Tuesday
Jan242012
Ethiopia forces thousands off land - Human Rights Watch
January 24, 2012 Ethiopia's government has been accused of forcing tens of thousands of people off their land so it can be leased to foreign investors.
US-based Human Rights Watch says people are being forcibly relocated to new villages that lack adequate food, farmland and facilities.
Ethiopia has already leased out more than 3.6 million hectares (8.8m acres) of land - an area the size of The Netherlands - HRW says.
Addis Ababa rejects HRW's allegations.
"I can tell you that it is baseless - on both grounds - on both the land grab issue and resettlement of the people," Ethiopian Information Minister Bereket Simon told the BBC World Service.
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