Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2015-12-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Ethiopia in the wake of reported deaths following demonstrations in and around Addis Ababa.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government is deeply concerned about the demonstrations in Oromia and reported deaths of a number of students. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), raised our concerns with the Ethiopian deputy prime minister on 11 December and urged the authorities to exercise restraint. Our chargé d’affaires repeated this message with the Ethiopian state minister for foreign affairs on 15 December. Our Ethiopia travel advice was updated on 18 December to reflect our concerns about the security situation in the affected areas. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Ethiopian government, including on the use of force.
