Ethiopia: Tensions high in Woldia following arrest of students

ESAT News (December 6, 2016)

At least 45 students have reportedly been arrested when they took part in an anti-government protest at Woldia University over the weekend defying the state of emergency declared by the regime.

Classes remain boycotted on Tuesday as students demand for the release of their colleagues arrested by security forces on Saturday.

According to a source who spoke to ESAT on the phone from Woldia, the students staged the rally rejecting the celebration of the Nations and Nationalities Day, which the regime uses for the pretence of equality of all ethnic groups. The students instead denounced the political and economic domination by Tigrayan oligarchs.

They expressed support for the solidarity between the Amhara and Oromo ethnic groups, the largest ethnic groups that the regime has tried to antagonize and marginalize to enforce its divide and rule policy.

In response to the protests, the regime has deployed its army in Woldia, a major transit route to Tigray, where the ruling elite hails from.