Gov’t taking severe measures against anti-peace forces: Premier

EBC, 16 December 2015) – Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn says the government along with the society is taking severe measures against anti-peace forces.

Government development plans, whether federal or regional, are based on three basic pillars, the Premier told EBC reporter in an exclusive interview.

They conform to the sovereign rights of the Ethiopian nations, nationalities and peoples; they respect the borders and mandates of the states; and they guarantee the ownership and active participation the public, he said.

Likewise, he said, the Addis Ababa-Finfine-neighbouring Oromia Zone Integrated Master Plan is only a draft document tabled for public discussion which could be amended or even discarded if rejected by the mass.

This being the case, Hailemariam said, the violence instigated by anti-peace forces in some parts of Oromia is totally unacceptable.

He said those anti-peace elements had also lately attempted to set off ethnic clashes in the Amhara state in the pretext of the ‘Qimant’ rights movement.

He said the government would continue working closely with the public to quash the violence and take corrective measures.

And with popular participation, the government would take severe measures against anti-peace forces who have been working day and night to destabilize Ethiopia.