Economic and development analysis: Perspectives on economics, society, development, freedom & social justice. Leading issues in Oromo, Oromia, Africa & world affairs. Oromo News. African News. world News. Views. Formerly Oromia Quarterly
The construction cranes towering above the building sites on Ras Abebe Aragay Street in central Addis Ababa are tangible evidence of Ethiopia’s lofty ambitions to transform its capital into a modern hub.
In two years’ time this should become a boulevard of gleaming skyscrapers, home to leading banks and others attracted by Ethiopia’s state-led development model. And with sub-Saharan Africa’s only electric light rail network outside South Africa passing nearby, Addis Ababa will be able to project a much more developed image than any of its regional rivals.
Foreign investors, notably from China, have this year ploughed $2.5bn into an economy that has experienced double-digit annual growth over most of the past decade. But behind the façade, cracks are appearing in the model that helped Ethiopia become one of Africa’s star economic performers.
The consequence for the authoritarian government, which derives much of its legitimacy since taking power 25 years ago from delivering development in the absence of many basic freedoms, is unprecedented uncertainty, analysts say.
Ethiopia is in the third month of a state of emergency imposed to quell demonstrations against the regime, with hundreds of people killed in a brutal crackdown on protests that began more than a year ago. Foreign-owned businesses, particularly in textiles and flower farming, have been targeted in attacks that have caused tens of millions of dollars of damage.
By sacrificing rule-of-law and predictability to achieve short-term stability, the Ethiopian government has damaged its reputation
A few companies have left while others have put expansion plans on hold. Government promises of compensation for the damage have been extremely slow to materialise, adding to investors’ wariness.
Diplomats warn that the government, dominated by the Tigray ethnic group which comprise just 6 per cent of the population, is not addressing the protesters’ underlying grievances of inequitable growth, lack of democracy and perceived rampant nepotism.
“By sacrificing rule-of-law and predictability to achieve short-term stability, the Ethiopian government has damaged its reputation by reinforcing the perception that it is more authoritarian than democratic,” said a western diplomat who engages with foreign companies.
For visitors to Addis Ababa, the most noticeable impact of the crackdown is the complete lack of mobile internet and severe disruption to online services. Deloitte, the global advisory firm, has estimated the shutdown is costing the economy $500,000 a day.
“It has become more than annoying, my business is suffering,” says an engine oil salesman in Addis Ababa, who asked not to be named because of his criticisms of the government. “I like to do a lot of sales on the move, but it’s now very inconvenient. Does the government realise the effect of what it’s doing?”
The country’s growing tourism industry has also been hit, with tour operators reporting lost earnings of $7m in the weeks after the state of emergency was imposed in October. Western governments have lifted travel advisories for most of the country but people in the hospitality industry predict it will take time for visitors to return.
“We have some foreign tourists staying but far fewer than usual,” says the manager at an Addis Ababa hotel who asked not to be named. “And there are practically no western business travellers. The Chinese are still coming though.”
Roger Lee, chief executive of TAL, a Hong Kong-based company which produces clothes for brands such as Banana Republic, says despite the unrest, he would not be reversing the decision to open a factory in Hawassa, 275km south of Addis Ababa.
“It’s not the first time it’s happened in a country we work in,” he says, adding: “It’s very hard to find a developing country with no issues.”
The Ethiopian economy is still growing strongly — by 8 per cent this financial year according to official data. Although three percentage points lower than previously forecast it has come against the backdrop of a bad drought.
The International Monetary Fund also predicts continued robust growth, driven by an industrial base that is set to expand as more infrastructure and low-cost manufacturing, much of it financed by China, come on stream.
But there are also myriad worrying signs. The IMF warned in October that Ethiopia’s current account deficit, the amount by which imports exceed exports, “is not sustainable” at more than 10 per cent of gross domestic product for a second successive year. The resulting pressure on foreign exchange availability is adding to investors’ concerns.
David Cowan, Citi’s chief Africa economist, believes the reality is worse and questions an IMF prediction that foreign direct investment will be $4.45bn in 2016-17, nearly $1bn more than its previous estimate.
“I don’t see where the increase in FDI is going to come from,” he says. “I don’t see it from the multinationals, many of which are in a consolidating mode.”
Many are also pessimistic about how the country can create enough jobs when non-Ethiopians continue to be banned from investing in the banking, telecom and retail sectors.
“Successful economies have deep and diverse private sectors and Ethiopia’s just isn’t there,” said one investor, who asked not to be named. “It’s doing some things well but the gaps in its strategy — both economic and political — are glaring and I don’t see any inclination to address them.”
Merera Gudina is a professor and politician in Ethiopia. He is the leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) and opposition coalition – Dr. Merera was arrested on October 30 upon his return from a trip to Brussels where he spoke to members of the European parliament about the situation in Ethiopia. Since his arrest, Merera has not been brought to court or officially charged. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of the good professor.
Merera Gudina is a professor and politician in Ethiopia. He is the leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), and an opposition coalition Medrek.
Merera began his college education at Addis Ababa University (AAU), but was imprisoned for seven years due to participating in protests against the dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam. After his release, Merera went to Egypt to complete his education at the American University in Cairo.[1] Merera received his PhD in Political Science July 2002 from the Institute of Social Studies, at the Hague in the Netherlands
Merera founded the Oromo National Congress (ONC) in 1996, which became the largest Oromo opposition group by parliament seats after the 2005 national elections. His OFC had allied with several other parties to form the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces. Due to a court decision in 2007 which awarded the name of the ONC to a splinter group, the original ONC assumed a new name, the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) .
Leading opposition leader Merera Gudina after he returned from a trip to Europe. Gurdina was arrested upon his arrival at the airport in the capital Addis Ababa, according to the English private magazine Addis Standard. Gudina had travelled to Brussels where he alleged, during a hearing at the European Parliament, that Ethiopian security forces had committed human rights violations during recent unrest in the country.
Image copyrightAFP. Image caption The Oromo style of protest, arms crossed above the head as if handcuffed, has become famous
Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara, were using these hashtags for months to bring attention to their protests over economic and political marginalisation.
They accused the government of killing hundreds of demonstrators and arresting thousands in brutal crackdowns.
But in August, when Ethiopia’s Olympic marathon silver medallist Feyisa Lilesa, himself an Oromo, crossed his hands above his head in a gesture of protest as he crossed the finish line in Rio, the world’s media sat up and took notice.
“The Ethiopian government is killing my people so I stand with all protests anywhere as Oromo is my tribe. My relatives are in prison and if they talk about democratic rights they are killed,” he said.
One Ethiopian activist on Twitter compared Lilesa’s actions to the famous black power salute made by two American athletes at the 1974 Olympics, when they staged a silent protest against racial discrimination:
Image copyrightTWITTER
Lilesa was named in Foreign Policy Magazine’s top 100 global thinkers for 2016, which praised him for “breaking the rules of the games” by staging a protest at the Olympics.
He is now living in exile in the US, having said he feared he would be killed or imprisoned if he returned home.
But protests have continued in his home country, with more than 24,000 people arrested since the government introduced a state of emergency in October – half of whom remain in custody.
Verfolgt, geflohen und aufgenommen. In Oberkotzau trifft sich regelmäßig eine Gruppe junger Menschen der Oromo-Ethnie aus Äthiopien.
Junge Oromo mit der verbotenen Flagge ihres Oromo-Landes: Sie sehnen sich nach einem friedlichen Leben.
Oberkotzau– Eine große, bunte Gruppe junger Menschen ist diese Woche Gast im Bürgertreff Oberkotzau gewesen. Leiter Peter Braun hatte erfahren, dass sich in Hof die Gruppe Oromo Family unter der Obhut von Monika Lauterbach zusammengefunden hat. Seit etwa einem Jahr und beginnend mit einem Sprachkurs begleitet die Hoferin Monika Lauterbach die jungen Leute auf ihrem Weg der Integration in eine für sie völlig neue Welt.
In Oberkotzau wurde vor einigen interessierten Jugendlichen und Erwachsenen eingangs die geografische Lage Äthiopiens und der Hochebene Oromo gezeigt; ergänzend dazu berichteten die jungen Oromo von der politischen Situation. Das berichteten sie: Das fruchtbare Ackerland auf der Hochebene ist begehrt, die Rechte der dort ansässigen Bauern und Arbeiter spielen keine Rolle mehr. Es soll an ausländische Investoren verkauft werden, manches ist schon verkauft. Es werden lieber Blumen und Ölsaaten angebaut und keine Grundnahrungsmittel und Kaffee. Wer sich gegen Übergriffe wehrt, wird erbarmungslos verfolgt, eingesperrt, gefoltert und verprügelt. Viele Menschen verschwinden einfach. Dagegen gehen die Menschen auf die Straße und halten Demonstrationen ab, die aber blutig niedergeschlagen werden.
Die äthiopische Regierung achtet die Rechte der Bevölkerung nicht, so der Bericht, und verfolgt die Ethnie der Oromo, sie setzt mit Gewalt und Willkür ihre Ansprüche durch. Das sind die Gründe, warum viele junge Menschen ihre Heimat verlassen müssen, wenn sie überleben wollen. Wenn sie an Demonstrationen teilgenommen, sich gegen die Wegnahme ihrer Farmen gewehrt haben, werden sie gesucht, eingesperrt, getötet. Die Farmen haben die Menschen von ihren Eltern übernommen oder geerbt, das Land, das sie bebauen, gehört dem äthiopischen Staat.
Auf abenteuerlichen und gefährlichen Wegen sind die Oromo vielfältigen Gefahren ausgesetzt, ehe sie in Europa ankommen. Unterwegs haben sie viele Menschen sterben sehen. “Deutschland – das bedeutete für uns Gerechtigkeit, Demokratie und Freiheit”, berichtete einer der Oromo-Jungen. Wir sind von Land zu Land geflohen auf der Suche nach Sicherheit und Leben.
“Erst in Deutschland haben wir eine menschenwürdige Behandlung erfahren. Selbst in Italien mussten wir – Jungen wie Mädchen wie Kinder – auf der Straße schlafen, ohne Decke, ohne Essen und Trinken. Wir wollen hier lernen, und wenn es möglich ist, zurückkehren in unsere Heimat, um unser Wissen weiterzugeben.” Für die Frauen allerdings bedeutete Italien einen ebenfalls schwierigen Teil der Reise – sie waren allen Angriffen schutzlos ausgeliefert und hatten kaum eine ruhige Nacht.
Monika Lauterbach lernte die Gruppe als “freundlich, wohlerzogen und sehr höflich” kennen. Einmal wöchentlich trifft man sich. Als Dolmetscher hilft ein Landsmann, der schon länger in Hof ist und die deutsche Sprache gut beherrscht.
Inzwischen begleitet Lauterbach die jungen Menschen auch zu den Anhörungen nach Zirndorf. “Es ist gut, wenn jemand dabei ist, der Beistand leistet und bestimmte Dinge erklären und klären kann,” betont sie. Wie kann man erklären, dass ein Oromo keinen Pass besitzt? “Nicht viele Menschen in Äthiopien besitzen Pässe, Oromos bekommen Pässe zu den gleichen Bedingungen wie Ausländer – sie werden diskriminiert. Sie erhalten Pässe erst nach dem 18. Geburtstag, Geburtsurkunden gibt es in den seltensten Fällen.”
Gute Erfahrungen macht Lauterbach in der Zusammenarbeit mit der Stadt Hof, der Arbeitsagentur und der Volkshochschule in Hof. Vereinbarungen auf Regierungsebene zwischen Deutschland und Äthiopien sind ihrer Meinung nach höchst gefährlich, weil nicht mit offenen Karten gespielt wird. Die äthiopische Regierung hat nicht vor, die Rückkehrer beziehungsweise die ausgewiesenen Landsleute freizulassen und ihnen ihr Land zurückzugeben. Sie würden in Gefängnissen verschwinden.
Fast alle in der Gruppe haben in Äthiopien die Schule besucht. “Aber es reichte, dass ein Familienmitglied an einer Demonstration teilgenommen hat oder in der Freiheitsbewegung war, schon wurde die ganze Familie verfolgt”, berichtet einer der jungen Männer. Nun sind bereits zwei Kinder in Deutschland geboren. Eines besucht in Hof einen Kindergarten, das zweite ist noch ganz klein. Einige Gruppenmitglieder absolvieren Praktika, sind in der Berufsschule, manche haben bereits feste Arbeitsplätze, sie spielen Fußball in Vereinen. Sie sprechen Deutsch und sind auf der Suche nach Frieden und Normalität, wollen arbeiten und lernen und in Handwerksberufen Lehren machen.
People from the Oromo group block a road in Ethiopia after protesters were shot dead by security forces in Wolenkomi, about 35 miles west of Addis Ababa in December 2015. (AFP/Getty Images)
METI, Ethiopia — Earlier this month, hundreds of high school students in the small Ethiopian town of Meti gathered for a demonstration.They were supposed to be celebrating the country’s Nations and Nationalities day, which commemorates the much-vaunted equality of Ethiopia’s 80 ethnic groups. Instead, they defied a two-month-old state of emergency to voice their anger over stalled political reforms and endemic corruption.
The protest was quickly dispersed and arrests were made, locals said, and calm returned to the village. But the incident is a sign of the simmering resentment that threatens to shatter Ethiopia’s enforced quiet.
The United States, one of Ethiopia’s biggest backers, is urging the government to address the widespread dissatisfaction and open up the country’s politics before it is too late.
“We feel it has reached an inflection point where some hard decisions are going to have to be made,” said Tom Malinowski, the assistant secretary of state for human rights, in an interview during a recent visit to the capital, Addis Ababa. “Otherwise, a lot of the achievements could be jeopardized, and we know from the country’s history what a true crisis could look like.”
It is difficult to overstate the importance of Ethiopia to Africa’s stability. It has the continent’s second-largest population — nearly 100 million people — one of its fastest growing economies and a powerful military that helps stabilize a string of troubled countries around it.
The United States — and many other countries — have invested extensively in aid programs to help the Ethiopian government wrest the country out of poverty and bring it to middle-income status. If it succeeds — and becomes a democracy as well — it could be a model for developing nations everywhere.
Ethiopia has witnessed double-digit growth in the past decade. But this rapid economic expansion has resulted in strains, especially when new factories and commercial farms are being built on land taken from farmers. The central Oromo region, which has historically felt marginalized — despite having the largest segment of the population and some of the richest farmland — has been particularly hard hit.
Protests erupted there in November 2015 over the land grabs, corruption in the local government and lack of services such as running water, electricity and roads. The demonstrations later spread to the northern Amhara region, which has grievances of its own with a government that residents maintain is dominated by the Tigrayan minority group.
It has been the worst unrest in Ethiopia since Tigrayan-led rebels overthrew the Marxist government in 1991. Amnesty International estimates at least 800 people have died in the suppression of protests over the past year.
People have also increasingly singled out Tigrayans for their woes, accusing them of getting the best jobs and dominating the economy. There have been cases of attacks on Tigrayans in the north of the country, and there are fears the unrest could take on a more ethnic dimension.
After dozens were killed during a botched attempt to disperse a crowd at an Oromo religious festival in October, mobs attacked factories and commercial farms across the country and the government declared a state of emergency. Violence has since dropped off, and the government has said it is addressing grievances and has already made significant progress, especially in the Oromo region.
“The reform in Oromia has been far ahead when compared to other regions,” insisted government spokesman Negeri Lencho in a recent news conference. “Ethiopia is in a state of reform — the reform began at the cabinet level . . . and is now continuing at other government levels to the lowest levels.”
But a dozen people interviewed by The Washington Post in the Oromo region said there have been no changes.
“The previous officials are still in office,” complained an old man walking with a cane from a weekend market in the town of Ejere. Like everyone else interviewed, he spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns for his safety.
He paused under an acacia tree overlooking his village to complain how nothing had improved. There had been no effort to address calls for paved roads and the installation of electricity, he said.
“The people are resentful of the local officials and don’t want to discuss things with them,” he said. The local administrator also had not shown much interest in talking to the people, he said, although he admitted a potential reason: Villagers burned down his house last year.
A middle-aged woman dressed in a floral print dress and white shawl interrupted. “We need the government to respond to the demands of the people,” she said, her voice rising. “What we need is for the killings and imprisonments to stop.”
Villagers described a climate of fear, with late-night raids targeting young people who had been accused of protesting. Few doubted that demonstrations will resume once the state of emergency is lifted. The government has promised a new electoral system with proportional representation so that opposition politicians have a chance to be elected. Currently, the opposition has no seats in the parliament or on local councils.
“What the government says is simply astonishing, what they are saying is totally different from what we see on the ground,” a young Oromo said in a village not far from the capital.
“On one hand, they talk about a dialogue with the opposition. But on the other hand, they are arresting the head of the main opposition party,” he added, referring to the Dec. 1 arrest of the country’s most prominent Oromo opposition leader, Merera Gudina.
Most of his party’s top and midlevel leaders have also been imprisoned over the past year despite the government’s talk of the need for dialogue with all political parties.
“The effect of the state of emergency counteracts the aspirations they have articulated,” Malinowski noted. He acknowledged that while the Ethiopian government is suggesting reforms, little has materialized. “The problem is they haven’t done any of it yet, and even with unqualified commitment and speed, these things are going to take quite some time to achieve.”
As the countryside seethes, time is not on the government’s side. The United States has urged a number of confidence-building measures such as releasing opposition figures.
The government may be starting to respond. Following Malinowski’s visit in mid-December, it released 9,800 of the nearly 25,000 people detained during the state of emergency.
But years of overwhelming election victories by the ruling party and its allies have left people deeply cynical about the possibility of change.
“During the past elections, those that came to power were not the ones chosen by the people,” said a 32-year-old farmer standing by the side of the highway near the town of Ambo. “We don’t know where the ballots of the people go.”
With opposition groups in the Ethiopian diaspora often preaching violence, Malinowski said the people must be shown that peaceful change within the political system is still possible.
“If they lose faith in that, they are not going to stop asking for change; they will just be more likely to listen to people who seek more extreme goals by more extreme means,” he warned.
By Amy Braunschweiger, Senior Web Communications Manager, Human Rights Watch, 14 December 2016
The gunning down of peaceful protesters in Ethiopia. Animations depicting the devastation of Saudi Arabia’s male ‘guardianship’ system on women’s lives. From these to child brides and LGBT rights, here are the year’s most-watched videos on Human Rights Watch’s YouTube Channel.
1. When we pieced together cell phone footage showing the deaths of peaceful protesters in Ethiopia, it became by far our most-watched video this year – both in English and Amharic.
Ethiopian security forces have killed more than 400 protesters and others, and arrested tens of thousands more during widespread protests in the Oromia region since November 2015.
2. Under Saudi Arabia’s guardianship system, women need a male guardian’s permission to marry, go to school, work, or even undergo certain medical procedures. This holds true even if a guardian – a father, husband, or even son – is abusive.
Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women’s rights in the country despite limited reforms over the last decade.
3. People who don’t conform to traditional ideas of gender in Sri Lanka face discrimination and abuse.
Transgender people and others who don’t conform to social expectations about gender face discrimination and abuse in Sri Lanka, including arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and discrimination accessing employment, housing, and health care. These abuses take place within a broader legal landscape that fails to recognize the gender identity of transgender people without abusive requirements; makes same-sex relations between consenting adults a criminal offense; and enables a range of abuses against LGBTI people by state officials and private individuals. The Sri Lankan government should protect the rights of transgender people and others who face similar discrimination.
4. Thirty-seven percent of girls in Nepal marry before age 18, and 10 percent are married by age 15.
Many children in Nepal are seeing their futures stolen from them by child marriage. Nepal’s government promises reform, but in towns and villages across the country, nothing has changed.
5. In Saudi Arabia, the permission of male guardians is required for women to be released from prison.
Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women’s rights in the country despite limited reforms over the last decade.
6. … and to travel.
Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system remains the most significant impediment to women’s rights in the country despite limited reforms over the last decade.
7. How LGBT students are bullied in Japan…
The Japanese government has failed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students from school bullying.
8. A victim shares how he escaped Boko Haram, and talks of those who couldn’t…
9. This man tells how he was tortured in a CIA-run detention center.
A Tunisian man formerly held in secret United States Central Intelligence Agency custody have described previously unreported methods of torture that shed new light on the earliest days of the CIA program. Lotfi al-Arabi El Gherissi, 52, recounted being severely beaten with batons, threatened with an electric chair, subjected to various forms of water torture, and being chained by his arms to the ceiling of his cell for a long period.
10. And at number 10, how tobacco companies make money off the backs — and health — of Indonesian child workers.
Thousands of children in Indonesia, some just 8 years old, are working in hazardous conditions on tobacco farms.
The main purpose of this article is to provoke discussions on the “sacred”, yet very important issue of this country-the Question of Nationalities. The article as it was prepared for a special occasion (where detailed analysis was due time and other inconveniences impossible) suffers from generalizations and inadequate analysis. But I still feel it is not mediocre for a beginning. I expect my readers to avoid the temptation of snatching phrases out of their context and capitalizing on them. Instead every point raised here should be examined in the light of the whole analysis.
We have reached a new stage in the development of the student movement, a level where Socialism as a student ideology has been taken for granted, and reaction with all its window dressing is on the defensive. The contradictory forces are no more revolution versus reform, but correct scientific Socialism versus perversion and fadism.
The Socialist forces in the student movement till now have found it very risky and inconvenient to bring into the open certain fundamental questions because of their fear of being misunderstood. One of the delicate issues which has not yet been resolved up to now is the Question of Nationalities-some people call it ridiculously tribalism-but I prefer to call it nationalism. Panel discussions, articles in STRUGGLE and occasional speakers, clandestine leaflets and even tete-a-tete groups have not really delved into it seriously. Of course there was indeed the fear that it may alienate certain segments of the student population and as well the fear that the government may take advantage of an honest discussion to discredit the revolutionary student movement.
Starting from last year, a small minority began to discuss this delicate issue for the most part in secluded places. Discussions, even private, leak out and because they were not brought into the open they normally led to backbiting, misunderstanding and grossly exaggerated rumours. I think students are mature enough to face reality even if they are very sensitive. And the only solution to this degeneration, as witnessed from some perverted leaflets running amock [amok] these two weeks, is open discussion.
What are the Ethiopian peoples composed of? I stress on the word peoples because sociologically speaking, at this stage, Ethiopia is not really one nation. It is made up of a dozen nationalities with their own languages, ways of dressing, history, social organization and territorial entity. And what else is a nation? It is not made of a people with a particular tongue, particular ways of dressing, particular history, particular social and economic organization? Then, may I conclude that, in Ethiopia, there is the Oromo Nation, the Tigrai Nation, the Amhara Nation, the Gurage Nation, the Sidama Nation, the Wellamo [Wolayta] Nation, the Adere [Harari] Nation, and however much you may not like it, the Somali Nation.
This is the true picture of Ethiopia. There is, of course, the fake Ethiopian Nationalism advanced by the ruling class, and unwillingly accepted and even propagated by innocent fellow travelers.
What is this fake Nationalism? Is it not simply Amhara and to a certain extent Amhara-Tigre supremacy? Ask anybody what Ethiopian culture is? Ask anybody what Ethiopian language is? Ask anybody what Ethiopian music is? Ask anybody what the “national dress” is? It is either Amhara or Amhara-Tigre!!
To be a “genuine Ethiopian” one has to speak Amharic, to listen to Amharic music, to accept the Amhara-Tigre religion, Orthodox Christianity and to wear the Amhara-Tigre Shamma in international conferences. In some cases to be an “Ethiopian”, you will even have to change your name. In short to be an Ethiopian, you will have to wear an Amhara mask (to use Fanon’s expression). Start asserting your national identity and you are automatically a tribalist, that is if you are not blessed to be born an Amhara. According to the constitution you will need Amharic to go to school, to get a job, to read books (however few) and even to listen to the news on Radio “Ethiopia” unless you are a Somali or an Eritrean in Asmara for obvious reasons.
To anybody who has got a nodding acquaintenance with Marxism, culture is nothing more than the super-structure of an economic basis. So cultural domination always presupposes economic subjugation. A clear example of economic subjugation would be the Amhara and to a certain extent Tigrai Neftegna system in the South and the Amhara-Tigre Coalition in the urban areas. The usual pseudo-refutation of this analysis is the reference to the large Amhara andd Tigrai masses wallowing in poverty in the countryside. For that matter during the heydays of British imperialism a large mass of British Workers had to live under inhuman conditions.
Another popular counter argument is that there are two or three ministers of non-amhara-Tigre Nationality in the Cabinet, one or two generals in the army, one or two governors and a dozen balabats in the countryside. But out and out imperialists like the British used to rule their colonies mainly by enlisting the support of tribal chiefs, who were much more rich than the average citizen of the British Metropolis. The fact that (Houphet) Boigne and Senghor were members of the French National Assembly and the fact that they were even ministers did not reduce an iota of Senegalese and Ivory Coast [Ivoirians] loss of political independence.
Of course the economic and cultural subjugation by the Amharas and their junior partners the Tigres is a historical accident. Amharas are not dominant because of inherent imperialist tendencies. The Oromos could have done it, the Wellamos [Wolaytas] could have done it and history proves they tried to do so. But that is not an excuse for the perpetuation of this situation. The immediate question is we must declare a stop to it. And we must build a genuine national- state.
And what is this genuine national-state? It is a state in which all nationalities participate equally in state affairs, it is a state where every nationality is given equal opportunity to preserve and develop its language, its music and its history. It is a state where Amharas, Tigres, Oromos, Aderes [Harari], Somalis, Wollamos [Wolaytas], Gurages, etc. are treated equally. It is a state where no nation dominates another nation be it economically or culturally.
And how do we achieve this genuine democratic and egalitarian state?
Can we do it through military? No!! A military coup is nothing more but a change of personalities. It may be a bit more liberal than the existing regime but it can never resolve the contradiction between either classes or nationalities. The Neway brothers and Tadesse Birus could not have done it. Talking about Mengistu and Tadesse, one cannot fail to remember the reaction that the Mengistus coup though a family one and at that by a sector of Shoa Amharas (with few exceptions, of course among the Workeneh) was very popular just because it was staged by “Ethiopians”-Amharas. With Tadesse, it was automatically a tribalist uprising. Why? Tadesse an Oromo cannot stage a nationalist coup but Oromo Supremacist.
I am not equivocal in condemning coups, but the Tadesse coup had at least one significant quality and a very important one too. It gave our Oromo Brothers and Sisters self-respect. And self-respect is an important pre-requisite for any mass-based revolution. Even the so-called revolutionaries who scoffed at the coup just like the mass of the student body, could not comprehend this quality. You can clearly see in this instance the power of the Amhara-Tigre supremacist [supremacist] feelings. They clearly proved that they were nothing more than the products of government propaganda on this question.
Can the Eritrean Liberation Front and the Bale armed struggle achieve our goal? Not with their present aims and set-up.
Both these movements are exclusive in character, led by the local Bourgeoisie in the first instance and the local feudal lords in the second. They do not have international outlook, which is essential for our goal. They are perfectly right in declaring that there is national oppression. We do not quarrel with them on this score. But their intention is to stop there. They do not try to expand their struggles to the other nationalities. They do not attempt to make a broad-based assault on the foundations of the existing regime. They deliberately try to forget the connection of their local ruling classes with the national oppression. In short these movements are not led by peasants and workers. Therefore, they are not Socialists; it would only be a change of masters for the masses. But for the Socialists the welfare of the masses comes first.
The same can be said for the Gojjam uprising. But I would like to take this opportunity once again to show how much Amhara supremacism [supremacism] is taken for granted in this Campus.
To applaud the ELF is a sin. If anything favorable is written out, it is automatically refuted by both USUAA and NUEUS. But the Gojjam affair was different. Support for it was practically a show of identity to the so-called revolutionaries.
Mind you, I am just saying that these movements are not lasting solutions for our goal-the set-up of a genuine Nationalist Socialist State. I am all for them, the ELF, the Bale movements, the Gojjam uprising, to the extent that they have challenged and weakened the existing regime, and have created areas of discontent to be harnessed later on by a genuine Socialist revolution.
One thing again is certain. I do not oppose these movements just because they are secessionists. There is nothing wrong with secessionism as such. For that matter secession is much better than nationally oppressive government. I quote Lenin, “…People resort to secession only when national oppression and national antagonisms make joint life absolutely intolerable and hinder any and all economic intercourse. In that case the interests of the freedom of the class struggle will be best served by Secession. I would also like to quote the resolution on the question of nationalities from the London International Socialist Congress of 1896 attended, supported and adopted by the Bolsheviks who brought about the October revolution, “This Congress declares that it stands for the full right of all nations to self-determination and expresses its sympathy for the workers and peasants of every country now suffering under the yoke of military, national or other absolutism.”
As long as secession is led by the peasants and workers and believes in its internationalist obligation, it is not only to be supported but also militarily assisted. It is pure backwardness and selfishness to ask a people to be partners in being exploited till you can catch up. We should never dwell on the subject of secession, but whether it is progressive or reactionary. A Socialist Eritrea and Bale would give a great impetus to the revolution in the country and could form an egalitarian and democratic basis for re-unification.
To come back to our central question: How can we form a genuine egalitarian national-state? It is clear that we can achieve this goal only through violence, through revolutionary armed struggle. But we must always guard ourselves against the pseudo-nationalist propaganda of the regime. The revolution can start anywhere. It can even be secessionist to begin with, as long as led by the progressive forces-the peasants and the workers, and has the final aim the liberation of the Ethiopian Mass with due consideration to the economic and cultural independence of all the nationalities. It is the duty of every revolutionary to question whether a movement is Socialist or reactionary not whether a movement is secessionist or not. In the long run Socialism is internationalism and a Socialist movement will never remain secessionist for good.
To quote Lenin again, “From their daily experience the masses know perfectly well the value of geographical and economic ties and the advantages of a big market and a big state.” From this point of view of the struggle as well, a regime like ours harassed from corners is bound to collapse in a relatively short period of time. But when the degree of consciousness of the various nationalities is at different levels, it is not only the right but the duty of the most conscious nationality to first liberate itself and then assist others in the struggle for total liberation. Is that not true of Korea? We do support this movement, don’t we? Then, what is this talk of tribalism, secessionism, etc…..?
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Wallelign Mekonnen Kassa was born on March 22, 1945 in Debresina Woreda, Wollo, Ethiopia.
In 1965, he joined the Haile-Selassie I University and studied political science. He was one of the devoted university students who struggled to emancipate the Ethiopian workers and peasants from tyranny. Wallelign and his comrades were imprisoned by the Ethiopian government and released after five months. Wallelign was suspended from university by the administration.
The articles he wrote include, “The Question of Nationalities in Ethiopia”, which states the national repression and the solution for this problem, “Le Awaju Awaj”, an article in response to the emperor’s address in the radio regarding the university students, “Ye Azinaraw Eseregan” (Prisoner’s Azinara ) and “Message to Professor Afework Gebereyesus”.
Walelign acquired the love for his country from an early age, and he dedicated his life to Ethiopia until the moment he was assassinated, December 9, 1972.
Nearly 400 of the 623 investors who took land for development in the Gambella region, western Ethiopia, have reportedly taken multiple loans on a single plot of land. Most of the so-called “investors” have reportedly been from Tigray region.
A report issued by a team to probe into the case concluded that 381 investors have taken multiple loans on 45,000 hectares of land. The Development Bank of Ethiopia also said it is investigating cases where multiple loans were issued on a single plot of land.
The report did not say how much money was squandered in the scheme but data shows about 200 investors have taken over 50 million dollars in loans from the Development bank of Ethiopia.
Only about 300 of the close to 600 tractors imported duty free were actually seen on the location of the development.
The report also said 29 investors who took loans to develop land have not reported yet. The team said in a report that it actually could not put faces on the files of the said 29 investors.
The government sponsored study also revealed that only 15% of the 630,000 hectares of land has been developed as of this year.
Last week, over one thousand Tigrayan businessmen who took land for agriculture in Gambella, displacing the locals, complain of lack of additional loans from the Development Bank of Ethiopia.
Critics say the complaint by the Tigrayan businessmen only revealed that they were actually favored by the ethnocentric government and that they were the only ones with access to land and loans.
Several local and Indian investors have disappeared after taking millions of dollars in land loans in Gambella, Benishangul and other naturally endowed regions of Ethiopia.
The irresponsible and minority regime in Finfinnee/Addis Ababa that had declared the scrapping of the so-called ‘Addis Ababa Integrated Master Plan’ a year ago is again doing its best to test the strength of the Oromo people by making another systematic move to implement the deadly ‘Master Plan’ that has caused the death of more than 2,000 Oromo protesters in all over Oromia since Nov. 2015.
TPLF and its puppet OPDO, had been forced to scrap the plan months after the outbreak of Oromia wide protest against the ‘Master Plan’ and the mufti-faceted subjugation against the Oromo people for over a century. The Oromia wide protest that was the first in its kind in Africa, had a profound and shaking impact on the failing Ethiopian empire as it was a revolution that originated from rural grass root Oromo farmers that have been highly affected by the corrupt TPLF led regime.
Even if the Master Plan was declared scrapped a year ago, the Oromo protest has been going on opposing the systemic political, economic, social and cultural marginalization of the Oromo people by the successive Ethiopian rulers.
Due to the indiscriminate and disproportionate attack by Agazi force against the Oromo protesters simply because they have been requesting legitimate and basic rights, more than 2, 000 Oromos have been killed, more than 10, 000 injured, and close to 250, 000 are detained and are being tortured by the TPLF security forces in different detention centers in Oromia.
The current move by TPLF is another round of attempt to implement the ‘Master Paln’ to displace Oromo from their ancestral land with the help of a UN agency called UN – Habitat; However, this must be the last call for all Oromo to renew their resolve to get ride of this brutal minority regime once and for all.
On Saturday Dec. 17, Siraj Fegessa, Ethiopia’s minister of defense and the secretariat of the command post tasked to implement the country’s sweeping six-month state of emergency (SOE), had news that should have come as a relief to tens of thousands of Ethiopians. Minister Siraj, a civilian, told journalists mostly drawn from state-controlled and state-affiliated media houses that some 9, 800 individuals who were detained under the SoE will be released by Wednesday Dec. 21 while 2, 449 others “will be brought to justice.”
But the mood among Ethiopians following the announcement is not that of a celebration; for many, the damage their loved ones have sustained while held at one of the half dozen detention facilities (referred to by many as ‘concentration camps’) is too deep to have been undone by the announcement of their release, and rightly so.
By the government’s account, a total of 24,799 individuals were arrested in two rounds under the SoE since October this year. However, this figure doesn’t mention whether those who were detained prior to the decreeing of the SoE on October 9 are accounted for. And, informed by previous brutalities of the security apparatus, Ethiopians are under no illusion that this figure is much higher than what’s being admitted by the government.
Even one is to take the government’s figures to account, it simply means that thousands of university students have missed this academic year’s attendance; thousands others who were the breadwinners of their families and extended family members have failed to deliver on their promises; and thousands have lost their jobs.
But for some, the cost is too personal to recover from. One such Ethiopian is Alemayehu Merga, (name changed upon request), a former clerk at a private Bank in Awash town some 91 km south east of the capital Addis Abeba.
In a letter sent to Addis Standard a few weeks ago, Alemayehu says when he was arrested from his hotel room (name of the hotel withheld) in Merkato, an open market hailed as the largest in Africa, he was preparing for his wedding scheduled to take place on Sunday September 16 in Adama, 100k south east of Addis Abeba.
The intense crackdown by the police that led to Alemayehu’s arrest followed a massive anti-government protest on August 06, 2016. The weekend protest was called by online activists of the #OromoProtest and was dubbed “Grand Oromo Rally”. It ended when regional and federal police have brutally suppressed the protesters, killing hundreds and detaining thousands. But instead of receding, thousands more of protesters raged through the Special Zone of the Oromia Regional State, eight neighboring towns mostly located within 25k radius from the capital Addis Abeba.
The bedrock of these protests was a 10 month persistent anti-government protest that began in Oromia regional state, the largest regional states in federated Ethiopia, in November 2015; it was followed, several months later, by another anti-government protest in Amhara regional state in the north.
The protests in these two regional states have quickly escalated into a large scale anti-government protest that posed the ultimate challenge to the hitherto unchallenged quarter century reign of the ruling TPLF-dominated EPRDF regime in Ethiopia.
A pre-wedding trip gone dreadful
Almayehu’s arrest happened at a time when, reeling from uncontrollable protest flare ups in most parts of the country, the federal and city police began conducting random stop and search and have arrested unknown numbers of individuals from the city. Low-cost hotels throughout Addis Abeba have also received letters from their respective Kebele administrations ordering them to declare the identities of their guests who come from the countryside.
“I came to Addis Abeba from Awash to buy some household materials and pick my wedding suit which was ready at a tailor’s shop in Piassa. But I was arrested on September 10,” his letter narrates.
Alemayehu was then held at a police station commonly known in Addis Abeba as “Sidistegna” Police station located in the heart of the city. He was kept there incommunicado for about a month. No one from his family knew what happened to him. And he missed his wedding.
“I kept telling the police officers that I was only in town to prepare for my wedding, but they kept telling me I was in town to organize young people to protest. I had a few invitation cards that I was planning to give out to my friends and relatives living in the city. I never managed to give them as I was arrested the very next day after I arrived in the city. And even if I kept showing my wedding invitation cards to the police officers, no one wanted to believe me.”
Alemayehu joined hundreds of others detained under similar circumstances. Most of them are young Ethiopians and all of them were held incommunicado at several police stations in the city.
On October 02, the unthinkable happened when police fired shots at a gathering of millions of Oromo who came to celebrate the annual Ireechaa festival in Bishoftu town, 40 km south of the capital.
For many, the death by stamped of yet unverified numbers of Ethiopians at this sacred, otherwise peaceful festival was the turning point of the almost year-long anti-government protests that gripped the nation. A ‘five-day rage’ was called by online activists of the Oromo protests following what was quickly hashtaged as “IreechaaMassacre. It resulted in protesters attacking foreign owned businesses in several parts of the country. It also led to the near collapse of the country’s tourism industry, forced the government to declare the current SoE and to reshuffle the Prime Minister’s cabinet only a year after it was sworn in to the office.
But for Alemayehu and thousands of others detained pre and post the SoE, the ordeal has just began.
Three days after the decreeing on Oct. 9 of the sweeping SoE, which practically suspended most parts of the constitution, Alemayehu and “roughly 2000 others” held in police stations in Addis Abeba were transported to Awash Abra Military camp, not far away from Alemayehu’s birth place in Awash.
The military camp is one of the dozen camps throughout the country where tens of thousands of Ethiopians detained under the SoE are currently held.
The 2013 country report by the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor describes these camps as “unofficial detention centers throughout the country, including in Dedessa, Bir Sheleko, Tolay, Hormat, Blate, Tatek, Jijiga, Holeta, and Senkele. Most were located at military camps.”
“None of my family members, including my bride-to-be, knew I was there,” Alemayehu’s 3-pages letter recounts. All of them were told they were arrested by the “orders of the command post”, after they were transported to the camp. By now, the government announced that the command post was led by defense minister Siraj and was comprised of other unnamed senior officials.
“Hell breaks loose”
“Once inside the military camp, we were told we would undergo an ideological training on the current federal arrangement and we will be taught about the illegalities of the protests.”
According to Alemayehu’s letter, in the beginning, there were about 3,000 detains who came from the Oromia regional state. “But after a week, and the weeks that followed our numbers grew, in my estimate, to about 6000. We were told we would only be there for two weeks’ training and be released afterwards.”
Describing the situation inside the military camp, Alemayehu wrote: “It was the moment I experienced how hell breaks loose.”
“The heat is unbearable during day time, and at night the temperature drops to a freezing cold. There was only one meal a day (often bread) and the temporary corrugated iron shacks we were held inside had no running water, no toilets no sleeping places. Sometime in mid-October what looked like a cholera outbreak spread. We have seen many dead bodies being transferred out of the camp at night times.”
“I never wanted to see tomorrow”
The said training didn’t begin during the first week, Alemayehu’s letter further said, “but every night dozens of us would be called for investigations. I was lucky to not have been called for the night time investigations, but many of those who did often come back limping after being tortured beyond words.”
When the training began, it involved hours-long lectures given mostly by military officials on the legacy the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the history of the party he co-founded, TPLF, and the 17 years sacrifices its members had paid to overthrow the military Derg in 1991. It also included the ruling party’s economic ideology of building a developmental state, the concept of federalism and multi-party democracy, according to the letter.
“But most of the time, we would just sit there in the blazing sun, hungry and thirsty, waiting for the officials to arrive. Sometimes, nobody shows up and we would be told to return to the barracks and come back tomorrow morning. But I never wanted to see tomorrow. All I wanted was to die and end my misery.”
Two weeks into his ordeal at the military camp, Almayehu was released after a “police officer who knew who I was and what I did for living in Awash spotted me there.” “After what I think was this police officer’s attempt to help me, I was called one morning and told to pack up and be ready. There will be a car ready to transport me to Adama. That was it; no one to ask for justice; no one to ask for a letter to my employees, nothing.”
Alemayehu is back in Awash, from where he e-mailed us his letter. He is unemployed after the bank he was working for refused to take him back on “administrative grounds. I am now looking for a job.”
And he has since learned the devastating news of the disappearance of his fiancé. “Like me, no one knows where she is at now. I was told that after my mysterious disappearance she was struggling to face the possibilities that I may have simply deserted her. The last time she was seen in the town, where she was living with family members, was on Oct. 13, after that she has simply vanished; it is like she never existed.”
Alemayehu’s story of families torn apart and the hopelessness that follows resonates with hundreds and thousands of others who have been detained and still remain in one of the seven temporary detention facilities throughout the country.
A brief report released yesterday by the Ethiopia Human Right Project sampled 24 individuals, mainly opposition party members, bloggers, and journalists, who are currently detained under the SoE.
The three salient circumstances all the 24 detainees share in common are, according to the report: almost all remained detained without due court process; some have been informed of the reasons for their arrests after they were taken to the detention facilities; and some have not even been informed of the reason for their detention.
By all accounts, it is a story of the human cost in a country under a sweeping State of Emergency; a country where the news of the release of thousands would come too little too late to restore the hopes that were dashed, for some, forever. AS
The Kurds have organized and risen to the point where it is impossible for Western powers to ignore them. As Kurdish aspirations rise, many regional powers would like to see a 21st century equivalent of the Treaty of Lausanne, sacrificing Kurdish interests to those of other regional powers. The Kurds, however, are more organized and more powerful than they have ever been. It is unlikely that they can be betrayed without consequence.
Still, it is essential that the Kurds not wait for a hand-out from the United States, European Union, or other entities. Western assistance is no substitute for Kurdish leaders getting their own house in order. The simple fact is that Kurds remain divided. In Iraqi Kurdistan, family interests trump nationalism. The Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga remain as divided today as they were a decade ago. Masoud Barzani, the de facto regional president, speaks of an independence referendum only when grumbling about economic mismanagement and unpaid salaries gets too great.
Turkey’s Kurdish organizations face a crisis given the information and military campaigns waged against them. Many Turkish Kurdish leaders assume that they stand on the side of justice and popular aspirations, but they have done little to bring that message to the non-Kurdish audience in the West.
Too many politically-active Kurds write for Kurdish websites or portals and debate with fellow Kurds in coffee shops and restaurants catering to a Kurdish clientele. They must write for the Washington Post, New York Times, Le Monde, and Der Spiegel, rather than for Kurdish outlets of which few congressmen, parliamentarians, or ministers have heard. Unfortunately, Kurdish leaders make little effort to reach out to the broader policymaking community whose decision-making may not be based upon a Kurdish consensus about social justice and morality. If Kurds want Western countries to offer support, they must first inform non-Kurdish audiences. If Kurds march under flags bearing the hammer-and-sickle, the symbol of an ideology that contributed to the deaths of tens of millions of people during the 20th century, they risk losing sympathy from mainstream officials in the West. Ditto any embrace of Che Guevara, a man responsible for the murder of hundreds of innocents. Simply put, Kurdish movements must decide whether they want to cultivate support only from the left, or from the right as well. Unless they win the support of both, Kurds will likely fail to achieve broad Western support for their political aims and national aspirations….
The report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) says the Trump presidency raises the risk of the US rolling back development aid, thus affecting dependent countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The accountancy and finance body said that signs of an expansionary fiscal stance under the Trump administration, coupled with spending cuts to build dollar reserves for infrastructure development, are likely to lead to a decrease in aid to African countries.
“Aid is probably the main channel through which a change in US policy under a new president could impact Africa,” states the fourth quarter (2016) report commissioned by ICAEW and produced by partner and forecaster Oxford Economics.
“Policymakers and businesses across the continent will be keen to see President-elect Trump’s plans for development policies once he takes office,” the report adds.
Donald Trump is expected to be formally inaugurated as the country’s 45th president on January 20, 2017.
According to the report, and drawing on insights from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the US is sub-Saharan Africa’s major donor in bilateral official aid, with over $9 billion distributed to the region to date.
It is followed by the United Kingdom, with just under $4 billion distributed, and France with just over $2 billion.
In terms of official development aid receipts in East Africa, Ethiopia received the largest amount at over $3.5 billion, followed by Kenya and Tanzania with over $2.5 billion each, and Uganda with over $1.5 billion.
Doing business
According to the report, the change in the US administration will also affect Africa’s trade and investment prospects. It states that steady progress is being made in the continent’s business environment, with Mauritius ranked 49th out of 190 countries globally in terms of the ease of doing business.
The World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 report ranked Rwanda at position 56h, Morocco 68th, Botswana 71st and South Africa 74th. Oil giants Nigeria and Angola were ranked 169 and 182 respectively. According to the report, foreign direct investment inflows into Africa fell by 7 per cent to $54 billion in 2015, with decreasing flows to SSA offsetting larger inflows into North Africa.
Large inflows into Angola saw investment into the Southern African region increase by 2 per cent.
East Africa received $7.8 billion in FDI during 2015, a two per cent decrease from 2014; Central African receipts decreased by 36 per cent and West Africa by 18 per cent.
Increase in FDI
The region is expected to see an increase in net FDI in the coming years, with a 10 per cent rise expected in 2017. Tanzania is expected to attract considerable investor interest in the country’s natural gas sector.
The African Union has expressed concern about Ethiopia’s current State of Emergency against the upcoming Heads of State Summit in the capital Addis Ababa in January 2017.
The concerns were raised by the Chairperson Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma who met with the newly appointed Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs at the AU Headquarters on Tuesday.
The minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu allayed the fears of the AU chairperson by assuring that “the situation had now calmed down substantially and nothing untoward was anticipated to occur that could disrupt the Summit proceedings”.
“The Government was fully engaging the people, with a view to find solutions to the teething issues, such as the persistent problem of youth unemployment which gives way to the exploitation of idle hands,” a statement from the AU quoted the minister.
He also expressed hope that the relationship between Ethiopia and the African Union to remain solid and assume its position as the capital of Africa.
Dlamini Zuma praised the cooperation of the Ethiopian government.
Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on October 9 to curb the unrest which turned violent leading to damage of properties including those of local and international businesses.
Before the State of Emergency was imposed, over 50 people died on October 2 in a stampede at a festival in Bishoftu after police fired teargas and warning shots to disperse protesters at the event.
At least 500 people have been killed and thousands arrested in the wave of anti-government protests in the Amhara and Oromia regions over the past months.
International bodies including the United Nations and the European Union have called on the Ethiopian government to exercise restraint against protesters.
The European Parliament (EP) has officially written to the Ethiopian government seeking clarification on the arrest of an opposition leader, Dr. Merera Gudina.
The EP President, Martin Schulz, in a letter to President Mulatu Teshome said they were disturbed about the arrest of the Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) leader. The EP also reiterated its call for the charges against Gudina to be made known.
‘‘It appears that Dr Gudina was arrested by Ethiopian authorities upon his return from a short stay in Brussels in early November, during which he also met with Members of the European Parliament,’‘ the letter read.
I would like to remind you, that the European Parliament is a House of democracy, where different voices can be heard, from foreign governments as well as representatives of opposition groups.
The letter stated that the Ethiopian ambassador in Brussels had said the Gudina’s detention was connected with contacts he had with individuals Addis Ababa deemed as ‘terrorists.’ It added that it was ‘rather unfortunate that his arrest is linked to meetings he had with the European parliament.
‘‘I would like to remind you, that the European Parliament is a House of democracy, where different voices can be heard, from foreign governments as well as representatives of opposition groups,’‘ the letter added.
Late last month, Ethiopian security forces arrested the academician who is the chairman of the OFC, shortly after his arrival in the capital Addis Ababa.
Prof. Merera was returning from Brussels where – together with other Ethiopian activists and the Olympian athlete Feyisa Lellisa – he had had a meeting with Members of the European Parliament on 9 November 2016.
The state-affiliated FANA broadcasting corporate however quoted authorities as saying that Gudina was arrested because he had flouted the State Of Emergency currently being enforced nationwide.
According to FANA, the Secretariat of the Command Post said Gudina violated an article of the law which prohibited any communication with banned terrorist organizations and anti-peace groups. “He is under investigation for violating this article,” the Command Post said.
The European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution on the violent crackdown on protesters in January 2016, which requested that the Ethiopian authorities stop using anti-terrorism legislation to repress political opponents, dissidents, human rights defenders, other civil society actors and independent journalists.
Since January 2016 the human rights situation in Ethiopia has not improved at all. Human Rights Watch reports that security forces have killed more than 500 people during protests over the course of 2016.
St. Paul, Minn. – Hawi Tilahune ’16, of Minneapolis, Minn., was awarded a 2017 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship following a highly competitive nationwide contest. The Rangel Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and managed by Howard University, supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue a career as a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Department of State. The Rangel Fellowship will provide Tilahune with approximately $95,000 in benefits over a two year period, and give her the opportunity to represent her country overseas. She was one of only 30 fellows selected nationwide.
Tilahune graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in international studies (with honors) and political science with a concentration in African studies. She was also the recipient of one of Macalester’s top prizes for seniors, the Global Citizenship award.
As an undergraduate, she worked as a Bonner Community Scholar with the Red Cross, interned with the African Diaspora Policy Centre as a peace-building intern and at Catholic Charities as a social justice intern. She also had the opportunity to study abroad in The Hague, Netherlands, where she conducted research on Oromo diaspora discourse in The Netherlands. In the summer of 2015, Tilahune participated in the Junior Summer Institute at Carnegie Mellon University with the Public Policy International Affairs (PPIA) program. In addition to being active on her campus serving as the co-chair of the AfriKa! Student Organization and student liaison to the Macalester College Board of Trustees, Tilahune received a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Through this fellowship, she traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, in January 2016 to learn more about the challenges of inequality there.
As a diplomat, Tilahune would like to create positive change by assuming leadership in policy discussions on U.S.-Africa relations.
“Through my service as a political officer, I wantto support America’s partnership and collaboration with the next generation of Africa’s leaders,” said Tilahune. “Whether through providing training on key issues such as conflict resolution or through offeringmentorship opportunities to anchor their ambition, I hope to create positive change in allying with the dreams of young people on the continent. I specifically plan to reinforce the work of U.S. embassies across Sub-Saharan Africa in their youth engagement and help bolster the impact of Embassy Youth Councils for greater dialogue and collaboration.”
Tilahune also wants to make significant change through public diplomacy. She anticipates establishing various artistic platforms by which young people can encounter different cultures and identities and build areas of mutual understanding.
“My involvement with the Afrikan! Chorus during my undergraduate career, performing a traditional Swazi wedding song or a Soweto-style gospel melody, has opened my eyes to the dynamic power of music in building bridges among divided communities,” she said.
Tilahune plans to pursue a graduate degree in international affairs or public policy, with an interest in conflict resolution and public diplomacy.
As part of the Rangel Program, Tilahune will work for a member of congress on international issues this summer. In summer 2018, the U.S. Department of State will send her overseas to work in a U.S. Embassy to get hands-on experience with U.S. foreign policy and the work of the Foreign Service.
The Rangel Program is a joint initiative between the U.S. State Department and Howard University that aims to enhance the excellence and diversity of the U.S. Foreign Service. Begun in 2003, the Rangel Fellowship Program selects outstanding young people each year from around the country who exhibit the ideal qualities of a Foreign Service Officer. Managed by the Ralph J. Bunche Center at Howard University, the Rangel Fellowship supports those selected through graduate school and professional development activities that prepare them for their careers as Foreign Service Officers. With the academic, professional and financial support from the program, Fellows now serve as diplomats around the world, contributing to a more diverse representation and effective execution of U.S. foreign policy.
Gada is the traditional governance system of Oromos in Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. Photo: gadasunlightours.comEthiopia’s Oromo people made headlines around the world when peaceful protests turned violent against government land use changes, prompting a state of emergency.
Now Oromo voices are being heard thanks to an entity more often associated with boosting tourism than governance — UNESCO.
Ethiopians rejoiced when the traditional Oromo governance system, known as Gada, was inscribed on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The announcement was made during the 11th session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in Ethiopia.
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, is a special agency of the U.N. created to build the defenses of peace in the minds of men.
Built over generations, the traditional Oromo Gada governance system contains regulatory measures for conflict resolution, questions of religion and women’s rights.
“In contrast to the modus operandi employed by the current, authoritarian government, the Gada form of governance contains provisions guaranteeing an effective system of ‘checks and balances,’ the separation of powers and an institutionalized opposition – all of which provides safeguards against totalitarianism and a governmental abuse of power,” according to the U.N.
When UNESCO announced it was listing the Gada system as an intangible cultural heritage, Ethiopians rejoiced, the Ethiopian Herald reported. Sara Dubee, head of the West Arsi Culture and Tourism Office, said the Oromo people have been subjected to marginalization and subjugation during the former regimes. “The day is special to me and the people of Oromo. The day is a most awaited one in the history of Oromo. Oromo people have paid all the sacrifice to see the day.”
Gada has some features that differ from western democracies, according to Waltainfo. One is the distribution of power. Researchers say western democracies are deficient in distributing power. Those in power control most of the authority and wealth of the country. The young, poor and the elders are politically and economically marginalized in Western democracies.
The Oromo make up about 35 percent of Ethiopia’s population, which now exceeds 102 million, according to Worldometers.
Ethiopia already has eight cultural and one natural site designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites — the most of any African country. Morocco has the second highest.
The Gada system developed from knowledge gained by community experience over generations, UNESCO wrote on its website, according to Waltoinfo.com. Gada is practiced in Northern Kenya as well as Ethiopia.
The system serves as a mechanism for enforcing moral conduct, building social cohesion, and expressing forms of community culture.
In addition to distribution of power, another distinctive Gada feature that sets it apart from Western democracy is a testing period for elected leaders. Researchers say Gada believes in rigorous practical testing of candidates before they assume office, unlike western democracy, which relies almost exclusively on election.
Even though the Gada system is considered an intangible heritage, Ethiopians say the UNESCO designation will stimulate tourism.
“The Oromo people have sustained their authenticity for so long. We believe the values attached to the Gada system deserve to be safeguarded, nurtured, shared and spread across the world,” said Hirut Woldemariam, culture and tourism minster, Ethiopian Herald reported.
People can learn from the system, said Lemma Megerssa, Oromia state chief. “The adoption would increase our responsibility of safeguarding and promoting the convention, the system would be a center of tourist attraction.”
Oromo artist Mohammed Tawil said, “Our forefathers should be honored for their priceless endeavors in handing over the culture and identity of the system.”
“The Gada System is the true manifestation of the identity of the Oromo people,” Oromo artist Tadele Gemechu told the Ethioian Herald. “We should preserve it. UNESCO’s inscription could overturn the business-as-usual way of handing the values of the heritage. The government and research institutions should look ways how to bolster and promote the assets of (gada) system.”
The Oromo people have suffered a lot, said Atsede Kadire. “The Oromos have original and unique heritages that could take into account the whole form of life. The Gada system is one of the heritages that binds all. Gada system could be one of the bases for modern democracy.”
The UNESCO designation is a milestone and “a huge step to beef up our tourism industry because the world will come to learn about the Gada system from the community,” Kadire told Ethiopian Herald.
Ethiopia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites and dates of designation include the following:
Aksum (1980)
Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region (1979)
Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town (2006
Konso Cultural Landscape (2011)
Lower Valley of the Awash (1980)
Lower Valley of the Omo (1980)
Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela (1978)
Tiya (1980)
Simien National Park (1978)
Here’s what UNESCO had to say about the Gada system, according to Waltoinfo.com:
Gada is organized into five classes with one of these functioning as the ruling class consisting of a chairperson, officials and an assembly. Each class progresses through a series of grades before it can function in authority with the leadership changing on a rotational basis every eight years.
Class membership is open to men, whose fathers are already members, while women are consulted for decision-making on protecting women’s rights. The classes are taught by oral historians covering history, laws, rituals, time reckoning, cosmology, myths, rules of conduct, and the function of the Gada system.
Meetings and ceremonies take place under a sycamore tree (considered the Gada symbol) while major clans have established Gada centers and ceremonial spaces according to territory. Knowledge about the Gada system is transmitted to children in the home and at school.
Various sources indicated that the Gada system has the principles of checks and balances (through periodic succession of every eight years), and division of power (among executive, legislative, and judicial branches), balanced opposition (among five parties), and power sharing between higher and lower administrative organs to prevent power from falling into the hands of despots. Other principles of the system include balanced representation of all clans, lineages, regions and confederacies, accountability of leaders, the settlement of disputes through reconciliation, and the respect for basic rights and liberties.
Google transparency report shows dramatic drop in internet traffic out of Ethiopia on two days when at least 100 people were killed by security forces during protest
16 news sites and access to WhatsApp blocked between June and October
“As far as the Ethiopian government is concerned, social media is a tool for extremists… The reality, though, is very different” – Michelle Kagari
The Ethiopian government systematically and illegally blocked access to social media and news websites in its efforts to crush dissent and prevent reporting of attacks on protesters by security forces during a wave of protests over the last year, a new report released today shows.
Research conducted by Amnesty International and the Open Observatory of Network Interference shows that between June and October this year during times of heightened tension and protests, access to WhatsApp and at least 16 news outlets was blocked, especially in the Oromia region.
Since November last year, thousands of people from Oromia have taken to the streets to protest against possible land seizures under the government’s Addis Ababa Masterplan, which aims to expand the capital’s administrative control into the region. The government declared a six-month state of emergency in October this year in response to the protests.
The study was conducted to investigate whether and to what extent internet censorship was actually taking place after contacts of Amnesty and the Open Observatory of Network Interference in Ethiopia consistently reported unusually slow internet connections and inability to access social media websites.
Testimonies gathered by Amnesty from different parts of Oromia found that social media mobile applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter, have been largely inaccessible since early March this year, especially in the Oromia region where residents were waging protests against the government since last November.
The Ethiopian government is also reported to have blocked access to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Viber during the National University Exam week (9 – 14 July 2016) so as “to prevent students being distracted from studying during the exam period”.
Amnesty contacts also reported that internet access on mobile devices had been completely blocked in Amhara, Addis Ababa and Oromia in the lead up to protests in the three regions on 6 and 7 August.
This was confirmed in Google’s transparency reports for the period between July and November this year, which showed a dramatic drop in internet traffic out of Ethiopia on the two days when at least 100 people were killed by security forces during the protests.
Amnesty International’s Deputy East Africa, the Horn and Great Lakes Director Michelle Kagari said:
“It’s clear that as far as the Ethiopian government is concerned, social media is a tool for extremists peddling bigotry and hate and therefore they are fully justified in blocking internet access. The reality, though, is very different. The widespread censorship has closed another space for Ethiopian’s to air the grievances that fuelled the protests.
“The internet blocking had no basis in law, and was another disproportionate and excessive response to the protests. This raises serious concerns that overly broad censorship will become institutionalised under the state of emergency.
“Rather than closing off all spaces for people to express their concerns, the authorities need to actively engage with, and address the underlying human rights violations that have fuelled the protests over the last year. “We urge the government to refrain from blocking access to internet sites and instead commit its resources to addressing its citizens’ legitimate grievances.”
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology used to filter websites
The report also found that the Ethiopian government uses Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology to filter access to websites. DPI is a technology that can be bought and deployed on any network. Though it has many legitimate functions, it can also enable monitoring and filtering of internet traffic.
The Open Observatory of Network Interference’s Maria Xynou said:
“Our findings provide incontrovertible evidence of systematic interference with access to numerous websites belonging to independent news organisations and political opposition groups, as well as sites supporting freedom of expression and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights.
“Tor Metrics data illustrate that more and more people were trying to access censorship circumvention tools, such as TOR, which indicated that the internet was inaccessible through the normal routes. This all paints a picture of a government intent on stifling expression and free exchange of information.”
Background
Ethiopia has been hit by a wave of protests since November 2015 when ethnic Oromos took to the streets to protest against possible land seizures under the government’s Addis Ababa Masterplan, which aimed to expand the capital’s administrative control into Oromia.
The protests later spread to Amhara, with demands for an end to arbitrary arrests, as well as respect for regional autonomy rights enshrined in the constitution.
Most of the protests were met with excessive force from the security forces. The worst incident involved the death of possibly hundreds of protesters in a stampede on 2 October at Bishoftu.
Protest groups say the stampede was caused by the security forces’ unnecessary and excessive use of force. The government has denied this, instead blaming the deaths on “anti-peace forces.”
The long distance athlete became famous during the just ended Rio Olympic games after he made an anti-government gesture at the end of his track event. He crossed his arms above his head as he finished the event as a protest against the Ethiopian government’s crackdown on political dissent.
He won the silver medal in the men’s marathon after finishing the 42 kilometer race. He later claimed that his life was in danger. He sought for asylum in the United States and has been living there since leaving Rio.
Given the fact that the Olympic Charter bans political propaganda, demonstrations are a rarity at the games. Nevertheless, Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa snubbed the rulebook in order to call attention to the brutal actions of his country’s security forces.
Under the title, ‘‘For breaking the rules of the games,’‘ FP wrote about Feyisa: ‘‘Given the fact that the Olympic Charter bans political propaganda, demonstrations are a rarity at the games. Nevertheless, Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa snubbed the rulebook in order to call attention to the brutal actions of his country’s security forces.
‘‘As the marathoner approached the finish line in second place, he crossed his arms over his head—an attention-grabbing gesture to show solidarity with his Oromo tribe. In the weeks before the race, the Ethiopian government had cracked down on protests by the embattled indigenous group and killed dozens.
They went on to quote him in an interview with AP news agency as saying, “If I would’ve taken my medal and went back to Ethiopia, that would’ve been the biggest regret of my life.” Adding further that “I wanted to be a voice for a story that wasn’t getting any coverage.”
Feyisa like the twelve others listed in his category were recognized for challenging the status quo in order to put their views across. ‘‘These individuals showed that agitation takes myriad forms,’‘ the FP said.
Aside Feyisa, another African was listed in the same category. Pastor Evan Mawarire of Zimbabwe who championed the #ThisFlag protests through the use of social media platform, Twitter. The FP listed him ‘‘For initiating a democratic movement.’‘
60 Evil Days In Oromia: Two Months of Everyday Murders, Tortures, Abductions, and imprisonments under the State of Emergency in Ethiopia
HRLHA Press Release, December 11, 2016
The TPLF/EPRDF’s hidden agenda, under a democratic facade in the past quarter century, has been challenged by Oromo youth for freedom against subjugation “Qeerro Bilisuma” ever since March 2014. The Oromo youth for freedom against subjugation has been supported by Oromos from all walks of life; the cause was reignited in November 2015 up until the TPLF/EPRDF declared the State of Emergency on October 8, 2016.
Since the State of Emergency was declared, human rights violations in Oromia have intensified on a daily basis, specifically targeting Oromo youths and elites. In the past sixty days since the State of Emergency was declared, several Oromo youths, students of universities, colleges and high schools were targeted and oppressed. The HRLHA monitored the TPLF/EPRDF atrocities against humanity through its reporters and will continue to share them with the world.
According to these reports, the TPLF/EPRDF government killing squad Agazi force has committed all sorts of human rights violations, including killings, rapes, abducting and detaining of Oromos on a daily basis.
Among the eight students who were abducted from Wollaga University in Nekemt Town in the first week of December 2016 are Sabona Chalshisa (4th year Civil Engineering) , Keraji Motima (2nd year Civil Engineering), and Nabuli Misgana Workneh (2nd year Accounting) from Rift Valley University. In the same way, an economics teacher Abebe Angassa was abducted from Hibrest school in the Tulu Bollo District, South West Showa Zone on December 1, 2016.
The HRLHA also received from its informants in south Oromia, Bale zone, in Adabba district, Gadedo community and Daraba Town information that a number of Oromo youths and elites had been picked up on December 6, 2016 at night and had been taken to an unknown destination
The following are among the many Oromos in Adabba district who have been abducted by TPLF forces
In the same month-December 2016- over 53 Oromos were taken from the southern Oromia Guji Zone,Saba Boru district. Their names are below:
The TPLF/EPRDF has turned Oromia Regional State into a state of mourning every day. Citizens are crying, no one appears to be helping, even though the world community is aware of what is happening. The world community is in a state of silence and is refusing to take concrete actions to stop the crimes against humanity taking place in the country. How many people have to be murdered before there is an intervention?
The HRLHA again expresses its deep concerns and calls on the world community to show solidarity with the Oromo people by taking concrete action against the TPLF/EPRDF dictatorial government.
Background:
Under remembering from the past, the HRLHA highlights the human rights violations reported by HRLHA and other human rights organizations against Oromo youths in the past ten years which continue to the present.
The TPLF/EPRDF government has targeted Oromo youth since the Oromo youth peaceful revolt against subjugation started in Oromia in 2005. The following is a summary of Oromo students killed, imprisoned, and disappeared by TPLF/EPRDF security forces in different universities in school year 2007
. January 1, 2007, Dembi Dollo, W. Wollega: Two Students KilledOne Oromo student, and perhaps two, died as a direct result of police beatings, and other students were severely injured and hospitalized in Dembi Dollo. Between 30 and 50 have been detained and remain detained without charge in the central Dembi Dollo jail and in two district police stations. (Human Rights Watch, February 20, 2007)· January 4, 2007, Ghmbi Wollega: Two Brothers Murdered
Two cousins, Gemechu Benesa Bula and Lelisa Waqgari Bula, were killed by members of the militia and police officers. On the evening of January 4, police and militia members were on patrol near Guyi High School when they came upon several students walking together. Unlike previous incidents, where security force patrols had been used to break up student demonstrations, there was no demonstration, but several students fled as the police and militia members approached. The patrol shot at the fleeing students, severely wounding Gemechu. Lelsa returned and covered the fallen Gemechu with his body. The patrol ordered Lelsa to leave. When he refused, he, too, was shot. Both cousins died shortly after. (Human Rights Watch, February 20, 2007
· January 18, 2007, Ghmbi, W. Wollega: Two Students Died Due to Severe Beating
In its appeal Letter to Ethiopian Ministers on Human Rights Violations Against Students, February 20, 2007, the Human Rights Watch stated “as students were gathering at school to march to the zonal administration headquarters to present a petition to the zonal administrators concerning the arrests and beatings, a squad of police broke into the school and beat yet more students and arrested others. According to reports from credible sources, dozens of students and some adults were injured in these two incidents. Eight students were hospitalized. A tenth-grade student was beaten so severely that he died a few days later. Human Rights Watch received an unconfirmed report that a second student also died as a result of the beatings.” (emphasis mine)
· January 18, 2007, Dembi Dollo, W. Wollega: at Least 27 Detained and Tortured
OSG report No. 43 stated that the following students have been detained without charge and beaten in Dembi Dollo jail : Mitiku Abdisa; 2. Mezgebu Bekele; 3. Dawit Warati;m 4. Binyamin Zerihun; 5. Amana Ayale; 6. Amanuel Magarsa; 7. Cali Kebede;8. Worku Tamrat; 9. Amanuel Degefu; 10. Gamachu Ligaba; 11. Waqgarri Habte 12. Bacha Yadesa; 13. Ashenafi Degefa; 14. Ishetu Getaneh; 15. Amanuel Aklilu; 16. Kedir Suleiman; 17. Wakshira Jabessa; 18. Geremew Mitiku; 19. Abraham Hora Gusa …
· January 25, 2007, Ganalle, Bale: at Least 11 Students Detained
OSG report No. 43 stated that the following students from Bale, most of whom were reportedly associated with Ganelle Secondary School, were detained. 1. Adan Mohammed, 2. Abdulahi Anajo
3. Ahmed Aliyi, 4. Ahmed Yaqub, 5. Aliyi Mohammed, 6. Hamza Mohammed, 7. Ibrahim Mohammed
8. Jamal Hussein, 9. Kalil Sheik Hassan, 10. Mohammed Abdulahi, 11. Tajudin Badru
. February 21, 2007, Gaara Suufi, Hararge: Ayisha Ali, 14, Murdered and Her Body was Eaten by Hyenas
A 14 year-old girl, Ayisha Aliyi, was taken by security forces at night in February, wearing only her nightgown. Local police later denied knowledge of her whereabouts, but government officials announced that dissidents would be killed on nearby Mount Sufi. When the news that some 20 people had been killed and thrown into a mountainous area known as Gaara Sufi, Ayisha’s mother, along with local people, went to the jungle and found some of Ayisha’s hair, clothes and body parts among the remains of 19 people who had been taken to Mt. Sufi and shot. Their bodies had been left there to be consumed by hyenas – leaving few remains for grieving relatives to bury. Even then, mourners were interrogated and funerals interrupted by security forces challenging relatives who had collected remains from Mt. Sufi “without authorisation.” (OSG report No. 43, VOA Afan Oromo. (2007 report will continue)
Olympic silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa (Fayyisaa Leellisaa) finished fourth in his first debut after Rio Olympic protest. He clocked 2:15:57 in Honolulu men’s marathon, December 11, 2016. Feyisa walked the last 100 meters with his famous hands in ‘X’ in silent protest. His compatriot Oromo athlete Deribe Roba finished third clocking 2:13:43.
Lawrence Cherono set a course record of 2:09:39 to win ahead of fellow Kenyan Wilson Chebet (2:10:48), who was also under the previous course record.
Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei won the women’s race in 2:31:11 ahead of American Lindsey Scherf (2:34:05) and pre-race favourite Oromo athlete Buzunesh Deba from Ethiopia (2:35:34).
The official result:
Men
1. Lawrence Cherono – 2:09:39 – RECORD
2. Wilson Chebet – 2:10:50 – RECORD
3. Deribe Roba – 2:13:43
4. Feyisa Lelisa – 2:15:57
5. Tatsuya Itagaki – 2:19:24
As the state of emergency in Ethiopia continues, the East African country remains a powder keg and unrest is brewing, particularly in Oromia, where the central government crushed down most brutally on anyone who dares voicing dissent. Some of the failures of the government to respect and integrate minorities are historical, while others are linked to the current leaders’ refusal to accept dissenting voices. Despite a positive economic and development track record – at least on paper – Ethiopia shuns diversity in political opinion by cracking down on opposition parties and jailing it members. The 2015 election, for instance, produced a parliament without any opposition, partly due to freedom of expression being strictly curtailed, leaving opposition groups hardly any room for manoeuvre.
No longer are bands of young men marauding on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, trying to set fire to foreign-owned factories. Nearly two months into Ethiopia’s six-month state of emergency, it appears to be having the desired effect: protests rocking its two most populous regions have subsided.
It remains to be seen, though, whether this is the beginning of a sustained period of calm or a temporary break in the most persistent and widespread protests this country has seen since the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) ruling party came to power following a revolution in 1991.
At that crucial juncture Ethiopia embarked hopefully on a struggle to emerge in the modern world on its own terms. It succeeded in doing so by employing a unique political model that is “an alloy of revolutionary theories, pragmatic neoliberalism and intrinsically Ethiopian customary practices”, says historian and long-term Horn of Africa expert Gérard Prunier.
While that political experiment has brought significant economic growth to the country, many claim it has failed the Ethiopian people, who are now voicing that fact.
“This government came into being with the support of the rural poor,” says Abebe Hailu, a human rights lawyer who was in college during the student movement that precipitated the 1974 downfall of emperor Haile Selassie, and who lived through the ensuing military dictatorship that eventually fell in 1991 to the rebel-founders of the EPRDF. “Now it is the rural poor that is against them – this is the irony,” he says.
When Ethiopian marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa crossed the finishing line in the Rio Olympics in August he crossed his forearms above his head in a widely adopted gesture to protest his government’s violent crackdown on ethnic protests seething since November 2015, leaving upwards of 600 dead, according to rights groups.
Those protests went against the grain of Ethiopia’s hermetic history, which has long seen numerous uprisings dealt with internally, away from prying eyes.
Ethiopia has long been a land of contradictions. On the one hand, the EPRDF has the most impressive economic and development-driven track record of any Ethiopian government in modern history.
But set against that, during the past two decades it has shunned diversity of political opinion, repeatedly cracking down on opposition parties, putting their politicians in jail or forcing them into exile. The 2015 election produced a parliament without a single opposition representative. Freedom of expression in Ethiopia is strictly curtailed, and as a result an independent civil society no longer exists.
At the same time, Ethiopia’s citizenry is increasingly angry at seemingly never-ending government corruption, while a mushrooming youthful population means the number of young unemployed men across the country irrevocably rises. Many sit idly on streets, their thoughts and frustrations turning toward the centre of power that is Addis Ababa.
“The immediate causes for the various groups protesting are different but they have the same demands: deliver the right kind of leadership,” says Yilikal Getenet, chairman of the opposition Blue Party.
Initially months of protests remained largely within the Oromia region, home to Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, constituting about 35 percent of the country’s nearly 100 million population.
But then in August [2016] violence broke out among the Amhara – at 27 per cent, Ethiopia’s second largest ethnic group – in northern Ethiopia’s famed city of Gondar, a popular tourist attraction because of its ancient castles.
Violence even came to the usually serene lakeside Amhara town of Bahir Dar, another popular tourist destination and weekend getaway known for its palm-lined avenues and island monasteries. An initially peaceful anti-government demonstration there on August 7th escalated to violence after a security guard fire into a crowd, leaving at least 30 gunned down by security forces.
At the same time as the Amhara protests, co-ordinated demonstrations occurred in more than nine towns in Oromia, resulting in about 100 deaths, according to Human Rights Watch.
The most recent tragedy came a week before the state-of-emergency declaration on October 9th [2016], when more than 100 people drowned or were crushed to death during a stampede following clashes between police and protesters at a traditional annual Oromo festival at the volcanic lake town of Bishoftu, about 50km southeast of the capital.
Together the Oromo and Amhara represent more than 60 per cent of Ethiopia’s population, hence their resentment of an EPRDF perceived as having been usurped for 25 years by one of its key founding entities, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which is drawn from an ethnic group that makes up only 6 per cent of the population, and which in addition to government dominates business and the security services.
“The TPLF has manipulated the multi-ethnic federation to divide and rule forever,” says Birhanu Lenjiso, an Ethiopian research fellow at Radboud University in the Netherlands. “The people are now asking for genuine multi-ethnic federation in the country.”
Addis Ababa, the hub of political power and the engine of Ethiopia’s economy, which exists as an autonomous city state within the federation, is surrounded by Oromia. Overall, the city has remained relatively cocooned from the tumult. But that hasn’t stopped some talking of its iconic Meskal Square in the heart of the city waiting to serve as its Tiananmen Square.
Ethiopia has long been a development darling in the eyes of the international body politic. After the world was shaken by images of Ethiopian famine in 1984, the country turned around its fiscal fortunes and it now has one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Against the abject failure of international assistance in Somalia, Ethiopia is often held up as a heartening example of indigenous government and international partners succeeding in reducing poverty and mortality rates.
But many critics say the statistics that have wowed the international community have hidden the more complex reality in which most Ethiopians, while not as susceptible as in the past to famine and disease, are still utterly stifled in their lives’ endeavours.
“The oppressed stay silent but eventually you reach a critical mass and then it boils over,” Yilikal says. “Hundreds have been killed but they keep protesting. They go to protests knowing the risks. So what does that tell you?”
Ethiopia, famously described by historian Edward Gibbon as the country that slept a thousand years while the world ignored it, has now firmly plugged itself into the global network. Satellite dishes dotted all over residential areas in towns and cities beam in news from around the world – including from Ethiopian diaspora news channels that are potently anti-government – while mobile phone ownership and access to the internet follow a steep upward curve.
“More than 50 per cent of the Ethiopian population was born under this government,” says Robert Wiren, a French journalist writing about the Horn of Africa for the last 15 years. “This young population does not compare the present system with its predecessors but receives news from abroad which contradicts the governmental rhetoric. People in the street know that journalists and opponents are jailed, that the security forces kill demonstrators. There is a real danger of ethnic hatred against the Tigrayans.”
Matters aren’t helped by the fact that wealth from the surging economic numbers has failed to trickle down to the vast majority of Ethiopians, who eke out the daily grind while wages stagnate, and inflation and living costs rise.
All the while, rank corruption results in a select few monopolising lucrative deals in the economy, to be then observed splashing out on oversized shiny pick-up trucks and drinking bottles of Black Label whiskey in the capital’s swanky new hotels, which seem to pop up daily.
“Since Ethiopia’s economic growth is due to a centralised driven process, a lot of non-Tigray people suspect the Tigray elite to be the only beneficiary of the economic boom,” Wiren says.
History always matters, but especially in Ethiopia, where people take the long view. Ethiopians cherish their history – one of the world’s oldest Christian traditions; the only African country that wasn’t colonised – and recall and tell the associated stories spanning the centuries; at the same time they remember the tragedies and atrocities committed among the country’s various ethnic groups, all of which exerts a powerful influence on the present.
“What’s happening [now] is a combination of everything: historical marginalisation and present marginalisation,” says Merera Gudina, chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress Party. “It’s a revolt against minority rule and its policies.”
The EPRDF was preceded by two authoritarian centralised regimes: emperor Haile Selassie and then military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. Both were viewed as Amhara-centric, and the federal constitution created by the EPRDF in 1991– and held by many, including critics of the government, as an effective fit for Ethiopia’s more than 80 ethnic groups – was meant to mitigate that fact, accommodating Ethiopia’s diversity and competing claims.
But from the start, the EPRDF has been criticised for allowing the TPLF to hog the limelight and power in the new Ethiopia that has existed since 1991.
“The TPLF has trapped itself by ethnicising political life without accepting a real autonomy for every regional state,” Wiren says. “It is an open secret that behind each regional state leader there is a kind of unofficial political supervisor.”
This style of governance has alienated especially the Amhara (who recall when they used to call the shots) and the Oromo (who feel they have always been excluded, first by the Amhara, and then by the Tigrayans).
“They only know how to talk, they never listen,” says one Addis Ababa resident. “You have a group of Tigrayans in government deciding the fate of 100 million people who aren’t allowed to say anything.”
A major problem for the country’s protest movement is the lack of an organising body to guide it and of a central leadership to engage on its behalf with the EPRDF.
The political opposition in Ethiopia is in disarray. It has suffered and been weakened through government harassment, but has also been criticised for not matching its anti-government rhetoric with discussions of effective policy.
“What does the Ethiopian public want? Firstly peace, secondly stability, thirdly prosperity,” says one Addis Ababa-based foreign politico. “In most cases the Ethiopian opposition have conflated opposition with opposite. When asked for details of the programme for achieving those three needs they revert to type and complain about how difficult it is to be in opposition.”
To compound matters, ever since opposition MPs squabbled in the aftermath of Ethiopia’s crucial 2005 election – the country’s first genuine contest – with some choosing not to take their seats due to allegations of vote rigging, the opposition has remained split among myriad parties that appear unable and unwilling to coalesce into a single effective voice for today’s protests.
At the same time all sides, from government to opposition, whether in Ethiopia or acting overseas, appear hobbled by how the vocabulary of Amharic, the lingua franca of Ethiopia, doesn’t lend itself to terms such as negotiation and compromise. The polarisation of US politics pales in comparison to the mire found in Ethiopia: here you are either with the government or against, there can be no middle ground.
Nevertheless, many point out that it is the EPRDF, as the holders of power, who need break the deadlock.
“They must bring all concerned Ethiopian opposition political groups both home and abroad to the negotiation table,” says Endalk Chala, a prominent Ethiopian blogger studying in the US, who is unable to return to Ethiopia following the arrest in Addis Ababa of his fellow Zone 9 bloggers. “That is what I call a reform and all the rest is nonsense.”
Geopolitical considerations mean Ethiopia is held by the likes of the UK and US to be an important peace and security bulwark in the Horn of Africa, a region troubled by failing states.
Ethiopia also provides large numbers of troops to the internationally funded African force battling al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia, as well as to peacekeeping forces in South Sudan and Sudan. Then there’s Ethiopia’s crucial economic role in the region.
“Ethiopia is the region’s locomotive,” says Dawit Gebre-Ab, senior director of strategic planning for the neighbouring Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority. “With its expansion in manufacturing, Ethiopia could become the China of Africa.”
Djibouti, another key part of the West’s anti-terrorism apparatus in the region, in addition to guarding one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, relies for a significant proportion of its GDP on business with Ethiopia.
To Djibouti’s south, Somaliland is banking on a €400 million refurbishment of its underused and underdeveloped Berbera port to alleviate its economic woes, with the next-door market of Ethiopia’s continually growing population – Africa’s second largest, and set to reach 130 million by 2025 – forming a key part of its ambitions to keep it safe from the fate of Somalia to its south.
Were Ethiopia’s internal fissures to worsen, its hitherto economic juggernaut might well be impeded – unsettling the region’s hitherto stabilising process of economic integration – or even derailed.
“Ethiopia has been the only reliable country in the Horn of Africa,” says Lidetu Ayele, founder of the opposition Ethiopia Democratic Party. “If Ethiopia is not strong, other countries will suffer. This government has used the threat of regional terrorism to its own advantage, but that threat is very real.”
“People need to be calm and patient,” Abebe says. “And we need acceptance by the government about making real reforms.”
The government conducted a significant cabinet reshuffle at the end of October, bringing in non-party-affiliated technocrats to deliver change, while promising reforms. But for a country with millennia of centralised, autocratic rule, that’s much easier said than done.
Since 1991 western observers and governments have been calling on the Ethiopian government to deepen its commitment to democratic reforms, but it hasn’t previously shown much interest in listening. Hence many aren’t convinced of either the government’s sincerity or ability to make this happen.
“This government has failed the people not once but 1,000 times, and they’ve broken promise after promise,” says Merera, who, like many others, notes the left-wing revolutionary genesis of the EPRDF. The prevailing accusation is that this ideology still guides the party, which as a result remains fundamentally anti-democratic, believing in a Leninist single-party approach, and is thereby unable to countenance reform.
Opinions about where Ethiopia is heading cover a range of scenarios. It is feasible that a renewed uprising could prove successful, or its attendant pressures result in the internal disintegration of the EPRDF. Both appear unlikely, however, certainly in the short-term. Honed by decades of experience fending off rebellions, Ethiopia’s security apparatus is ruthlessly effective – hence the apparent success of the state of emergency. If judged necessary, an even more blistering government crackdown can’t be ruled out.
Ethiopia doesn’t have to fear, according to observers, a military coup: the army is professional, well trained and its higher echelons respect the constitution and harbour no ambitions to rule. But how they might react to some of the worst-case scenarios predicted – Ethiopia descending into civil war or a failed state torn by ethnic strife – is another matter.
Most observers suggest the best way to avoid the worst case scenarios would be to, at a minimum, release all political prisoners, unshackle the media and allow freedom of expression, and begin reforming key institutions that have been found wanting, such as Ethiopia’s judicial system.
When it comes to the EPRDF’s future role in all this, opinions vary. Some say it has lost every shred of legitimacy and must immediate make way for a transitional government. Others say is not feasible nor in Ethiopia’s best interests. Rather, the EPRDF should, in addition to carrying out meaningful reforms, establish a new electoral commission that would guarantee the next local elections in 2018 and national elections in 2020 were freely contested.
“That is the best course of action as it would provide a solution that isn’t orchestrated by the government but which is chosen by the Ethiopian people,” Lidetu says.
BBC Afaan Oromo aims to deliver our journalism in a lively and engaging fashion, with a focus on interactivity and the promotion of content on social media. It is via social media that BBC Afaan Oromo seeks to engage younger and digitally savvy audiences.
Role Responsibility
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The first stage of the interview process will be at the end of January
It is now more than a year since the Oromo Protest for justice and democracy began in Ethiopia. It reverberated throughout Oromia and exposed the regime’s use of brutality to suppress and silence dissenting voices. But instead of waning, the struggle gained momentum when the Amhara youth in Gondar and Bahir Dar came out not only to demand justice for themselves but also carrying slogans asking the regime to stop the killings, arbitrary imprisonments, the torture and forced disappearances of innocent Oromo civilians.
Such protest is not only the first of its kind to vehemently challenge the quarter century uncontested rule of the TPLF dominated EPRDF in Ethiopia, but also has significantly shifted the overall power balance, mindsets and political dynamics in the country. It also inspired other peoples of Ethiopia to rise up for their rights and engaged all Oromo from east to west and from south to north irrespective of age, gender or religion. (The streets in Oromia were overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of protesters including a 77-year-old grandmother who went out with her stick in a brave act of defiance against the regime’s brutality.)
Because the protest has, beyond its initial call against land dispossession, evolved into a struggle for freedom, a resistance against injustice, and a longing for a dignified life, no amount of force or of coercion was able to suppress it, let alone stop it. A year on, it is now safe to conclude that this nationwide protest has already planted itself in the hearts and minds of millions of oppressed people as the most significant event of the year.
The protests and the public debates that followed have also impacted others’ views on the long-standing plights of the Oromo and the Amhara, the two largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Prior to these protests hardly anyone understood, much less publicly recognized, the sacrifices paid by the Oromo and the Amhara to live a dignified life in their own country. Above all, it exposed how successive regimes in Ethiopia have marginalized, denied and robbed these two groups of their ability to develop and flourish as human beings in their own country.
What a demanding public exposed
Inspired by these protests, currently, Ethiopians all over the country are asking their government to protect and respect their economic, social and cultural rights as well as their civil and political rights. But at the same time, the government’s response is helping the people of Ethiopia to realize that it has almost no leadership capacity to respond to their demands. Ethiopians now see that their government is dysfunctional and its leadership in crisis; what exists and functions is a dissonant leadership that exacerbates conflict, driving the society into a downward spiral from frustration to resentment, and perpetuates antagonism and hostility.
Throughout the year, the ruling party has demonstrated no notable leadership capacity; not one political leader has spoken authentically to the hearts and the minds of the people in order to solve the common problem amicably. Instead of making an effort to lead through this crisis and face the challenge by creating an accommodating environment for all Ethiopians, the ruling party cliques have remained empty demagogues who keep on sending divisive messages and wielding their power by fear-mongering techniques.
Beyond the call for freedom and justice, the Oromo and Amhara protests, as well as the defiance in various parts of the country including from the people of Konso in the south and Tigray in the north, have exposed the truth about EPRDF’s leadership capacity, which was mystified by ‘*seventeen years of relentless struggle and tested leadership to defeat the largest military in Africa*’. It is now clear that it is nothing more than an empty ideological rhetoric and a means to frighten, belittle and silence people who ask difficult questions and challenge the system. But that doesn not mean than the rest of Ethiopians do not recognize and appreciate the sacrifices and the agony the Tigray people have paid for seventeen years to oust the military dictatorship. However, it is not hard to see that the TPLF, which was born out of this struggle and had led this protracted war to victory, and the regime it dominates, have turned out to be an authoritarian regime.
There for good or bad
Although the yearlong nationwide protests led by the Oromo and the Amhara, as well as others to various degrees, have exposed the regime’s inability to bring in meaningful political leadership, for good or bad, the TPLF dominated EPRDF is the government in power which, for now, will determine the course of actions to respond to the current struggle for justice and democracy.
There is a possibility that the TPLF dominated EPRDF might take one of the following two courses of actions. Both have a potential to direct or misdirect the current call for democracy and justice in two mutually exclusive directions.
First course of action: road to democratization and peace
The first direction and course of action the TPLF dominated EPRDF may consider is the road to democracy and sustainable peace. However, reversing the current dire political condition and responding to the needs of the people requires it to recognize and understand the need for change; it requires embracing the change and transformation the people want to realize through a democratic process.
Hard as it may be, the following course of actions should precede any other course of action to start the democratization process.
Restore the constitution – build trust and confidence of citizens around the constitution by making it a practical document. Arguably, this means the regime itself should begin respecting the constitution and lead by example.
Scrap laws and policies which are against the constitution and which prevent citizens from exercising their democratic rights enshrined in the constitution. These include, but not limited to, scrapping the Anti-Terrorism Law, which is so far mainly used to silence citizens and violate their rights than persecute suspected terrorists; amending the draconian press law, which is so far used to violate citizens’ right to freedom of expression and access to information; scrapping the Civil Society and Charities Law, which is prohibiting the growth of independent civil society organizations which are the pillars of non-state actors in the development of democracy and human rights in the country.
Release all political prisoners unconditionally. Obviously, once the laws and procedures, which often undermine the constitution, are lifted there is no reason to keep people in prison.
Reform, among others, the justice system, the police, security forces and prison administrations as well as the election board, the anti-corruption commission, the human rights commission, and the state-controlled media.
Possible impact
The ruling party would lose nothing for taking this revolutionary action. In fact, it would help it to breath; to objectively address its current leadership crisis and reemerge as a legitimate political force. It would also provide it with the opportunity to think strategically.
Change is a natural state, which we cannot completely control or make predictable. It is overwhelming and chaotic, but rewarding at the end. The most important step to start the process of change is by being bold, letting go of the old and rigid ways of thinking and governing. The regime in Ethiopia has to come out of its fear of change and see the bigger picture; it should relax its grips on old practices, which did not contribute to its own growth or to that of the rest of the country for the last 25 years.
There is no question that by taking such bold actions, the TPLF dominated EPRDF has a comparative advantage over other political groupings currently operating in the country. As it has shown in the past it can rehabilitate itself quicker than others and appear as a viable political organization in the years to come.
Above all, this action ensures the continuity of the democratization processes by engaging citizens to determine their own future and relieves the existing state-citizen tensions. If this is done, the healing process, as well as the peace and reconciliation process will be relatively easier. Ultimately, this approach also guarantees the existence and continuity of Ethiopia as a nation home to all its citizens.
Implications for a protesting nation
This peaceful democratization process can bring change and transformation to the people of Ethiopia in general and the Oromo in particular, who are the largest ethnic group in the country and have been the driving force of the nationwide protests. As a result, the Oromo struggle for democracy and justice might fall under one of the following two scenarios.
First is the scenario in which Oromo elites, by the virtue of being a middle class, by affiliation to any Oromo-related organization, or by their prior personal experience come together and create a consortium, a democratic front, or a party to lead a meaningful struggle. This may, in turn, render irrelevant disorganized struggles, which often hamper or even take hostage the Oromo struggle for freedom and justice.
The physical and emotional separation and distance of the Oromo elites from the struggle on the ground may at times prevent them from sensing and living the struggle itself. Unless the democratic process on the ground creates room to accommodate all dissenting voices both from within and abroad, those who have the leadership capacity and the necessary political know-how cannot provide adaptive leadership or have the empathetic capacity to connect to the mass, particularly with the young generation that is both leading and shouldering the brunt of the struggle.
The second is a scenario in which the need to phase out the old and replace it with the new thinking and political organization both within the country and abroad takes precedence. The Oromo Protest and the current awakening is a painful form of labor to give birth to a new dynamic and profound political organization fit for the 21st century.
For this new Oromo organization to be born and to become the vanguard of the struggle, all old Oromo organizations, which were and still are trying to contribute under different names and ideologies, have to die a natural death and give way to new thinking and new possibilities. The new will have the energy and capacity to unify and transform the Oromo to a higher level and lead the struggle to victory. Like the TPLF, all Oromo organizations which existed for decades and have tried to contribute, albeit less successfully, have reached their maximum limit and are in need of reform.
The struggle between the old and the new is natural – even our cells are continually dying and being reborn. The Safuvalue, which is unique to Oromo culture and psyche, reaffirms this natural process, which urges the old to peacefully pass the scepter to the new.
Qeerro, the emboldened youth (as the name implies) is currently filling the leadership gap and taking the responsibility of leading the resistance against the current government, even as they are met with brutal responses. The Qeerro is successful in amplifying the struggle to all corners of Oromia and beyond, as well as inspiring all Oromos irrespective of age, religion, gender, class and locality. It has also unified the Oromo under the motto of ‘Tokkummaa’ (oneness or unity) and the ‘Say No’ or ‘Diidnee’ slogan.
Above all, by flying the resistance flag (not the OLF flag) the Qeerro demonstrated that the flag is the sign of freedom for which all revolutionary Oromos sacrificed their lives even long before OLF was created. It has raised this flag because it embodies hope and reminds all Oromos about those beautiful young people who died flying it. Therefore, to lead the struggle to its final destination, the current Qeerro movement is in the stage of development to come out with the new leadership and organization from within its rank and file. Many think that Qeerro is just the network of youth from colleges, high schools, and elementary schools who are just driven by social media. But the fact is there are engineers, professors, medical doctors, businesspeople, and other professionals who are part of the rank and file of the Qeerro.
When the situation is ripe and there is a favorable political environment, the Qeerro can easily transform into a political organization. It is this organization and leadership of the Oromo which can navigate the ship towards freedom through the storm and onto its final destination. It is time this passion gets a new leadership it deserves.
Status quo: The second course of action for TPLF/EPRDF
The above scenario is in the event that the ruling party takes the course to democratize through reform. The second course of action is about maintaining the status quo. But it is a dangerous choice; a choice of war. It is about TPLF/EPRDF refusing to bring change from within itself and the country as a whole.
This is also a choice that looks for easy answers; but it is not the easy way out of the current quagmire. It is easy because it does not require critical thinking and having difficult conversations. This course of action is a decision to repress and silence the current cry for democracy and human rights through the barrel of the gun. It is about war and involving its armed force, intelligence, federal police and militia in the internal issues of the country to brutally suppress the uprising. By doing so, it will only intensify the conflict to a higher level and bring human and property losses to the level the country and the people of Ethiopia can no longer endure.
Unfortunately, this is what we are witnessing today; military forces killing, arresting and torturing citizens on behalf of a regime in power. The impending consequence is that they will never be regarded as a national army delegated to protect the constitution, and will be labeled only as the enemy of the people.
In addition to its military solution to the conflict, TPLF/EPRDF is getting into its age-old habit of manipulating and drawing other nations and nationalities into a civil war; perpetuate religious conflict in different places by pitting one religion against the other; and create conflicts between rural people/farmers and urban dwellers. But it should be known that this will benefit no one, including the ruling party itself.
What is next?
Inspired by the yearlong Oromo and Amhara protests the rest of Ethiopians have made it loud and clear that they need a fundamental change; they have been saying so for 25 years, too. Ethiopians have tried with all their might and used every means possible to make their voices heard and have time and again proclaimed a moment of reckoning for a paradigm shift. Alas, instead of objectively and purposefully responding to this popular demand, the government is stuck into its old tactics of blaming, accusing, and intimidating people.
Now in a frantic act to quell and pacify the protests and silence the voices of the oppressed, in October this year the government declared a state of emergency for six months. However, the state of emergency is doing more harm than good and its implementation is driving millions to the edge of bitterness. The sooner the ruling party realizes that such techniques are only good to temporarily pacify rising public demands, the better. The only road to bring lasting solution is the road that begins by protecting the constitution and striving to build a democratic country with respect for human rights and the rule of law. This is also true for opposition political organizations, which are operating both in the country and abroad.
The underlying cause for the current protest and uprising is the struggle between the old and the new. The old is trying to do everything in its capacity to extend its life while the new is striving to shape and realize the new world it is envisioning.
For the good of all, the old (self and system) has to be courageous enough to accept and let go of its old organization, thinking, and power; it has to accept the inevitable.
The people of Ethiopia in general and the Oromo youth in particular, are determined to leave the past behind and move forward. They don’t want to be chained to and distracted by the past, which contributes less for the wellbeing of today and humanity of tomorrow.
Only when the old gives way to the new do citizens develop trust and confidence in a political system and themselves to take the responsibility of contributing to a democratic society and prosperous nation.
A painting of Silver Olympian Feyisa Lelisa crossing the finish line at Rio Olympics showing the symbol with crossed arms.It’s symbolizes the oppression of the Oromo people showing how their hands are tied without the need of handcuffs. This courageous act done by Lelisa has brought attention to the protest that is going on in Ethiopia by the Oromo and Amhara people. This painting was by the Oromo Student Union at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Washington Avenue Bridge. Photo: Asanti Bekele
Oromo and Ethiopian Oromo South students are in grief and sadness over the government corruption that is going on back home. Some have migrated here only a few years ago and some have been born here, but the impact breaks the heart either way. It’s a devastating time in the history of Ethiopia, as the long time hidden oppression has been revealed to the world.
It was November of 2015, and the Oromo people of Ethiopia said enough and started to protest. Oromo people are the biggest ethnic group in Ethiopia and they have been the oppressed region over land, politics and even language since the start of the current government. According to BBC News, as of August 2016, over 500 people have been killed by the government and more than 10,000 have been arrested.
Ethiopia is a country located in the horn of Africa with 9 different regional states and with over 80 different ethnic groups. The main participants in this protest are in the Tigray and Oromia region. Tigray is located in the northern part of Ethiopia and is the 5th most populated region with over 5,000,000 people. This region has a government party named Tigray Peoples Liberation Front.
Oromia is located in the west and central part of Ethiopia. The capital city of Ethiopia which is called Addis Ababa is located in the heart of Oromia. The land of the city is owned and controlled by the government of Ethiopia. Although it’s the biggest ethnic group in the country, the people don’t have much say in the government actions.
As an Oromo student in America that lived in Ethiopia for more than half of my life, I have not been able to voice my opinions about the government until I came here. Part of the problem was that I never knew that the government was corrupt until I was 12 years old. In school, my classmates and I were always taught about the constitution, what rights we have and how we were free to practice them.
The things I learned in school and the things I saw in my community didn’t correspond. I used to go to a k-8 school and the high school students were protesting and the security forces were beating and nearly killing the students. I was taught that people can protest about anything and were free to address their worries about the government, but when I asked why isn’t anybody protesting or voicing their worries the response I got from my teacher was “because the people don’t see any wrong in the system, they are happy,” and I believed it.
I was taught to believe that the system was perfect but there was no way to find out if it’s really true. Every time there would be an anti-government event going on, the news would report that the civilians were the one who did wrong. The government controls anything and everything that is released to the public. Among other things, the government controlled any opposing parties too.
Oromia also has a government party named Oromo Liberation Front. This party was banned in 1992 by the government, to prevent and discourage the voices of the Oromo people in the parliament. The government then created a different party called the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization. Although this party was supposed to represent the Oromo people, events show that they have not been successful.
The anti-government demonstrations started when the government announced that the so-called “Master Plan”. This “Master Plan” concept was to expand the capital city, without the consideration of the Oromo people’s lands. This plan could have displaced many people and would have taken the farm lands that are essential to the people’s survival. According to The Guardian, in January 2016, two months after the protest, the government called the plan off after talking with representatives and stated that they have “huge respect” for the protesters who were opposed to the plan.
“They have a constitutional right to protest but the government started shooting at these people,” said Sophomore Ayantu Hundessa.
Hundessa is an Oromo student at South. She was born and raised in Ethiopia and only came to America in middle school. Hundessa has been interested in the problems back home and has tried acting on it by creating a humanities project focused on this topic to inform her peers and teachers and to bring attention to this injustice.
The violence in Ethiopia has had a strong impact on Hundessa and her family.
“There are times when we watch little 5-year-old kids covered with blood on the news and cry,” said Hundessa.“I mean looking at any kid, no matter his identity covered with blood is very disturbing. My family would give up their life to stop this genocide.”
Although the “Master Plan” was called off, there were bigger problems that were the root cause of the protests. There was still questions about the actions the government took while the protests against the plan. Before they called it off they had already killed and arrested over 140 people. They didn’t address that in the statement they made when canceling the plan. After a while, the second ethnic group, the Amhara joined the demonstration.
The bigger problem in the country of Ethiopia is that the same government party called Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front has been in power for over 20 years. This particular party is the second edition of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front party, so that makes the majority of the government officials, the Tigray people. With the Oromo people making up 34.4% of the population and the Amhara people making up 27%, the Tigray people are still in power of the whole country despite only making up 6% of the population.
Although Ethiopia is recognized as a country which has democracy, the actions of the government says otherwise. Every time a civilian has tried to practice their human rights that are also written in the country’s constitution, they face unacceptable consequences.
According to a Humans Rights Watch report, since 1992 the security forces have arrested 10,000 of Oromo people accusing them of supporting or being a member of the Oromo Liberation Front. These prisoners are now known as terrorists, since the former Prime Minister passed the draconian anti-terrorism law in 2011.
Most of the world has only been hearing about this issues since the summer of this year during the summer Olympics in Rio. After crossing the finish line in 2nd place, an Ethiopian marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa held his hands in a crossed sign. Crossed hand signs have been the symbol that is used for the Oromo protest. Lilesa is considered a hero to speak about this topic while knowing what kind danger he’s in.
Lilesa has stated in various interviews that he will not plan to go back to Ethiopia because people like him who speak out, get killed or arrested. “I know I can’t go back to Ethiopia after this,” said Lilesa in a Washington Post interview. “The government has said I would be safe if I return, but I know I will be killed, arrested, or blocked from leaving the country ever again.”
The family and friends of the South students are still living in Ethiopia and are being killed in their fight for survival. “I’m so worried for the people. I’m so sad that protesting is costing people their lives,” said Senior Tinsae Mekonnen. “The government has such little respect for their people and are willing to be reckless with lives. It also makes me mad that they can’t exercise their rights to speak freely on issues that concern their own homes and families.”
Mekonnen is a first generation immigrant, meaning her parents have come to America before she was born here. Mekonnen identifies as Amhara, and Ethiopian. She has visited Ethiopia several times.
Although the reasons to for the government to act this way toward its own people is complicated, some experts think that the government will do anything to not lose the power they once won over. The opinions of the South students deliver much deeper reasons.
In my opinion, the reason to why the government keeps acting this way is because they have been bloodthirsty for power before and still are. They think they are somehow superior to the people of other tribes than Tigray. They think if they won once, they deserve to be entitled to win each time. They have set their goal once will never stop until they reach it. Whether they have to destroy every single body in front of them or even destroy a whole group.
The killings in Ethiopia have been just an everyday occurrence to the government. “It’s become dirtier and I feel like they’ve become desensitized to the killings and serious damage they’ve done to their people,” said Mekonnen.
The government has been using the resource found in the Oromia region and have not given any kind of benefits to the Oromo people. Even before the protest “the government has been using resources found in the Oromo region and [the] Tigray Liberation Front has been leading for 25 years, so the Oromo people didn’t really have a voice in the government,” said Hundessa. “After this happened I think abusing their power and their actions are very cruel and brutal.”
Recently, according to Al Jazeera, nearly 100 people were killed in the Oromia and Amhara region in a recent three-day protest by security forces and over 50 people killed at a religious celebration in Oromia on October 2. Over 20 prisons, were dead because of a fire accident as reported by the government. Critics say it’s just a cover up for the actual group responsible, security forces.
The biggest platform for the movement in Ethiopia has been social media, especially Facebook. Many participants in the protest who are currently living in and outside Ethiopia have used the #oromoprotest to spread awareness. As of August,2016 another ethnic group has joined the protest and has been known with the #amharaprotest.
Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on October 9, 2016. Since then, internet access has been banned, people cannot watch certain TV channels, especially the ones that are about Ethiopia but are created in another country. The government has also has banned most forms of protest, and people are not allowed to show a political gesture as Lelisa did at the Olympic finish line, along many other restrictions.
Having these restrictions has made it harder now to shine attention on the genocide in Ethiopia.This historical event in Ethiopia has just begun and there still is much to do before it’s resolved.
This topic at South has not been discussed nor brought up in anyway. Having nobody noticing what is going on back home, what our families back home are dealing with is sad. Hopefully after this article, the student body and the staff can take time to recognize that their classmates are grieving inside while showing a normal face in class.
“Our social media outlets are a big tool, when I talk about it out loud, I see that not really that many people care,” said Mekonnen.
“It feels like such an ignored topic and since it doesn’t concern America, it’s been put on the burner. We need to let our friends know then let those friends talk about it more and spread our ideas through that way.”
The State Department continues to warn U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Ethiopia due to the potential for civil unrest related to sporadic and unpredictable anti-government protests that began in November 2015. The U.S. Embassy’s ability to provide consular services in many parts of the country may be limited without warning due to the government’s restrictions on mobile and internet communications and the unpredictable nature of the current security situation. This replaces the Travel Warning of October 21, 2016.
The Government of Ethiopia declared a State of Emergency effective October 8, 2016 that includes provisions allowing for the arrest of individuals without a court order for activities they may otherwise consider routine, such as communication, consumption of media, attending gatherings, engaging with certain foreign governments or organizations, and violating curfews. Additionally, the Government of Ethiopia routinely does not inform the U.S. Embassy of detentions of U.S. citizens in Ethiopia. The full text of the decreeimplementing the State of Emergency is available on the U.S. Embassy’s website.
Internet, cellular data, and phone services have been periodically restricted or shut down without warning throughout the country, impeding the U.S. Embassy’s ability to communicate with U.S. citizens in Ethiopia. You should have alternate communication plans in place, and let your family and friends know this may be an issue while you are in Ethiopia. See the information below on how to register with the U.S. Embassy to receive security messages.
Avoid demonstrations and large gatherings, continuously assess your surroundings, and evaluate your personal level of safety. Remember that the government may use force and live fire in response to demonstrations, and that even gatherings intended to be peaceful can be met with a violent response or turn violent without warning. U.S. citizens in Ethiopia should monitor their security situation and have contingency plans in place in case you need to depart suddenly.
If you are living in or intending to travel to Ethiopia, please refer to the Safety and Security section of the Country Specific Information for Ethiopiafor additional useful information.
Due to the unpredictability of communication in the country, the Department of State strongly advises U.S. citizens to register your mobile number with the U.S. Embassy to receive security information via text or SMS, in addition to enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
Contact the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia, located on Entoto Street in Addis Ababa, at +251-11-130-6000 from 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday-Thursday. After-hours emergency number for U.S. citizens is+251-11-130-6911 or 011-130-6000.
Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
By David H. Shinn, Adjunct Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is experiencing its most serious governance and security challenge since it took power in 1991. It dealt successfully with the Eritrean-Ethiopian war from 1998 to 2000, managed to avoid destruction during an internal party schism at the beginning of this century, and papered over a serious political crisis in the aftermath of the 2005 national elections.
The current situation is different. It is a grassroots protest movement centered in Oromia but with manifestations in other parts of the country. Unlike the 2005 post-election crisis, the protests are not being driven by opposition political parties but mostly by individuals with local grievances and, in some cases, long-standing concerns that the EPRDF does not allow sufficient space to express dissent. Today, there is less freedom of the press and openness in Ethiopia’s political system than when I served as ambassador from 1996 to 1999.
The protests in 2016 have occurred in spite of impressive economic growth and infrastructure improvements orchestrated by the EPRDF over the past fifteen years. However, this raises the question whether these achievements in the economy are benefiting the peasant farmer and urban laborer. Part of the problem is that any government, irrespective of its success in managing the economy, begins to wear out its welcome after 25 years in power. There is also the perception of growing corruption in the political system, another common characteristic of parties that remain in power for so many years.
Ethiopia’s high population growth rate, which adds each year to the population between one and two million people, also creates strains in society. The massive expansion of primary, secondary, and, especially, tertiary education, which should be considered an EPRDF success story, has led at the same time to significant youth unemployment or under employment. Even the rapidly growing economy has not been able to employ many of these young people. Each year, an estimated 600,000 Ethiopians enter the work force. That is more than the population of Luxembourg and not a whole lot less than the population of Djibouti.
The diversity and size of Ethiopia add to the governance challenges. The second most populous country in Africa, Ethiopia has some 85 ethnic groups and important religious divisions among Orthodox, Protestants, and Muslims. While religion does not seem to be a significant factor in the 2016 protests, it has contributed to outbreaks of violence in recent years. In the minds of some, ethnic federalism has played a role in the protests, although others argue that ethnic federalism is a positive force. At a minimum, it is clear that ethnic identity continues to be important in Ethiopia’s political process.
You can add to these challenges the fact that Ethiopia is undergoing a generational shift. This development has a potential positive side because the younger generation appears to be less influenced by the prejudices and shibboleths of the older generation. The question is, however, whether enough new blood can move into positions of power before the political system unravels.
The EPRDF response to the crisis so far has been largely the historical Ethiopian response of repressive security measures. The EPRDF announced in January that it would scrap the Addis Ababa master plan that called for expanding the capital into surrounding farms. This was one of the demands of the Oromo protesters but was seen by many as too little, too late. As the protests expanded, the EPRDF increased the number of detentions and arrests, announced a state of emergency in October, and then released 2,000 detainees at the end of October. A cabinet reshuffle took place at the beginning of November.
In mid-November the EPRDF acknowledged that it was still holding 11,000 persons while one of the opposition political parties claimed the number of detainees was 60,000 and deaths had reached 1,500 over the past year. The response to the protests by the EPRDF has been piecemeal, erratic, and disjointed.
All of these issues are exacerbated by several cultural characteristics that I believe are common in the Ethiopian highlands. The concept of compromise appears to be nearly anathema to highlanders. There is a tendency to believe that you must be 100 percent for a position and, if not, you are by definition against it. There is little or no middle ground. This makes it exceedingly difficult to resolve differences. The EPRDF leadership also operates under a high degree of secrecy. There is little transparency in the decision-making process. This contributes to miscalculations by those who mistakenly interpret what the EPRDF is doing.
The question is where does the EPRDF go from here. This is obviously a question for Ethiopians to answer. The EPRDF says it is ready to reform the electoral process. As an outside observer and friend of Ethiopia, I would encourage both supporters and detractors of the EPRDF to take the EPRDF at its word and pursue vigorously electoral reform. A place to start is the municipal elections in 2018. A completely revamped political process that levels the political playing field would, I believe, go a long way to defuse the current crisis. While accommodating the concerns of the large Oromo and Amhara populations, it is also imperative to take into account the fears of the eighty plus smaller ethnic groups in Ethiopia.
(EP) DROI, Elena Valenciano (S&D, ES), made the following statement:
“On 30 November Ethiopian security forces detained the chairman of the Ethiopian opposition party ‘Oromo Federalist Congress’ (OFC), Professor Merera Gudina, shortly after his arrival in
Addis Ababa.
Prof. Merera was returning from Brussels where – together with other Ethiopian activists and the Olympian athlete Feyisa Lellisa – he had had a meeting with MEPs on 9 November 2016.
I urge the Ethiopian Government to make public any charges it has brought against Prof. Merera and I will continue to follow his case very closely.
The European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution on the violent crackdown on protesters in January 2016, which requested that the Ethiopian authorities stop using anti-terrorism legislation to repress political opponents, dissidents, human rights defenders, other civil society actors and independent journalists.
Since January 2016 the human rights situation in Ethiopia has not improved at all. Human Rights Watch reports that security forces have killed more than 500 people during protests over the course of 2016. Moreover the state of emergency has led to further significant restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and assembly. I therefore reiterate Parliament’s demands as set out in its resolution.
The European Parliament is aware of the difficult situation in Ethiopia and stresses the need to continue to support the Ethiopian people.”
International Oromo Lawyers Association (IOLA) Press Release on the Arrest of Professor Merera Gudina
5 December, 2016
The International Oromo Lawyers Association (IOLA) expresses its deepest concern over the detention of prominent Oromo/Ethiopian opposition leader professor Merera Gudina, a Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) and Vice-Chairman of the Coalition of Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (MEDREK)).
The Ethiopian government detained prof. Gudina, upon his arrival from Europe where he was addressing the European Parliament in Brussels. He was invited by the EU parliament to brief the MPs on the current situation in Ethiopia in general and the effect of the recently declared state of emergency in particular.
According to the information available to us from the official government media outlet, prof. Gudina was arrested because of his violation of Article 1 of the country’s two-month old State of Emergency decree which, in total contradiction to the nation’s constitution, seriously curtailed citizens’ fundamental right to freedom of expression and assembly. Allegedly, Prof. Merera, was accused of meeting at the EU with official of the so called “terrorist organization” namely Ginbot-7, who was also invitee of the EU MPs.
IOLA is of the opinion that Prof. Merera committed no crime but exercised his fundamental freedom to movement, freedom of expression and assembly as guaranteed in the Constitution of Ethiopia. But invoking terms of the Martial law to detain and subsequently prosecute a citizen is contrary to letters and sprits of international Human Rights Conventions governing aspects of state behaviors during emergency situation.
The imprisonment of Prof. Merera is not an exception. Almost the entire party officials of Oromo Federalist Congress – OFC, has already been imprisoned including the Deputy Chairman of the party, Mr. Bekele Gerba who is in his second round of detention for no other reason than exercising his fundamental human rights as guaranteed in the Constitution.. During his speech at the European Parliament, Prof. Merera also indicated that over 60,000 innocent Oromo civilians are currently detained in several military camps in different parts of the country, following the declaration of state of emergency.
It is with this in mind that IOLA calls on the Ethiopian government to immediately release prof. Merera without any precondition unless otherwise it is proven that he indeed committed a common crime, in which case, the government has to officially charge him with such a crime and bring him to justice.
IOLA calls on friendly government and the international community to intervene in whatever possible means to ensure that prof. Merera’s fundamental human rights are respected as stipulated in the nation’s Constitution of 1995 and demand his release without delay.
OLA stands ready to provide necessary professional support needed in this respect.
Ethiopia: Murders and Mass Incarcerations Cannot Fix the Deep Human Rights Crisis
HRLHA Press Release
December 4, 2016
The TPLF/EPRDF government boldly demonstrated its dictatorial behavior by arresting the Oromo Federalist Congress Leader Dr. Merera Giddina on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 under the pretext that he had met with the other opposition political party-G7 leaders that the TPLF labeled as a terrorist group. Dr. Merera Gudina has been taken to Maikelawi investigation Center with the other two men , Taye Negera and Kumala, both of whom live in the same home, according to HRLHA Informants. The Maikelawi Investigation Center In Addis Ababa is the TPLF Torture – House known as “Ethiopian Guntanamo”
Dr. Merera Guddina
The Government spokesman Negeri Lencho said in his briefing to journalists on December 2, 2016 “Dr. Merera Guddina has been arrested because he violated the State of Emergency rules by contacting outlawed opposition party leaders in Brussels”. Dr. Merera Guddina and Professor Berhanu Nega, the G7 Leaders had been invited by the EU parliament to Brussels to attend the Conference on the Ethiopian current political crisis sponsored by the European Parliament. In the conference, many stakeholders participated and shared their views on the current Ethiopian political crisis. The TPLF/EPRDF has no legal grounds on which to criminalize Dr. Merera Guddina- unless the TPLF government labelled the conference sponsor, the EU, as a terrorist group.
Meanwhile, the TPLF/EPRDF government of Ethiopia continues terrorizing the people of Oromia and Amhara Regional States by murdering and detaining them. Since the mass movement began in Oromia in November 2015 and later spread to Amhara Regional state, thousands have been killed, tens of thousands detained and other thousands have disappeared. The TPLF government mishandled the peaceful protests in both regional states where both nations demanded their rights to fair treatment, stopping the land grabs and marginalization.
After ten months of unrest in the country, the TPLF/EPRDF declared a state of Emergency on October 8, 2016. The TPLF killing squad Agazi force was deployed with full authorization into Oromia and Amhara Regional States to commit killings, incarcerations, rapes and steal money and valuables. Although there has been no single section of society that the Ethiopian TPLF/EPRDF regime has spared in the past one year, since last November Oromo youths in particular have become the prime targets of TPLF killing squad attacks. Several Oromo youths from universities, colleges and high schools have been disappeared by the TPLF killing squads. As a result, Oromia is losing many brilliant young men and women at the hands of TPLF murderers every day. This is putting future generations at risk.
HRLHA informants report that the TPLF/EPRDF killing squad Agazi force continues to abduct Oromo youths from universities, colleges, highschools, homes and workplaces on a daily basis. The HRLHA has received from its informants In south Oromia, Bule Hora District, Guji Zone and Ada’a Berga District East Showa Zone information that a number of Oromo youths have been picked up at night and have been taken to an unknown destination by the Agazi force.
The following are among the many Oromo youths abducted by TPLF forces on November 29, 30, 2016 and taken to an unknown destination
Under remembering from the past, the HRLHA will try to highlight the human rights violations reported by HRLHA and other human rights organizations against Oromo youths in the past ten years which continue to the present.
The TPLF/EPRDF government has been targeting Oromo youth since the Oromo youth peaceful revolt against subjugation started in Oromia in 2005.
The following is a summary of Oromo students killed, imprisoned, and disappeared by TPLF/EPRDF security forces in different universities in 2006
June 2006, Mekele, Tigrai: 44 Oromo Students of Mekele University Were Denied Certificates After Graduation Reason – In April, 2006 a Tigrean student, who was attending Adama University, committed suicide. However, Tigrean residents of Mekele were told that he was murdered by Oromo students of the university
August 2006, Haromaya University, E. Hararge: at Least 42 Detained and Then Dismissed Reason – In August 2006, following clashes between Oromo and other students caused by a student wearing a t-shirt carrying a derogatory anti-Oromo slogan, security forces attacked Oromo students at Haromaya University, E. Hararge. Only Oromo students were held for two months and dismissed from the university. At least 42 were detained and then dismissed, (OSG Report, No. 43)
August 2006, Adama University: Clash Among Students Spread to Adama University and more Oromo Students Dismissed Reason – The clash has spread to Jimma University. In this clash, which was clearly instigated to pit Oromo students against Amhara students, at least 10 lives were lost, at least 30 students from Adama, and 23 from Jimma University, were expelled. (IOYA report, November 2006
September 17, 2006, Ginchi, W. Shoa: Two Students Abducted and Disappeared
Students Bakala Dalasa and Habirru Birru were taken at night from their residence in Ginchi, W. Showa, around 7:00 PM local time, and have disappeared. (OSG report No. 43)
November 7, 2006, Mekele, Tigrai: A 3rd Year Student Strangled to Death
Shibiru Demisse Bati, a 24 year-old Oromo third-year history student, was strangled to death at Mekele University in Tigrai. Shibiru, from Siba Yesus Peasant Association, Homa, near Gimbi, Wallega, was attacked on November 4, 2006, after being dragged out of his room when the power was turned off at the university. Tensions had been growing between security forces and Oromo students in Tigrai since graduation certificates were denied to those students who had been vocal about the government’s disregard of human rights in Oromia Region.(Ethio-Tribune, November 7, 2006, and Oromo Menschenrechts- und Hilfsorganisation (OMRHO), December 2006)
December 2006, Harar, Eastern Hararge: at Least 6 Students Detained
The following Secondary School students were detained in September 2006 in and around Harar, E. Hararge. Known to be held in Harar were Murad Ahmedand Ramadan Abdella, whereas RamadanGalile, Abdi Amma, Kadir Rabsa and Dhakaba Bakar were taken to an unknown location.(OSG report No. 43)
The HRLHA tirelessly continues to express its deepest concerns regarding the human misery taking place in Ethiopia in general and in Oromia and Amhara Regional States in particular and appeals to the world community to take tangible action to stop more bloodshed in Ethiopia by putting pressure on the TPLF- led Ethiopian government
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Under remembering from the past, the HRLHA highlights the human rights violations reported by HRLHA and other human rights organizations against Oromo youths in the past ten years which continue to the present.
Oromian Economist 
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