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Addis Ababa (HAN) December 21, 2020. Regional partnership initiatives on the rule of law, human rights and security. By. Laetitia Bader, Director, Horn of Africa, Originally published in Addis Standard and HR.org, “To heal, Ethiopia needs to face its violent past,” for Human Rights Watch.
“I want to move on and feel part of Abiy Ethiopia. I want justice and the opportunity to improve myself, ”a torture survivor told a colleague of mine last year. “But I don’t know where to get that help. I don’t want to be stuck in my own past. “
As Ethiopia marks the 29th anniversary of the collapse of the military dictatorship known as Derg in 1991, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed should commit to addressing the legacies of violence by providing a space for dialogue and victim-centered approaches directed at truth, justice, reparation, and healing.
While it’s tempting to turn the page, asking people to just forgive and move on isn’t that easy. Ethiopians have often asked for meaningful justice and the opportunity to tell their stories. Left unaddressed and without the means for further redress, competing narratives of historical injustices can continue to afflict society in various ways.
Between 1974 and 1991, the Derg regime, led by Mengistu Hailemariam, killed more than 150,000 people, including students, academics and political opponents. The Derg also tortured, forcibly disappeared, and arbitrarily arrested many more. Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe in 1991 and was tried and convicted in absentia for genocide and war crimes by an Ethiopian court in 2006.
But the state-sponsored killings and other serious abuses in Ethiopia did not start or end with the Derg.
Students of the 1960s and 1970s demanded equality for marginalized groups, freedom of speech, and land reform. Then, as in more recent years, the protesters were shot and faced with mass arrests.
On May 28, 1991, the liberation groups overthrew the Derg and formed a coalition government. The coalition is committed to establishing human rights in the country and respecting the rule of law. But he also committed decades of abuse. The military murdered, raped and tortured civilians in Gambella and in the Somali region (Jigjiga, Dhagahbour, Godey, Kabridahar, Aware and Bulaale) and imposed systemic repression during electoral periods.
Between 2014 and 2018, protesters, many of them students, took to the streets, echoing similar frustrations expressed by their counterparts in the 1960s.
Protesters initially voiced grievances about land reform, but their messages soon morphed into broader protests against the decades-long crackdown. As in the past, the security forces responded with brutal force, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths, disappearances and the imprisonment of thousands. The protests and repression eventually brought Abiy Ahmed to power.
There was hope that Abiy would finally deal with the crimes of the past. In his inaugural address, he apologized for the massive rights abuses and welcomed opposition groups home. Since then, he has taken steps to resolve the protracted border conflict with Eritrea and ushered in internal reforms, actions that resulted in him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I ask all of us to forgive each other from our hearts, to close the chapters of yesterday, and to move forward into the next bright future through national consensus,” Abiy said in a speech.
But to truly break with the past, Ethiopia needs to meaningfully seek truth, justice, reconciliation and reparation, and not take an approach to the detriment of others.
Abiy continues to focus on reconciliation as her preferred approach to dealing with the country’s past. At the end of 2018, Abiy established a Reconciliation Commission with the main task of “maintaining peace, justice, national unity and consensus and also reconciliation among Ethiopian peoples.” But the agency was created without extensive public consultation, its mandate remains unclear, and some of its members lack the technical expertise necessary to effectively carry out the agency’s investigative function.
The government also took some initial steps toward justice for past abuses. He detained senior officials from the previous government for human rights abuses and corruption. But the arrests and charges seemed politicized. The government recently dropped most of the charges, citing the need for peace and reconciliation.
And yet, in the past two years, Ethiopia has experienced growing unrest and community violence. Increased violence has resulted in deaths, displacement and destruction of property.
The government’s response to some of these challenges is already showing signs of retreating. There are many credible reports of killings, torture, and arbitrary arrests by the security forces. We have also documented phone and internet service closures in Oromia, and the arrests of journalists and opposition leaders and their supporters. The return to abusive practices is a painful reminder of the long failure to effectively reform the security sector and address its culture of impunity.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the country is now facing a public health crisis that has disrupted plans to hold highly anticipated national elections initially scheduled for August. The delay has further exposed social divisions, particularly among policymakers. Ensuring political consensus is deeply necessary and would go a long way toward facilitating, rather than hindering, the potential of transitional justice measures to address harm and promote healing.
Ethiopia still has a way to go to learn and fully heal a divided nation that has suffered the legacy of abuse. Rebuilding trust in state institutions will be key. One step would be to clarify the mandate and scope of the Reconciliation Commission established under Abiy. To ensure that it is a truly independent and inclusive truth-seeking process, the Commission should aim to consult with a wide range of civil society and community and victim groups.
Allowing these individuals and groups to have a voice in the design and execution of the Commission’s work would not only pave the way for future accountability, but would revalue victims by providing a secure platform to share their experiences. This approach would enrich the work and the legitimacy of the Commission in the long term. Future recommendations of the Commission could also contribute to justice and security sector reforms, given their past and present abusive roles.
Abiy’s approach to national unity is an important message. But he’s also one who hopes Ethiopian society will recover without all the work that goes into making it possible.
Presidents’ Photo Comments: Zerubabel Sentayhu
Our respected and proud President of Ethiopia, His Excellency W / RO Sahile, you are a sure leader, yes you can! Do your best and keep it up! I wish to support and guide Our GOD everywhere and at all times with success! GOD BLESS YOU and I wish you all the best !!!!
