Ethiopian Opposition party on Tuesday called for constitutional amendment saying that the constitution is partly responsible for the unrest happening in a southern ethnically based regional state since last Thursday.
Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party officials made the demands in a press conference held on Tuesday.
The party is saying that the part of the constitution that focused on ethnic rights should be amended with a focus on unity and national cohesion rather than division.
Dozens of people were killed in clashes with security forces and numerous others injured in the city of Hawassa, 270 kilometers (167 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa, as the Sidama ethnic group push for regional statehood status.
Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party said the violence in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State was not directly linked to the demand put forth by the Sidama ethnic group.
They said that the police have even targeted people who did not have something to do with the demand where their properties destroyed.
The party stated that the issue of statehood cannot be solved by force.
