Saudi Arabia's crimes are piling up
and a journalist walks
Hi there,
Another week observing as one story after the other comes out on cryptocurrency and bitcoin mining in Ethiopia. Earlier this year, I wrote an update when news broke that bitcoin miners had arrived in droves to Ethiopia, signed power supply deals with the government, and had set up, ‘their energy-guzzling’ computers in the country, all thanks to the ‘cheap electricity’ and the government’s desperate need for foreign currency. You can go here to read more on that.
Ever since Bloomberg blew the lid on that story in February, many more stories have followed suit, most focused on the many (5) Ways Bitcoin Mining Benefits Ethiopia; by April, the Ethiopian Investment Commission had organized a seminar on the ‘challenges and opportunities of cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency mining investments’; in May, the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia had set up an event discussing Bitcoin. The lobbying is real and palpable.
Last week, I knew things had reached a different level when even state-owned media house, Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, ran a story on Blockchain technology. It’s an invitation to look closer and more likely a harbinger of what’s to come.
My deep dive on the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission will have to wait another week, as an unexpected cold has hijacked my plans for that.
Now, to the news.
Migration: another reminder to ask the right questions
Readers who have been around for a while know that I follow migration reports in this newsletter closely. It’s one of my interest areas.
In August last year, Human Rights Watch released a report on how Saudi border guards had killed hundreds - and possibly thousands - of Ethiopian migrants who were trying to cross over into the country from Yemen. This route, taken by tens of thousands of Ethiopians, is known as the Eastern Route, and goes from Ethiopia, through Somalia or Djibouti, into and through Yemen, and often to Saudi Arabia.
At the time, the Ethiopian government had said that they would look into things, and naturally, that was the last we heard about the issue.
Another damning report by the Mixed Migration Center now says that ‘Saudi Arabia continues to kill Ethiopians and Yemenis at its border with impunity’.
There was a ‘brief storm of international outrage’ at the time of the last report by Human Rights Watch, which said that the actions of Saudi patrol guards could amount to crimes against humanity, according to the story by Middle East Eye.
But, it adds, ‘international indifference towards the Saudi-led mass shootings has allowed the crimes to continue.’
(As it stands, things never looked better between the two countries; a ‘high-level’ visit of 79 investors headed by the President of the Federation of Chamber of Commerce of Saudi Arabia was in Ethiopia last week.)
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
"So little has been done to censure Saudi Arabia, which surely can find an alternative, less cruel way of deterring the poorest of irregular migrants whose only offense is desperately wanting to be economically productive in a hugely wealthy migrant-dependent economy," the report said.
Oh, and the Saudi patrol guards shooting on migrants? Trained by German police and the U.S. military.
The full story on the Middle East Eye, here.
Press: free to go? free to go.
In May, I wrote about Ethiopian journalist Muhiyadin Mohamed Abdullahi when he was sentenced to two years imprisonment on charges of false news and hate speech. Though officially sentenced in May, Muhiyadin, who is based in Ethiopia’s Somali region, had been in prison since February, when he was taken, ‘by unidentified security personnel’.
The Somali Region Journalists Association has announced that Muhiyadin has now been released, thanks to the work that it has done. The Association thanked human rights organizations as well as other institutions that ‘stood’ with it.
Part of the statement read: “This step demonstrates that our efforts are both progressive and fruitful.”
No further details were shared including what happened to his former sentence.
The full statement by the Association, here.
Tech: the rise of ride-hailing companies
Last week’s edition included the harrowing account of the attempted rape of a famous Ethiopian singer by a driver of a ride-hailing company called FERES. She went public with her story, one which mirrors the story of many other women in the country, who have faced similar situations.
The increase in the number of ride-hailing companies in the country, which as of this year, has reached 42, ‘has outpaced government regulation, safety measures, and affordability for customers’ according to a story by Addis Fortune.
Here’s a wildly dissatisfying response quoted in the story:
Abebe Mulu, CEO of Feres, said the company takes each report seriously, from customer service complaints to inappropriate advances, and pungent smells. He claims that they take measures ranging from suspension to blocking the driver from associating with the company.
"Potential threats increase in proportion with the number of trips," Abebe told Fortune, "but it remains insignificant.
The story cites experts who say that GPS and cameras should be mandatory requirements in each vehicle, government officials who say they don’t even know all the companies operating in the sector, and drivers who claim that ‘safety is largely a matter of personal vigilance’.
Ride-hailing services, first launched in 2015, currently generate billions of Birr annually.
The full story, in English, here.
Security: we don’t know her (XXII)
The security in Ethiopia’s Amahara region, and updates regarding what has been happening over the past year there, have been chronologically organized here.
Last week, the state of emergency, declared in August last year, after fighting broke out between the region’s informal militia (Fano), and the federal government, came to an end. The initial declaration had lasted six months and was extended for another four months earlier this year in February.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has called for the release of people imprisoned under the state of emergency, including lifting travel restrictions in place across different regions.
Meanwhile, attacks have continued unabated in the region. Two administrative officials were assassinated over the past 10 days, according to a story on Addis Standard.
Here’s an excerpt:
On June 6, 2024, the Kewot district administration announced that Milishu Bekele, the head of the North Shewa Zone’s Kowet district administration office, was killed by armed men while moving within the city.
According to a statement issued by the administration, Milishu, who was pregnant at the time, was fatally shot by “extremist elements.
Days earlier, on June 2, the head of another district in the region, was ‘killed in a late-night attack at his residence on Saturday’.
This follows two other assassinations last month in the region’s North Wollo Zone.
The full story, which outlines the series of assassinations in the region since April of last year, by Addis Standard, in English, here, and the statement by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, in Amharic, here,
Politics: one more opp detained
Things have gotten so bad for opposition political groups that the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia sent a request to parliamentarians asking them to initiate investigations into unlawful detentions, particularly for members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
Last week Wednesday, Addis Standard reported that the former head of the opposition political party, the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (or EZEMA as its widely known), had been, ‘detained without court appearance for over 48 hours’.
Charges? Suspected of “using the media to incite people”.
Here’s an excerpt of what his wife, Mulu, said from the story:
Mulu detailed the arrest, stating, “Civilian policemen came to our house on Friday night and took him away, saying they wanted him for questioning.”
She also disclosed that Yeshiwas was taken without a court order. According to her, police searched their home the following day but found nothing.
The last time I wrote about this party, in October, the chairman had been arrested.
Months before that, party members were leaving in the hundreds, including seven founding members who had resigned. Members claimed that the party was taking sides with the ruling party.
The current head of the party, Berhanu Nega, serves as the Minister of Education of Ethiopia, appointed by the Prime Minister following the elections in 2021.
The full 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 say thank you by forwarding this to friends and family (and helping them keep up with what’s going on).
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