Addis Ababa – The government has reportedly scrapped a
contentious plan to extend Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa into the surrounding
territory of the Oromo people, after it provoked widespread protests and a
deadly crackdown by security forces.
The pro-government media outlet Radio Fana on Wednesday
reported the government’s decision to drop the so-called “master plan.”
It said the decision was made after a meeting of the central
committee of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) one of the
constituent parties of the national ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
Ethiopia is an ethnic based federation, with three other
parties the Southern Ethiopia Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM), Amhara
National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (
TPLF) also being part of the EPRDF.
Since last November protests have been raging across the
Oromia region, Ethiopia’s biggest state which surrounds the capital city, over
what demonstrators said were plans to take more farmland from the Oromo people,
under the guise of integrating them into the development of Addis Ababa.
The clashes have since left dozens of people dead, with
activists and human rights agencies accusing security forces of employing
violent tactics to suppress the protests.
The Oromos, who make up about a third of Ethiopia’s nearly
100 million populations, have had a contentious relationship with the central
government for many years.
Many accuses the central government of marginalising them,
politically, culturally and economically. The government denies this. It has
acknowledged that the protestors have some real grievances, but has also
accused them of being infiltrated by terrorist elements which are trying to
destabilise the country.
Source: iol.co.za
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