http://news.trust.org/item/20160810154039-dp5rx/
Ethiopia must allow in observers after killings - UN rights boss
by Reuters
Wednesday, 10 August 2016 15:39 GMT
United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al
Hussein addresses the 31st session of the Human Rights Council at the
U.N. European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 29, 2016.
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Unrest flared in Oromiya for several months until early this year over
plans to allocate farmland surrounding the regional capital for
development
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief urged Ethiopia
on Wednesday to allow international observers into restive regions
where residents and opposition officials say 90 protesters were shot
dead by security forces at the weekend.
In his first comments on the incident, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, U.N.
High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that allegations of excessive
use of force across the Oromiya and Amhara regions must be
investigated and that his office was in discussions with Ethiopian
authorities.
Since January, when he said the killings of protesters first began,
his office had "not seen seen any genuine attempt at investigation and
accountability".
"The use of live ammunition against protesters in Oromiya and Amhara,
the towns there of course would be a very serious concern for us,"
Zeid told Reuters in an interview in Geneva.
Unrest flared in Oromiya for several months until early this year over
plans to allocate farmland surrounding the regional capital for
development. Authorities in the Horn of Africa state scrapped the
scheme in January, but protests flared again over the continued
detention of opposition demonstrators.
At the weekend, protesters chanted anti-government slogans and waved
dissident flags. Some demanded the release of jailed opposition
politicians. Information on the reported killings has been difficult
to obtain, Zeid said.
"So I do urge the government to allow access for international
observers into the Amhara and Oromiya regions so that we can establish
what has happened and that the security forces, if it is the case that
they have been using excessive force, that they do not do so and
promptly investigate of course these allegations."
Zeid said that any detainee who had been peacefully protesting should
be released promptly.
The state-run Ethiopian News Agency said on Monday that "illegal
protests" by "anti-peace forces" had been brought under control. It
did not mention casualties.
As in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which Zeid visited last
month, it is vital that security forces employ non-lethal means during
peaceful protests, he said.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Received on Wed Aug 10 2016 - 12:37:40 EDT