Parliamentarians want to know how we're funding our parks
and the government rejects another human rights report
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the 20th edition of Sifter, a weekly newsletter that covers news in Ethiopia. I am Maya Misikir, a freelance reporter working in Addis Ababa and I go through a lot of news every week so now, you don’t have to.
I cover news (and at times reports) that I personally think is important but if you think there’s something else I should add, or if you find a report that you would like more information on, don’t hesitate to hit the reply button and let me know. I’m happy to help!
Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my question last week (all 3 of you). If you’d like to share your ideas on how I can make this newsletter better for you, I’m still taking suggestions, so just hit the reply button.
Now, to the news.
Finance: a palace worth over half a trillion Birr
I’m sure most of you are aware of the news that the Prime Minister is building a palace on the hills of Yeka Mountains. The Chakka Project, to be exact, includes three artificial lakes, a zoo, a waterfall, and a real estate project of luxury villas and will land on 503 hectares of land (go here to see what that means exactly). The costs are expected to go over half a trillion Birr (13.8 billion Euros) according to sources cited in a story by French publication Le Monde.
Why am I bringing this up now? Because always is the right time to bring this up. But also, because parliamentarians questioned Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide, last week Thursday during a discussion on the budget for the coming year.
The questions raised, according to a story by The Reporter, were pretty straightforward: why is the government spending so much money on lavish projects like parks, museums, and palaces when the average Ethiopian is unable to keep up with the fast-rising living costs? Shouldn’t the budget for these projects be transparent and pre-approved by parliamentarians?
The answer from the minister was that, ‘some specific initiatives may be carried out in line with resource mobilization plans developed by public enterprises.’ Resource mobilization plans is a complicated way of saying “Dine for Ethiopia” (if you don’t know about that, go here.)
The story by Le Monde here and The Reporter here.
Human Rights: (yet) another report rejected by the government
In a move that has surprised no one, the Ethiopian government has refuted the latest report on human rights abuses released by Human Rights Watch. The organization, which released its report on June 1, had said that despite the November peace deal, ethnic cleansing is still happening in Western Tigray; ethnic Tigrayans are being forcefully expelled from their homes by local authorities and Amhara forces. The report went so far as to name names, here’s an excerpt:
“Recent Human Rights Watch research found that two officials, Col. Demeke Zewdu and Belay Ayalew, who were previously implicated in abuses, continue to be involved in arbitrary detention, torture, and forced deportations of Tigrayans.”
The report acknowledged that the term ethnic cleansing is not formally defined under international law and explained its usage as below:
“…the United Nations Commission of Experts, mandated to look into violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, described it as a “purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means, the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”
The Ethiopian government on its part has seen this report as an attempt to ‘fuel inter-ethnic conflict’. It said, in its statement sent out last week Tuesday, that the report is interested in only one area when the conflict also affected areas in Afar and Amhara Regions as well.
The report by Human Rights Watch here and the statement by the Ethiopian government here.
Film: annual awards ceremony ends in creator detained
The Gumma Film Awards have been taking place every year since 2014. This year, at the ceremony, held at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, security forces (wearing civilian clothes) came and took away director Yonas Berhane (Yonas is also the creator of the award ceremony).
Security forces reportedly came looking for one actress in attendance who had come to the event looking like this:
Here’s what Ethiopian Human Rights Commissioner, Dr. Daniel Bekele, had to say:
Detention of film maker Yonas Berhane Mewa despite bail, for apparently another TV personality art work showing a bullet wound on her head & barbed wire on her mouth at an arts event is unlawful . Artistic expression is part & parcel of freedom of expression. Release immediately.
Yonas was released today on bail after spending the weekend in jail.
The report in Amharic on Addis Maleda here and the tweet by the Commissioner here.
AID: food aid diversion in Tigray coordinated, criminal
The USAID announced last week Thursday that they are halting aid to Tigray region after investigations revealed a coordinated diversion of donor-funded food in Ethiopia.
In a report by Addis Standard, a spokesperson for the USAID said:
“After a country-wide review, USAID determined, in coordination with the Government of Ethiopia, that a widespread and coordinated campaign is diverting food assistance from the people of Ethiopia.”
The food diversion reportedly covers seven regions and involves both the federal government and regional entities.
Earlier in May, both the UN and the USAID had announced they would pause sending aid to the region when it was found that food sent to Tigray was being stolen and sold in local markets.
The story on Addis Standard here.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!
In the meantime, you can help support my work by forwarding this email to friends and family who might benefit from keeping up with what’s going on.
Note: I go through all the major news outlets, newspapers, online publications, and will at times, include reports, notes on parliamentary sessions, and go through fact-checking websites as well. I try to provide links to both English and Amharic sources, and I usually time-stamp the video I link to unless I think the whole video is relevant.