http://www.voanews.com/a/feyisa-lilesa-olympic-runner-protest-spotlight-unrest-ethiopia-oromia/3481598.html
Olympics Marathon Medalist's Protest Shines Spotlight on Unrest in Ethiopia
August 25, 2016 9:39 PM
Reuters
FILE - Silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia crosses his wrists in
an attempt to draw global attention to recent deadly protests in his
home region, Oromia, after the men's marathon at the 2016 Summer
Olympics.
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LONDON —
When marathon silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa crossed the finish line at
the Rio Olympics, he crossed his arms above his head in an "X", a sign
of protest against the Ethiopian government's treatment of his people,
the ethnic Oromo.
The champion runner did not return home after the Olympics, fearing
for his safety even though the government said he would not be
punished.
"[I knew] I would be jailed or killed if not, I would [never be
allowed] out of that country and allowed to participate in any
international competition or race at all," Lilesa told the Thomson
Reuters Foundation.
"I am quite sure those things would happen to me," he said in a Skype
interview from Rio, where he has been staying since Monday when the
rest of his teammates returned to Ethiopia.
FILE - Demonstrators attend a rally in the Oromia region, May 15, 2010.
The Oromia region, home to more than 25 million Oromos, has been riven
by unrest for months over land rights and allegations of human rights
violations.
Lilesa, 26, is one of thousands of Ethiopians estimated by activists
to have left the country amid a security crackdown on demonstrations
sparked by a conflict over land-use policies.
Human Rights Watch estimated 400 demonstrators were killed by security
forces between November and June during protests triggered by
government plans to include some parts of Oromia within the capital
Addis Ababa's limits.
Up to 100 were shot in a single weekend in August when security forces
also shut down the internet for 48 hours, according to activists.
Thousands more have been arrested, including the prominent Oromo
activist Bekele Gerba, who was taken from his home in December.
The government, which disputes the death toll and says the protests
are being staged illegally, stoked by rebel groups and overseas-based
dissidents, did not respond to several requests by the Thomson Reuters
Foundation for a comment.
Fear of reprisals
Lilesa's fear of being jailed upon his return home reflects the
experiences of other Ethiopians who have spoken out against the
government.
In the Greek capital Athens, 26-year-old Muaz Mahmud Ayimoo is staying
in a cramped apartment with five other Oromo friends who are traveling
with him.
FILE - A man drives a horse-cart past the wreckage of a truck torched
during recent demonstrations along the road in Holonkomi town, in
Oromia region of Ethiopia, Dec. 17, 2015.
A student from Haro Dumal city in Oromia, Ayimoo was arrested by
authorities and imprisoned for a month last November after he attended
several non-violent protests along with fellow students.
Conditions for those detained were wretched and abuse was regular, Ayimoo said.
"They used to take us out one by one, torture us with electricity and
beat us badly," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Ayimoo's family in Ethiopia paid a bribe for his release, later
selling everything they had to get him to Europe.
"I can't go back because I would lose my life," he said.
Those in Athens are the lucky ones: Ayimoo's wife and baby girl
drowned in April after the boat they were on crossing the
Mediterranean from Libya sank, killing hundreds, according to
survivors.
"I could hear the screaming of my baby as I fell, I couldn't save my
family," he said.
Other Ethiopians now following the unrest from abroad include the
journalists of the Oromia Media Network, a dissident satellite TV
channel broadcasting into Ethiopia in the Oromo language from
Minneapolis in the United States, a city home to around 40,000 Oromo.
"We became part of the whole protester story," said Jawar Mohammed,
executive director of the network, which he said is watched by more
than 11 million people in the Middle East and Africa at peak times.
Mohammed also regularly posts updates on his Facebook page, with more
than 800,000 followers, about the unrest in his homeland.
Abel Wabella, 30, an activist who wrote for Zone9, a blog which
focused on social and civic issues in Ethiopia, was imprisoned between
April 2014 and October 2015 in what critics say was an attack on press
freedom.
"I think the government is not ready for real reform the people are
demanding right now. The people are tired of their false promises and
will escalate their resistance," he said.
Received on Thu Aug 25 2016 - 20:52:10 EDT