(June 20,2012, IBtimes)--"Even though [the Lower Omo] is known as backward in terms of civilization, it will become an example of rapid development."So said Ethiopian Prime Minster Meles Zenawi last year. He was giving a speech in Jinka, a southwestern town by the banks of the Omo River.
The surrounding valley is home to about 200,000 people who use the river's waters to irrigate their land for farming and feed their livestock. Compliance of the Omo Valley people.
"Ethiopia's government is forcing indigenous residents of the Lower Omo from their ancestral lands, using harassment, violence and arbitrary arrests, to make way for large-scale irrigation schemes linked to Gibe III," said the report.
Ethiopia's land was nationalized under the communist regime of the late 1970s. Technically, there is still no private ownership; all small-scale farms are leased rather than owned. This makes it easy for the government to assert control; today, foreign investment is giving Ethiopia the tools to make greater use of its resources. This could be good for the country as a whole, but marginalized people are getting the raw end of the deal.
"While government sources indicate that the sugar plantations will create more than 150,000 full-time and part-time jobs, existing residents will be resettled and will need to find alternative [occupations]. There is a real risk that the livelihoods of 500,000 people [in the valley and surrounding the nearby Lake Turkana] may be endangered, tens of thousands will be forcibly displaced, and that the region will witness increased inter-ethnic conflict as communities compete for scarce resources," says the report.
The area's inhabitants are already witnessing the change. As one agro-pastoralist explained to HRW researchers, "They are cutting down our bush and forest, and bulldozing our gardens then they want us to sell off all our cows. No one is going to sell their cattle. They should go away. They should leave our forest alone and leave it to us to cultivate with our hands." Read more from International Business Times »
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Africa Succmbs to colonial-style land grab
Ethiopia: A Battle for Land and Water
The Ethiopian land giveaway: what is yours is mine ...
HRW: Ethiopians 'Forced Off Land'
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"Ethiopia's government is forcing indigenous residents of the Lower Omo from their ancestral lands, using harassment, violence and arbitrary arrests, to make way for large-scale irrigation schemes linked to Gibe III," said the report.
Ethiopia's land was nationalized under the communist regime of the late 1970s. Technically, there is still no private ownership; all small-scale farms are leased rather than owned. This makes it easy for the government to assert control; today, foreign investment is giving Ethiopia the tools to make greater use of its resources. This could be good for the country as a whole, but marginalized people are getting the raw end of the deal.
"While government sources indicate that the sugar plantations will create more than 150,000 full-time and part-time jobs, existing residents will be resettled and will need to find alternative [occupations]. There is a real risk that the livelihoods of 500,000 people [in the valley and surrounding the nearby Lake Turkana] may be endangered, tens of thousands will be forcibly displaced, and that the region will witness increased inter-ethnic conflict as communities compete for scarce resources," says the report.
The area's inhabitants are already witnessing the change. As one agro-pastoralist explained to HRW researchers, "They are cutting down our bush and forest, and bulldozing our gardens then they want us to sell off all our cows. No one is going to sell their cattle. They should go away. They should leave our forest alone and leave it to us to cultivate with our hands." Read more from International Business Times »
Related topics:
Africa Succmbs to colonial-style land grab
Ethiopia: A Battle for Land and Water
The Ethiopian land giveaway: what is yours is mine ...
HRW: Ethiopians 'Forced Off Land'
Obama Urged to Reassess Ethiopian Relations Over Land Evictions
A Powerful Piece of Paper
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