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Rights Groups Call for Swift Response to Ethiopian Singer's Death

Salem Solomon

   WASHINGTON - As anger boils over among Ethiopia's Oromo population
   after the killing of a revered singer, analysts and activists say swift
   action and transparency by the government are necessary to avoid
   further bloodshed.

   Hachalu Hundessa was shot dead in Addis Ababa this week in what police
   say was a targeted killing. Police quickly apprehended suspects. But
   few details have been released about Hachalu's death, fueling
   suspicion.

   Protests in and around the capital city led to injuries and at least 52
   people have been killed, according to the regional spokesman,
   [1]Reuters reported.

   Henok Gabisa, a professor of practiceat Washington and Lee University's
   School of Law, said Hachalu's music was "the soundtrack of the Oromo
   revolution." His death came about a week after he appeared on a
   satellite television channel, the Oromia Media Network, where he
   criticized Ethiopia's leadership and spoke out against the mass
   incarceration of Oromo youth.

   "Hachalu is way more than a musician and way more than an artist,"
   Henok told VOA. "Hachalu is an activist-artist who always stood his
   ground. Who spoke truth to power way long ago when it was difficult to
   do."

   The singer's killing comes at a time when tensions are already high
   amid restrictions related to COVID-19 and the announced [2]postponement
   of parliamentary elections, which had been scheduled for August.

   In a national address, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed offered his
   condolences and sought to quell tensions.

   "More than being a national figure, he was a close friend. The sorrow
   is very deep," Abiy said. "But the wish of our enemies is for us not to
   reach our goals so that Oromo people can't live with other ethnicities
   and we would paint each other with blood. They want us to trip on the
   journey we have started. This attempt has been tried repeatedly."

References

   1. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-protests/50-killed-in-ethiopia-protests-over-singers-death-idUSKBN2411DO
   2. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-election/ethiopia-postpones-august-election-due-to-coronavirus-idUSKBN21I2QU

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