The background to the arrests was communal violence, which raged in
Addis Ababa for several days in September. According to the police, at
least 28 people were killed in riots in the old city centre around
September 14th. Many were Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group.
Shortly after that, Oromo activists held a rally to welcome the return
of the Oromo Liberation Front (
), a previously banned rebel group that had fought for self-determination. After the event young men, some wearing
colours, attacked people in the city belonging to other ethnic groups, killing at least 58.
The
pattern of mass arrests followed by “re-education” has a long history
in Ethiopia. Thousands were packed off to camps after demonstrations
against disputed election results in 2005. Tens of thousands were
detained during a state of emergency imposed in 2016 to curtail protests
against the ruling party. They were lectured by military officers on
subjects including the “Ethiopian Renaissance”, the perils of
neoliberalism and the supposed threat of Western-sponsored “colour
revolutions”.
With the appointment in April of Abiy Ahmed, the
country’s reformist prime minister, such repressive tactics had seemed a
thing of the past. Abiy has freed thousands of political prisoners and
begun rewriting some of the country’s most draconian statutes. He often
preaches the importance of the rule of law.
The arrests in
September were the antithesis of this. Bereket and his peers were
detained without a court order or even an explanation. Many seem to have
been picked up at random. “I feel like a second-class citizen,” says
Kassahun, a 37-year-old homeless man on whom the irony of being taught
the constitution while being detained unconstitutionally was not lost.
“I consider it propaganda,” he says.
The incident reveals subtle
changes in the once brutal Ethiopian state. Many detainees were
surprised not to be beaten. “No one touched us,” says Yazid, a
27-year-old. He and others even spoke positively of their civics
lessons. “I learnt human rights are inviolable,” he says. On October
18th the prime minister admitted publicly that most of the arrests had
been a mistake.
Although he has tried to distance himself, it is
implausible that Abiy did not approve the police’s actions. It is likely
that he felt under pressure from his party to show he could act firmly
against unrest. Despite the talk of a new era in Ethiopian politics, the
same party remains in power. The ruling party is “trying to bring
something new,” says a former journalist. “But their old self is still
intact.”
WOLISO, Ethiopia (Reuters) - They were tortured for their political
beliefs. They saw friends shot dead by security forces. They were forced
to cut their hair and give up other cultural traditions. This year,
they say, they caused a revolution.
Magarsa
Kanaa (L), a 28-year-old teacher and local leader of Oromo youths,
poses for a portrait with Habtamu Bulcha, 75, a local elder as they
prepare for an Oromo Liberation Front's (OLF) rally in Woliso, Oromia
region, Ethiopia, October 21, 2018. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Young
men from Ethiopia’s Oromo, the country’s largest ethnic group, proudly
declare “we won” when describing their role in the rise of 42-year-old
reformer Abiy Ahmed, also an Oromo, to become prime minister.
Across
the Oromiya region, many of those young men claiming victory now want
Abiy to deliver - and fast. The “Qeerroo”, an Oromo term meaning
“bachelor” adopted by politically active young men, are demanding
answers.
Will there be justice for friends who died during
strikes and protests over the past three years? Will their rights as
Oromos be respected? When will Abiy’s pledges of change help their
impoverished communities?
Whether Abiy can answer those demands
without favouring his home region over the rest of the country will
dictate whether the young men remain an asset to him or become a
dangerous liability. Before he came to power, the Oromo youths had
already demonstrated they could shut down parts of the country with
protests and strikes, and that pressure on the ruling EPRDF culminated
in the resignation of Abiy’s predecessor in February.
Even as
they celebrate Abiy, the Oromo youth are still frustrated with life
under the EPRDF, a one-time Marxist-Leninist movement which has
controlled nearly every aspect of Ethiopians’ lives since seizing power
27 years ago.
Frustration has sometimes turned into violence. In
September, Oromo youths were reported by Amnesty International to have
carried out deadly mob attacks on other ethnic groups near Addis Ababa.
Police said 28 died.
Elsewhere in Oromiya, young men are starting
to challenge the state. They want local officials sacked and have booed
them out of rallies.
“I appreciate Abiy for the reform he
brought, and blame him for not removing those corrupt and evil killers
from their positions and bringing them to court,” said unemployed
accountant Dambal Dejene, 26, at a rally in the town of Woliso.
Abiy became prime minister in April after the EPRDF decided reforms were essential for its survival.
His
appointment was a small step towards breaking the hold of the Tigrayan
elite who have controlled the state since they took power in 1991 and
founded the EPRDF as a coalition with other ethnic political parties.
WHAT DO WE WANT?
Asked what they want from the government, more than a dozen young Oromo men told Reuters:
“Freedom.”
“No more torture.”
“Justice.”
“Economic opportunity. Jobs.”
“End to corruption and unfair land deals.”
“Respect for our culture. Dignity.”
“Democracy.”
“Free and fair elections.”
Abiy announced reforms months ago but these have stalled in part due to a spike in ethnic violence.
More than one million people have been forced to flee their homes
since Abiy took office. In the most serious violence, Oromo communities
have clashed with other groups.
Acknowledging a breakdown of the
rule of law, the EPRDF said last month: “Anarchy is witnessed in the
country.” In a speech to parliament, Abiy said: “Lawlessness is the norm
these days. It is something that is testing the government.” He has
reshuffled his cabinet and formed a “Ministry of Peace”.
Some young Oromos seem emboldened to settle old ethnic scores, said Felix Horne, Ethiopia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“Since
Abiy came to power, things have changed,” he said. “The
ethno-nationalist narrative is much more dominant than it used to be ...
a lot of the young Oromos are not willing to take ‘second place’,”
Horne said.
“The youth have already shown that they can be very
influential. How they choose to be influential is an important
question,” said a senior western diplomat in Addis Ababa. “Their
support, or non-support, for the reform agenda will directly impact how
quickly and how well the reform agenda succeeds.”
Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, did not respond to requests for comment.
A spokesman for Abiy’s political party said changes were needed at the grassroots.
“Anyone
who was slapping you, shouting at you, seeing that face may dissatisfy
the people. We feel it,” said Taye Dendea, public affairs head for the
Oromo Democratic Party.
He requested patience from the youths while the ruling coalition implements change.
But
like many young Oromos, Magarsa Kanaa, a 28-year-old teacher, said he
is still very upset at the crimes committed by security forces against
his friends.
He named one who was shot dead at a protest last
year, and said he and other young men “are starting a committee to seek
justice for him and other guys”.
Proud to be wearing his hair in
an Afro, he spoke bitterly of how the government had not allowed Oromos
to practice their culture. Men his age, he explained, like to wear
their hair in the shape of the “Odaa”, the Oromo word for the sycamore
tree that is significant as the site of rituals and meetings to resolve
disputes.
Instead, he said: “We were forced to cut our hair.”
“OROMO FIRST”
Activist Jawar Mohammed promotes an “Oromo first” ideology.
The
32-year-old with 1.4 million Facebook followers returned to Ethiopia in
August from the United States. He told Reuters that although he used
social media to coordinate Oromo youths in strikes and protests, he also
“built a solid ground network” in every town in the region. Jawar is
the movement’s hero.
“Jawar Mohammed is my pride,” said Dambal, the accountant. “He took
the Oromo struggle to the next level. We were lacking someone to lead
the youth ... he made us line up all together all over Oromiya and win.”
Interviewed in a villa in Addis Ababa surrounded by bodyguards
provided by the government, Jawar justified Oromo nationalism: “When the
state particularly represses an ethnic identity, you are forced to
defend it.”
But his “Qeerroo” are disciplined, he said, and will stick to non-violent resistance.
At
a rally in the town of Kemise, north of the capital, Jawar told
thousands of young men chanting “Qeerroo’s Father is here!”: “Obey Abiy.
Don’t be emotional in order to help the reforms.” But on social media,
his language is often less restrained.
Speaking to Reuters, he
argued that Ethiopia is experiencing a “promising and terrifying” moment
where the “power of the people” is rising and the state’s legitimacy
has collapsed.
“People power” - particularly from the Oromo - is a
strength for Abiy, but rebuilding and controlling the state is an
urgent problem, Jawar said.
“If (Abiy) doesn’t move quickly to
take full control of state power, so that he can use it to answer some
of the demands of the youth ... these people will turn against him.
“They think this is their government ... So it’s just a ticking time
bomb. We’ve gotta move fast,” he said, referencing elections that are
due in 2020. He said Abiy “has good intentions, but he has no plan, no
deadline.”
Older Oromo politicians agree.
“The youth moved the struggle
we have been undertaking for the last 50 years one step forward,” said
Merera Gudina, 62, leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress. “The PM
makes a lot of promises. If he cannot walk his talk, then he’ll face the
youth, definitely.”
