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On March 30, 2019, the Ethiopian police banned Mr. Eskindir Nega and his colleagues from holding a press conference at the Ras Hotel for the recently formed Council of Concerned Ethiopians to Protect the Rights of Residents of the City of Addis Ababa.
Concerned Ethiopians, particularly, Ethiopian Asylum seekers, in Toronto and surrounding area discussed the ban and expressed their concern with the government’s extreme reaction to Eskinder’s and the Council’s peaceful and lawful activities. At the end of the meeting, the participants issued a four-point declaration:
1. Every Ethiopian has freedom of expression and assembly that includes advocating for and organizing for a legitimate cause and engaging in activities to advance such a cause by peaceful means. By establishing the council to advocate for the rights and interests of the residents of Addis Ababa, Eskindir and colleagues were only exercising their right to freedom of assembly and association as enshrined in Article 30 and 31 of the Ethiopian constitution and other international conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
2. The ongoing acts of intimidation and harassment, including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s recent statement using the rhetoric of war against Eskindir Nega and colleagues for establishing the Council of Concerned People for Addis Ababa, are unjustified and represent an outright attack on freedom of expression and assembly.
3. The recent ban of the press conference is a violation of Eskinder Nega’s freedom of expression, and a violation of the freedom of assembly of the Council established to protect the rights of the residents of Addis Ababa.
4. The government must cease its threats and illegal prohibiting of Eskinder and his colleagues from reaching out to Ethiopians and the residents of Addis Ababa through the mass media, and its prohibiting of Addis Ababa residents from exercising their right to freedom of assembly by establishing the Council and its branches in various part of the city.
We call upon the government of Canada, the international community and human rights organizations, including the United Nations, African Union, European Union, Human Rights Watch, AmnestyInternational and Freedom House to denounce in clear terms the Ethiopian government’s violation of its citizens’ freedom of expression and assembly.
Concerned Ethiopians and Asylum Seekers Living in Toronto area, March 30, 2019
