ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopian demonstrators hurled stones and scuffled with police during a rally by thousands in the capital on Wednesday after a video showed dozens of compatriots being shot and beheaded by Islamic State militants in Libya, witnesses said.
The rally was to show solidarity with families of those killed. Scuffles erupted moments after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn spoke. Witnesses saw several people being detained by police.
Ethiopia has confirmed that those killed in the video, posted at the weekend, were its citizens. Family members have so far named two of them.
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Demonstrators hurled stones and police fired teargas as emotions ran high at a mass rally in Ethiopia’s capital on Wednesday commemorating 30 compatriots shot and beheaded by Islamic State militants in Libya, witnesses said.
Protesters started gathering at Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square at dawn to denounce Islamic State. “We will not bow down to terrorism!” one placard carried by a young boy said. Another read: “The world must be united against terrorism.”
One man at the government-organized rally, who said he was a university professor, said many in the crowd were angry that jobless Ethiopians still felt they had to travel to places like Libya in the hope of crossing over to a better life in Europe.
He also accused the authorities of clamping down on free speech. “Even the chanting (at the rally) was led by the government,” he said. “We do not have the power to speak.”
Ethiopia’s government dismisses accusations from rights groups that it stifles critics and opponents.
The rally was called to show solidarity with families of those killed and to mark the start of three days of national morning. Scuffles erupted moments after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn spoke.
When some in the crowd hurled stones, police fired a teargas canister, witnesses said. Several people were detained and at least four police officers were seen being driven away, they added.
The prime minister urged Ethiopians not to travel across the Sahara to reach Europe. “We should strengthen our resolve against any form of terrorism and extremism,” he added in his speech.
Although Ethiopia’s economy is growing fast, unemployment remains high. Many opt to trek across the Sahara in a bid to reach Europe via Libya, where Islamic State militants have gained a toehold after seizing large parts of Syria and Iraq.
Ethiopia has confirmed that those killed in the video, posted at the weekend, were its citizens. Family members have so far named two of them.
“I am in pain. The innocent son of a poor mother butchered like he was,” said Ahaza Kasaye, the mother of one of those identified, said, propping herself up with a walking stick. “But I am heartened to see so many Ethiopians mourn him.”
The killings have stunned a nation where relations between Ethiopia’s Christians and Muslims have long been relatively peaceful. Muslim lawmakers in parliament on Tuesday read out verses in the Koran preaching tolerance.
Oakland, CA – We Say the Land is Not Yours: Breaking the Silence against Forced Displacement in Ethiopia, alandmark report from the Oakland Institute documents testimony from members of several ethnic groups from different areas of the country,1 bringing forward the voices of those most directly impacted by land grabs and villagization. The Ethiopian government’s villagization program aims to resettle up to 1.5 million Ethiopians, mainly pastoralist and indigenous communities, from areas targeted for industrial plantations. These resettlements have happened without free, prior and informed consent, and when communities resist, they have been forcibly removed by means of violence, imprisonment, intimidation, political coercion, and the denial of humanitarian assistance.
“The Oakland Institute has released reports based on meticulous fieldwork and years of research, exposing the human rights abuses against indigenous and pastoralist communities in Ethiopia,” said Anuradha Mittal, the Oakland Institute’s Executive Director. “As the country now prepares for the national election in May 2015, it is important for communities that have been shut out and locked up, to tell their stories in their own words.”
Over the past few years, free speech in Ethiopia has been systemically withdrawn. International media and NGOs have documented the threats, arrests, and disappearances of those critical of government’s policies. To add to this is the lack of media freedom: Ethiopia is the second biggest jailer of journalists after its neighbor, Eritrea. Its broadcasting and telecommunications sectors are controlled by the state, and the minimal private media sector is heavily regulated and frequently censored.
“The context in which we release this report is one of torture, oppression, and silencing,” said Mittal. “A development strategy without ensuring its citizens freedom of speech and expression is not a development strategy but a scheme to benefit the ruling elites. Those basic human rights are not being upheld in Ethiopia. It is therefore urgent to make voices of those impacted heard.”
The report includes the voices of Ethiopians, some who remain in Ethiopia, and others who have fled to neighboring countries and have sought political asylum.
With the impending national elections, the government has escalated its crackdown on political opposition and dissent. This report brings forth the voices that are being silenced, to bring this oppressive situation to the attention of the members of the African Union, international community, and donor countries. The time is now to take decisive action.
1 Representatives of affected communities from Gambella, Benishangul, Hammer and Nyangatom in the Omo Valley, and refugees in Kenya, came forward to share their experiences.
