Home2016 (Page 44)

March 2016

(Revised)
Save for yesterday’s vague ‘apology’ from Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the ruling party in Ethiopia is dead silent on the scale of the tragedy that gripped Ethiopia recently. But it only takes a simple drive through villages within 100 -300km radius and a sit-and-talk session with villagers to understand that what happened in the last four months (and is happening to a lesser extent) has, by and large, left an ugly rupture in Ethiopia’s already wobbly state-citizen relationship.

Zelalem Kibret

 

After four months and an endless public protest across the Oromiya regional State, the situation remains bleak. Protesters are being killed (albeit sporadically and often in mysterious circumstances) and are being arbitrarily arrested. EPRDF, the ruling party, continued hiding its head in the sand, avoiding and covering up any discussion on the root cause of the problem. In the mean time, a constitutional squabble mainly related to the constitutionally guaranteed ‘Special Interest’ of the Oromiya Regional State on the city of Addis Abeba has dominated the headlines over the last few weeks.