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12 Things You Need To Know About The #OromoProtests In Ethiopia

12 Things You Need To Know About The #OromoProtests In Ethiopia

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In November 2015, protest broke out Oromia state, one of the largest provinces in Ethiopia. Earlier in the protest university students in Oromia clashed with ant-riot police as they rejected plans by the government to expand the capital city Addis Ababa into the state.

The protest quickly turned violent as more people joined the students in the riots. Human Rights Watch (HRW), a global rights agency, estimated that hundreds of people have been killed during the on-and-off protests, but the Ethiopian government denied this.

The same government clumped down on media reports about the protest and only a few details and images managed to get out through social media. The protests have continued to spread and get worse even after the government scrapped its plans to expand Addis Ababa.

Here are eight things you should know about the Oromia protests;

This piece was first published on Feb. 17, 2016

Sources; BBC, Voice of America, Bloomberg, AFP, Global Risk InsightsVoice of America, Free Speech Radio News

Oromo women (image: aljazeera.com)
Oromo women (image: aljazeera.com)

Oromos are Ethiopia’s largest tribe

The Oromo is the largest tribe in Ethiopia and live in the Oromia region which is home to at least 30 million people. This is one-third of Ethiopia’s population.

anti-government protests
flickr.com

It started off as a student-led protest

Since the demonstrations started in the Oromia towns of Western Welega and Ginchi, they were led by university students, primary and secondary schools pupils. They started at Haromaya University. Locals later joined.

Oromo Liberation Front army crossing over to Kenya (Photo by Jonathan Alpeyrie/Getty images)
Oromo Liberation Front army crossing over to Kenya (Photo by Jonathan Alpeyrie/Getty images)

Oromia people have been marginalized by the government

Plans by the Federal government of Ethiopia to extend the administrative boundaries of Addis Ababa triggered the protests. Locals felt that the plan, called the Addis Ababa Integrated Master Plan, would weaken the leadership mandate of their leaders and also drive farmers off their land. The Oromo community has for long been socially and economically marginalized by successive regimes and this fuelled the resentment towards the plan.

Protesters in Oromia region, Ethiopia, December 2015. (Credit: HRW)
Protesters in Oromia region, Ethiopia, December 2015. (Credit: HRW)

There have been other protests before

In 2014, similar protests occurred in the Ambo and Tokeekutayu regions of the Oromia state. Unknown number students from the Ambo and Meda Welabu universities, who led the protests, were killed by Ethiopian security forces.

Image: cbc.ca
Image: cbc.ca

It started off as peaceful protests

The protests started off peacefully as demonstrators engaged in silent matches that included boycotting meals. They only turned violent after government security forces started attacking the students with tear gas and live bullets.

Image: tesfanews.net
Image: tesfanews.net

The military were involved

The Federal government in its efforts to control the demonstrations took up administration of the entire Oromia region, and a special force of the Ethiopian military took control of the state’s security. In a rare move, protesters successfully took up administration of two towns.

Members of the Oromo community of Ethiopia, living in Malta, protest against the Ethiopian regime (Image: voanews.com)
Members of the Oromo community of Ethiopia, living in Malta, protest against the Ethiopian regime (Image: voanews.com)

Twitter and Facebook were used to bring global attention to the protest

The protests drew worldwide support as Ethiopians across the world united in solidarity with the Oromia people. The hashtag, #OromoProtests was used to unite people on social media. Ethiopians in Berlin, Germany, demonstrated outside the German chancellery.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Photo: africanleadership.co.uk

Over 500 people were reportedly killed

The protests, which started off as peaceful, have turned into a bloody affair after the police responded with force. HRW reported  numerous incidents of live ammunition being used against the protesters. At least 500 people are estimated to have been killed, according to the rights group, while several other people have alleged mysterious disappeared.

social media
ibtimes.com

Restricting Access To Social Media

Oromia region and other parts that have seen increased protests have for several months of this year been without internet messaging application Whatsapp and Twitter after the government asked state-owned monopoly Ethio Telecom to shut them off. The Ethiopian government has however denied restricting internet access in Oromia over the bloody protest.

(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Getty Images)

Oromo Protest was one of the highlight at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Ethiopian runner and Olympic silver medalist, Feyisa Lilesa, flashed a protest sign against his government’s crackdown on his Oromo community. He later failed to return home from the Rio Olympics and sought asylum in the U.S, on concern that his life was in danger. Another athlete repeated the gesture during the Paralympics games in Rio.

An Indian manager (in black jacket) in discussion with Ethiopian farm workers (Image: ids.ac.uk)
An Indian manager (in black jacket) in discussion with Ethiopian farm workers (Image: ids.ac.uk)

Protesters have Targeted Foreign-Owned Firms

Ethiopian protesters have in recent months started attacking foreign owned factories and farms. In September that attacked foreign-owned plantations run by Israelis, Italians, Belgians and Indians in the Amhara region. They also attacked Dangote Cement factory that’s owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.

Ethiopian mothers with babies (Image: commons.wikimedia.org)
Ethiopian mothers with babies (Image: commons.wikimedia.org)

Questions over ‘Ethiopia Rising’ Status

Ethiopia’s status as one of Africa’s fast growing economies has in recent month come to question as protests persist. Economists have questioned if the stellar growth the horn of Africa nation has posted is inclusive enough and whether it translates to better living standards for its citizens. The country has had an average growth of over 10 percent over that last decade, according to World Bank data.