Residents of Bishoftu crossing their wrists above their heads as a
symbol for the Oromo anti-government protesting movement during the
Oromo new year holiday Irreechaa in Bishoftu on October 2, 2016. PHOTO |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Ethiopia’s cabinet has approved draft bill to lift state of
emergency imposed in February following
widespread anti-government protests.
widespread anti-government protests.
The decision to lift the state of emergency,
originally scheduled for August, was arrived at after the Council of
Ministers meeting on Saturday morning.
The draft bill has been sent to parliament for approval.
“The
Council of Ministers in its today’s regular meeting reviewed the
security situation of the country. It noted that law and order has been
restored. It has approved a draft law that lifts the State of
Emergency,” prime minister's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega tweeted.
Ethiopia
imposed the current state of emergency a day after surprise resignation
of the then-prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn following two years of
anti-government protests led by the Oromo.
Unrest among
the Oromos started in late 2015 over a government development plan they
decried as unfair, and soon spread to the country's second-largest
ethnicity, the Amhara.
The protests resulted in hundreds of deaths and tens of
thousands of arrests and only stopped after Ethiopia was placed under
emergency rule for 10 months from October 2016.
New Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, sworn in in April, has asked citizen for patience as he works to bring change to the country.
He
has released thousands of prisoners in the restive regions in the
country as well as those living abroad including Sudan, Kenya and Saudi
Arabia.
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