Activists from South Omo, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia, say the government has been using the state of emergency to silence domestic critics of foreign-leased agricultural schemes. These have been expanding rapidly since the Gibe 3 dam opened in December, which, critics say, has denied local communities access to land previously irrigated and fertilised by the annual flooding of the Omo river. Activists have been arrested and some have been detained without charge for over 14 days under the state of emergency detention procedures.
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