http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/ethiopia-observers-needed-protests-rage-160811105846673.html
Ethiopiajust now
Ethiopia says UN observers not needed as protests rage
Ethiopian government spokesman tells Al Jazeera government is
responsible for safety of its own citizens.
11 Aug 2016 12:09 GMT
Amnesty International says 67 people were killed in Oromia and 30 in
Amhara on Saturday and Sunday [Reuters]
Ethopia has dismissed a plea from the United Nations that it allow
international observers to investigate the killing of protesters by
security forces during a recent bout of anti-government
demonstrations.
Getachew Reda, a government spokesman, told Al Jazeera on Thursday
that the UN was entitled to its opinion but the government of Ethiopia
was responsibile for the safety of its own people.
Reda's comments came after the UN urged the government to allow
observers to investigate the killings of at least 90 protesters in the
Oromia and Amhara regions over the weekend.
Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said
allegations of excessive use of force must should be investigated and
that his office was in discussions with Ethiopian authorities.
Reda, however, told Al Jazeera that it was not necessary to send
observers to specific parts of the country since the UN already had a
"massive" presence in Ethiopia.
He said the government would launch its own investigation into whether
security forces had used excessive force and would do so in
consultation with local people.
He blamed what he called "terrorist elements" for stoking the violence
from abroad, without giving further detail.
At the weekend, an opposition leader told the AFP news agency that up
to 50 people were killed as security forces suppressed the protests.
Amnesty International put the death toll at 97.
Oromia, an area which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa, has seen
several months of protests, sparked by plans to allocate farmland in
the region for development.
Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January, but protests have
flared again over the continued detention of opposition demonstrators.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Received on Thu Aug 11 2016 - 08:22:33 EDT