Ethiopia: Crackdown Spreads Beyond Capital (HRW)

[struggle4progress]

As Arbitrary Arrests Continue, Detainees Face Torture and Ill-Treatment

(New York, June 15, 2005) — In the wake of last week’s election-related protests, the Ethiopian government’s crackdown on potential sources of unrest has spread throughout the country, Human Rights Watch said today. While international attention has focused on events in Addis Ababa, opposition members and students in other cities are increasingly at risk of arbitrary arrest and torture.

The current wave of arrests followed a chaotic week in Addis Ababa that saw security forces put down a series of election-related protests with excessive force. The disorder in the capital reached a bloody peak on Wednesday, when security forces responded to incidents of rock-throwing and looting by opening fire indiscriminately on large crowds of people, killing at least 36 and wounding more than 100.

The Ethiopian government has refused to accept any responsibility for the shootings, insisting that the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) was wholly to blame because of its alleged involvement in organizing the protests in defiance of a citywide ban on demonstrations in the capital.

“Opposition rhetoric may well have contributed to last week’s unrest, but the government must take responsibility for the conduct of its own security forces,” said Georgette Gagnon, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The security forces have killed dozens of protesters and arbitrarily detained thousands of people across the country.” <snip>

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/06/15/ethiop11124.htm