text: [{"text_idx": "#000002", "text": "At least 140 killed in Ethiopia protests over land plan: HRW"}, {"text_idx": "#000003", "text": "At least 140 people have been killed in Ethiopia over the past two months in a crackdown on anti-government protests sparked by plans to expand the capital into farmland, Human Rights Watch said Friday."}, {"text_idx": "#000004", "text": "\u201cSecurity forces have killed at least 140 protesters and injured many more, according to activists, in what may be the biggest crisis to hit Ethiopia since the 2005 election violence,\u201d HRW\u2019s Felix Horne said."}, {"text_idx": "#000005", "text": "The number reported by HRW is almost double the previous toll of 75 the group gave last month."}, {"text_idx": "#000006", "text": "There was no immediate response from the Ethiopian government, which has previously put the death toll at five."}, {"text_idx": "#000007", "text": "The protests began in November when students opposed government proposals to take over territory in several towns in the Oromia region, sparking fears that Addis Ababa was looking to grab land traditionally occupied by the Oromo people, the country\u2019s largest ethnic group."}, {"text_idx": "#000008", "text": "\u201cOver the past eight weeks, Ethiopia\u2019s largest region, Oromia, has been hit by a wave of mass protests over the expansion of the municipal boundary of the capital, Addis Ababa,\u201d Horne said."}, {"text_idx": "#000009", "text": "\u201cThe generally peaceful protests were sparked by fears the expansion will displace ethnic Oromo farmers from their land, the latest in a long list of Oromo grievances against the government.\u201d"}, {"text_idx": "#000010", "text": "On December 23, police arrested Bekele Gerba, 54, deputy chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), Oromia\u2019s largest legally registered political party. Bekele was previously convicted in 2011 of being a member of the banned Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), spending four years in jail."}, {"text_idx": "#000011", "text": "\u201cBy treating both opposition politicians and peaceful protesters with an iron fist, the government is closing off ways for Ethiopians to nonviolently express legitimate grievances,\u201d Horne said."}, {"text_idx": "#000012", "text": "\u201cThis is a dangerous trajectory that could put Ethiopia\u2019s long-term stability at risk,\u201d he warned."}, {"text_idx": "#000013", "text": "With at least 27 million people, Oromia is the most populous of the country\u2019s federal states and has its own language, Oromo, distinct from Ethiopia\u2019s official Amharic language."}, {"text_idx": "#000014", "text": "HRW has said the protests \u2014 and bloody crackdown \u2014 echoed protests in April and May 2014 when police were accused of opening fire and killing \u201cdozens\u201d of protestors. The government said eight people died in the 2014 unrest."}, {"text_idx": "#000015", "text": "Some 200 people were killed during post-election violence in 2005."}]