police are (becoming) untouchable

and Sudanese refugees

Dawit Senbeta, and his daughter, Nani, perform at Fendika Cultural Center in Kazanchis. Photo by the talented, Haymi.

Hi there,

It’s been another week of desperately trying to get people to talk to me on the record, with varying levels of success.

We also had two earthquakes last week, which brings the total number of earthquakes over the past month to 8, ranging between 4.6 to 4.9 on the Richter scale (‘light earthquakes’).

Another bit of sad news is that the city’s corridor development project, the reason behind the demolition of old Piassa, is about to take Fendika Cultural Center with it.

I just returned from spending an evening there - tonight was the last night at the venue as it’s scheduled for demolition tomorrow. Fendika has fought – and won – against orders to demolish it in the past, with petitions coming from many people and institutions, but it looks like it’s not escaping this round. I love this article on the place and its cultural significance published in Mail & Guardian last year, check it out here.

To new subscribers, welcome!

My name is Maya Misikir, and I’m a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba. I write Sifter, this newsletter where I send out the week’s top 5 stories on human rights and news in Ethiopia.

Now, to the news.

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Press freedom: no one is exempt

I have featured investigative pieces in Sifter when these stories are related to Ethiopia, and they are usually done by journalists or media houses outside of the country (for self-explanatory reasons). But over the past two years, I have shared investigations by local media house, The Reporter, especially on their coverage of Ethiopia’s murky mining sector.

Last week, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reporter was taken to jail by police officers on account of an investigative story they had published on mining. The police showed up at their office, with neither a warrant nor a court order.

Here’s an excerpt from a story they published over the weekend on what happened:

…the editor was detained for several hours on end while his attorney was expressly prohibited from consulting with him. The detaining officers refused to present any evidence or probable cause for what they said was an investigation into compromised national security and interest through newspaper articles revolving around allegations of corruption and illicit activity in the mining sector.

During the interrogation, police officers confiscated the editor’s phone, threw around (the usual) charges of ‘conspiring with external forces’ and ‘undermining the country’s national interests’ and warned that ‘next time’, they’re taking him somewhere hidden.

In August, senior editors at The Reporter were called into a meeting at the Ministry of Mines, where officials, ‘attempted to put a stop to the publication of investigative articles, tying them to “national security issues.”’

The full story, on The Reporter, here.

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Security: we don’t know her (XXXI)

This is the 31^st part update on the security reports in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, where the region’s militia, Fano, has been fighting the federal government for over a year. Go here to see a list of earlier updates. Last week’s update was on a newly geolocated town that was hit by a drone strike.

Over the past year, 35 judges have been imprisoned in the region, according to a statement by the Amhara Region Judges’ Association. The statement by the Association asks that the judges in jail be released and that legal action be taken against those perpetrating these unlawful arrests.

It’s no secret that police have been disregarding court orders to release people in their custody; this has been raised by parliamentarians in session, and rights organizations have also documented these instances in the country. Now, it seems that the police have turned on the judges themselves.

The conflict in the region has also been a problem for the work of the National Dialogue Commission according to a story on Addis Standard. I’ve written about what the Commission does in the past, and you can find that here, but the main takeaway is that it’s hard to host roundtable discussions when there’s an insurgency going on outside.

It seems like the Commission’s spokesperson has skirted around this in the story, referring to it instead as “prevailing conditions”, and noting that “there isn’t complete peace” (read: complete chaos).

 Here’s an excerpt from what he said:

The spokesperson also mentioned that their efforts to organize training programs for university instructors have been delayed, with activities not proceeding as scheduled.

At the beginning of this month, I wrote an update when hundreds of people were mass arrested in the region, including members of the academic community.

The full statement from the Amhara Region Judges’ Association, in Amharic, here, the story on that, in English, on Addis Standard, here, and the story on the National Dialogue Commission, here.

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Human rights: a report on Sudanese refugees

In April last year, the war in Sudan started and forced tens of thousands to cross over into Ethiopia seeking safety and refuge. Most had come through Metemma, a border town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. By August, a new conflict had started in Amhara region, between the region’s militia (the Fano) and the Ethiopian federal government.

The conflict continues to this day, and Sudanese refugees have been caught in the crossfire, facing attacks, robbery, and physical harm at the hands of armed actors in the region. After a prolonged process of protests, they recently started relocation to a safer campsite.

Throughout the past year since the refugees have come to Ethiopia, they have been robbed of their property, repeatedly targeted, beaten by government security forces for protesting their treatment, and told to go back to Sudan, according to Human Rights Watch.

Armed groups are accused of, ‘killings, beatings, abductions, and forced labor’ of Sudanese refugees.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with a refugee:

“When [the militias] find us, they ask for a phone, money,” said a 43-year-old Sudanese man. “If they find nothing, they’ll take you away and force you to work on the farms. We tried to report this, but there is no one to report to.”

It adds that there is a ‘rapidly worsening humanitarian situation’ inside the new camp because of this continued fighting.

The full report, which is corroborated by testimonies from Sudanese refugees, activists, and aid workers, along with satellite imagery of the camps, here.

Reshuffles: the novelty has all but worn off

The political reshuffles have continued rather aggressively over the past month. In just October, Ethiopia has had new appointments for a president (the former one ‘replaced after falling out with PM’) a Minister of Justice, a Foreign Minister, and a Minister for Tourism.   

The former Minister of Justice, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, has been appointed as the country’s foreign minister (a role that was held prior by the current president). Taking over his role as Minister of Justice will be Hanna Arayaselassie, whom I had written about in January when she was appointed as the head of the Ethiopian Investment Commission. The new Minister for Tourism is Salamawit Kassa, who was a state minister for the Federal Communication Service.

The announcement of the reshuffles (which have shocked but not surprised me), on the account of the Office of the Prime Minister, in Amharic, here.

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Finance: the ‘little sign of disruption’

The IMF has approved its first review of the recent loan agreement with Ethiopia, allowing for ‘an immediate disbursement of about US$340.7 million’ according to a statement on its page.

Here’s an excerpt from their statement that I also used last time:

The implementation of the authorities’ economic program, including the transition to the new exchange rate regime, has been commendable. The spread between the formal and parallel market exchange rates has narrowed to low levels, with little sign of disruption to the broader economy.

Part of the changes introduced so far by the Ethiopian government includes a new exchange regime and tax laws, which ‘expand the revenue base’. Last week, the Addis Abeba City Administration also introduced a revision (increase) to public transport fares.

Salary increases for civil servants will also be effective starting this month but as I’ve shared in a previous edition, civil servants have opposed the increments as being incommensurate with the rising cost of living.

The full statement from the IMF, here.

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That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!

In the meantime, feel free to share this with anyone you think can benefit from keeping up with what’s going on in Ethiopia.

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