Die Spannungen zwischen der regierenden Woyanne-Junta in Äthiopien und der muslimischen Gemeinschaft steigen ...
The tension between the ruling Woyanne junta in Ethiopia and the Muslim community turned violent once again when Federal police opened fire on unarmed civilians in Finfinnee (Addis Ababa). According to Qeerroo Bilisummaa reporter, the Woyanne Federal police forcibly entered Awolia Mosque and arrested some individuals. Following that arrest, people came out to the streets facing live bullets.
Over 100 people including eight policemen were injured after clashes broke out during the weekend between police and Muslim protesters in Addis Ababa, where African leaders are gathered for African Union (AU) assembly. The clashes took place after police attempt to break off what it said was an “illegal preparations for assembly” by a group of “radical Muslims” who wish to make Ethiopia into an Islamic state. [...] “The extremist group have been making several campaigns and calls for demos at different mosques of the city on the pretext of religion” the police official said [...] During the past two months, the capital, Addis Ababa, has been a scene of Muslim protests which accuse the government of interference in religious affairs. An allegation Addis Ababa denies. Today protesters took control of the great Mosque of Anwar before security forces arrived to restore order.
In Äthiopiens Hauptstadt Addis Abeba haben etwa 600 Muslime gegen zu liberale Gesetze demonstriert. Der Premier Meles Zenawi bezeichnete die Proteste als Extremismus [...] Nach Angaben des Regierungssprechers hatten sich die Demonstranten zunächst auf dem Gelände einer zentralen Moschee im Osten der Stadt versammelt. Anschließend seien sie durch die Straßen gezogen und hätten "öffentliches Eigentum zerstört". Die Polizei habe mit Tränengas und Schlagstöcken eingegriffen.
Der Premier Meles Zenawi bezeichnete die Proteste als Extremismus ...
Heute lese ich folgendes:
Der äthiopische Ministerpräsident Meles Zenawi, der seit über 20 Jahren Geschicke seines Landes lenkt, ringt nach Diplomatenangaben in einem Krankenhaus in Brüssel mit dem Tod. [...] Der Sprecher der äthiopischen Regierung in Addis Abeba, Bereket Simon, dementierte dies hingegen ...
Ethiopian police yesterday arrested an unspecified number of Muslim leaders involved in last week’s unrest in the capital, Addis Ababa, Communications Minister Bereket Simon said. The arrest of members of a committee from Awalia Mosque in Addis Ababa and others was made after obtaining a court order, he said [...] A group of Ethiopian Muslims, who make up 34 percent of a population of 94 million according to the CIA World Factbook, have been protesting for eight months at mosques about alleged government interference in elections of Islamic leaders. Ethiopian authorities have accused protesters of including extremists who want to turn Ethiopia into an Islamic state. [...] A group of Muslims gathered around Anwar Mosque today to protest the arrests and state interference in religious affairs, demonstrator Abdul Samad said.
Ethiopian police clashed on Saturday with scores of Muslims protesters complaining that the state is interfering in their religion, witnesses and officials said. The protesters, some wearing masks, blocked the entrance of the Anwar Mosque in the west of the capital Addis Ababa and hurled stones at riot police who had surrounded the compound after noon prayers.
Wobei es irgendwie ja schon seltsam klingt, wenn sich Vertreter einer Doktrin, welche die Trennung von Staat und Religion entschieden bekämpft, darüber aufregen, dass sich der Staat in religiöse Belange einmischt ...
Clashes between Islamic protesters and riot police over the weekend in Ethiopia have raised fears that Muslims are becoming increasingly radical in a predominantly Christian country that has been a key U.S. ally in combating terrorism in the Horn of Africa [...] Muslims accuse the government of illegally interfering in Islamic affairs by closely monitoring their activities at mosques and forcing clerics to practice Al Ahbash, an apolitical Lebanese-born sect of Islam. Ethiopia’s constitution bans government meddling in religious practices. The government accuses agents from Saudi Arabia and neighboring Sudan and Somalia of promoting Salafism and Wahhabism, which are extremist forms of Islam. In April, four Muslims were killed after police arrested an Islamic cleric accused of preaching Salafism in the town of Asasa. A month later, the government deported two Arabs of unknown origin, saying they incited violence outside Addis Ababa’s largest mosque.
Long known for its religious tolerance, Ethiopia’s reputation now looks to be hanging in the balance as some members of its Muslim community have accused the government of treating them as if they were terrorists, resulting in a wave of protests in the capital Addis Ababa. Mass demonstrations against religious discrimination erupted anew on Saturday, after scores of people gathered at Addis Ababa’s Anawar mosque. Clashes reportedly broke out after police attempted to break up the crowd, leading to the arrest of hundreds of protesters. Over recent months, members of Ethiopia’s Muslim community have gathered at the capital’s Awoliya mosque every Friday to demand a new “majlis”, or Muslim Council. Many feel as though the current “majlis” is mostly comprised of government-appointed figures who do not represent them. The demonstrations first turned violent on July 13, when thousands gathered at the Anawar mosque to call for a new “majilis” ...
The authorities in Ethiopia must stop their crackdown on press coverage of Muslim protests in the capital Addis Ababa and allow Muslim news outlets freely report without fear, a press freedom advocacy group has said. The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the recent harassment of Muslim journalists and newspapers are part of an attempt by Ethiopian authorities to quell coverage of the ongoing protests in the capital. The group urged on Ethiopian authorities releases the recently jailed journalist and allow three banned Muslim news outlets to resume publishing immediately. "Ethiopia has reached a high level of harassment of the press by attempting to censor coverage of the protests," said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes.
Herrlich - die Sudan Tribune aus einem der religioes tolerantesten Laender der Welt sagt den Aethiopiern, was sie zu tun haben... (das macht also nicht nur "der Westen").
Despite Ethiopia state television branding Muslim protesters in the country as aberrations and a “fringe movement,” Muslims in the country took to the streets on Sunday to mark the first day of the Eid Islamic holiday that follows the holy month of Ramadan. They were calling for greater representation in the country, which official statistics say is majority Christian. Muslims, however, argue they account for half the population and deserve a stronger voice in the country’s future. “We just want our voices to be heard and to have a say in the great future for Ethiopia,” [...] Hundreds of thousands flocked to the Addis Ababa Stadium to celebrate the end of Ramadan, and large protests were reported across the country, Opride.com said. The Eid day protests catapulted the movement into a new and uncharted territory [...] “All [the protesters] share the grievances caused by the government’s unconstitutional interference in their religious affairs, and to demand their voices to be heard.” The same news report said large numbers of protesters had poured onto the streets in Jimma, Dessie, Robe and Adama towns’ chanting, “let our voices be heard, free our representatives” and calling out the state-run Ethiopian television for its smear campaigns.
Several thousand Ethiopian Muslims protested in the capital, Addis Ababa, against what they say is government interference in the election of Islamic council leaders, a participant said. An election for the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council is scheduled to be held on Oct. 7, for the first time in 12 years. Some Muslims will boycott the elections, which the government is trying to force them to vote in, demonstrator Mudessa Omar said. “Let us vote for our own people,” Mudessa said in an interview outside Anwar Mosque, the capital’s largest and site of the demonstration. “The government has candidates that don’t represent the people.”
Ethiopian Muslims will elect a new Islamic Council this Sunday, October 7. The election has stirred protest among many Muslims who believe the government is trying to influence the Council. A protest erupted after the Friday prayer at the Anwar mosque, the largest mosque in Addis Ababa. People were waving yellow papers, symbolizing a warning card for the government and the crowd was chanting for about 20 minutes, shouting slogans such as “let our voice be heard” and “release the prisoners.” Dozens of protesters were brought to a police station during and after the demonstration.
Police in Ethiopian on Friday briefly detained voice of America correspondent while she was covering demonstrations by the Muslim community in the capital, a press freedom advocacy group, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Saturday [...] VOA reporter, Marthe Van Der Wolf, was grabbed by police and was taken to police station where the journalist was ordered to delete her recorded interviews, and then she was released without charge; CPJ said referring to sources from local journalists.
