http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ethiopia-calgary-kent-hehr-rally-1.3487777?cmp=rss
Ethiopian community rallies in Calgary to protest police crackdowns in
Oromia region
'They're leaving farmers without anywhere to go'
By Erika Stark, CBC News Posted: Mar 11, 2016 2:28 PM MT Last Updated:
Mar 11, 2016 2:28 PM MT
Members of Calgary's Oromo community rallied in front of MP Kent
Hehr's office on Friday. (Colin Hall/CBC)
Calgary Ethiopian community calls for action in Oromia student deaths
About 100 people rallied in front of Calgary MP Kent Hehr's office
Friday morning to protest police crackdowns in Ethiopia over plans to
requisition farmland in the African country.
It was to support dozens of university students who protested in
Ethiopia's capital on Tuesday, demanding an end to police crackdowns
that followed months of demonstrations over plans to requisition
farmland in the country's Oromia region late last year.
Protesters held signs and waved flags outside of Hehr's Calgary
office. (Colin Hall/CBC)
The government wanted to develop farmland around the capital, Addis
Ababa, and its plan triggered some of the worst civil unrest for a
decade, with rights groups and U.S.-based dissidents saying as many as
200 people may have been killed.
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In Calgary, Gilcha Mohammed, the chairman of the Oromo Community
Association of Alberta, called on the Canadian government to pressure
Ethiopian authorities.
"We're all taxpaying Canadian citizens and we want our government to
send a strong message to the Ethiopian government that they can't
continue killing and arresting peaceful protestors," said Mohammed,
speaking above the shouts of the protesters gathered outside Hehr's
Calgary office.
Protesters were crossing their arms during the rally. (Colin Hall/CBC)
"They are confiscating thousands of hectares of land. There's about 3
million farmers that have been displaced. They're leaving farmers
without anywhere to go and that's why we're here."
Protesters in Calgary marched down the street holding Canadian flags
and the flag for the Oromia region.
Ethiopia has long been one of the world's poorest nations but has
industrialized rapidly in the past decade and now boasts double-digit
growth. However, reallocating land is a thorny issue for Ethiopians,
many of whom are subsistence farmers.
Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January, but sporadic
demonstrations persist.
This woman lays down in a form of protest. (Colin Hall/CBC)
Mohammed said Canada should use its influence to encourage a peaceful
resolution.
"Canada is a major contributor of foreign aid to Ethiopia and it has a
lot of influence over the Ethiopian government," he said. "We just
want Canada to put pressure on the Ethiopian government and even cut
that aid if necessary."
Mohammed said Hehr's office agreed to meet with the group after the rally.
"We got a good response so far," he said.
With files from Reuters and the CBC's Colin Hall
Received on Sun Mar 13 2016 - 12:27:54 EDT