Ethnic violence leaves 18 dead in the east

Ethnic violence has left at least 18 people dead and several hundred homes burnt down in eastern Ethiopia, the country’s human rights organisation revealed on Friday. The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (ERCHO) said fighting had erupted between the Somali and Oromo ethnic groups competing for political power in West Harerge. It noted that the violence had been sparked by plans for a referendum on who would control the Meisso District administration, 500 km east of the capital, Addis Ababa. The district, which earns substantial tax revenue from the mildly narcotic shrub, khat (Catha edulis), is located between the Somali and Oromiya regional states. Scores of ethnic groups live peacefully alongside each other in Ethiopia. But ERCHO argues that ethnicity is gradually seeping into the political arena and daily life. "Since the coming into effect of the ethnic- and language-based division of administrative units, several ethnic and religious conflicts have occurred in many parts of the country," ERCHO stated in a special report released on Friday. Its president, Prof Mesfin Wolde-Mariam, said the government's policy of dividing power along ethnic lines, was fuelling conflict. "These conflicts are becoming alarming and [are] increasing," he warned. Details of the killings in West Harerge came to light just days after a highly critical report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which accused the government of continuing to deny basic human rights. HRW also blamed foreign donors, who last year pumped US $1.3 billion in aid into Ethiopia without adequate regard for human rights abuses. In the last two years, Ethiopia has witnessed severe clashes between various ethnic groups. British government officials estimate that 150 people were killed in fighting in the western region of Gambella in December, mostly in reprisal killings against local Anyuaks. ERCHO claimed that government troops had been involved in the killings – an allegation vehemently denied by the defence ministry, which described it as "baseless". In March 2002, at least 128 people were killed after political protests by a local ethnic group in the Tepi region in the far southwest, about 700 km from Addis Ababa. The incident sparked a public outcry, with the EU demanding an "open, transparent and public" inquiry into killings of ethnic Sheko people. In May 2002, at least 17 Sidamas were killed when local security forces opened fire on a demonstration in Awasa, some 250 km south of Addis Ababa. The EU, one of Ethiopia's most prominent donors, has extended financial support for the establishment of a human rights commission and an ombudsman to help tackle abuses. But the commission, whose establishment was announced in 2001, has yet to get off the ground. Ethiopian officials told IRIN that suitable candidates to fill the posts were still being sought. The government has pledged to crack down on ethnic violence, with new legislation passed in 2003 entitling federal authorities to intervene in cases of human rights violations at the regional level and below. Diplomats say this indicates a growing willingness to accept "ultimate responsibility" for rights violations at both the regional and local levels. But opposition leaders fear that the new law will place too much power in the hands of the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front.