Ethiopia Declares State of Emergency Following Police Violence

Protests Against State Seizure of Oromo Land (Finfinne Tribune)

For the first time in 25 years, Ethiopia declared a six-month state of emergency effective immediately on October 8 in response to anti-government protests, primarily focused in the restive Oromia State. Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn claimed that the state of emergency is necessary because “the situation posed a threat against the people of the country.” At least 1,000 people have since been detained near Sebeta, outside of Addis Ababa, on the grounds of carrying out violence and damaging properties, particularly buildings belonging to foreign firms.

As The Caravel reported in February 2016, the Ethiopian government’s approval of its Master Plan to expand the capital Addis Ababa into Oromo territory in 2015 spurred unresolved conflicts in Oromia. Though the government eventually abandoned these plans, protests have since evolved from land rights concerns to encompass calls for more political, economic, and cultural rights by the Oromo, Ethiopia’s most populous ethnic group, and Amhara, the second largest group. These groups demand an opening of political space after decades of marginalization at the hands of the Tigrayan-led ruling party and its policy of ethnic federalism.

On October 2, less than a week before the state emergency was declared, police responded with arguably unnecessary force to protests during an Irreechaa religious festival in Bishoftu, sparking outrage from activist organizations and the international community alike. Human Rights Watch claims that at least 500 people have been killed at the hands of security forces since protests began in November 2015, while the government has admitted to the deaths of only 52 in Bishoftu. The Ethiopian government also vehemently denies the accusations that security forces used excessive force against protesters in Bishoftu.

The day after the state of emergency was declared, government spokesman Getachew Reda accused “foreign enemies” and “anti-peace elements,” including Eritrea, with whom Ethiopia has been embroiled in a long-running border dispute, of arming, training and financing groups involved in the unrest. The most vexing enemy to the Ethiopian state, however, is not its rival neighbor, but rather social media. Under the state of emergency, the Ethiopian state has already banned posting on social media and watching the Oromia Media Network (OMN) and Ethiopian Satellite Television and Radio (ESAT) in the hopes of impeding the spread of dissident ideas, especially from influential diaspora groups that run the OMN and ESAT. The current state of emergency will have additional impacts on freedom of expression by allowing the state to block Internet access, prohibit public gatherings, impose curfews, restrict travel of diplomats, and authorize detention without a warrant.