University students protest over alleged student’s organ theft

By Simegnish Yekoye

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - For the first time since the riots after the Ethiopian election of May 2005, Addis Ababa university students protested for two days against the death of a student, who the protesters claim, had his body parts taken by a hospital.

According to the students, the demonstration started on Wednesday,25th April morning after the students found out the death of a second year physics student who was sent to Minilik hospital for treatment returned dead with his body organs missing.

“His eyes, kidneys and other organs were taken from his body,” said a student who did not want to be identified..
Though our effort to talk to the hospital administration has failed, commander Demesash Hailu public relation officer of the Federal Police said the student died before he reached the hospital and autopsy was done as a normal procedure as will be done to any patient who arrives at the hospital dead.

The protest continued on Thursday morning and hundreds of students used the chance to complain against the food quality of the university cafeteria, which they said, made more than 50 students sick because of food poisoning. SSI could not confirm from the university though, as all offices were closed due to the protest and the president and academic vice president were in a meeting. Classes are also totally stopped.

“We are protesting not only because it happened today,” said a student who also wishes to remain anonymous, “but we are afraid this might happen to any one of us in the future.”
The protest, however, turned to be violent at lunchtime when some students wanted to use the cafeteria while others were demonstrating to prevent them from eating there. Protesters started throwing stones at any one moving to the dinning hall and the shouting started to get stronger.
After about 45 minutes to the start of stone throwing, federal policemen arrived and about 10 to15 went inside the campus to calm down the protest and stop the stone throwing.

Stressing nothing of what the students are saying had happened, commander Demesash said, “There is no technology and law in Ethiopia that allows the taking of body organs from any human being and that didn’t happen to the student.”
On Wednesday the protest started from Arat kilo science faculty and the students went to the Sidist Kilo some 600 meters away shouting slogans like ‘students’ body organs aren’t for sale’ and ‘protect our human rights’.
On Thursday, April 26, however, the students gathered in front of the university president’s office requesting for any government official to talk to them.

“We don’t want the university president to talk to us. He has never brought us any solution and he never will. So we want someone from the government to hear our voice and talk to us,” said a student in the protest.
The situation calmed down after the federal police went inside and very few students went to the cafeteria to have their lunch. The police were waiting around the cafeteria inside the campus when the students were having their lunch.

There has been a tense atmosphere in the university since the May 2005 election and according to one employee in the university; some students want to use any chance they have to show their dissatisfaction with the government.