Role played by public in controlling violence huge, says Ethiopian minister

“’The role played by the public in controlling the violence that had
occurred in some parts of Oromia and Amhara Regional States was huge,’
Getachew Reda, Government Communication Affairs Office (GCAO)
Minister, said … ‘The public made tremendous peace restoration works
particularly in areas where there was no quick deployment of
government security force by establishing militia and rallying
alongside the security forces,’ he said.” — The Ethiopian News Agency

Editor’s note:

The article modestly underplays the Ethiopian security services’
own huge role in violently controlling, err, the public. Human Rights
Watch quotes activists saying police and military forces have killed
at least 75 people since Nov. 12 during protests against plans to
expand the capital Addis Ababa into Oromia region, to clear forests
and other areas for development. Ethiopia and its control freak
government are major recipients of British and U.S. aid.