Ethiopia in Crisis Brief: February 20,2018

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The Ethiopian political crisis heightened after a state of emergency was declared late Friday. This comes a day after the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn abruptly resigned following three years of unrest in the country. Mr. Hailemariam came to power in 2012 after the death of Meles Zenawi, who had presided over the country since 1991.

Former Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn

According to state broadcaster EBC, The measure was announced on Friday by the Council of Ministers, the Ethiopian government's cabinet. The six-month state of emergency, the second in 18 months, is meant to quell the unrest. During the state of emergency, there will also be a ban on protests and publications that incite violence.

The council of ministers, who make up the cabinet, decided the state of emergency was required because of “violations of the security of the state that are a threat to the common good of the people, the government, the private sector and the rule of law”.

The protests began in 2014 by the Oromo, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, over opposition to a controversial plan to expand the capital, Addis Ababa. The Oromo claimed that the threatened the sovereignty of their communities in the Oromia region on the edges of the capital.

Oromo people protest against the government

But the governing Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a regime that has been described as authoritarian, responded to the peaceful protests with brute force provoking outrage and further protests, which spread to the Amhara region. The protests eventually spread to the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region in the south of the country.Activists from the Amhara and Oromia regions had been complaining about political and economic marginalization.

Mulatu Gemechu, deputy secretary of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, said Ethiopia needed a completely new political system after years of unrest. “Ethiopians now need a government that respects their rights, not one that keeps beating and killing them,” he said.

The government was accused of killing hundreds of protesters and jailing thousands more. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says 669 people died. In their report, they praised security forces for showing restraint in some instances and blamed diaspora groups for the trouble.The report also listed land rights, corruption, unemployment and bad governance as reasons for the widespread protests.

The government has also released opposition leaders, journalists, and protesters from its notorious prisons. They have released 6000 prisoners since the start of the year. Many have also had the charges against them dropped. Among them were opposition leader Bekele Gerba, of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) and journalist Eskinder Nega.

Opposition leader, Bekele Gerba of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC)

Mr. Gerba, while speaking to reporters said, "Many well-known people who fought and struggled for freedom and defended their country are still in prison, still suffering and crying."Bekele himself was arrested in December 2015 after mass protests broke out over the use of land in Ethiopia's biggest province, Oromia.

Human Rights group, Amnesty International welcomed the move.Deputy regional director Sarah Jackson in a statement said, "We hope the release of this courageous journalist [Eskinder Nega], along with hundreds of other prisoners, heralds a new dawn in the Ethiopian government's handling of political dissent, a dawn of tolerance and respect for human rights...The authorities must also take steps to reform the legal system under which arbitrary detentions and torture of dissidents have been allowed to flourish."

There has also been a postponement of talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia on the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project on the river Nile. Trilateral talks between ministers and intelligence officials were due to take place on 24-25 February in Khartoum, Sudan, but Sudanese officials on Saturday said they would be postponed, on a request from Ethiopia.

The talks between the three countries broke down in November but there has been a diplomatic uptick as all the parties seek a consensus.

Ethiopia’s government is dominated by the ethnic Tigray, who make up six percent of the population. They have been in power for over 25 years. They control the security apparatus and the country’s parliament has no single opposition member.

It is to be seen what will happen to Ethiopia in the coming months. Will the country disintegrate to smaller nations as different ethnicities seek autonomy or will the ruling party cave in and allow for greater representation and control by the marginalized groups ?