2016–2018 Ethiopian state of emergency

Last updated
2016–2018 Ethiopian state of emergency
Emblem of Ethiopia.svg
Date9 October 2016 – 5 June 2018
Location Ethiopia
Cause 2014–2016 Oromo protests
Outcome
  • Extended twice, on 28 March 2017 and 15 February 2018 [1] [2]
  • Lifted by Abiy Ahmed administration

A state of emergency was declared on 9 October 2016 by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, after de facto taking effect the previous day. [3] The state of emergency authorized the military to enforce security nationwide. [4] It imposed restrictions on freedom of speech and access to information. [5] The duration was initially announced for six months. The Constitution of Ethiopia provides for a six-month state of emergency under certain conditions. [6] The declaration of the state of emergency followed massive protests by the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups against the government, which was dominated by the Tigray People's Liberation Front, largely consisting of Tigrayans, a smaller ethnic group. [7] The 2016 state of emergency was the first in about 25 years in Ethiopia. [8] In March 2017, Ethiopia's parliament voted to extend the state of emergency for another four months. [9]

Contents

Historical background

After the downfall of Mengistu Haile Mariam's military regime in 1991, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front took over the state. The first thing it did was implement a Federal system of government in the country, a difficult task because the country was a unitary state for more than three thousand years. After implementing the federal system, [10] there was different ethnic based conflicts over natural resources, lands, and others factors.

A couple of months before the state of emergency was declared, U.S. State Department officials criticized Ethiopia (historically a strong ally) for how it was dealing with protestors. U.S. Ambassador on human rights Tom Malinkowski wrote (in remarks later attributed to Secretary of State Kerry by the L.A. Times) "security forces have continued to use excessive force to prevent Ethiopians from congregating peacefully, killing and injuring many people and arresting thousands." [11] [12]

Oromo opposition and Amhara resistance

After 25 years of leading this country, the Ethiopian government is facing opposition from all directions of the country. The two major ethnic groups—the Oromo and the Amhara—together represent approximately 61.4% of the country’s population, [13] and the Oromo started a resistance movement against the Tigray-dominated government that began in November 2015. [14] This movement went to different parts of the country. Corruption, poor administration, injustice, lack of equal economic benefits and losing their land in the name of investments are some of the causes that triggered the movement. The situation with the opposition became particularly difficult in October 2016. Due to corruption in the country, human rights violations and lack of equal economic benefits, the opposition has been accepted by most protesters. On October 2, there was an annual Oromo religious festival called Irreechaa, a festival where people from the entire Oromia region come and give thanks to their God in a city named Bishoftu. Bishoftu is approximately 50 km (30 miles) from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. During this festival people all Oromo people come to give thanks to their god. In this event, people started shouting and showing different signs and protesting the government. [15] Police fired tear gas into a crowd of people protesting the government at this festival, which was attended by approximately two million people; this resulted in a stampede and more than 50 deaths. [16]

FDRE constitution

According to the Ethiopian constitution, the council of ministers has the power to declare the State of Emergency under three conditions: 1) during foreign invasion, 2) during a natural disaster or natural epidemic, and 3) when there is a breakdown of the country’s law and regulation which will endanger the constitutional order. [17]

Impacts

The declaration of State of Emergency creates fear in most people. Most adults in the country have a bad experience with states of emergency. During the dictatorial Derg regime the government used violence to quell dissent. [18] There was a state of emergency in which they put curfews on cities. During this time, the police went to different houses and did whatever they wanted. Due to this bad memory, most people get home early. Whereas, others have said “it’s a key to safety”, and the country’s security became better after the declaration of the state of emergency. However, most business in big cities of the country have decreased due to the blockage of internet services. Tourist traffic outside the capital city, Addis Ababa, decreases due to different security reasons. Additionally, most people who live in cities prefer to stay home or go home early rather than working. Most economists also predict that this declaration will highly affect the income of the only internet service provider in the country called Ethio telecom.

Restrictions on communication

The government tightened restrictions on internet use during the state of emergency. The government shut down the internet for several days, criminalized reporting on protests via social media, and criminalized communicating with exiled dissidents (which are classified by the government as terrorists). [19]

Arrests, releases and trials

Within two weeks of announcing a state of emergency, the government, by its own count had arrested 1,645 people. [20] Merera Gudina, an Oromo opposition leader, was arrested after testifying before the European Parliament. [21] [22] On November 12, 2016 the government announced the names and reasons for arrest for 11,067 people who were arrested. [23] In late December, Voice of America reported that the government was releasing over 9,000 people who had been arrested since the start of the state of emergency; the government planned to arraign 2,449 others. [24] Deutsche Welle reported in February 2017 that the government claims 20,000 people are arrested in Oromia, while opposition groups claim 70,000 people are arrested; the government has indicated it will release 22,000 prisoners, having released 11,000 prisoners on February 3. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Ethiopia</span> Administrative units of Ethiopia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oromia</span> Regional state of Ethiopia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oromo Liberation Front</span> Oromo nationalist political party in Ethiopia

The Oromo Liberation Front is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and Oromia Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. The OLF has offices in Addis Ababa, Washington, D.C. and Berlin from where it operates Amharic and Oromo radio stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transitional Government of Ethiopia</span> 1991–1995 provisional government of Ethiopia

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The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014–2016 Oromo protests</span> Civil uprising in Ethiopia

The 2014–2016 Oromo protests were a series of protests and resistance first sparked on 25 April 2014. The initial actions were taken in opposition to the Addis Ababa Master Plan, and resumed on 12 November 2015 by university students and farmers in the town of Ginchi, located 80 km southwest of Addis Ababa, encircled by the Oromia region. The plan was to expand the capital into the Oromia special zone, leading to fears that native Oromo farmers would lose their land and be displaced. The plan was later dropped but protests continued, highlighting issues such as marginalization and human rights. Mulatu Gemechu, deputy chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, expressed to Reuters: "so far, we have compiled a list of 33 protesters killed by armed security forces that included police and soldiers but I am very sure the list will grow". Protesters demanded social and political reforms, including an end to human rights abuses like government killings of civilians, mass arrests, government land seizures, and political marginalization of opposition groups. The government responded by restricting access to the internet and attacking as well as arresting protesters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oromo conflict</span> Armed conflict between Oromo Liberation Front and the Ethiopian government

The Oromo conflict is a protracted conflict between the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ethiopian government. The Oromo Liberation Front formed to fight the Ethiopian Empire to liberate the Oromo people and establish an independent state of Oromia. The conflict began in 1973, when Oromo nationalists established the OLF and its armed wing, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). These groups formed in response to prejudice against the Oromo people during the Haile Selassie and Derg era, when their language was banned from public administration, courts, church and schools, and the stereotype of Oromo people as a hindrance to expanding Ethiopian national identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Ethiopian general election</span>

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The Burayu massacre was a series of communal clashes which occurred in the vicinity of the Ethiopian town of Burayu, in the Oromia Region, on 14–16 September 2018. Individuals from the Oromo and Dorze ethnicities fought in and around Burayu, a town in Oromia Region which is located near the northwest boundary of Addis Ababa, the federal capital. Different sources cite number of civilians killed both from Oromo and non-Oromo ethnicity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hachalu Hundessa riots</span> 2020 civil unrest in Oromia Region, Ethiopia

The Hachalu Hundessa riots were a series of civil unrest that occurred in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, more specifically in the hot spot of Addis Ababa, Shashamene and Ambo following the killing of the Oromo musician Hachalu Hundessa on 29 June 2020. The riots lead to the deaths of at least 239 people according to initial police reports. Peaceful protests against Hachalu's killing have been held by Oromos abroad as well. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found in its 1 January 2021 full report that part of the killings were a crime against humanity, with deliberate, widespread systematic killing of civilians by organised groups. The EHRC counted 123 deaths, 76 of which it attributed to security forces.

Music and politics have been closely intertwined throughout the history of Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic discrimination in Ethiopia</span> Ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia during the 20th and 21st centuries

Ethnic discrimination in Ethiopia during and since the Haile Selassie epoch has been described using terms including "racism", "ethnification", "ethnic identification, ethnic hatred, ethnicization", and "ethnic profiling". During the Haile Selassie period, Amhara elites perceived the southern minority languages as an obstacle to the development of an Ethiopian national identity. Ethnic discrimination occurred during the Haile Selassie and Mengistu Haile Mariam epochs against Hararis, Afars, Tigrayans, Eritreans, Somalis and Oromos. Ethnic federalism was implemented by Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) leader Meles Zenawi and discrimination against Amharas, Ogaden, Oromos and other ethnic groups continued during TPLF rule. Liberalisation of the media after Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in 2018 led to strengthening of media diversity and strengthening of ethnically focussed hate speech. Ethnic profiling targeting Tigrayans occurred during the Tigray War that started in November 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present)</span> Episode of intrastate conflicts during Abiy Ahmeds administration

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">OLA insurgency</span> Internal conflict in Ethiopia since 2018

The OLA insurgency is an armed conflict between the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which split from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in 2018, and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), continuing in the context of the long-term Oromo conflict, typically dated to have started with the formation of the Oromo Liberation Front in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Amhara people</span> Systematic mass killings of Amhara people in Ethiopia

Since the 1990s, the Amhara people of Ethiopia have been subject to ethnic violence, including massacres by Tigrayan, Oromo and Gumuz ethnic groups among others, which some have characterized as a genocide. Large-scale killings and grave human rights violations followed the implementation of the ethnic-federalist system in the country. In most of the cases, the mass murders were silent with perpetrators from various ethno-militant groups— from TPLF/TDF, OLF–OLA, and Gumuz armed groups.

The 1995 Ethiopian Federal Constitution formalizes an ethnic federalism law aimed at undermining long-standing ethnic imperial rule, reducing ethnic tensions, promoting regional autonomy, and upholding unqualified rights to self-determination and secession in a state with more than 80 different ethnic groups. But the constitution is divisive, both among Ethiopian nationalists who believe it undermines centralized authority and fuels interethnic conflict, and among ethnic federalists who fear that the development of its vague components could lead to authoritarian centralization or even the maintenance of minority ethnic hegemony. Parliamentary elections since 1995 have taken place every five years since enactment. All but one of these have resulted in government by members of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) political coalition, under three prime ministers. The EPRDF was under the effective control of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which represents a small ethnic minority. In 2019 the EPRDF, under Abiy, was dissolved and he inaugurated the pan-ethnic Prosperity Party which won the 2021 Ethiopian Election, returning him as prime minister. But both political entities were different kinds of responses to the ongoing tension between constitutional ethnic federalism and the Ethiopian state's authority. Over the same period, and all administrations, a range of major conflicts with ethnic roots have occurred or continued, and the press and availability of information have been controlled. There has also been dramatic economic growth and liberalization, which has itself been attributed to, and used to justify, authoritarian state policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oromia–Addis Ababa relations</span> Relations of Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and regional state Oromia Region

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welkait question</span> Controversial dispute regarding the Ethiopian city Welkait

The Welkait question involves a controversial territorial dispute surrounding the Ethiopian city Welkait, which is situated in the present-day Tigray Region. Welkait had been a city within Amhara Province, but after the fall of the Derg in 1991, the city was annexed by TPLF government into Tigray's Western Zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political repression under Abiy Ahmed</span>

Political repression is a visible scenario under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed after 2018, characterized by severe human rights violation, restriction of press, speeches, dissents, activism and journalism that are critical to his government. Similar to TPLF-led EPRDF regime, there was a raise of censorship in the country, particularly internet shutdowns under the context of anti-terror legislation labelling them "disinformation and war narratives" since the raise of armed conflict in Ethiopia. In June 2018, Abiy unblocked 64 internet access that include blogs and news outlets.

References

  1. ↑ "Ethiopia Extends State of Emergency". Geopolitical Monitor.
  2. ↑ "Ethiopia lifts state of emergency two months early". CNN . Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Ethiopia declares state of emergency over protests Government declares a state of emergency effective immediately following violence and unrest in Oromia region". Al Jazeera. October 9, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Ethiopia Imposes State of Emergency as Unrest Intensifies". Washington Post. October 10, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Ethiopia regime unveils rules for state of emergency". Deutsche Welle. October 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Legal Analysis of Ethiopia's State of Emergency". Human Rights Watch. October 30, 2016.
  7. ↑ Gebre-Selassie, Alemante (October 12, 2016). "Ethiopia is in a state of emergency. The tyrannical government must go". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ Quist-Arcton, Ofeibea (October 9, 2016). "Ethiopia Declares State Of Emergency Amid Continuing Protests". All Things Considered (Interview). Interviewed by Michel Martin. NPR. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Despite outward calm, Ethiopia extends state of emergency". Washington Post. March 30, 2017.
  10. ↑ Cohen, John M. (1995). ""Ethnic Federalism" in Ethiopia". Northeast African Studies. 2 (2): 157–188. doi:10.1353/nas.1995.0016. ISSN   1535-6574.
  11. ↑ Malinkowski, Tom (August 21, 2016). "Ethiopia: Protests in Oromia, Amhara Regions Present 'Critical Challenge' - U.S." U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ Dixon, Robyn (October 11, 2016). "Foreign businesses are torched in protests, and Ethiopia is in a state of emergency". Los Angeles Times . Johannesburg.
  13. ↑ "Africa :: Ethiopia". CIA World Factbook. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017. Ethnic groups: Oromo 34.4%, Amhara (Amara) 27%, Somali (Somalie) 6.2%, Tigray (Tigrinya) 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Gurage 2.5%, Welaita 2.3%, Hadiya 1.7%, Afar (Affar) 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Silte 1.3%, Kefficho 1.2%, other 8.8% (2007 est.)
  14. ↑ "A Muffled Insurrection in Ethiopia". Stratfor. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017. When the Tigray-dominated government proposed to develop farmland predominantly used by the Oromo people, who make up 34 percent of the population, protests broke out across Oromo regions from November 2015 onward.
  15. ↑ Magazine, Tadias. "Ethiopia Protests Continue Over Fatal Bishoftu Stampede at Irrecha Festival at Tadias Magazine" . Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  16. ↑ "Ethiopia: Dozens killed in Oromia festival stampede". AlJazeera. October 3, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" (PDF). World Intellectual Property Association. 8 December 1994. Retrieved 15 January 2017. Article 93 Declaration of State of Emergency 1. (a) The Council of Ministers of the Federal Government shall have the power to decree a state of emergency, should an external invasion, a break down of law and order which endangers the Constitutional order and which cannot be controlled by the regular law enforce…[but note] Article 106 The Version with Final Legal Authority…The Amharic version of this Constitution shall have final legal authority.
  18. ↑ Joireman, Sandra; Szayna, Thomas (1 January 1997). "Chapter Five – The Ethiopian Prospective Case" (PDF). rand.org. RAND. Retrieved 15 January 2017. In terms of prevailing norms of governance, neither the autocratic imperial Ethiopian government (pre-1974) nor the Derg (1974–1991) were tolerant of opposition. The Derg used widespread violence and repression to deal with any kind of dissent, real or imagined.
  19. ↑ Freedom on the Net 2016 Ethiopia (Report). Freedom House. November 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2017– via U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review.
  20. ↑ Maasho, Aaron (October 20, 2016). "Ethiopia arrests 1,645 'ringleaders and bandits' in crackdown on violence". Addis Ababa.
  21. ↑ "Ethiopia: Oromo opposition leader arrested". Al Jazeera. December 1, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ethiopia Security Detain Prominent Opposition Party Leader Dr. Merera Gudina". Addis Ababa: Addis Standard. December 1, 2016. Security forces implementing Ethiopia's six-month State of Emergency have last night detained prominent opposition party leader Dr. Merera Gudina, Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), upon his arrival at Bole International Airport.
  23. ↑ "Ethiopia releases list of over 11,000 state of emergency detainees". Africa News. November 12, 2016.
  24. ↑ Belachew, Tizita; Amiha, Meleskachew (December 22, 2016). "Ethiopia Releases Thousands Arrested Since Start of State of Emergency". Voice of America News.
  25. ↑ "Political unrest simmering in Ethiopia". Deutsche Welle. February 10, 2017.
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