http://www.voanews.com/a/ethiopia-state-of-emergency/3553533.html
Africa
Ethiopia Government Unveils Rules for State of Emergency
October 16, 2016 9:50 AM
Associated Press
ADDIS ABABA —
The Ethiopian government has unveiled stringent rules for its state of
emergency which the opposition says is meant to curb a wave of
protests, sometimes deadly, in the Oromia region and other areas.
Hundreds have been killed in anti-government protests in the past
year, according to human rights groups and opposition activists. The
protesters have been demanding wider freedoms in one of Africa's
best-performing economies.
On Oct. 2, more than 50 people were killed in a stampede after
security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters during a
religious festival in Bishoftu, southeast of the capital. The incident
sparked more violence in Oromia leading the government to announce the
state of emergency. The government has also enforced an internet
blackout.
Ethiopia doesn't need a state of emergency said Yilikal Getnet,
chairman of the opposition Blue Party, Sunday. People have only been
expressing their dissatisfaction with the government, he said.
The rules announced late Saturday restricts the movement of diplomats
40 kilometers (25 miles) outside of Addis Ababa without official
permission. The emergency prohibits anyone from making contact with
groups that are labeled as terrorist and from watching media channels
like Oromia Media Network and Ethiopian Satellite Television and
Radio, according to a statement issued by Siraj Fegessa, Ethiopia's
minster of defense and head of the Command Post set up to oversee the
state of emergency law. Those who break the terms of the emergency
risk jail terms of three to five years.
The emergency also outlaws rallies and public meetings without
permission from authorities and gives security forces the right to
detain and search suspects without a court order.
Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromo, began protesting almost a
year ago when the government proposed annexing some of their land into
the capital, Addis Ababa, as part of a drive to transform this largely
agricultural nation into a regional manufacturing power. While the
government later abandoned the idea, the protests broadened into
demands for more rights and for the release of detained activists,
opposition figures and journalists.
Received on Sun Oct 16 2016 - 13:39:43 EDT