Ethiopian Activists Fight U.S.-Backed Land Seizures

"The Integrated Master Plan is a threat to Oromia as a nation and as a people," Fasil states as a matter of fact, leaning forward in a scuffed hotel armchair. Reading from notes scribbled on a sheet of loose-leaf notebook paper, the hardened student activist continues: "The plan would take away territory from Oromia," depriving the region of tax revenue and political representation, "and is a cultural threat to the Oromo people living there." The students ground their protests in Ethiopia's federal constitution. "We are merely asking that the government abide by the constitution," Fasil explains, arguing that the plan violates at least eight constitutional provisions. In particular, the students claim that the plan violates Article 49(5), which protects "the special interest of the State of Oromia in Addis Ababa" and gives the district the right to resist federal incursions into "administrative manners." Moreover, the plan presents a tangible threat to the people living in Oromia. Fasil and other student protestors claimed that the Integrated Master Plan "would allow the city to expand to a size that would completely cut offWest Oromia from East Oromia." When the plan is fully implemented, an estimated 2 million farmers will be displaced. "These farmers will have no other opportunities," Fasil tells me. "We have seen this before when the city grew. When they lose their land, the farmers will become day laborers or beggars."