human rights
violations of protesters.
The
EU lawmakers further asked the Ethiopian government to invite the UN Special
Rapporteur on human right and other UN human rights experts to report on the
situation.
The
motion stresses that any financial support to Ethiopia from the EU should be
measured attending to the country’s human rights record and the degree of which
the Ethiopia government promotes reforms towards democratization and to
effectively monitor EU development assistance is not contributing to human
rights violations in Ethiopia, particularly programs linked to displacement of
farmers and pastoralists.
The
Ethiopian government last week announced that it has abandoned the
controversial “Addis Ababa Master Plan” after the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic
Organization (OPDO) party which is the regional ally of the ruling Ethiopian People’s
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) decided to withdraw its support to the
expansion plan.
Ethiopian
opposition politicians however doubt on whether the government would be
committed to permanently abandon the plan.
Ethic-Oromo
protesters and politicians argue that the plan which would expand Addis Ababa’s
boundary by 20 times its current size would lead to a forcible eviction to
millions of Oromo farmers from their ancestral land.
The
capital’s previous enlargement has reportedly displaced millions of Oromo
farmers and trapped them in poverty, an accusation the government denies.
(ST)
Source:
Sudan Tribune
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