Ethiopia for urban development urges amnesty for expulsion

Addis: Ethiopia operating Forcibly eviction On a “unprecedented” scale, Amnesty International On Monday, he said, the officials urged the officials to “stop immediately” the urban renewal projects.
Prime Minister Abi Ahmed, since 2018, has been leading a “corridor project”, in which roads are rebuilt and widened in the capital and cities across the country.
Launched in December 2022, the project has seen houses, shops and offices amazed in Adis Ababa and at least 58 other cities, which get parts of the capital from a huge building site.
Amnesty said in his report that Ethiopia officials have “failed to consult adequately with affected communities, provided insufficient notices, and no person was reported to have received compensation.”
The International NGO urged a stagnation in the expulsion and suspension of the project “until the human rights effect is evaluated”.
Officials did not respond to AFP’s requests for comments.
The scale of expulsion is “unprecedented in Ethiopia,” the report states, describing the atmosphere of fear among the residents, which “are uncertain whether they will be next to be displaced”.
The NGO interviewed 47 families, who were evicted in Adis Ababa between January and February of this year. Citing security reasons, all requested oblivion.
Family members told Amnesty that only one week after a public meeting, local officials came to their doors, “asked them to leave their homes within three days and warned them that their homes would be demolished”.
“47 respondents stated that their houses were demolished within 24 to 72 hours after the officials gave door-to-door notices,” Amnesty said, the families forced the families in rental properties in the outskirts of the city.
A parent said, “My child is suffering because his school is far away,” a parent said that he was struggling with mental health issues because his social life was “ruined”.
Another said, “Life has also become expensive due to additional transport and cost of home fare.”
Two journalists contacted by Amnesty also said that they were “victims of harassment” when they tried to report on the work of the corridor. He did not give further details.
International partners “Ethiopian authorities should attach to the end of eviction with no further delay,” Amnesty researcher Hamnot Ashenafi told AFP.
Ethiopia is criticized by officers, some 130 million people houses, regular global organizations and NGOs for human rights violations and oppressing voices.