ETHIOPIA: FEDERAL POLICE QUELL STUDENT ETHNIC

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 000998 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF DAS YAMAMOTO AND AF/E E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KJUS PREL ET SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: FEDERAL POLICE QUELL STUDENT ETHNIC CLASH AT SECOND LARGEST UNIVERSITY ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Alemaya University officials called in federal police to quell ethnically-charged student violence April 11 at Ethiopia's second largest institution of higher education. While shots were reportedly fired into the air for crowd control purposes, police were able to peacefully stabilize and disperse the angry students through dialogue. The cause for the student violence is unclear, but university professors report that an alleged rape of a Tigrayan student by Oromo classmates may have sparked the ethnic clash. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) At the request of university officials, federal police entered the Alemaya University campus April 11 and subdued fighting between Oromo and Tigrayan students. Federal police mediated a non-violent conclusion to the Tigrayan versus Oromo student violence on the campus of the university, which is situated between Dire Dawa and Harar in eastern Ethiopia. After initial crowd control measures, including firing shots into the air, police facilitated a four- to five-hour dialogue between students of both ethnic groups that led to a peaceful dispersal of the crowd. ¶3. (SBU) University president Belay Kassa characterized the fighting as "ethnic in nature" but did not comment on a possible provocation. One university professor told emboffs that the inter-ethnic violence may have been triggered by reports of a female Tigrayan student being raped by a group of male Oromo classmates. The professor reported that a first year law student of Tigrayan ethnicity was raped April 7 by four or five Oromo upperclass law school students. Another university professor theorized the violence could have been related to an alleged desecration of the Koran reported to have ocurred at another university campus in Awassa the week of April 3. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The root provocation of the violence is unclear, though reports of inter-ethnic violence between the country's largest ethnic group (Oromos) and ruling ethnic minority (Tigrayans) are troubling. Similar tensions arose at Jimma University in Oromiya during November 2005 nation-wide unrest. Police response to the unrest appears to have been controlled and effective. While law enforcement institutions have a long journey ahead to regain public trust, their role as a peaceful, non-partisan mediator in this instance may signify a movement in the right direction. END COMMENT. HUDDLESTON