Murder, rape, false imprisonment and torture are reportedly committed by the Ethiopian military as they implement the government’s policy of land clearance and resettlement. “My village was forced by the government to move to the new location against our will. I refused and was beaten and lost my two upper teeth,” one Anuak man told the non-governmental organization Inclusive Development International. His brother “was beaten to death by the soldiers for refusing to go to the new village. My second brother was detained and I don’t know where he was taken by the soldiers,” he added. To the Anuak people, who are the majority tribal group in the affected areas, their land defines who they are. It is where the material to build their homes is found. It is their source of traditional medicines and food. It is where their ancestors are buried and where their history rests. By driving these people off their land and into large settlements or camps, the government is not only destroying their homes, in which they have lived for generations, but it is also stealing their identity. The Ethiopian government is legally bound to obtain the free, informed and prior consent of the indigenous people it plans to move. Far from obtaining consent, Niykaw Ochalla of the Anywaa Survival Organization states that “when [the government] comes to take their land, it is without their knowledge, and in fact [the government] says that they no longer belonged to this land, [even though] the Anuak have owned it for generations”. Consultation, consent and compensation are required by domestic and international law. Those forcibly moved receive no compensation for their loss of livelihood and land. After extensively researching the issue, the Oakland Institute “did not find any instances of government compensation being paid to indigenous populations evicted from their lands”, despite
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:27:37 +0000
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