Oromo protesters: ‘We are still on the streets because we want self-rule’

(IBTimes-UK) Hundreds of people from Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest state, are still protesting on the streets calling for self-rule. An activist who spoke to IBTimes UK on condition of anonymity explained that Oromo people, Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group, were also protesting against the alleged violence carried out by security forces against demonstrators.

Protesters in Oromia first took to the streets in November 2015 to voice their dissent against a government draft plan that aimed to expand the boundaries of the capital Addis Ababa. They argued the so-called “Addis Ababa master plan” would lead to forced evictions of Oromo farmers who will lose their land and would undermine the survival of the Oromo culture and language.