By Lovise Aalen February 17 at 6:00 AM

In the latest twist in Ethiopia’s current political dramas, Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn formally submitted his resignation from his position as the nation’s premier and as chairman of the ruling EPRDF coalition. That’s a dramatic development — and no one knows where it will lead. Dessalegn was elected as a compromise candidate who could balance the interests of various factions within the ruling coalition and maintain the status quo. He appeared to manage this well — until recently.

So how did autocratic Ethiopia, a U.S. ally and Africa’s second most populous country, end up in its current tumult? Here’s what you need to know.

This brief history explains why Ethiopia has been in upheaval since 2015. 

In 1991, years of civil war came to an end and Ethiopia’s previous communist dictatorship toppled. Meles Zenawi stepped in as strongman, backed by his ethnic guerrilla organization, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, and ruled for years as part of the multi-ethnic coalition called the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). While the coalition included parties who represented three other ethnic groups, the Amhara, Oromo and the Southern nationalities, the minority Tigrayan ethnic group was firmly in control.

EPRDF set up a relatively inclusive system of ethnic federalism to manage the country’s more than 80 different ethnic groups, which I describe in my latest book (co-authored with Ragnhild Muriaas), as an inclusive autocracy. Africa’s inclusive autocrats have strategically used decentralization processes and reforms to strengthen their power. They use decentralization as a means of co-opting elites and crushing political adversaries.

Zenawi and other Tigrayan leaders controlled this system carefully, ensuring that no other groups managed to challenge central power. After attempts of liberalization in the 1990s and early 2000s, controversial national elections in 2005 resulted in the opposition taking one-third of the seats in the national legislative assembly. But the opposition accused the EPRDF of election fraud and protests resulted.

In response, the Zenawi and EPRDF government became more authoritarian, attempting to control resistance to the regime by passing new restrictive laws; intimidating and imprisoning the opposition, independent media and civil society leaders; and developing a finely masked system of control at the grassroots. Zenawi died in 2012 — but to observers’ surprise, that was followed by a peaceful succession in which Dessalegn took power. Dessalegn, an ethnic Wolayta, represented the conglomerate of groups from southern Ethiopia that had never been represented at the center of Ethiopian politics before.

But the power vacuum left by Zenawi’s death and the increasing authoritarianism erupted into popular protests in 2015, and since then the ERPDF’s cohesion has been severely challenged. The two presidents of the largest regional states in the country, Amhara and Oromia — home to the two largest ethnic groups (the Oromo being the most populous, the Amhara the second) — this summer announced that they partly support the protests, and have demanded genuine regional self-rule and an end to Tigrayan dominance.

Since the last rounds of the protests in 2017, the EPRDF has gone through what it calls a “deep reform.” To try to relieve the pressure on the regime and aim for “national reconciliation,” over the past weeks Dessalegn released more than 6,000 political prisoners, including the Oromo opposition leader Merera Gudina. In doing so, however, the ruling party did not clearly admit that it had ever detained political prisoners at all. The delay and uncertainty about the party’s intentions prompted renewed protests across Oromia. In an attempt to calm the unrest, on February 13, ERPDF released new rounds of roughly 700 prisoners, including the journalists Eskinder Nega and Andualem Arage, and Oromo opposition leader Bekele Gerba.

Why did Dessalegn to resign — and who will replace him?

The ERPDF’s internal reform processes had already signaled displeasure with the central leadership of the EPRDF. A December 2017 statement from the party’s executive committee blamed the current leadership for a lack of good governance and for failing to protect civilians in the unrest. The statement encouraged the coalition’s four member parties to replace their leaders, something the TPLF did shortly. Similarly, the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Front has now asked its leaders to step down, including Dessalegn.

But who will replace him as prime minister? ERPDF’s central committee is currently meeting, discussing this question with what are surely heated ethnic debates. Given the protests in the Oromo region, home to Ethiopia’s most populous ethnic group, it might seem natural to appoint an Oromo to lead the country. This will however require the support of the second largest ethnic group, the Amhara, the traditional elite of pre-EPRDF Ethiopia.

Members of the committee are surely motivated in their discussions by knowing that if they cannot unite behind the same candidate, the coalition risks a real split along ethnic lines and a battle over which faction will control the government. In order to avoid a split, they may end up selecting Dessalegn’s deputy in the Southern party, another compromise candidate, in a desperate attempt to keep the status quo.

There is still another alternative, which the Oromo regional leaders have suggested: allow in opposition parties from outside the ruling coalition, for a genuine national reconciliation. This could address protesters’ demands for more democracy and human rights. But given that the government introduced a new state of emergency on Friday, the ruling party appears to want to continue to hold the monopoly on power. Perhaps the government intends to take harsh preemptive measures to contain continuing protests throughout the country.

Lovise Aalen is research director at CMI, the Chr. Michelsen Institute for Science and Intellectual Freedom, in Norway. 

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Hirut Woldermariam, Minister of Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT), – Photo: The Reporter

The World Economic Forum (WEF), in its 2017-18 global travel and tourism competitiveness report, indicated that revenue figures generated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT), does not necessarily go in line with realistic estimates globally accepted.

Back in January, while reporting to the House of People’s Representatives (HPR), Hirut Woldermariam (PhD), minster of MoCT, told MPs about the cheering performance of the sector in the first half of the current fiscal year. She said that, “In the first six months, a total of 485,806 foreign tourists visited Ethiopia generating USD 1.8 billion for the country.” This year’s performance is 10.5 percent higher compared to last year, according to the minister’s report.

However, that has been invalidated and appears to be hard to swallow for operators like Tony Hickey, general manager of Ethiopian Quadrants PLC, a tour and travel company registered and operating in Ethiopia. The WEF estimates that 87 percent of travelers who arrive in Ethiopia spend less than seven days in the country. While the Ministry puts the average stay of foreign travelers to be seven days. Based on an estimated average receipt per arrival and the average stay, the government computed that USD 1.8 billion has been generated. That figure is disputed on the premise that conference tourists are not likely to spend the whole seven days.

These estimates are mostly applicable for holiday, leisure or adventure travelers. Hence, on average, considering business travelers who mostly stay in Addis are assumed to spend two days, as the WEF estimate indicates.

Contradicting the USD 1.8 billion revenue, WEF slashed those figures to arrive at USD 444 million. This fact needs to be further scrutinized, as the Ministry is not familiar with the analysis WEF has publicized.

Stranded tourists escorted to safer places

In a related development, following this week’s unrest and blockades of roads, at least 70 tourists, packed on 28 vehicles were caught in-between until they were escorted by a military convoy. Yakob Melaku, president of Ethiopian Tour Operators Association told The Reporter that some 33 tourists stranded while visiting Bale have been escorted to Hawassa and from Hawassa they were air lifted to Addis Ababa. In addition to that, some 33 travelers who were in Ziway and Shashemene have also been taken to Arba Minch then flew back to the capital.

Other sources have told The Reporter that from Monday to Wednesday there have been visitors stuck in Harar and Addis Ababa who were unable to set off and visit places until they have been provided escorts. From Thursday onward however, disturbances seemed to settle down to allow movements.

Source: The Reporter

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By Associated Press February 17 at 11:17 AM

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The Latest on Ethiopia’s state of emergency (all times local):The United States says it “strongly disagrees” with Ethiopia’s new state of emergency, saying the answer to the country’s sometimes violent unrest is “greater freedom, not less.”The statement by the U.S. Embassy comes a day after the East African nation announced its latest months-long state of emergency amid the worst anti-government protests in a quarter-century.

Ethiopia’s government in recent weeks had released more than 6,500 detained opposition figures and others after the prime minister in an unexpected announcement in January said he wanted to “widen the democratic space for all.”

But on Thursday the prime minister announced he had submitted his letter of resignation, saying he hoped it would help planned reforms succeed.

Amid the new political uncertainty, the U.S. statement warns that the state of emergency “undermines recent positive steps toward creating a more inclusive political space.”

Ethiopia’s defense minister is ruling out a military takeover a day after the East African nation declared a new state of emergency amid anti-government protests.

Siraj Fegessa also ruled out a transitional government. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn remains in the post after announcing Thursday he had submitted a resignation letter to help planned reforms succeed.

The defense minister says the state of emergency will last for six months with a possible four-month extension, similar to one lifted in August.

The state of emergency, which effectively bans protests, will be presented for lawmakers’ approval within 15 days. Siraj says security forces are instructed to take “measures” against those disturbing the country’s functioning.

Ethiopia’s cabinet on Friday cited deaths, ethnic attacks and mass displacement as reasons for the latest state of emergency.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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The immediate task calling for attention in Ethiopia today includes restoring peace, addressing the demands of the public, ensuring the security of the country and the stability of the region, facilitating transition to a genuine democracy, and bringing about social reconciliation. In short, we live under the imperative of making and building peace; restoring lives, dreams, and hopes by practising compassionate governance; fostering reconciliation and solidarity among peoples; and facilitating transition to an inclusive democracy that can, in time, transform the polity.

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Prof. Mammo Muchie, Calls for an Inclusive and Peaceful Transition in Ethiopia

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“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The T-TPLF state of emergency declaration is an unjust law!

The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress… If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.” — Frederick Douglass, anti-slavery statesman.

The endurance of the Ethiopian people suffering under T-TPLF ethnic apartheid rule has completely vanished. Today, they are on the move agitating and mobilizing for peaceful nonviolent change.

Author’s Note:

Make no mistake about it!

The peaceful struggle for political change in Ethiopia is now in its final and terminal phase.

On February 16, 2018, the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean Peoples’ Liberation Front (T-TPLF) declared a war of the people of Ethiopia for the third time since October 2016 by declaring a state of emergency. That is the T-TPLF’s response to the Ethiopian people’s peaceful demands for change.

That declaration of a state of emergency is the T-TPLF’s last hurrah, their curtain call.

But the whole emergency declaration is a crock of horse manure. This is the third emergency declaration since October 2016. The people’s demand did not stop. What is so different now?

The T-TPLF state of emergency declaration should be called by its proper name: License to kill. License to jail. License to torture.

But the T-TPLF has had that license for 27 years. It is nothing new. It changes nothing.

When they T-TPLF massacred thousands of people in October 2016 at the Irrecha Festival, they did not have a declaration of emergency. For 27 years, the T-TPLF has massacred, jailed and tortured hundreds of thousands of innocent Ethiopians without a declaration of emergency.

Do the T-TPLF bosses now believe the people will kneel down to them, kiss their shoes and become their slaves in their ethnic apartheid empire simply because they scribbled a piece of paper with the words, “state of emergency”? That declaration is not worth the paper it is written on.

The fact of the matter is that the T-TPLF bosses today are desperadoes, criminals with no place to run or hide. They are at the end of their ropes, on their last legs. They do not know what to do to continue to cling to power and maintain the ethnic apartheid system they have enjoyed over the past 27 years.

So they try to prove they still have power and they are still the masters of Ethiopia’s 100 million people.

But make no mistake.

The state of emergency declaration is about sending a message to the people of Ethiopia and to the world. It is a message that announces the T-TPLF is making its final stand to cling to power come hell or high water:

The T- TPLF will never, never give up power peacefully and allow a democratic transition in Ethiopia.

The T- TPLF will kill, massacre, jail and torture to crush the people’s demand for peaceful change and cling to power.

The T-TPLF would rather see a civil war than give up power peacefully.

The T-TPLF would rather go down blazing than find peaceful ways of addressing the people’s demands.

The T-TPLF will have it ONLY its way: All for itself and nothing for anyone else. It will be the T-TPLF way of the highway.

The T-TPLF in its emergency declaration is offering the Ethiopian people a stark  choice: Bow your heads, drop down on your knees and live like slaves, or die trying to be free with your nonviolent civil disobedience boots on.

So, the dreaded day has come for the T-TPLF. Ethiopia is at the crossroads and the crosshairs.

The T-TPLF wants an Armageddon.

The people of Ethiopia want peace, truth and reconciliation.

The people have resolved to free themselves of ethnic apartheid rule.

The T-TPLF is determined to keep them under ethnic apartheid rule.

The T-TPLF bosses know the end is near; and they are facing the final curtain.

How so?

The people have met their most formidable enemy. That enemy was hiding within them.

For decades, that enemy dwelled in their hearts, minds and every cell in their bodies.

That enemy goes by the name FEAR.

But the people have conquered FEAR and in so doing conquered the T-TPLF.

Robert Holmes (“The Ethics of Nonviolence”, 2013 at p. 226”), explained it best:

For power dissolves when people lose their fear. You can still kill people who no longer fear you, but you cannot control them. You cannot control dead people. Walk through a cemetery with a bullhorn, if you like. Command people to rise up, clean the streets, pay taxes, report for military duty, and they will ignore you. Political power requires obedience, which is fueled by the fear of pain to be inflicted if you refuse to comply with the will of those who control the instruments of violence. That power evaporates when the people lose their fear…

Simply stated, nonviolent social change by civil disobedience and mass resistance simply means the people have lost their fear of their oppressors.

What is to be done by people who have lost their fear of their oppressors?

What is to be done in the face of T-TPLF’s declaration of state of emergency and beyond?

In 1901, V.I. Lenin wrote a pamphlet entitled, “What Is to Be Done?” (p. 47). He argued the working class will not be politically mobilized into action simply by fighting economic battles over workers’ wages, working conditions and other economic rights. To transform the working class into a potent Marxist political force, Lenin said it would be necessary to form a “vanguard” of dedicated revolutionaries to spread Marxist political ideas among the workers.  He prescribed, “To bring political knowledge to the workers the Social Democrats must go among all classes of the population; they must dispatch units of their army in all directions.”

I say what is good sauce for the goose is good for the gander. The principles that apply to a violent revolution apply equally to a peaceful nonviolent revolution.

The peaceful nonviolent movement led by the “youth vanguard” cannot win the struggle without educating and empowering all segments of Ethiopian society.

The youth vanguard must educate, inform, empower and mobilize all segments of the  population, all members of ethnic groups in their own languages and traditions, all age and faith groups, all members of the professions and trades in the techniques of nonviolent struggle in the fight for democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The time is NOW for the youth vanguards of the Ethiopian peaceful nonviolent revolution to penetrate every nook and cranny of Ethiopian society.

The youth vanguard, above all, must teach and preach ETHIOPIAWINET which is simply defined as LOVE.

The ultimate aim of the Ethiopian struggle must be the victory of ETHIOPIAWINET over ethnic hate and ethnic apartheid system.

Teaching and preaching peaceful change must be made synonymous and go hand in hand with teaching and preaching of  ETHIOPIAWINET way of life.

The youth vanguard must teach and preach the philosophy and practice of nonviolent peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET in the schools, colleges and universities.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET in the churches and mosques.

The must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET in the civil service and bureaucracy.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET in the armed forces, the police and security forces.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET among women and girls.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET to the urban and rural youth.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET in the tea rooms, restaurants and bars.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET in the shops and market places.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET in the stadiums and sports fields.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET among the elites, the wealthy and privileged.

They must teach and preach peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET among the poor, the powerless and defenseless.

They must teach-in and teach-out peaceful change and ETHIOPIAWINET.

They must preach on and on!

They must be the change they want to see. They must live a life of ETHIOPIAWINET.

I have been teaching and preaching nonviolent social change and promoting truth and reconciliation for over 12 years.

I got involved in the Ethiopian human rights struggle because I was outraged by the Meles Massacres of 2005.

The Meles Massacres stirred deep emotions in me. For the first time in decades, I realized that though I had left Ethiopia, Ethiopia had not left me. The Meles Massacres made me realize that even though I had moved away from Ethiopia permanently, Ethiopia had not moved out of me permanently. It is a feeling that is hard to explain even today. I can only say that the massacre of those unarmed citizens (and the shocking photographs) triggered in me an emotion of volcanic outrage (that some say still flows unabated; I will not argue with them). I was not merely shocked and appalled; I was shaken to the core.

It has been said that in desperate times, we either define the moment or the moment defines us. It was at this time that I resolved to define my moment by using my pen (keyboard) as a weapon of nonviolent resistance against the tyranny of Meles Zenawi and his gang of criminals in designer suits.

I believe it is my moral obligation (and all human beings) to speak up against human rights crimes and agitate for peaceful nonviolent resistance. In my efforts, I have tried to make a small contribution by providing civic education in nonviolent resistance.

Indeed, before Official Day 1 of my involvement in the Ethiopian human rights struggle on July 3, 2006, I wrote a three-part commentary on civil disobedience and nonviolence and its relevance in the struggle for freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia.  I undertook that effort after the Tegbar League Addis Ababa Leadership Committee issued a statement in March 2006 indicating that it

will organize nonviolent actions such as blocking major roads, work slowdowns, boycott of schools, and boycott of products that are produced or sold by EPRDF-affiliated companies. These nonviolent actions are intended to systematically make the country ungovernable and paralyze the Meles regime. There will be no public demonstration and direct confrontation with the blood thirsty Federal Police and Meles Zenawi’s death squad.

To provide intellectual support to Tegbar and spread knowledge about the philosophy and practice of nonviolence and civil disobedience, beginning in April 2006, I issued my series.

In Part I “Of Civil Disobedience and Nonviolence” (April 23, 2006), I examined the ideas of Henry David Thoreau, who inspired Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King in leading an independence and civil rights movement.

In Part II “Of Civil Disobedience and Nonviolence” (May 10, 2006), I examined Gandhi’s use of  “Satyagraha,” which he defined as “truth-force,” “love-force” or “soul-force.” In fighting for human dignity of Indians in South Africa and later independence of India. Gandhi’s message to the colonial oppressors of India was simple. “My ambition is no less than to convert the British people through nonviolence, and thus make them see the wrong they have done to India. I do not seek to harm your people.”

In Part III “Of Civil Disobedience and Nonviolence” (May 18, 2006), I examined MLK’s efforts to bring peace, harmony and interracial unity between black and white people in America”.

Over the past decade, I have written dozens of commentaries promoting nonviolent change, truth reconciliation, direct action and have tried to mobilize Ethiopian intellectuals to join me in the effort.

In October 2008, I wrote a commentary entitled, “The political economy of remittances in Ethiopia”. That commentary was in fact an analysis of the billions of dollars Diaspora Ethiopians send back to Ethiopia. I raised a number of questions which focused on the role of remittances in providing economic buoyancy to help keep afloat, support, prolong and entrench the one-party, one-man dictatorship of the T-TPLF in Ethiopia.

I am gratified to learn of recent efforts by an “international task force calling for remittance boycott against regime in Ethiopia.”

In my September 2013, commentary, “The Diplomacy of Nonviolent Change in Ethiopia”, I wrote abut how people lose their fears of oppressive government and muster courage to fight back with civil disobedience. The “diplomacy” of nonviolent change involves the use of  dialogue, negotiations, compromise, bargaining, concessions, accommodations, cooperation and ultimately peace-making and reconciliation.

In my September 2013 commentary , “Interpreting and Living MLK’s Dream”, I discussed Dr. King’s message of hope and redemption for our time and his unlimited imagination and hope in the infinite capacity of humanity to be humane while acutely aware of  “man’s inhumanity to man”.

In 2014, I joined the boycott of Coca Cola Company for its disrespectful and humiliating treatment of the great Ethiopian patriot Teddy Afro. In my June 2014 commentary“Why I am boycotting Ȼoca Ȼola”, I called on my readers to boycott Coca Cola products. I promised then never to touch a Coca Cola product, a promise I have kept to this day.

In my January 2017 New Year message, “Dare to Dream With Me About the New Ethiopia in 2017”, I shared my dreams of the Beloved Ethiopian Community to peacefully emerge from the nightmare of T-TPLF ethnic apartheid rule. Here are a few of those dreams of: ONE Ethiopia at Peace with itself. Ethiopians finding their unity in their humanity instead of their ethnicity. Ethiopians regardless of ethnicity, religion and region subscribing to the creed, “I am my brother’s, my sister’s keeper.” The day when Truth shall rise from the ashes of lies and lead all Ethiopians on the path of reconciliation in Ethiopia. Human rights extinguishing  government wrongs in Ethiopia. True multiparty democracy with iron clad protections for human rights. Learned men and women using their intellectual powers to teach, preach and touch the people. The release all political prisoners.

Above all, I have a dream of the day when Ethiopia’s young people will put their shoulders to the wheel and take full charge of their country’s destiny, leaving behind the politics of hate and ethnicity; turning  their backs on those wallowing in moral bankruptcy and corruption and creating a new politics for a New Ethiopia based on dialogue, negotiation and compromise.

Simply stated, I dream of the New Ethiopia, rising over the horizon in a peaceful revolution, as a shining “city high on top of the African hill”.

In my December 2013 commentary, “Mandela’s Message to Ethiopia’s Youth: Never give up…!” Never give up and keep on trying to build your Beloved Ethiopian Community! Dare to be great. Change yourselves first before you change society. Keep on trying. Come together. Be virtuous. Be patriotic. Be courageous. Dream big. Lead from behind. Be optimistic and determined.  Learn and educate the people.

In my January 2018 commentary, “Unarmed Truth and Unconditional Love (Reconciliation): Dr. Martin Luther King’s Message to Ethiopians Today”, I examined Dr. King’s lifelong message of nonviolence, peace, reconciliation in the context of Ethiopia’s dire crises today and building of a new Beloved Ethiopian Community.

All Ethiopians have a moral and ethical obligation to engage in peaceful, nonviolent change in their motherland

The time has come for all freedom-loving Ethiopians to stand up and be counted. It is time for truth or consequences. We all have a choice to make: Stand with the people of Ethiopia, or by not doing so stand with their oppressors.  It is a choice without moral relativism or ambiguity. One can choose to be part of a 27 year-old problem or part of the solution to usher in the New Ethiopia.

Dr. King said, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” He explained, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”

The T-TPLF’s state of emergency declaration is an unjust law. It is a law that contravenes God’s law. It violates natural law. It is a government wrong against God-given human rights.

The peaceful, nonviolent struggle in Ethiopia must go on.

We must have Churchillian resolve in our peaceful nonviolent struggle.

Facing an imminent invasion of Britain by the Nazis, Winston Churchill was ready to fight and threw down the gauntlet. “We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, and in the air, on the beaches, the landing grounds, in the streets, in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

Ethiopians in Ethiopia and in the Diaspora must go on to the end. We must fight the T-TPLF using every weapon of peaceful nonviolent struggle.

We must fight them with civil disobedience and mass resistance in the schools, in the colleges and universities, in the streets, in the urban and rural areas, in places of worship and public gatherings, in every hamlet, village, town and city.

We must fight the T-TPLF in every open and closed political space, in the workspace and even in the prison space. We must fight them in the monkey courts and in the kangaroo parliaments. We must fight them during the day and in the night. We must fight them in the sunshine and in the rain.

Diaspora Ethiopians in the West must do their fair share. We must fight their lobbyist in the halls of Congress and in the White House. We must fight them in the newspapers, on television and radio. We must fight their trolls in cyberspace and social media.

We must fight them, to paraphrase what Churchill said of the Nazis, and carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New Ethiopia, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of all Ethiopian people from the yoke of T-TPLF ethnic apartheid system.

A very special request, my humble plea to all who are engaged in the peaceful struggle – Please no violence

We must not bring ourselves to the level of the T-TPLF.

That is because we have the most powerful weapon in our hand, hearts and minds.

That weapon is nonviolence.

We must not resort to violence against our brothers and sisters, neighbors and compatriots.  Gandhi said, “the strong are never vindictive” and have no need for violence.

We who advocate nonviolent change are strong! In body, spirit and soul.

Let us heed Dr. Martin Luther King’s words:

Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness… The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate…. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.”

For 12 years, I have toiled day and night, night and day, to see the daylight, the sunlight of freedom and equal opportunity shine on Ethiopia.

I do not ever want to see Ethiopia full of blind people, blinded by hate and revenge.

My dream is to see Ethiopia blinded by the light of love and of truth.

I have stood with Ethiopia’s young people through thin and thick for a long time

Now I ask them to stand with me in actively practicing NO VIOLENCE. NO DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY. NO REVENGE.

Hate and violence cannot drive out hate and violence out of Ethiopia. Only love, understanding and tolerance can do that.

We are better than the hate mongers, those who use violence to suppress human rights.

Let us become the change we want to see!

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How can every Ethiopian man, woman and child live up to their moral and ethical obligation to resist T-TPLF tyranny and work for peaceful nonviolent social and political change.

Let me count the ways!

The following document is authored by Prof. Gene Sharp, the “intellectual father of peaceful resistance” and founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action. Prof. Sharp passed away on January 28, 2018. He has influenced numerous anti-government resistance movements around the world.

A PDF copy of the document is also available.

Prof. Sharp prepared the 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action to demonstrate that “practitioners of nonviolent struggle have an entire arsenal of ‘nonviolent weapons’ at their disposal.” He classified those “weapons” into three broad categories: nonviolent protest and persuasion, noncooperation (social, economic, and political), and nonviolent intervention.   

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                                  198 METHODS OF NONVIOLENT ACTION

THE METHODS OF NONVIOLENT PROTEST AND PERSUASION

Formal Statements

1.                    Public Speeches
                     2. Letters of opposition or support
                       3. Declarations by organizations and institutions
                       4. Signed public statements
                       5. Declarations of indictment and intention
                       6. Group or mass petitions

Communications with a Wider Audience

7.                    Slogans, caricatures, and symbols
                     8. Banners, posters, and displayed communications
                       9. Leaflets, pamphlets, and books
                       10. Newspapers and journals
                       11. Records, radio, and television
                       12. Skywriting and earthwriting

Group Representations

13.                    Deputations
                      14. Mock awards
                        15. Group lobbying
                        16. Picketing
                        17. Mock elections

Symbolic Public Acts

18.                    Displays of flags and symbolic colors
                      19. Wearing of symbols
                        20. Prayer and worship
                        21. Delivering symbolic objects
                        22. Protest disrobings
                        23. Destruction of own property
                        24. Symbolic lights
                        25. Displays of portraits
                        26. Paint as protest
                        27. New signs and names
                        28. Symbolic sounds
                        29. Symbolic reclamations
                        30. Rude gestures

Pressures on Individuals

31.                    “Haunting” officials
                      32. Taunting officials
                        33. Fraternization
                        34. Vigils

Drama and Music

35.                    Humorous skits and pranks
                      36. Performances of plays and music
                        37. Singing

Processions

38.                    Marches
                      39. Parades
                        40. Religious processions
                        41. Pilgrimages
                        42. Motorcades

Honoring the Dead

43.                    Political mourning
                      44. Mock funerals
                        45. Demonstrative funerals
                        46. Homage at burial places

Public Assemblies

47.                    Assemblies of protest or support
                      48. Protest meetings
                        49. Camouflaged meetings of protest
                        50. Teach-ins

Withdrawal and Renunciation

51.                    Walk-outs
                      52. Silence
                        53. Renouncing honors
                        54. Turning one’s back

THE METHODS OF SOCIAL NONCOOPERATION

Ostracism of Persons

55.                    Social boycott
                      56. Selective social boycott
                        57. Lysistratic nonaction
                        58. Excommunication
                        59. Interdict

Noncooperation with Social Events, Customs, and Institutions

60.                    Suspension of social and sports activities
                      61. Boycott of social affairs
                        62. Student strike
                        63. Social disobedience
                        64. Withdrawal from social institutions

Withdrawal from the Social System

65.                    Stay-at-home
                      66. Total personal noncooperation
                        67. “Flight” of workers
                        68. Sanctuary
                        69. Collective disappearance
                        70. Protest emigration (hijrat)

THE METHODS OF ECONOMIC NONCOOPERATION: ECONOMIC BOYCOTTS 
Actions by Consumers

71.                    Consumers’ boycott
                      72. Nonconsumption of boycotted goods
                        73. Policy of austerity
                        74. Rent withholding
                        75. Refusal to rent
                        76. National consumers’ boycott
                        77. International consumers’ boycott

Action by Workers and Producers

78.                    Workmen’s boycott
                      79. Producers’ boycott

Action by Middlemen

80.                    Suppliers’ and handlers’ boycott

Action by Owners and Management

81.                    Traders’ boycott
                      82. Refusal to let or sell property
                        83. Lockout
                        84. Refusal of industrial assistance
                        85. Merchants’ “general strike”

Action by Holders of Financial Resources

86.                    Withdrawal of bank deposits
                      87. Refusal to pay fees, dues, and assessments
                        88. Refusal to pay debts or interest
                        89. Severance of funds and credit
                        90. Revenue refusal
                        91. Refusal of a government’s money

Action by Governments

92.                    Domestic embargo
                      93. Blacklisting of traders
                        94. International sellers’ embargo
                        95. International buyers’ embargo
                        96. International trade embargo

THE METHODS OF ECONOMIC NONCOOPERATION: THE STRIKE 
Symbolic Strikes

97.                    Protest strike
                      98. Quickie walkout (lightning strike)

Agricultural Strikes

99.                    Peasant strike
                      100. Farm workers’ strike

Strikes by Special Groups

101.                    Refusal of impressed labor
                       102. Prisoners’ strike
                         103. Craft strike
                         104. Professional strike

Ordinary Industrial Strikes

105.                    Establishment strike
                       106. Industry strike
                         107. Sympathetic strike

Restricted Strikes

108.                    Detailed strike
                       109. Bumper strike
                         110. Slowdown strike
                         111. Working-to-rule strike
                         112. Reporting “sick” (sick-in)
                         113. Strike by resignation
                         114. Limited strike
                         115. Selective strike

Multi-Industry Strikes

116.                    Generalized strike
117.                    General strike

Combination of Strikes and Economic Closures 

118.                    Hartal
119.                    Economic shutdown 

THE METHODS OF POLITICAL NONCOOPERATION 
Rejection of Authority

120.                    Withholding or withdrawal of allegiance
                       121. Refusal of public support
                         122. Literature and speeches advocating resistance

Citizens’ Noncooperation with Government

123.                    Boycott of legislative bodies
                       124. Boycott of elections
                         125. Boycott of government employment and positions
                         126. Boycott of government depts., agencies, and other bodies
                         127. Withdrawal from government educational institutions
                         128. Boycott of government-supported organizations
                         129. Refusal of assistance to enforcement agents
                         130. Removal of own signs and placemarks
                         131. Refusal to accept appointed officials
                         132. Refusal to dissolve existing institutions

Citizens’ Alternatives to Obedience

133.                    Reluctant and slow compliance
                       134. Nonobedience in absence of direct supervision
                         135. Popular nonobedience
                         136. Disguised disobedience
                         137. Refusal of an assemblage or meeting to disperse
                         138. Sitdown
                         139. Noncooperation with conscription and deportation
                         140. Hiding, escape, and false identities
                         141. Civil disobedience of “illegitimate” laws

Action by Government Personnel

142.                    Selective refusal of assistance by government aides
                       143. Blocking of lines of command and information
                         144. Stalling and obstruction
                         145. General administrative noncooperation
143.                    Judicial noncooperation
                       147. Deliberate inefficiency and selective noncooperation by enforcement agents
                         148. Mutiny

Domestic Governmental Action

149.                    Quasi-legal evasions and delays
                       150. Noncooperation by constituent governmental units

International Governmental Action

151.                    Changes in diplomatic and other representations
                       152. Delay and cancellation of diplomatic events
                         153. Withholding of diplomatic recognition
                         154. Severance of diplomatic relations
                         155. Withdrawal from international organizations
                         156. Refusal of membership in international bodies
                         157. Expulsion from international organizations 

THE METHODS OF NONVIOLENT INTERVENTION 
Psychological Intervention

158.                    Self-exposure to the elements
                       159. The fast
                                             a) Fast of moral pressure
                                             b) Hunger strike
                                             c) Satyagrahic fast
                         160. Reverse trial
                         161. Nonviolent harassment

Physical Intervention

162.                    Sit-in
                       163. Stand-in
                         164. Ride-in
                         165. Wade-in
                         166. Mill-in
                         167. Pray-in
                         168. Nonviolent raids
                         169. Nonviolent air raids
                         170. Nonviolent invasion
                         171. Nonviolent interjection
                         172. Nonviolent obstruction
                         173. Nonviolent occupation

Social Intervention

174.                    Establishing new social patterns
                       175. Overloading of facilities
                         176. Stall-in
                         177. Speak-in
                         178. Guerrilla theater
                         179. Alternative social institutions
                         180. Alternative communication system

Economic Intervention

181.                    Reverse strike
                       182. Stay-in strike
                         183. Nonviolent land seizure
                         184. Defiance of blockades
                         185. Politically motivated counterfeiting
                         186. Preclusive purchasing
                         187. Seizure of assets
                         188. Dumping
                         189. Selective patronage
                         190. Alternative markets
                         191. Alternative transportation systems
                         192. Alternative economic institutions

Political Intervention

193.                    Overloading of administrative systems
                       194. Disclosing identities of secret agents
                         195. Seeking imprisonment
                         196. Civil disobedience of “neutral” laws
                         197. Work-on without collaboration
                         198. Dual sovereignty and parallel government

Without doubt, a large number of additional methods have already been used but have not been classified, and a multitude of additional methods will be invented in the future that have the characteristics of the three classes of methods: nonviolent protest and persuasion, noncooperation and nonviolent intervention.

It must be clearly understood that the greatest effectiveness is possible when individual methods to be used are selected to implement the previously adopted strategy. It is necessary to know what kind of pressures are to be used before one chooses the precise forms of action that will best apply those pressures.

[1] Boston: Porter Sargent, 1973 and later editions.

====================

Additional resources on the application, techniques and experiences of nonviolent resistance in different countries:

https://www.aeinstein.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/198-Methods.pdf

http://canvasopedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Handbook-for-Working-With-Activists.compressed.pdf

http://canvasopedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/50-Crucial-Points-web.pdf

http://canvasopedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CANVAS-Core-Curriculum_EN.pdf

http://canvasopedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/MOB_English_May2014.pdf

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino. His teaching areas include American constitutional law, civil rights law, judicial process, American and California state governments, and African politics. He has published two volumes on American constitutional law, including American Constitutional Law: Structures and Process (1994) and American Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (1998). He is the Senior Editor of the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies, a leading scholarly journal on Ethiopia. For the last several years, Prof. Mariam has written weekly web commentaries on Ethiopian human rights and African issues that are widely read online. He blogged on the Huffington post at  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ and later on open.salon until that blogsite shut down in March 2015.

The post 198 Ways to Fight the T-TPLF’s State of Emergency in Ethiopia and Win (Al Mariam) appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Elias Meseret | AP

Addi Ababa – Ethiopia’s defence minister has ruled out a military takeover a day after the east African nation declared a new state of emergency amid the worst anti-government protests in a quarter-century.

Siraj Fegessa on Saturday also ruled out a transitional government. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn remains in the post for now after making the surprise announcement Thursday that he had submitted a resignation letter to help planned political reforms in one of Africa’s best-performing economies succeed.

The state of emergency will last for six months with a possible four-month extension, similar to one lifted in August, the defense minister said.

The new state of emergency, which effectively bans protests, will be presented for lawmakers’ approval within 15 days. Siraj said security forces have been instructed to take “measures” against those disturbing the country’s functioning, with a new special court established to try them.

Ethiopia’s cabinet on Friday cited deaths, ethnic attacks and mass displacement as reasons for the latest state of emergency. The announcement followed crippling protests in towns across the restive Oromia region on Monday and Tuesday that called for the release of political prisoners and urged the government to carry out rapid reforms.

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Similar protests have taken place across Ethiopia since late 2015, leading the government to declare a state of emergency in October 2016 after hundreds of people reportedly had been killed. A stampede at a religious event southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, that month claimed the lives of several dozen people.

That state of emergency led to the arrest of more than 22 000 people and severely affected business.

Rights groups alleged that people were beaten and subjected to arbitrary detentions. The government said those arrested by mistake were released and those who unwillingly took part in the unrest were released after what it described as “trainings.”

The United States has responded to the latest unrest by warning its embassy personnel to suspend all travel outside of the capital. And Ethiopia’s state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting corporate reported that the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, met and discussed current political issues with Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu in New York.

Befekadu Hailu, a prominent blogger who has been jailed for his writings, urged Ethiopia’s government to “carry out genuine reforms, negotiate with legitimate opposition groups and prepare the country for a free and fair election” to solve the unrest.

The new state of emergency will create a group of people with conflicting interests, Befekadu said. “The state of emergency was tested a year ago. It brings temporary silence but not normalcy.”

The post No Ethiopia military takeover, minister says amid emergency appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) — The U.S. embassy in Ethiopia on Saturday urged Addis Ababa to reconsider its decision to institute martial law.

In a statement posted on its website, the U.S. embassy said the decision to impose martial law in Ethiopia on Friday reverses positive steps taken to create a more inclusive political space, including the release of thousands of prisoners.

“We strongly disagree with the Ethiopian government’s decision to impose a state of emergency that includes restrictions on fundamental rights such as assembly and expression,” the statement said.

Ethiopian National Security Council (ENSC) on Saturday urged citizens to respect the state of emergency that came into effect on Friday.

The Council of Ministers imposed the state of emergency on Friday, saying it was to protect the country’s constitution, citizens and their property from the ongoing violent demonstrations in some parts of the country.

The U.S. embassy statement said that “the challenges facing Ethiopia, whether to democratic reform, economic growth, or lasting stability, are best addressed through inclusive discourse and political processes, rather than through the imposition of restrictions.”

“We strongly urge the government to rethink this approach and identify other means to protect lives and property while preserving, and indeed expanding, the space for meaningful dialogue and political participation that can pave the way to a lasting democracy,” the statement said.

Ethiopia has been facing incessant protests since 2016, especially in three most populous Oromia, Amhara and Southern regional states.

The unrest has raised concern over the stability of Ethiopia.

The post U.S. urges Ethiopia to “rethink” martial law appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Associated Press

CAIRO –  Egypt’s Foreign Ministry says it accepts Ethiopia’s request to delay a meeting about a dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile River, after Addis Ababa declared a state of emergency amid the worst anti-government protests in decades.

The meeting, which was to discuss contentious issues over the dam, which Egypt fears could reduce its share of the Nile waters, was to include Sudan and take place in Khartoum on Feb. 24-25.

Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said on Sunday that Egypt understands “the circumstances that might have led Ethiopia to request delaying the meeting,” which Cairo hopes will be rescheduled soon.

Ethiopia and Sudan will benefit from the construction of so-called Renaissance Dam, while Egypt will see its share of the river reduced, at least temporarily.

The post Egypt accepts delay of Ethiopia dam meeting as protests rage appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

By Berhane Tadese

February 19, 2018

Every year, on February 19, Ethiopians pay tributes to people perished on this date and honor patriots who sacrificed their life to free mother land. As national ceremony in Addis Ababa, people gather to lay wreaths at sedest kilo monument, as symbol of our freedom, and a parade take place in the same area. It is one of an incredibly moving event to observe the ceremony by all freedom loving Ethiopians.
The details of the atrocities and the savagery actions which was accompanied by looting was accomplished by Italian troops. Ian Campbell documented the stories in his book titled “The Addis Ababa Massacre: Italy’s National Shame”. Campbell successful authored another book related to the same story, “The Plot to kill Graziani” published in Addis Ababa University press.This year marks the 81^th anniversary of brutal killing of Ethiopians by Dictator Benito Mussolini’s troops during the second-italo -war in 1937.  This war was a race for European colonial powers to expand their territories in Africa. The Italian Fascists army massacred over million Ethiopians on this invasion.  On February 19, 1937, on the second year of Italian occupation of Ethiopia, Mussolini’s military officer by the name of R. Graziani, was celebrating the birth of the Prince of Naples of Italy in Addis Ababa. As he celebrates, two young Ethiopian patriots by the name of Abraham Deboch and Moges Asghedom threw hand grenades at him. Graziani was hit but survived. In response, Graziani order his troops to indiscriminately kill any civilians walking on street of Addis Ababa. It is estimated that Graziani’s troops massacred over 30,000 in just three days in Addis Ababa.

Commemoration of the 81st Yekatit 12 in New York City

To carry out this yearly tradition as Martyrs Memorial Day, Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association of NY, NJ &CT in collaboration with Global Alliance for Justice for Ethiopians organized a ceremonial event on Sunday, February 18, 2018. The event was held in State office building in New York City. Before the panel discussion started, the ceremony opened by a minute of silence and prayer for those who died on Yekatit 12 and for all Ethiopians who died during the invasion between 1935 -1941. The panelists were Professor Getatchew Haile and Dr. Habtamu Tegene.  Professor Getatchew is philologist and a foremost scholar of the Ge’ez language alive today and Dr. Habtamu Tegegne is a historian and an Assistant Professor, at Rutgers University. Both spoke about the ordinary people, heroes and challenges of life during that trying time. They elaborated about the unforgettable massacre by Graziani’s troops on February 19, 1937 in Addis Ababa and surrounding area. They also spoke the importance of celebration together, in the spirit of fraternity to pay respect to forefathers who fell for our freedom.

Dr. Habtaum also said that as his working on his academic’s research in Gojjam, not related to the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, he run into the government archive that contained the biographies and bravery stories of the forgotten unsung heroes of Ethiopians. He said there are so many forgotten heroes in archive, as exemplary he read some of the names men and women unknown heroes biographies. Their stories demonstrated that they were true Ethiopians patriot that had pride, dignity, the will to fight, love of motherland and commitment to defend the Italian aggression.  They strived under impossible condition during the battle. Their stories were amazing’. It moved the audience in such a solemn way. It is unfortunate that their sacrifices and the monumental tasks made by them only known by their relatives, localities and God.

The discussion was accompanied by inspirational anecdotes. The event was spiced by reading “ያያቴ ይሆናል” and “ተናገር አንት ሐውልት”, poems written by Ethiopian pioneer in poetry Girma Taddese published in 1964 (Ethiopian Calendar).

This piece is good opportunity to highlight the story and honor Woizero Shawaragad Gadle, one of the female heroes. Shawareged was undercover agent passing invaluable information to the patriots (Yewist Arbegna).  Shawaraged defied all odds and her rebellious actions to resist fascist invasion led to her legacy which will inspire generations to come.  Jeff Pearce’s book “Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia’s Victory over Mussolini’s Invasion” has documented short stories about her. One of Shawaraged famous role was in her town, Addis Alem.  She secretly sent message to General Jagama Kello, one of the patriot’s unit, to attack fortified Italian positions in town of Addis Alem. As a result of her tip, General Jagama was able to successfully wiped out the enemies and free prisoners and put him on better position in successive battles.

Shawaraged was arrested and tortured many times. She was incarcerated in Asinara, and Sardina.  She was put on trial and jailed in deplorable conditions several times. At one point, she was put in front of a firing squad to be killed. Her life spared from a firing squad through intervention of priests and a Dejazmach that was close to Italians.

Shawaraged was fearless woman passing secret messages to resistance forces in difficult situations. By the summer of 1940, Shawaraged Gadle was out of prison and was back to her home. Shawarged marked high on Ethiopian history against the Italian aggression and deserves recognition.

This kind of events will help to remember and tell untold stories to young generations. Freedom loving people who fought for our independence shall never be forgotten.

Ethiopia shall prevail!

The post Enduring the 81st Commemoration of February 19, 1937: Martyrs Memorial Day appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

NY/NJ Ethiopians Task Force

Due to internal and external pressures we recently witnessed, the TPLF regime in Ethiopia is admitting for the first time that it is holding political prisoners. The resigned puppet prime minister has shamelessly said that there are no political prisoners on so many occasions, and then he ate his own words after his TPLF bosses allowed him to say otherwise. We have also witnessed the release of few prominent Ethiopian politicians, including Dr. Merera Gudina, Andualem Arage, Eskindir Nega, Bekele Gerba, Ahmed Jebel, Nigist Yirga and Colonel Demeqe Zewdu.

While all Ethiopians are happy to see these prominent Ethiopians released, the number of prisoners released thus far is only about 5%. Based on accounts of released prisoners, the number of people imprisoned every day is much more than the number of prisoners being released right now. The recent state of emergency imposed on Ethiopians by the TPLF is also designed to terrorize, kill and imprison more. As a result, no one should commend or applaud this pathetic attempt by a ruthless regime to appear righteous in the eyes of Ethiopians and donor countries.

While we celebrate the release of brave Ethiopians who selflessly stoodup and fought against a cruel regime, we should never forget that there are so many that are still languishing in prison, there are thousands of Ethiopians who were tortured to the point they can no longer walk, and there are thousands of Ethiopians subjected to inhumane torture conditions, including nail extraction. There were a lot of prisoners who were taken to Mekele secret prisons and disappeared without a trace. Moreover, there are also thousands who lost their lives while being tortured.

The TPLF used the anti-terrorism law, designed to suppress opposition and label anyone fighting for democratic rights as terrorist or a member of opposition parties, including “Arbegnoch Ginbot 7”, a popular freedom fighting organization that is designated by the terrorist regime as a group of terrorists.

Ethiopians are now asking for the release of the remaining 95% including monks from Waldba Monastery and other prominent freedom fighters like Andargachew Tsige, who was illegally imprisoned while traveling via Yemen airport.  His bravery and his determination to fight TPLF tyranny was a huge challenge to the TPLF, who paid millions of dollars to convince corrupt Yemeni officials and snatch him from Sana’a International Airport.

Furthermore, Ethiopians are asking for some accountability after almost three decades of looting, torturing, and killings. TPLF members including Getachew Assefa, Sibhat Nega, Abay Tsehay, Arkebe Ekubay, and General Samora Yunis who approved inhumane torture conditions and gave an order to the massacres of Ethiopians including Irreccha celebrators, Ambo, Kobel, Dembi Dolo, Chelenko, Weldiya, Hamaresa demonstrators must be accountable for the mistery Ethiopians suffered under TPLF tyranny.

Long Live Ethiopian Unity

The Terrorist TPLF Must Go

NY/NJ Ethiopians Task Force (www.ethionynj.com)

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikVl6auH83w

https://ahrethio.org/2017/11/26/ethiopia-political-prisoners-and-their-accounts-of-torture-2/

https://www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/graham-peebles/andargachew-tsige-ethiopian-brutality-british-apathy

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Addis Abeba, February 19/2018 – The office of Federica Mogherini, head of the European Union external action service, released a statement expressing the block’s concern that “the resignation by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn opens a period of uncertainty in Ethiopia.”

On Thursday February 15, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said he was resigning from his role as both Prime Minister and Chairman of Ethiopia’s ruling party EPRDF, as well as his position as chairman of his own party, the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM). The executive committee of both the EPRDF and SEPDM have accepted the resignation.

However, the Prime Minister’s resignation was followed quickly by a decision on Friday of the council of ministers to impose yet another six months nationwide state of emergency and establish a military command post to oversee the emergency decree.

Reacting to the resignation of the Prime Minister, the EU said, “it will be important for the new government to have the full capacity to pursue the positive reforms initiated by the Prime Minister to address the grievances of the population.” The statement further called for a dialogue among all stakeholders. “Only a constructive dialogue among all stakeholders – authorities, opposition, media, civil society – will allow for a peaceful and durable resolution of the crisis.” But, the statement said the re-reinstatement of the State of Emergency “risks undermining this very objective.”

However, unlike the strong condemnation by the US, which said the US “strongly disagrees” with Ethiopia on the decision to declare a state of emergency, EU’s statement called for a ‘limited’ time and ‘respectful” application of the decree. “It is therefore of the utmost importance that it should be as limited in time as possible and respectful of human rights and fundamental freedoms, notably those enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution.” It also cautioned that “violence should also be avoided.”

AS

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Hiber Radio Daily Ethiopian News February 19, 2018

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ESAT DC Daily News Feb 19 2018

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we demand the immediate release of Andargachew Tsige unconditionally.

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Dr. Berhanu’s message and call to the people of Ethiopia on the state of emergency and the struggle ahead

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Ethiopia declared a state of emergency on the heels of mass anti-government rallies. But just who is protesting and why?

by Jillian Kestler-D’Amours

It has been a tumultuous week in Ethiopian politics after the country’s prime minister abruptly resigned and the ruling coalition declared a six-month state of emergency as it seeks to contain mass anti-government protests.

These protests are at the heart of Hailemariam Desalegn’s decision to step down, according to several experts, who say the country is now at a critical juncture in its political history.

While details of how the state of emergency will work remain sparse, public protests will be banned, alongside speech that could “incite and sow discord”, the minister of defence said as he announced the order last Friday.

The government is expected to present the decree to parliament for ratification within 15 days.

But the state of emergency has already caused alarm among human rights activists and others who were heartened by recent reforms in Ethiopia, including the release of political prisoners.

It has also put the spotlight back on the protests that have been held intermittently across Ethiopia’s most populous regions over the past three years.

But just what prompted the mass demonstrations and what has kept them going in the face of a harsh government crackdown? Who are the protesters and what are their demands? What will it take to appease people in the streets?

The protests

Mass protests erupted in Ethiopia’s populous Oromia region – home to the Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethno-national group – in 2015 after a master plan was unveiled to expand the boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa.

The concern among local farmers at the time was that the city would confiscate their lands and leave them without a source of livelihood and with nowhere to go.

The Oromo protesters’ first demand, therefore, was to cancel the master plan outright, explained Felix Horne, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.

But their demands quickly grew to include the release of prisoners of conscience and more political and socioeconomic rights for the Oromo, who make up more than 34 percent of the country’s 100 million citizens and have long complained of being marginalised.

Angered by an unfulfilled demand to retake control of some of their lands, the Amhara – Ethiopia’s second-largest ethnic group, constituting about 27 percent of the population – launched protests in their region soon thereafter.

The Amhara people quickly raised another issue at their rallies, Horne explained: “the disproportionate economic and diplomatic power” of the most dominant party in the ruling coalition, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The TPLF is one of four political parties in the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which controls all 547 seats in Ethiopia’s parliament.

The other parties are the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organisation (OPDO), and the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM).

Tigrayans make up about six percent of Ethiopia’s population, but hold influential positions in the fields of government, economics and security, among others. The country’s former prime minister, Meles Zenawi, chaired the TPLF before his death in 2012.

Very rapidly after the outbreak of the protests, “all of the underlying grievances about a lack of political space, a lack of ability to express dissent, came to the forefront”, Horne told Al Jazeera.

“The government, rather than acknowledging this, they just repressed those protesters with brutal force,” he said.

A state of emergency was put in place in 2016 and lifted last August after 10 months. Hundreds of people were killed when state security forces opened fire on protesters, and more than 20,000 people were arrested amid widespread human rights abuses.

But the state’s use of violence didn’t stem the protests, and many youths were actually emboldened to continue to demand greater political inclusion, Horne said.

This year, mass protests once again broke out in the Oromo and Amhara regions after residents alleged the government was dragging its feet on a promise to release all of Ethiopia’s political prisoners. Strikes were also organised to put pressure on Desalegn’s government.

“Repression is not working, [the government was] not able to instil the same level of fear,” Horne said.

The ‘Other’

Ethiopia’s largest ethno-national group, the Oromo, are largely concentrated in Oromia, which is also the country’s largest region.

But despite the size of their population and territory, “Ethiopia has for decades marginalised the Oromo from the political and economic benefits of the state”, said Etana Habte, a PhD student and teaching fellow at SOAS at the University of London.

The questions being raised today by Oromo protesters are “very much rooted in the history of the country, where Oromo were seen in Ethiopia as its Other”, Etana told Al Jazeera.

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RENÉ LEFORT 20 February 2018

What is urgent is to bring down the tension by focusing the hopes and energies of the activists on a political way out, in the form of a tested, unchallengeable mechanism.

The crisis in Ethiopia has suddenly gained momentum and reached a tipping point. Things could go either way. The country could dig itself even deeper, with consequences that don’t bear thinking about. Or there could be a broad realisation that Ethiopia is “at the precipice”, bringing a surge of realism and pragmatism that would finally start a process of political rebuilding on solid, inclusive and lasting foundations.

This will require compromise, an attitude that is, to say the least, somewhat unfamiliar in traditional Ethiopian culture. All the actors will have to find a balance between what they would like to get and what they can get, between the short-term and the long-term. But time is short, numbered in weeks, maybe days.

Capsizing

The system of government introduced in 1991, and monopolised by Meles Zenawi from the early 2000s, is irremediably dead. It had been in its death-throes since Meles’s sudden demise in 2012. The snap resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn on February 15 marked the serving of the official death certificate.

He had privately indicated his intention to resign, but not until after the planned spring congress of the governing coalition of the four major ethnic parties: the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), the Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organisation (OPDO), the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM).

The reason he gave for his resignation, as “vital in the bid to carry out reforms that would lead to sustainable peace and democracy”, is particularly open to question in that he was a well-known reformist. Did he quit because he was pushed or because he had become aware of his powerlessness? In the midst of the worst storm that the country has experienced for decades, he was the official captain of a crew that had become so disparate, divided and disloyal that his vessel was pitching and yawing wildly.

Hailemariam probably did not want to be held responsible in the event that it should capsize. He may also have hoped that his departure would back the ruling coalition into a corner and leave it with no other alternative than to set a course out of the storm and form a new crew capable of following it.

Hegemony?

In parallel with this decline in central power, the respective strength of the coalition’s regional parties, starting with the OPDO, has continued to rise to the detriment of the TPLF, which had dominated the coalition for more than two decades despite the fact that Tigrayans account for only 6% of the nation’s population. And alongside this centrifugal movement, opposition forces – both legal and illegal, national and anchored in the diaspora – were growing in power, after long years of repression had kept them in the wilderness.

As the body politic fragments and levels out, the protests show no sign of abating, mainly in Oromya, even though not a week goes by without its death toll of victims of the security forces. Oromo complaints of marginalisation have gradually shifted towards claims of what they believe they deserve as the country’s most populous and richest region: to be at the top.

The home strike on February 12 and 13 paralysed Oromya as far as the gates of Addis Ababa, demonstrating that a blockade of the capital would not be inconceivable. Unprecedented crowds in multiple cities celebrated the return of the most prominent political prisoners: around 6,000 have been freed since a gradual amnesty announced at the beginning of January. Buoyed up by its successes, the street – at least in Oromya – could misinterpret the disarray of the EPRDF to the point that it could believe itself to have achieved an hegemonic  position that none can deny it.

However, this popular movement, mostly spontaneous and therefore loosely organised, has its shadow side, at least on the margins. While the primary responsibility for the forced displacement of almost a million people – mostly Oromo, a minority Somali – essentially since September 2017, described as “interethnic clashes”, is attributable to the Somali authorities, at grassroots level it has stirred up ethnic tensions that were previously latent, or at most sporadic and sparse.

Ethnic clashes and nationalist hysteria

The frequent claim that multi-ethnic communities have lived in peace for centuries is both true and false. “Ethnic clashes” have always taken place around basic issues: land, pasturage, water. They have flared up with all the major upheavals and subsequent power vacuums of recent decades, such as the agrarian reforms of 1975 and the introduction of the federal system in 1992-1993.

The national parties, mainly OPDO and ANDM, have backed the quest for “national identities” and claims of “national rights” in order to assert themselves vis-à-vis the TPLF and ride the wave of protests. Some of their leaders have even given their imprimatur, at least through inaction, to outbursts of nationalistic hysteria that itself also masks well-known interests, ultimately leading to “ethnic cleansing” accompanied by dispossession and pillaging.

Recently, thousands of Tigrayans, identified with their governing elite, whose powers and resources are disproportionate, were driven out of the Amhara region. Members of the Kemant, a subgroup of the Agwa ethnicity, were massacred there. Students have had to flee their universities to escape a sometimes murderous wave of “ethnic purification”.

“Ethnic clashes” are proliferating. In some cases the regional or local security forces do nothing to stop them. A symptom of this odious climate: on websites accessible in Ethiopia , especially in the comments sections, overtly racist interethnic attacks, which would be an offense anywhere else, are flourishing as never before.

Fundamental divide

Finally, in parallel with this threefold process – disintegration in the system of power, continuing protests with sometimes violent outbursts, and rising ethnic hysteria – a fundamental divide is forming, even if it does not reach the light of day. The ultra-dominant official rhetoric is reformist, founded on a key expression: “deep renewal”. However, websites (like Aigaforum.com or Tigraionline.com) that say out loud what is only whispered in certain circles of the TPLF, insist that the only effect of the government’s acts of appeasement is to make the protesters even more demanding and exacerbate the disorders.

In this view, the only way to put an end to both is to employ every possible means in a trial of strength. In addition, questions remain about some interventions by federal forces – army, police, the elite Agazi unit – carried out without the prior agreement of the regional authorities, a legal requirement, and frequently accompanied by the use of disproportionate violence. These forces are disciplined and battle hardened, so individual excesses or blunders are highly unlikely. These cases of autonomous and brutal conduct, running counter to official policy, are undoubtedly commanded, or at least tolerated, by the heads of these units, although they cannot be unaware that they are an essential contributor to escalations in radicalisation and violence.

How to draw back from the precipice

Drawing back from the “precipice” requires an urgent Copernican revolution. It can be built on four cornerstones.

– Apart from a few very marginal elements, no one fundamentally questions the Constitution. It can therefore provide the frame of reference for any change.

– None of the members of the ruling coalition envisages putting an end to it, however formal and forced its perpetuation may be. They all know that the coalition’s official collapse could devour them all. At least in the short term, it is hard to find any sign of any alternative coalition that could form, let alone govern. If the EPRDF broke up, the probability that Ethiopia would become a “failed state” is very high. However weakened it is, there would still be one hand on the helm.

– At no point, so far, has the spearhead of protest in Oromya, the Queerroo (youth), called for armed struggle. This is a major change: in the history of Ethiopia, power has always come through the barrel of a gun. However, there is a growing radical fringe which believes that taking up arms will be sufficient to put an end to the regime.

– Finally, even the opposition, which was calling for the immediate formation of a transitional government of national unity, has more or less abandoned this demand. It was unrealistic. The EPRDF has just rejected it. If it had agreed, its divisions and the scattered nature of the opposition would have bogged down the formation of such a government in interminable bargaining and one-upmanship and, once in place, would have condemned it to impotence.

However, the longer the power vacuum continues, the closer the “precipice” approaches. Regardless of its divisions, the EPRDF must at all costs make the internal compromises needed to appoint a credible prime minister and government, and then actually support them so that they can take back the helm. Of course, the appointment of Lemma Megersa, although he cannot legally occupy this position, would satisfy Oromo protesters. However, it would require such major concessions in the light of what we know about the balances of power, that another Oromo or Amhara figure, or even a southerner, would seem more feasible, a remake of the compromise reached for Meles Zenawi’s successor.

State of emergency

The proclamation of the state of emergency on February 16 caused an outcry, prompting the US Embassy to issue a statement of a severity unprecedented in contemporary US-Ethiopia relations, almost an ukase (“We strongly disagree with the Ethiopian government’s decision to impose a state of emergency… (This) undermines recent positive steps…  We strongly urge the government to rethink this approach”).

According to the Minister of Defence, it was decided unanimously by the Council of Ministers, and therefore by its OPDO and ANDM members, who reportedly came on board after first having vigorously rejected it. If this is true, what compromises were required? At present we don’t know the terms, any more than we know what is debated behind the scenes on all the different issues, making the state of emergency just one aspect of a global negotiation. There is still much to play for.

Does it signify that political openings have been rejected and the priority placed on repression, in other words a major victory for the “hardliners”? This will also depend on its scope, those enforcing it and their behaviour. The only indication comes from the official agency press release, which states that the purpose is “to protect freedom of movement and the rights of citizens to live wherever they choose as well as build assets”, in other words first and foremost to put an end to the “ethnic based attacks” mentioned a few lines below.

It is noteworthy that it makes no mention of restrictions on political activities. If, and only if, future information on the state of emergency confirms this analysis, and if, and only if, the federal forces show a minimum of restraint in their behaviour, the government will have taken the decision incumbent on any government facing the risks of an explosion of violent excesses, including ethnic unrest on this scale.

That may perhaps be why OPDO and ANDM, which had condemned the ethnic attacks, was ultimately able to accept the state of emergency. Under these circumstances, it can also be assumed that Parliament might approve it.

However, intervention by the security forces alone will not suffice to prevent this threat if nothing changes elsewhere. They were overwhelmed during the previous state of emergency. Ethiopia has around 15,000 rural communities (kebele), each with a few dozen militiamen. In other words, probably 400,000 armed men who owe their loyalty to the leader of the kebele. There is no proof that these leaders would be willing or able to hold back ethnic attacks perpetrated by a majority of inhabitants.

At this level of crisis – breakdown in the system of government, dispersal and weakness of the legal opposition, protest that is increasingly heated, disparate in its organisation and simultaneously extreme and nebulous in its goals, proliferation of ethnic clashes – it is unrealistic to think that time and resources are sufficient for a big negotiation, a sort of “national conference”, even one that brought together the main stakeholders in and outside the country, to be able to start everything afresh and rebuild a global alternative system step-by-step.

What is urgent is to bring down the tension by focusing the hopes and energies of the activists on a political way out, in the form of a tested, unchallengeable mechanism that will be as speedy, practical and unifying as possible. The mechanism that would meet these criteria is early general elections, held well ahead of the current schedule of spring 2020.

Early general elections

First, they would clarify the political landscape. Each force would be required to present voters with its flagship measures for rebuilding the system of political, economic, military or security power. The goal would not simply be a change of regime. It would include the distribution of powers and resources within the federation, hence the famous “nationalities question” that lies at the heart of the current crisis and for almost two centuries has undermined the capacity of Ethiopians to live together.

Following the elections, this landscape could be structured and hierarchized on clear and transparent foundations, and the inevitable alliances would be formed first around their respective weights and projects. Since these foundational elections would be legislative, Parliament would finally acquire the primary role assigned to it in the Constitution. The verdict of the electorate, founded on universal suffrage, would make the outcome unchallengeable.

Finally, elections would channel protest that is both vigorous and inchoate into a concrete, tangible and decisive goal. The Queerro who favour a shift to armed struggle remain a very small minority, but they have the wind in their sails. All the voices that count in Oromya and in the diaspora continue to call for calm, for patience, arguing that change is now inevitable but needs to be given time. If they are listened to and if, moreover, the undertaking to hold these general elections could reduce the tension, defuse the reasons for protesting and therefore the risks of outbreaks, there would be a greater chance that the most extreme elements would become isolated and ethnic clashes less probable.

Free and fair

However, this scenario can only work on one condition: that these elections are “free and fair”. For this to happen, a supreme authority needs to be established, emanating from all the main stakeholders, whether government, opposition or civil society, in Ethiopia or abroad.

The former head of the military, General Tsadkan, even proposed that, in order to guarantee its independence from the current government, no member of the EPRDF should be able to be part of it, though it would be difficult for the coalition to agree to submit to the authority of a body that would resemble a weapon directed against it.

This authority would be vested with the powers needed to guarantee the ability of all the competitors to organise and express themselves freely, including the power to put on ice laws that contravene it and that it would be formally impossible to repeal rapidly.

Finally, it would set a realistic date for elections.  The oppositions must have a certain amount of time to build their electoral machines, but the date should be as soon as possible. In the meantime, the government would continue to deal with day-to-day matters.

It may be objected that the formation of this supreme authority and its mandate would encounter the same kinds of difficulties as a transitional government. However, there is one big difference in scale and scope: whereas the purpose of the latter would be nothing less than to govern, the former would be restricted to a single goal: to organise and manage elections. Still unrealistic? Possibly, but probably the least unrealistic scenario to enable the country to step back from the “precipice”.

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