State involvement in Ethiopian killings probed

From ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, (CAJ News) – RIGHTS groups are confident justice will prevail after the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for a United Nations-led independent investigation into the killing of hundreds of protesters in Ethiopia.

A parliamentary committee reported more than 600 people were killed between November 2015 and October 2016 as security forces responded brutally to anti-government protests. . Independent groups report as many as 800 have been killed.

Last Friday, a European Parliament resolution called on Federica Mogherini, the continent’s top diplomat, to mobilise European states to urgently pursue the setting up of the UN-led international inquiry head of the Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland next month.
It is hoped that implementing the resolution could help address the pervasive culture of impunity in Ethiopia.

Felix Horne, Human Rights Watch Senior Researcher for the Horn of Africa, said the resolution reiterated the European Union’s recognition of the importance of justice to ensure Ethiopia’s long-term stability.

“To the many victims of Ethiopia’s brutality, a UN-led inquiry could at least begin to answer pleas for justice that too often have gone unheard.”

Apart from reported deaths of protesters in the East African country, an overly restrictive state of emergency has been in place for the past seven months, and tens of thousands people been detained under it.

Thousands of Ethiopians have fled since the protests and sought asylum in neighbouring countries.
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