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What is behind Ethiopia's wave of protests?
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36940906
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Image copyright Reuters Image caption Oromo protesters took to the
streets of the capital, Addis Ababa, on Saturday
Ethiopia's government normally keeps a tight grip on the country but
has been unable to prevent a wave of protests in recent months. There
has not been anything on this scale in the last 25 years.
They began in the Oromia region last November but have now sprung up
in the Amhara region - the homelands of the country's two biggest
ethnic groups.
Activists say dozens of people were killed in Oromia, as security
forces clashed with the demonstrators, along with seven in Amhara,
although the Oromia deaths have not been confirmed.
In response to the protests, the government shut down the internet for two days.
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Why now?
There has not been a specific trigger and what we are seeing is an
accumulation of years of frustration from ethnic groups who say they
have been marginalised by the government.
Protesters in the Amhara region - from the Welkait community - first
took to the streets of the city of Gondar in July over a land issue.
New York-based Human Rights Watch says that more than 400 people have
been killed in clashes with the security forces in Oromia, although
the government disputes this figure.
________________________________
So what is behind this?
Image caption Funerals have been held in the Amhara region for some of
those killed in Sunday's protest there
The Oromos, who make up around a third of the population, have long
complained that they have been excluded from the country's political
process and economic development.
The recent protests were initially over a plan to expand the
boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa, into the Oromia region.
That plan was dropped, but the demonstrations exposed some underlying
issues and protests continued with the latest round taking place on
Saturday in many places in Oromia and the capital, Addis Ababa.
At the root of the recent demonstrations in Amhara is a request by
representatives from the Welkait Amhara Identity Committee that their
land, which is currently administered by the Tigray regional state, be
moved into the neighbouring Amhara region.
The Welkait committee says community members identify themselves as
ethnic Amharas and say they no longer want to be ruled by Tigrayans.
Amharas used to form the country's elite and the language, Amharic,
remains the most widely spoken in the country.
________________________________
Ethiopia's ethnic make-up
Oromo - 34.4%
Amhara - 27%
Somali - 6.2%
Tigray - 6.1%
Sidama - 4%
Gurage - 2.5%
Others - 19.8%
Source: CIA World Factbook estimates from 2007
________________________________
Is there a connection between the protest movements?
Observers say that Ethiopia's governing coalition is dominated by the
party from the small Tigray region (TPLF), that led the guerrilla war
against the military regime of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam. Some see
both sets of protests as a way of criticising the country's
government.
There is no formal connection between the Amhara and Oromia
demonstrations but at last week's protest in Gondar, banners could be
seen expressing solidarity with people from the Oromia region.
Oromo activists referred to the demonstrations in Amhara in their
Facebook post calling for Saturday's protests, but highlighted the
fact that they thought the protesters there had been treated more
leniently.
________________________________
Is the government in trouble?
Image copyright AFP Image caption Human Rights Watch estimated that
more than 400 people died in the protests in Oromia
The central government, a close ally of the West, is in a very
powerful position and has total control over the security forces.
There is not a single opposition member in parliament, so it faces no
real political threat.
But its reaction to the weekend's protests suggests that it is worried.
One of the first things it did was to shut down the internet across
the country, fearing that that was how the demonstrations were being
organised.
There is only one, state-controlled internet service provider so this
was fairly straightforward.
This went way beyond the reaction to protests from other governments
where access to certain social media sites has been restricted.
Last week, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn issued a veiled threat
to protesters saying that the government is obliged to ensure the rule
of law. But he did not specify what that meant in practice.
He also appeared to be concerned that the country was sliding into
ethnic conflict, which could become difficult to contain.
Correction: We have removed a reference to anti-government protests
being rare in Ethiopia that appeared in a first version of this story
Received on Mon Aug 08 2016 - 11:00:02 EDT