Ethiopia has arrested more than 9,000 people after deadly clashes last month, the state human rights commission told the Reuters agency, raising fears that a government outspoken for reform is returning to the iron fisted tactics of previous administrations.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018 with the promise of democratic change in one of Africa’s most repressive peoples, is struggling to recover from a resurgence of ethnic nationalism that sporadically explodes into attacks of violence .
Abiy’s changes have loosened old disputes over land, resources and local power, and he now faces the challenge of protecting citizens while maintaining freedoms that helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize last year. He has promised to hold Ethiopia’s first free and fair elections in 2021, which would be a milestone for Africa’s second most populous nation.
But the state-run Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said more than 9,000 people have been arrested since the June 29 shooting of a musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa caused days of protests that killed more than 178 people in the capital and environs of the Oromiya region – the deadliest spasm of violence since Abiy took office.
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Asked to comment on the arrests, the government signaled that order was his immediate priority.
“One of the primary roles and responsibilities of the government is to ensure security and stability and that the rule of law prevails … actions taken in recent weeks are a reflection of the commitment to law and constitutional order, ” Billene Seyoum, a spokeswoman for the prime minister, told Reuters.
Echoes of the past
Critics of Abiy detect disturbing echoes of the past.
Among those arrested was opposition activist Dejene Tafa, who dragged police from his bed in the middle of the night on July 8 when he was sleeping next to his pregnant wife. Dejene is a university professor and secretary of the party of the Oromo Federalist Congress.
Aselefech Mulatu, his 42-year-old wife, said her husband is being held without charge and has ordered COVID-19 in jail.
“We thought we were moving towards a democratic system,” she said.
Tegene Regassa, spokesperson for the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, confirmed that Dejene was in hospital for COVID-19, but said he had recovered.
Dejene had already spent two years in prison for taking part in the street protests that overturned the former prime minister, his wife said.
Getachew Balcha, a spokesman for regional government, confirmed that 7,126 people in Oromiya were arrested alone. He said he did not know how many were charged, but said “500 files were prepared”. The Attorney General’s State Office did not respond to requests for comment.
Mass arrests were common under the previous administration that used security forces to break dissent. When protests against the Abiy government came to power, he accelerated the release of tens of thousands of political prisoners.
But now activists such as Fisseha Tekle, Amnesty International’s analyst in Ethiopia, are afraid that the Abiy government will take to the random mass remains of its predecessor.
“The government is arresting people and then looking for evidence,” Fisseha said. “This is consistent with previous experience.”
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