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Addis Ababa Police Say Content of Balderas Demonstration Could Spark People-to-People Violence
borkena
January 29, 2021
The Addis Ababa Police Commission announced on Friday that the Balderas demonstration scheduled for this Sunday is not allowed.
The decision has raised doubts among the public. The police have released a short explanation of why they are not allowing it to happen.
The rally was said to spread rumors among ‘nations and nationalities’ that could lead to what it called “racial hatred.” He also said that the demonstration has content that could unleash violence between people and demands the release of the Balderas leaders without any prior conditions.
The police claimed that the demand for the leaders’ release will put pressure on the government and the legal system, as their case (that of the leader) is being heard in court.
Two days ago, the Balderas party announced a plan to hold a demonstration in the capital, Addis Ababa, with the goals set to achieve it. Police did not explain which part of the stated targets will trigger “racial hatred and violence between people.”
As for the Balderas Party for Genuine Democracy, which demands the release of its party leaders, including Eskinder Nega, who has been arrested since July 2020, ethnically-based attacks in different parts of Ethiopia, the land grabbing plan of the Oromia region in Addis Ababa, and opposing the Sudanese invasion of Ethiopian territories were agenda items for which demonstration was needed.
Balderas party leaders played a key role in exposing what appeared to be a politically motivated mass corruption scandal in the city administration that involved the demolition of residents’ homes and the transfer of condominium units by illegal means, among others. stuff. The Addis Ababa city administration admitted this week that more than 21,000 condo units in the capital were illegally transferred to those not on the waiting list.
Balderas leaders were arrested in connection with their alleged role in the violence that followed the assassination of Hachalu Hundessa.
The Addis Ababa police also listed other excuses to justify the ban on the Balderas demonstration ”. Given the current situation in the country, the government has been working to bring these suspects before the law since the end of the police operation. [in Tigray region of Ethiopia], working to reverse the foreign invasion and preparing to receive the presentation from the leaders of the African Union, the focus of the security forces is on that issue, and that the demonstration, if carried out, will have a negative impact ”Said the Addis Ababa Police. Balderas has yet to reveal his reaction to the ban.
The Ethiopian constitution enshrines the right of assembly and freedom of expression. The entities that organize such demonstrations have the legal requirement to make them peaceful and reveal them to the police.
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