Use of "lethal force" criticised

An international human rights organisation has criticised Ethiopia's use of "lethal force" against civilians. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Ethiopian security forces last month killed "at least 15 and perhaps as many as 38 farmers" demonstrating against a change in the administrative status of Awasa, the capital of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Regional State. "The Ethiopian government must urgently establish clear restraints on the use of lethal force against civilians," HRW said. It noted that the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC) said police had fired indiscriminately at the protestors. “There is simply no excuse for shooting into crowds of civilians,” said Peter Takirambudde, HRW's Executive Director for Africa. “The Ethiopian government must take immediate steps to ensure that state and federal police cease such practices and prosecute those responsible for shooting demonstrators.” The Ethiopian information ministry has acknowledged 17 deaths, including two policemen. It claims the demonstrators opened fire first, saying many of them were armed and had been drafted in from nearby towns. HRW noted that the Awasa killings come shortly after police shootings in Oromiya State, resulting in five acknowledged student deaths. "A year earlier, police killed at least 40 civilians and injured 400 others when they violently cracked down on student demonstrations at the capital’s Addis Ababa University," the organisation said. It added that "foreign donors have devoted significant resources to improving the capacity of the Ethiopian federal and regional police over the past decade". “The government's unwillingness to permit free assembly, in violation of the country’s constitution, has been a precipitating cause of the recent police abuses,” Takirambudde said. “Ethiopia should lift restrictions on peaceful meetings and prevent the police from arbitrarily banning and dispersing non-violent protest demonstrations.”