A call for solidarity
and coffee in jeopardy
Hi there,
I hope your weekend was fun. I went to a wedding, a jazz festival, and a dinner with a friend all in the span of three days. I’m keeping the momentum going with the first Sifter community meetup this Thursday, May 30th, at Zen Apartments! This place is a gem; a beautiful garden, and a spacious indoor space with a nice selection of food and drinks! Shout out to Tej, who helped make the connection!
You can find the location here. I’ll be there starting 6 PM.
To new subscribers, welcome to Sifter; a weekly roundup of news on Ethiopia. I’m Maya Misikir, a freelance reporter based in Addi Abeba, and I curate it.
Now, to the news.
Human rights: an urgent call by a rights body
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), a civil society organization, put out an ‘urgent call’ last week asking for partners and human rights organizations to stand with it as it is facing increased attacks and pressure from the government.
The Council said that its staff have been unlawfully arrested, threatened, and murdered and that these ‘systemic attacks’, are preventing it from doing its human rights work in the country.
Here’s an excerpt from the statement:
Since its establishment in 1991, EHRCO has been an organization which has figure headed human rights work. Thus far, the organization itself as well as its staff and members have had and are still facing myriad of pressures. These various attacks and heavy pressures are a clear indication of how dangerous the situation of human rights and human rights work in the country has become..
The statement includes a chronologically presented list of attacks that the Council’s management and staff have faced, as well as raids of their offices, and instances where their devices were unlawfully confiscated.
The full statement from the Council, here.
Coffee: farmers need to step up to continue export
Ethiopia is well known for its coffee; coffee is the biggest export commodity for the country, earns a lot of much-needed foreign currency, and is a source of livelihood for millions of farmers (‘employing 25% of the population directly or indirectly’).
The majority of these coffee exports head toward Europe and a new EU law could jeopardize this, according to a recent report from Le Monde.
So, what is this new EU law? One that forces supply chains to provide proof that they are not contributing to deforestation.
The story says that most coffee growers in Ethiopia respect these rules so why would that affect them? They need to prove that they’re not contributing to deforestation, ‘using satellite data and geographical coordinates’. The EU will also expect, ‘full traceability from the moment cherries are harvested and their arrival on European soil.’
Here’s an excerpt on why this is a challenge for farmers in Ethiopia’s Kaffa Zone:
Providing accurate geographical surveys is a challenge for these 5 million or so smallholders: Internet coverage is poor in the villages, land registries are non-existent, and land disputes are legion. According to several Ethiopian diplomats and exporters, complying with the new European standards could take up to five years.
This law will come into effect in January 2025, though it is already applicable for soy and palm oil crops, of which the consumption in Europe is ‘responsible for 10% of global deforestation’ according to the story.
If they don’t comply, importers will face heavy fines urging them to look to countries like Brazil instead.
The full story on Le Monde, here.
Tourism: tribal conflict, and a guide’s death
A Spanish tour operator was killed while filming in one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, the South Omo Valley, located in the South Ethiopia Region. He was shot at by a local Mursi tribesman near the Mago National Park while driving through a territory where inter-communal conflict had just taken place.
I spoke to a local tour guide who was with the crew during the time, and he told me that the local police had mistakenly given them reassurance to head in the direction where the shooting happened.
Here’s an excerpt from an update on Addis Standard:
The Ministry of Tourism has confirmed the death of Tony Espadas, a Spanish tour operator, during an incident at Mago National Park in South Ethiopia Regional State. In a statement, the ministry expressed deep sadness and described the incident as a "terrible tragedy" and an isolated dispute not targeted at tourists.
The Minister of Tourism, in her report to Parliamentarians, has also mentioned that ‘border disputes and conflicts with wildlife’ across national parks in the country are also getting worse.
Here’s an excerpt from a story on The Reporter:
During the session, it was disclosed that in the first nine months of the current financial year, 12 people and six elephants were killed at the Babile Elephant Sanctuary. These casualties stemmed from ongoing conflicts as residents illegally entered the animal shelter, heightening risks of injury and death.
The full update on Addis Standard, here, and The Reporter, here.
Diplomacy: Ethiopia’s ambassador to the US resigns
I wrote an update on a colorful exchange between the Ethiopian government and the US ambassador to Ethiopia on last week’s edition of Sifter. The ambassador had given a speech on the security situation in the country and had urged all parties, armed groups and the Ethiopian government alike, to push for dialogue. That didn’t go down well with the Ethiopian government, which has considered the move as ‘unsolicited advice’. You can read the update on that, here.
On Sunday, The Reporter wrote that Ethiopia’s ambassador to the US, Sileshi Bekele, had resigned from his post. The story said that his decision was so that he could, ‘continue to pursue a private career in his field as a hydraulics and hydro-engineering expert’. Um, okay.
Here’s an excerpt from the story on his background:
Sileshi was appointed to the role following stints as minister of Water, Irrigation, and Energy as well as chief negotiator and advisor to the Prime Minister on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and transboundary rivers.
He was assigned as ambassador to the US in 2022.
The full update on The Reporter, here.
Refugees: Sudanese face another conflict in Amhara
I write updates on the security in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region. The last one was in early April when Human Rights Watch had called for an urgent investigation into the killings in the town of Merawi, which it said was ‘among the deadliest for civilians’ since the beginning of the conflict in the region (August, last year).
You can read about that here, and you can find all the 22 updates on this so far, here.
Today’s update concerns Sudanese refugees, who came to Ethiopia seeking shelter from the war in Sudan. The conflict in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, where thousands of Sudanese refugees are staying at two different camps, has made living there very difficult for the refugees, according to a report by France 24.
Thousands of Sudanese refugees have been forced to leave their camps and are stranded because of the repeated attacks and thefts they are exposed to.
The Ethiopian government has promised to work on providing more security to the refugees, and last week about 15,000 Sudanese received free visa renewals.
The video with the story on France 24, here.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!
In the meantime, you can say thank you by forwarding this to friends and family (and helping them keep up with what’s going on).
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