Ethiopian Protesters Clash With Police Several Dead

We Are Change

Ethiopian protesters have clashed with police in north western Ethiopia leaving scores of people dead Friday according to the BBC.

Police arrested demonstrators during massive rallies in the capital, Addis Ababa. The protest stem from alleged human rights abuses and from last November when the government planned to expand the capital into Oromia. Which lead many residents of the Oromo ethnic group to fear being displaced by their government.

The plan was ceased but the protest continued to highlight other issues throughout the country.

A strict ban of protest is now in effect in the country as well as social media is being blocked similar to how Turkey has blocked social media in the past to create a black out of information outside the country silencing dissent.

Like Arab Spring, activist have been organizing protest in the country using social media as their weapon of choice to gather support for rallies.

Despite the ban on protesting, protesters took to the streets anyway, and several arrest have been made and dozens have been killed by the local police.
The protest have been ongoing for three days now Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The worst violence occurred in Bahir Dar in the Amhara region, police used tear gas and other techniques seen similarly at various protest around the world to disperse the crowd.

Local Oromo activists allege police have killed hundreds and arrested thousands of people from their community in recent months.

July 31st, protesters staged the largest anti-government demonstration in Ethiopian history involving thousands of people in Gondar, a city in Amhara region of Ethiopia.

The conflict in Ethiopia is also due to it’s diverse ethnicities that occupy the country including – Oromo, Amhara, Somali, Tigray, Sidama, Gurage.
Which were split into different sectors after 1991 when the current government overthrew the military dictatorship and established a federal constitution. States were then created based off ethnicity and spoken languages. Disputes over where regional boundaries should be set have fueled ongoing protest across the country. Oromo are Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group – making up about a third of Ethiopia’s people.
According to a CIA census report of Ethiopia the next largest ethnic group in Ethiopia is the Amhara group. With the rest of the groups making up less then 10% of the country’s population.

The Ethiopian government has been accused by human rights groups of using the anti-terror law to silence dissidents in the country including journalist, bloggers and protesters as well as responding to protest and events with excessive violence using whatever means to cull the citizens.

“The Ethiopia’s ruling party coalition won all 547 parliamentary seats in the 2015 elections, due in part to the lack of space for critical voices. Authorities use arbitrary arrests and politically motivated prosecutions to silence journalists, bloggers, protesters, and perceived supporters of opposition parties. Security forces respond to peaceful protests with excessive force, and detainees routinely allege torture and ill-treatment. Repressive laws restrict nongovernmental activity. The government has not adequately investigated allegations of abuses associated with its “villagization program,” or the development of sugar plantations in the Lower Omo Valley affecting 200,000 indigenous people, both of which benefitted directly or indirectly from donor assistance.”
~ HRW.ORG, A human rights group for Ethiopia.

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