http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2016/09/03/Foreign-owned-flower-farms-attacked-in-Ethiopia-unrest--growers
Foreign-owned flower farms attacked in Ethiopia unrest -growers
REUTERS | 03 September, 2016 09:55
All plots are close to Bahir Dar, the Amhara regional capital.
"Details are still being gathered. The scope of damage requires
further investigation," the statement said. File photo
Image by: GETTY IMAGES
At least seven foreign-owned flower farms in Ethiopia's Amhara region
have been burnt to the ground or partially damaged in political
violence afflicting the country over the past two months, producers
said on Friday.
Anti-government protests over disputed provincial boundaries and
allegations of human rights violations have spread in the
north-central province, the second region to be riven by turmoil this
year alongside Oromiya province in central Ethiopia.
In June, Human Rights Watch said security forces killed at least 400
people in Oromiya protesting at government plans to incorporate some
parts of the region within the city limits of the capital Addis Ababa.
"Around seven flower farms have been affected - some burnt to the
ground, others partially vandalised during attacks that took place
Monday to Wednesday," the Ethiopian Horticultural Producers and
Exporters Association said in a statement emailed to Reuters. No
injuries have been reported from the attacks.
The list of firms included Esmeralda Farms BV of the Netherlands,
Italian owned-Alfano Fiori, Indian firm Fontana Flowers PLC, and
others operated and owned by investors from Israel, Belgium and the
Middle East, it added.
All plots are close to Bahir Dar, the Amhara regional capital.
"Details are still being gathered. The scope of damage requires
further investigation," the statement said.
Tensions have been rumbling for two decades over the status of Wolkayt
district, a stretch of land that protesters from Amhara say was
illegally incorporated into the neighbouring Tigray region to the
north.
Though demonstrators have behaved mainly peacefully, there have been
incidents where government officials and civilians perceived to be
associated with the government have been attacked by protesters.
A spokeswoman for Flora Holland, the world's largest flower auction
based in the Dutch city of Aalsmeer, said that growers were assessing
the damage from the attacks.
"The scope of the damage differs greatly from business to business,"
Elizabeth Palandeng said, but she did not believe it would lead to a
long-term problem with deliveries.
Hardest hit appeared to be a Dutch company, Esmeralda, which said in a
statement that 10 million euros worth of investments "went up in
smoke" in an attack on its farm on Sept. 29.
The African flower industry has grown quickly in recent years, with
Kenya and Ethiopia together providing about 65 percent of the Dutch
auction's total.
Any sign of unrest is closely watched in Ethiopia, an important Horn
of Africa ally of the West against Islamist militants in neighbouring
Somalia, and an economic power seen as a centre of relative stability
in a combustible region.
Earlier this week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said
his administration would carry out "deep-rooted" reforms and pledged
to address grievances, though he warned of measures if protests
escalated into violence.
Received on Sat Sep 03 2016 - 15:38:22 EDT