Ethiopia Update– Amhara Clashes & more –11th May 2023

th of May: 2023

The situation in the Amhara region has been deteriorating ever since the federal government’s decision to disband regional special forces. Although it was announced that the issue had been resolved, tensions reescalated when the incumbent Amhara office head from the Prosperity Party was murdered. The government then began a ‘law enforcement operation’ -to subdue armed rebels in the region-which resulted in clashes between the country's armed forces and armed residents. On Thursday the 4th The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (or EHRC) said that it was closely following the situation. In its statement, the EHRC said that civilians and property have been attacked and that the Dessie-Addis road had been closed multiple times. The Commission added that members of opposition parties and persons that organized protests have been detained. The EHRC urged parties, including the government, to resolve issues peacefully and respect the human rights of citizens.

The regional government, on the other hand, issued a statement on Saturday the 6th claiming that the current operation is being conducted to enforce the law, subdue persons it calls extremists and not to disarm residents adding that the operation is underway only in a select few parts of the region.

In news about Tigray…

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz was in Addis last week for a two-day work trip. During his stay in Addis, the Chancellor met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Getachew Reda, president of the interim Tigray administration. Scholz talked to Getachew about the remaining steps of the implementation of the Pretoria peace agreement-the agreement between the government and TPLF to end the war- humanitarian aid supply, and rebuilding the war-stricken region of Tigray.

It has been six months since the peace agreement between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (or TPLF) was reached, and most of the agreement’s clauses have been implemented. Essential services resumed a while ago, schools reopened last week, road transport to and from Tigray’s capital is no longer restricted. On Thursday the 4th, the Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise revealed that the Mekelle port and its terminal had begun rendering services after a two year halt due to the war.

Last week, the first round of negotiations between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army (or OLA) was concluded, with generally positive results. An influential opposition party - Oromo Federalist Congress (or OFC) said at its second general assembly that it supports the government’s attempts to negotiate with rebels in various parts of the country, especially with the OLA. The OFC urged the government to speed up negotiations so as to bring about lasting peace, adding that a ceasefire agreement is not enough. The party also spoke out against extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests, the ever-increasing inflation rate and how the incumbent party is responsible for the inflation.

Although it seems like there’s progress on the peace front in Ethiopia, its neighbor Sudan is in the midst of a civil war. It's been weeks since the war erupted and many have been killed, injured and displaced. Thousands have left the country, mainly through Ethiopia. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs revealed that more than a thousand people, who are nationals of various countries, are entering Ethiopia daily. The total number of displaced people who have entered Ethiopia because of the war has surpassed twelve thousand, with a significant percentage being Ethiopians.

A few months ago, the Oromia region decided to create a new city named Sheger that, by merging its districts, encircled Addis. Since its establishment there have been allegations that the city’s officials have been evicting lawful residents on an ethnic basis. Many homes have been demolished. The latest grievance regarding the demolitions in Sheger City came from the Isalmic Affairs General Council which said, in a letter submitted to the region’s president last week, that the city’s officials have demolished multiple mosques. The Council urged the city to stop demolishing, to immediately rebuild the mosques and publicly apologize to all Muslims.

Following claims that the National Bank is planning to devalue the national currency Birr against the US dollar, the Bank’s governor Mamo Mihretu took to the mass media to refute these claims, saying that there have been no talks and there are no plans to devalue the currency. The governor added that these false claims are causing market irregularities as sellers are holding on to their stock.

Speaking of the National Bank, it announced on Thursday the 11th that it has issued a license to Safaricom, the country’s only private telecom services provider, making it the only foreign company with a mobile money license. Safaricom’s mobile money wing - M-Pesa has been successful in neighboring Kenya.

Inflation continues to rock Ethiopian households. The latest controversy in relation to this had to do with private schools, as they announced significant price increases for the next academic year. Schools have introduced price increases ranging from twenty-five percent to more than a hundred percent. This decision has seriously aggrieved parents. To their relief, the Addis Ababa Education and Training Quality Regulation Authority announced on Wednesday the 10th that schools will not be allowed to increase without reaching an agreement with parents.

It has been a few weeks since the Ministry of Transport and Logistics mandated that the purchase of gas should be done by digital payments in Addis, which led to long queues because people didn’t know how to use the payment platforms. On Monday the 8th, this mandate began to apply throughout the country. Usually, in cities other than Addis, it’s a challenge to find gas, especially regular. The media says that the new system will further aggravate the problem and lead to longer queues.

as in October and November of: 2022

Last week, on Monday the 1st of May, was international labor day and the Ethiopian Workers’ Association Confederation had plans to celebrate the day in Addis as well as hold a demonstration to protest against the government because it isn’t helping workers to cope with inflation. However, this plan was cut short. The confederation’s president said that the day before the planned demonstration, Addis Ababa’s peace and security bureau head refused to allow the celebration and the demonstration to be held. The confederation had also planned to ask the government to decrease income tax rate for workers and introduce a minimum wage legislation

th of May,: 1941

In remembering this day, the Amhara region’s capital Bahir Dar decided to name roads after prominent patriots of the time.

Aaaand that's it for this week! Have you checked our website? Over there you can find more about us, how to contact us, and support us. Link to it in the show notes!

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