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(HRW, Nairobi, 31 October 2016) –An Ethiopian government directive under a state of emergency contains overly broad and vague provisions that risk triggering a human rights crisis, Human Rights Watch said today in a legal analysis. The government should promptly repeal or revise all elements of the directive that are contrary to international law.
A woman cries as she attends a prayer session at Biftu Bole Lutheran Church during a prayer and candle ceremony for those who died in the town of Bishoftu during Ireecha, the thanksgiving festival for the Oromo people, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October 9, 2016.
On October 9, 2016, the government announced a six-month state of emergencyfollowing the destruction of some government buildings and private property by demonstrators. Over the past year, security forces have killed hundreds of protesters and detained tens of thousands in two regions where there have been numerous protests over government policies.“Ethiopia’s state of emergency bans nearly all speech that the government disagrees with anywhere in the country for at least six months,” said Felix Horne, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The state of emergency hands the army new sweeping powers to crack down on demonstrators, further limiting the space for peaceful dissent.”
Under the new state of emergency, the army can be deployed country-wide for at least six months. The implementing directive prescribes draconian restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and assembly that go far beyond what is permissible under international law and signal an increased militarized response to the situation. The directive effectively codifies many of the security forces’ abusive tactics that Human Rights Watch has documented since the protests began.
The directive includes far-reaching restrictions on sharing information on social media, watching diaspora television stations, and closing businesses as a gesture of protest, as well as curtailing opposition parties’ ability to communicate with the media. It specifically bans writing or sharing material via any platform that “could create misunderstanding between people or unrest.”
It bans all protests without government permission and permits arrest without court order in “a place assigned by the command post until the end of the state of emergency.” It also permits “rehabilitation” – a euphemism for short-term detention often involving physical punishment. Many of these restrictions are country-wide and not limited to the two of Ethiopia’s nine regions where most of the unrest took place.
Under international law, during a state of emergency a government may only suspend certain rights to the extent permitted by the “exigencies of the situation.” Many of the measures, including the restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and association go far beyond what is permitted under international law.
The government reports that since the state of emergency began, 1,600 people have been arrested, including about 50 for closing their businesses. Human Rights Watch also has received unconfirmed reports of unlawful killings, mass arrests, and looting of houses and businesses by the security forces. There have been some armed clashes between security forces and unidentified groups. Mobile phone access to the internet has been blocked since October 5. Addis Standard, a monthly English language magazine and one of the few independent publications left in Ethiopia, announced on October 25 that it was halting publication of its print edition due to state-of-emergency restrictions.
Large-scale, and mainly peaceful anti-government protests have been sweeping through Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest region, since November 2015, and the Amhara region since July 2016. Ethiopian security forces have killed more than 500 people during protests over the last year. These protests occurred in a context of the near-total closure of political space.
Protesters have voiced a variety of concerns, including issues related to development, the lack of political space, the brutality of the security forces, and domination of economic and political affairs by people affiliated with the ruling party. The emergency measures send a strong and chilling message that rather than dealing with expressed grievances and ensuring accountability for violence by both government forces and protesters, the government will continue and probably escalate the militarized response.
On October 2, in Bishoftu, a town 40 kilometers southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, tensions ignited at the annual Irreecha festival – an important Oromo cultural event that draws millions of people each year. Security forces confronted huge crowds with tear gas and fired shots and scores of people then died during a stampede. Since then, alleged demonstrators have damaged a number of government buildings and private businesses perceived to be close to the ruling party, setting some on fire.
The government has in part blamed human rights groups seeking to document violations of international law for the recent unrest. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called for an independent and credible investigation into the security force response to the protests and to the deaths in Bishoftu.
“Many of the abuses committed by security forces since November 2015 have now been codified under the state of emergency,” Horne said. “Trying to use the legal cover of a state of emergency as a pretext for the widespread suspension of rights not only violates the government’s international legal obligations, but will exacerbate tensions and long-term grievances, and risks plunging Ethiopia into a greater crisis.”
The Ethiopian government’s recently imposed state of emergency, which followed months of clashes between political protesters and security forces, has imposed new curfews, limited the movement of civilians and diplomats and outlawed opposition media.
It has also largely silenced the extensive international aid community operating in the country from speaking about what effect the current political dynamic is having on their work.
The quiet itself is telling of the fear NGOs and agencies are operating under. More than a dozen agencies working in a variety of humanitarian and development fields — including the United Nations’ resident humanitarian coordinator — either did not respond to interview requests or declined to speak to Devex for this story, most citing concerns about the potential risk to staff operating in Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, some development projects have been slowed by the government’s reaction to the protests, according to NGO officials. Security forces have fired tear gas and bullets into crowds and temporarily shut down some channels of communication. Transportation restrictions threaten to wreak havoc with the ongoing efforts to address food shortages following monthslong droughts. If violence broadens, it could precipitate a larger humanitarian crisis.
International officials — including from U.N. agencies — appear reluctant to speak candidly on the situation for fear it could cost them access to the communities they are trying to assist or even result in their agencies being expelled from the country. That could be devastating in a country where 9.7 million people are estimated to need food relief before the end of the year.
In Ethiopia, the U.S. Agency for International Development has a “crucial window of time” to use disaster response tools to prevent the very worst impacts of drought.
Yet if not aid agencies, human rights activists wonder who is going to speak up about the situation in Ethiopia. They say the state of emergency has presaged a crackdown on local journalists and civil rights groups. Most diplomats have been wary about offending a key regional partner, even as the situation looks set to worsen.
“Right now the general intolerance the government is demonstrating toward criticism is only fueling people’s frustrations,” said Clementine de Montjoye, the advocacy and research manager for the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project. With the violence looking to continue, aid agencies will remain in the precarious position of calibrating how — or whether — to respond.
Roots of discontent
The current protests date to November 2015 and began in Oromia, the region that extends over much of the country’s south and east like a sideways “V”. Demonstrators initially reacted to a government plan to take land from Oromia to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, which falls inside the region. The proposal stoked long-simmering feelings of marginalization among the Oromo ethnic group — the country’s largest, accounting for more than a third of Ethiopia’s 100 million people.
Clashes recently spread to the Amhara region in the country’s north, home of the country’s second-largest ethnic group. Though the demonstrations are unrelated, they are both rooted in feelings of exclusion from the government, which is dominated by the Tigray — a community that makes up only 6 percent of the population. The government has acknowledged that more than 500 people may have died because of the security force’s response to the protests or in stampedes that have followed, as people have tried to escape.
The roots of the discontent extend beyond political marginalization, said Yared Hailemariam, the executive director of the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia. Cyclical humanitarian crises — including periodic food shortages — and the slow pace of infrastructural development have deepened frustration. Despite the country’s rapid economic growth over the past decade, progress has come unevenly and left some regions lagging behind.
Oromia and Amhara, in part because they are the largest regions, have the largest numbers of people in need of food assistance, according to a midyear review by the government and aid agencies. After a failed rainy season in 2015 and a drought so far in 2016, three times more people are in need of aid this year, according to the review.
Many areas in these regions rely on domestic and international agencies for support. If the state of emergency interferes with humanitarian relief efforts or development projects, Yare said it could push more people onto the streets. The declaration includes not just a ban on protests, but also a 6 p.m. curfew and a prohibition on foreign diplomats traveling more than 40 kilometers from Addis Ababa without approval.
“Some of the embassies have development projects, for example,” he said. “If they can’t visit those areas and can’t communicate with the staff on the ground, they won’t know what’s going on. Maybe it ignites another round of protests. It’s ridiculous.”
Impact on aid work
The few NGO officials willing to talk told Devex that they are still waiting to find out how the state of emergency will impact their work. Location seems to be the most critical determinant of whether aid projects are directly affected.
Most of Mercy Corps’ projects, for example, are far from the areas where the clashes have taken place, and their services have not been interrupted, said Christine Nyirjesy Bragale, the director of media relations. The organization works on emergency responses to the droughts as well as long-term climate change and other environmental adaptation.
Some of WaterAid’s projects, have been forced to slow down as contractors have refused to show up for work if there are nearby protests, said Lydia Zigomo, the organization’s head for the East Africa region.
Focusing on access to water and raising hygiene and sanitation standards, the organization has funded more than 50 projects in Ethiopia, including ongoing sites in Oromia and Amhara.
Officials and activists also said aid projects experience some overarching challenges in communication as the government regularly shutting down the internet and phone lines.
WaterAid’s Zigomo said the organization has been helped by the perception of the water and sanitation sector as nonpolitical. “We tend not to be in the first line of any problems that are going on.”
The danger of being viewed as political is something the international community is very attuned to, and their caution is likely warranted. The government maintains acute oversight of the international community, including through a 2009 law regulating the activities of nongovernmental organizations. That alone already makes it difficult for groups to even do their work, Yared said.
His own experience is telling of the challenges: Though he operates out of Brussels after escaping into exile in 2005, he said he still gets calls from international aid agencies asking him if he has reports from communities outside Addis Ababa he can share. Relief organizations “can’t get information,” he said. “The government restricts them from moving in these conflict areas.”
Yared said he understands international agencies are in a difficult position. Even the perception of commenting on the effect of the government’s policies could prove devastating for their programs. But he also wonders who will tell the world what is happening in Ethiopia.
An Ethiopian government directive under a state of emergency contains overly broad and vague provisions that risk triggering a human rights crisis, Human Rights Watch said in a legal analysis. The government should promptly repeal or revise all elements of the directive that are contrary to international law. 31 October 2016.
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Haala qabsoo Oromoon amma irra ga’e kana gara fuuladuraatti nu tarkanfaachisuu danda’an irratti jabaachuun egeree Oromiyaa milkeessiif wantoota nu barbaachisan! Continue reading →
Waraanni Wayyanee guyyaa hundaa Oromoota sammuu qaban adamsee ukkaamsuu, ajjeessuu fi mana hidhaati dararuu irraa darbee uummata Oromoo nagaa dhowwachuudhaan akka goolaa jiru gabaasaa Qeerroo irraa hubachaa jirra. Keessattuu hammeenyi bartootaa Oromoo irra gahaa jiruu dhaga’uunu garaa nama hammeessa. Warri ukkamaman yaroo dhumasana akka ajjefaman mamii qabaachuu hin qabnu. Qoteebulaa, hojjetaa, barataa fi artistiin Oromoo uukkaman duba kan quba itti qabutu jira. Qubni cituu malee fala biraa hin qabu.
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Central Oromia, in the county of Jarso, Selale zone, the Ethiopian government forces (Agazi) have been raiding homes asking residents to hand in their guns, residents informed the government forces that they have no guns to surrender. The government forces have used this as an excuse to continue harassment, arresting and killings in this area. The residents when attacked have defended themselves and in result one military representative has been killed.
Family members have witnessed horrific abuses againts the prisoners in Kilinto Prison. This notorious prison is well known to imprison innocent Oromo and other political prisoners.
West Hararge in the county of Tullo, in the city of Hirna Agazi militants have targetted Oromo nationalists and have raided and exploited individual homes. The targeted individuals have been taken by the Agazi militants and there whereabouts are not known.
The Oromo community in Perth, Western Australia organised a rally to condemn the killings and human rights abuses conducted by the Ethiopian government. The Oromo community liased with other ethnic groups to hold a successful rally.
Genocide: The person killed in Badessa, West Hararge this morning (19 October 2016) is identified as Koome. He is a businessman. He was arrested by Agazi this morning, forced to withdraw 900,000 birr from his bank account and executed him in the afternoon. Three more people who tried to lift his body were shot.
OCTOBER 30, 2016 Statements
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