At Least 9 Killed in Ethiopia Student Riots, U.N. Condemns New Journalist Arrests
At least nine people have been killed and 70 injured at student protests in southern Ethiopia this week, including in a grenade attack, the government said in a statement late Thursday.
The government blamed "anti-peace" forces for inciting violence, while opposition groups accused the police of brutality.
According to a statement on the state news agency, mass demonstrations caused "loss of lives and property" in several university towns in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region.
The riots, which began Wednesday after "students confused by deliberately misleading rumors and gossips created havoc", had been brought under control, it added.
Five people were killed in Ambo, about 125 kilometers (80) south of Addis Ababa, and another three people killed near Bidire, about 415 kilometers (260 miles) from the capital, the statement read, without giving details on how they died.
A hand grenade killed one person and injured 70 in Alem Maya, 366 kilometers (230 miles) east of Addis Ababa.
According to local media reports, the students were protesting government proposals to extend its administrative control to several towns in Oromia, sparking fears of land grabs.
"The students... tried to show their grievances by submitting their questions to the local government but the answer they got was beatings, killing, harassment and coercion," Bekele Nega, secretary of the Oromia Federal Congress party, told Agence France Presse.
"These people not only will lose their land, they are also going to lose their culture, their language, their identity, their representation in parliament."
But the government accused protest leaders of trying to destabilize the country.
"The forces behind the chaos... have a past violent history," the government statement read, claiming the protests had been encouraged by "media inside and outside the country" for "their evil purpose", without giving further details.
With nearly 27 million people, Oromia is the most populated of the country’s federal states and has its own language, Oromo, distinct from Ethiopia’s official Amharic language.
Meanwhile, U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay condemned the arrest of nine bloggers and journalists in Ethiopia, warning that the country increasingly was muzzling freedom of expression under the guise of fighting terrorism.
"I am deeply concerned by this recent wave of arrests and the increasing climate of intimidation against journalists and bloggers prevailing in Ethiopia," Pillay said in a statement.
On April 25 and 26, six members of the blogging collective Zone Nine and three journalists were arrested by police in Addis Ababa, and reportedly are still being held incommunicado.
On Tuesday, Ethiopian authorities denied that the individuals had been arrested because of their media activities, saying they had been detained because they were accused of serious crimes.
Although the exact charges against each of them remain unclear, Pillay's office said it had received information that they were arrested for "working with foreign human rights organizations and inciting violence through social media to create instability in the country."
Since January 2012, at least eight journalists have been convicted under Ethiopia's anti-terrorism measures to sentences ranging from five years to life in prison.
Two others, not including the latest detainees, are behind bars awaiting trial.
"The fight against terrorism cannot serve as an excuse to intimidate and silence journalists, bloggers, human rights activists and members of civil society organizations," said Pillay.
"And working with foreign human rights organizations cannot be considered a crime. Over the past few years, the space for dissenting voices has been shrinking dramatically in Ethiopia," she warned.
Pillay repeatedly has warned Ethiopia that its 2009 anti-terrorism legislation is too vague, saying it evokes a climate of fear and criminalizes legitimate human rights activity.
"In its efforts to combat terrorism, the Ethiopian government must comply at all times with its human rights obligations under international law," she said Friday.
Human rights campaigners accuse Ethiopia of being one of the most restrictive nations in the world when it comes to journalists exercising their profession.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also called Ethiopia to account during a visit to Addis Ababa.
"They need to create greater opportunities for citizens to be able to engage with their fellow citizens and with their government by opening up more space for civil society," Kerry told reporters.
Washington is one of Ethiopia's largest donors, and Kerry urged the government to support a free press to give "greater voice to democracy".
Source: Agence France Presse
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