Credit: Wikipedia Commons /  Flag of Federal Republic of Ethiopia

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC   TIMES

UNITED NATIONS –  NEW YORK –  UN human rights experts are urging the Ethiopian authorities to allow peaceful demonstrations, in a new appeal for investigations into the deaths of people protesting the recent killing of a popular singer and activist from the Oromo ethnic group. Hachalu Hundessa was gunned down on 29 June, sparking a week of violent protests in the Oromia region and the capital, Addis Ababa. Ethnic unrest in the aftermath of the killing of Ethiopian singer has left at least 166 people dead, officials say. The Government also then shut down internet access amid the unrest. Although officials said 166 people were killed in the protests, unofficial reports put the number much higher, the four UN experts said  Tuesday. Meanwhile some 2,000 people, including opposition leaders, were arrested, according to the police. 

“Even the basic facts are not clear but the scale of arrests is deeply disturbing. It is essential that the authorities hold a thorough and transparent investigation to determine exactly what happened. Those responsible for deaths of civilians must be held to account.”

-UN Human Rights experts

Hachalu Hundessa’s Political Songs Gave Voice to the Oromo’s Longstanding sense of Marginalisation

Hachalu Hundessa, whose  political songs gave voice to the Oromo’s longstanding sense of marginalisation, was shot dead in as suburb of Addis Ababa June 30, 2020. 

The 34-year-old had emerged as a powerful political voice of the Oromo ethnic group, and had made many enemies during his musical career, according to the  BBC.  Two suspects were arrested after he was shot dead while driving in the capital, Addis Ababa. However, police have not yet revealed a motive for the killing and no charges have been brought against the suspects.  Hundessa’s  songs focused on the rights of the country’s Oromo people, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, and became anthems in a wave of protests that led to the downfall of the previous prime minister in 2018.

The human rights experts who issued the statement are Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to peaceful assembly and association; Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas/Loey Filipe /  David Kaye (left) and Agnes Callamard are among the experts who issued the statement. Respectively, they are the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (file photo).

UN Experts Welcomed Restoration of Broadband and Wireless internet in Ethiopia

The UN experts also welcomed the restoration of broadband and wireless internet in Ethiopia, on 15 July.  They said the internet blackout had made it “extremely difficult” to verify the number of people killed and injured during the protests, “nor has it been possible to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the violence.” They recommended that security forces be reformed and trained to manage mass gatherings.

“We also call on Ethiopian authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly, and to refrain from using force during future protests”, they added.