Discontent grows louder in Ethiopia as regime fights for survival
Arrest of opposition leader Merera Gudina follows months of anti-government protests
Angered by the arrest of Merera Gudina, his party leader, hours earlier for allegedly “making contact with terrorist groups”, a senior figure in Ethiopia’s opposition said he was willing to commit a crime under the country’s strict
state of emergency laws by criticising the ruling party.
The Oromo Federal Congress executive, who asked for anonymity, was scathing about the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, the coalition that has governed the African nation for 25 years and controls every seat in the Addis Ababa parliament.
“People want total change. This means the EPRDF has to hold a free and fair election,” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “But they interpret that as wanting to overthrow the government by force. They will cut your neck for saying so.”
At first glance Addis Ababa, a city of more than 3m people at the centre of one of the continent’s fastest-growing economies, appears to be normal. But beneath the surface it is clear that Ethiopia’s authoritarian rulers are in a fight for survival as they combat
unprecedented levels of discontent.
The regime, which is dominated by ethnic Tigrayans, who comprise only 6 per cent of the population, admits that more than 500 people have probably been killed since
anti-government protests began 13 months ago. Two months into what is expected to be a six-month state of emergency, 11,600 people have been arrested.
Ethiopia faces its Tiananmen Square moment[/paste:font]
Alarmed by a wave of protests, the regime has answered as the Chinese did in 1989 — with bullets
Opposition groups say the real figures are several times this. However, both sides’ claims are impossible to verify since neither gives evidence and the internet has been shut down in vast swaths of the country, stifling communication.
The strategy of Hailemariam Desalegn, prime minister since the death in 2012 of long-time strongman Meles Zenawi, appears to be to crush dissent, reshuffle the cabinet and focus on inclusive growth.
“Our democratisation process is still nascent,” he said recently. “It is moving in the right direction, but it has not yet come up with inclusive engagement.”
Diplomats in Addis Ababa described the government’s response as “superficial”. “They have failed to address the underlying grievances that caused the protests in the first place,” one said.
Demonstrations began in November 2015 in opposition to a government plan to extend Addis Ababa into the surrounding Oromia region. The initiative was eventually shelved but the heavy-handed response brought deeper-rooted complaints to the surface.
These included perceived inequitable benefits from more than a decade of double-digit economic growth, nepotism, land-grabbing and a lack of democracy. Memories of a brutal government crackdown after the 2005 election remain strong.
The protests spread to Amhara, and the peoples of the two regions, who make up 65 per cent of the population but for decades have rarely seen eye-to-eye, became united in opposition to the regime. But rather than engage their opponents, the ruling elite became inward-looking and repressive.
“Even if they bring gold and diamonds, people have given up on this government,” said a student activist, too afraid to give his name. “They will do whatever it takes to see change. The only question is how long it will take. Maybe five years, we hope only one.”
Why were they then released?
