Negotiation Failure & more – 14th Dec 2023

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 14th of December twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

This week, Field Marshall Berhanu Jula, The Ethiopian National Defense Forces Chief of General Staff, told government media outlets that there will be no negotiations with an entity that doesn’t accept the constitution and the government’s structure. He sat down with media outlets to talk about the failed second round of negotiations with the Oromo Liberation Army (or OLA) held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Even though the OLA and the government reached some agreements, according to Berhanu Jula, the OLA reneged and started asking for more concessions.

He said that the government will not and legally cannot grant the OLA political power as it can only be attained through the public’s vote —a democratic process. When asked if there was a possibility for a third round of negotiations, he said that there would be, but this round would either resolve the dispute once and for all or close all doors for further talks.

But the biggest talk of the town this week came on Monday the 11th when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent a letter to Taye Dendea, the state minister of peace, firing him from his position. The letter did not say why the PM relieved him from his post. Taye Dendea took to social media not only to post the letter but to slam the PM himself, calling him a ‘barbarian who plays with human blood.’ Just days before he was removed from his post, he criticized the government for failing to strike a deal with the OLA in the second round of talks. He also spoke out against the executive’s decision to disallow a protest in Addis.

However, the saga didn’t end there. The day after he was fired, on Tuesday the 12th, the Federal Security and Intelligence Task Force arrested him, saying that an investigation revealed that he had allegedly participated in terrorist activities while he was in office. The task force said in a statement that Taye Dendea had conspired with the OLA to destabilize the country and overthrow the government, adding that it had searched his residence and found, among other things, vehicle plates, rifles, pistols, and OLA logos.

Following Taye’s arrest, on Wednesday the 13th, the Political Parties Common Council, which the incumbent party Prosperity is also a part of, said that it is concerned with the ongoing arrests of politicians, saying that the arrests will negatively impact the multiparty system.

Taye Dendea wasn’t the only one who got fired. The PM also removed The State Minister of Trade, and the head of the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation took his place. PM Abiy also appointed two state ministers of justice as his advisors.

The prime minister was in the news again as he launched the Niin Lee Palm Spring Lodge project as part of his Dine for Generations initiative, which raises funds for the construction of various tourist destinations throughout the country. The PM carried out two projects: The Dine for Sheger project, which aimed to build tourism sites in Addis, and the Dine for Ethiopia, which intended to develop tourist destinations in Koysha, Wonchi, and Gorgora

The initiative gets its name from how funds are raised; basically, the PM office hosts a dinner with very expensive entrance tickets, and proceeds go to the projects.

Moving on, Air Force commanders from numerous countries of the African continent are in Debre-Zeit, a city close to Addis where Ethiopia’s Air Force base is located, to take part in the first-ever African Air Force Commanders Forum. In the event, Yilma Merdassa, Ethiopia’s Air Force Commander Lieutenant General, said that the country’s Air Force is ready to work in collaboration with other African countries. He recalled that the Air Force has been supporting various African countries over the years. The Forum is being held as part of the celebrations for the 88th anniversary of the Ethiopian Air Force and aims to resolve challenges posed to Africa’s Air Forces growth.

More news from the continent, as Xue Bing, China’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Ambassador, was in Addis this week. He sat down with Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and talked about Ethio-China bilateral relations and the newly entered all-weather strategic partnership between the two countries. Aside from bilateral relations, Demeke expressed his appreciation to China for helping Ethiopia’s cause in multilateral forums, specifically recalling China’s support in Ethiopia’s entry into the BRICS bloc of countries.

Next up, the head of the sugar industry group said that sugar factories have been unable to produce due to security issues. However, the plants resumed production after the central government deployed National Defense Forces to these factories to ensure security. The head of the industry said this when he sat before the House of People’s Representatives Public Development Enterprises Affairs standing committee on Wednesday, the 6th, for this fiscal year’s first quarter report. He said that the Defense Forces deployment for security is in addition to the security services the federal police provides but added that the industry needs additional protection and support from the government in order to resolve production issues.

Still, recall that the Minister of Defense, in his quarter-year report, told the house that the Army must preserve the country’s sovereignty and not look out for bandits, adding that the militia and federal police should deal with this matter.

It seems Ethiopia will soon begin issuing electronic passports to its citizens as the Immigration and Citizenship Service signed an agreement with securities printing venture Toppan Gravity Ethiopia, which was formed jointly by Japanese firm Toppan and Ethiopia’s sovereign fund Ethiopian Investment Holdings. The signatories said that they expect this partnership to usher in a seamless transition to an e-passport that will have enhanced security features and efficiency.

Speaking of passports, prosecutors have sued sixty individuals suspected of issuing passports and visas to foreigners and sending undocumented individuals abroad. These suspects have been under investigation, and once it was completed, prosecutors decided to take their cases to the Federal High Court. Recall that the former deputy director of the Immigration and Citizenship Service was also detained and under investigation as part of this debacle.

Giuseppe Valditara, Italy’s Minister of Education, was in Addis this week. On Tuesday the 12th, the Minister signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Berhanu Nega, Ethiopia’s Minister of Education. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education said that the two countries plan to establish strategic cooperation in higher and general education sectors. Part of the memorandum includes student and teacher exchange programs, and technical and vocational education training.

Let’s end this episode with some sports news. Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, along with five other athletes, was named World Athlete of the Year on Monday, the 11th. World Athletics said that even though it had planned to select just one athlete, it received feedback from various sources saying that because the athletes’ skills and disciplines vary, votes shouldn’t be limited to only one athlete. Tigist’s impressive feat that won her Athlete of the Year was her Berlin Marathon victory in which the twenty-seven-year-old not only came in first but shattered the world record by two minutes and fourteen seconds.

Aaand that's it for this week! So here's to a bit of holiday spirit. We wanted to thank you for listening, learning, thinking, and for joining us on this new thing called Rorshok we're all doing together. Really. Thank you.

Ciao!