Biftu Bole Lutheran Church holds a prayer and candle ceremony for protesters who died in the town of Bishoftu. (Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)
ETHIOPIA’S RULERS have redoubled a
repressive policy that is failing. Instead of looking for ways to alleviate the
pent-up frustrations of the ethnic Oromo and Amhara populations that spilled
out in demonstrations over the past 11 months, Ethiopia’s authorities on Sunday announced a six-month state of emergency,
allowing the deployment of troops and bans on
demonstrations. Already, rights have been severely restricted; the
state of emergency will bottle up the pressures even more, increasing the
likelihood they will explode anew.
The latest confrontation was tragic
and emblematic of the government’s wrongheaded use of force. On Oct. 2, in
Bishoftu, a town 25 miles southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, an enormous
crowd gathered to
celebrate Irreecha, an important festival that marks the end of the
rainy season and onset of the harvest. Since last November, protests have been rising
among Ethiopia’s approximately 40 million ethnic Oromos, fueled by anger
over plans for reallocating their land, political disenfranchisement and
detention of opposition activists. Anti-government chants began at the
festival, and security forces responded with tear gas. In previous protests,
tear gas has foreshadowed live ammunition. When the tear gas in Bishoftu was
followed by the sound of gunshots, panic ensued. Many people were killed when
they fell into deep trenches and drowned or were trampled.
In August, at least 90 protesters
were shot and killed by Ethiopian security forces in the
regions of Oromia and Amhara. All told, according to Human Rights
Watch, Ethiopian security forces have killed more than 500 people
during protests during the past year.
In announcing the state of
emergency, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegnblamed “anti-peace forces” and “foreign
enemies” whom he claimed are trying to destabilize Ethiopia. But attempts to
point to foes abroad masks the truth that unrest is being fueled by a deep
sense of anger at home. The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic
Front, the target of the rage, would do better to confront the root causes than
to answer with bullets and tear gas. The violence threatens to shake foreign
investment that has been a pillar of Ethiopia’s development
agenda. In recent days, businesses owned
by foreigners have been attacked; Africa Juice, a Dutch-owned firm, was set alightlast week by a crowd of hundreds
in Oromia.
Ethiopia’s human rights abuses and
political repression must be addressed
frontally by the United States and Europe, no longer shunted to
the back burner because of cooperation fighting terrorism. With the state of
emergency, Ethiopia’s leaders are borrowing a brutal and counterproductive
tactic from dictators the world over who have tried to put a cork in genuine
popular dissent. It won’t work.
Source: Washington Post
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