Amnesty International: Ethiopian repression of Muslim protests must stop

August 8, 2013 Amnesty International on Ethiopian Muslims

Young Ethiopian Muslim girl, attacked by Ethiopian government forces during Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Addis Ababa. August 08, 2013 The Ethiopian government must end its use of repressive tactics against demonstrators, following initial reports of widespread arrests of Muslim protestors during this morning’s Eid al-Fitr celebrations, said Amnesty International today. “We are extremely concerned at reports coming out of Ethiopia this morning of further widespread arrests of Muslim protesters. The Ethiopian government’s ongoing repressive crackdown on freedom of speech and the right to peacefully protest has to end now,” said Claire Beston, Amnesty International’s Ethiopia researcher. Last week, another incident related to the protests reportedly ended in the deaths of an unconfirmed number of people in the town of Kofele in Oromia region. During the 18 month-long protest movement against alleged government interference in Islamic affairs, the vast majority of demonstrations have been peaceful. However, there have been at least four incidents involving serious allegations of the excessive use of force by security forces against demonstrators in the long-running movement. While a few isolated incidents of violence involving protestors have occurred, these have taken place during episodes where excessive police force is alleged. “These reports of further deaths in the context of the Muslim protest movement are deeply worrying. There must be an immediate, independent and impartial investigation into the events in Kofele, as well as into the four incidents last year which resulted in the deaths and injuries of protestors,” said Claire Beston.Please to read more open the link http://ecadforum.com/2013/08/08/amnesty-international-ethiopian-repression-of-muslim-protests/