Ethiopian lawmakers on Friday approved a state-of-emergency law enacted after huge anti-government protests in February, in spite concern by rights groups that it will limit freedom of expression and assembly.
A majority of parliamentarians voted to keep the law in place for the next six months, 88 members also voted against the law.
Ethiopia’s prosecutor general, Getachew Ambaye, told lawmakers that the law was in fact intended to safeguard citizens’ rights.
“Ethnic-based violence was on the rise in some areas. The state of emergency is needed to safeguard conditionally guaranteed rights,” he said.
Major Western allies, including the U.S., have raised concern about the state of emergency, with the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa saying it “strongly disagrees’’ with the law.
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Amnesty International said ahead of Friday’s vote that “the Ethiopian parliament must ensure the new state of emergency does not further constrict the already narrowing freedom of expression, assembly and association in the country.’’
Hundreds have been killed and several thousand detained since protests started in Ethiopia in November 2015 calling for wider political freedoms.
This is the East African country’s second state of emergency in two years and was instated after Prime Minister, Hailemariam Salegn, resigned on Feb. 15 in what he said was an attempt to quell protests.
Ethiopia recently released more than 6,500 jailed politicians and activists as part of the government’s pledge to “open up the political space for all.”
The election of a new prime minister is expected early next week.
