An opposition politician says about 35 people have been killed in
clashes with police. Residents refer to dozens of deaths. Earlier this
week a government spokesman put the death toll at five.
Construction workers work on the roof of a new building at the Mercato market in Addis Ababa
A government plan to
allocate farmland near Ethiopia's capital for new investment has sparked
a month of protests and some of the worst civil unrest for a decade, in
a poor nation rapidly aiming to industrialise its agrarian economy.
A
burned out police station and charred truck stood beside a road to the
small town of Ginchi, 72 km (45 miles) from Addis Ababa. Shops and
schools were shut.
An opposition
politician says about 35 people have been killed in clashes with police.
Residents refer to dozens of deaths. Earlier this week a government
spokesman put the death toll at five.
Such public
outpourings of anger are rare in a nation that rights groups say should
give more space to political rivals. U.S. President Barack Obama made a similar call when he visited in July, even as he praised the nation's transformation.
The
second most populous nation in Africa with 90 million people, Ethiopia
has long been one of the poorest countries in the world per capita, but
has made startling strides towards industrialisation, recording some of
the continent's strongest economic growth rates for a decade.
A
huge state-led programme to invest in new roads, railways and other
sectors has helped push annual GDP growth above 10 percent.
But
allocating land for new uses is a thorny issue in a country where the
vast majority of the population still survives on smallholder farm
plots. The opposition says farmers have often been forced off land and
poorly compensated.
"This is theft. Land is being
stolen from us and when we protest they are killing us," Tolossa, a
farmer who uses just one name, said at a funeral in a village nearby.
Relatives said the dead man, Dinka Chala, a primary school teacher, was killed when he was caught up in a protest.
Under
the government's 25-year plan, land in the Oromiya region around Addis
Ababa is to become part of a zone with new infrastructure to attract
investment. The area includes the capital and more than 30 other towns,
including Ginchi. Some of the land will be assigned to businesses to
create jobs.
The government has worked on the
development plan for several years, sparking some small protests last
year. But when it emerged in mid-November that land was to be leased
near Ginchi, bigger protests erupted in the town and nearby areas.
Demonstrators, many of them students who joined farmers, have regularly clashed with police since then.
PROMISES OF CONSULTATION
The
weeks of violence have been some of the worst since a disputed 2005
election when almost 200 people died. This year's parliamentary election
in May passed off calmly, although opposition groups secured no seats.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
dismissed accusations that the police have used heavy-handed tactics.
In comments broadcast on state television on Wednesday he accused
opponents of stirring trouble and warned of a "merciless response to
those destroying property."
He said the
development proposals were only a draft, and the public would be given
an opportunity to endorse or reject it. He did not say how such a
consultation would take place.
Opponents say land
has already been seized for businesses and farmers received inadequate
compensation, a charge that has previously been levelled against the
government in other locations.
"This is a corrupt practice. They are not heeding all this frustration," Merara Gudina,
chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, told Reuters,
giving the figure of 35 people killed so far in the clashes.
According to Ethiopian law, all land belongs to the state and those purchasing land are only considered leaseholders.
In
Ginchi town on Thursday, schools and cafes were shuttered. Residents
said there had been protests the previous day. Two private banks were
closed. Police were camped out in the yard of a branch of state-owned
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
"Armed gangs are
terrorising civilians, killing government officials, unarmed security
officers and farmers," government spokesman Getachew Reda said on
Monday.
"If there are problems - and I do not
believe they exist - they can only be addressed through consultations
with the public," Getachew said. He could not be reached on Friday for
further comment on the latest protests.
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