“protecting” a population
and an ethnic minority in the south
Hi there,
I hope you had a good weekend.
I’m feeling a bit under the weather today, so I'm keeping this edition short. Perhaps all the late nights watching the World Cup games are finally catching up (though the Cape Verde-Argentina game alone makes it worth it!).
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 human rights stories in Ethiopia.
Now, to the news.
Xenophobia: Ethiopians in South Africa
Ethiopians in South Africa are afraid of leaving their houses or opening their businesses because of the recent wave of xenophobic attacks.
Many are “particularly vulnerable” because they lack documentation, according to a story on Addis Standard.
Why is that?
Here’s an excerpt:
…South Africa stopped issuing residence permits to political asylum seekers in 2017, and Ethiopian asylum applications became increasingly difficult after political reforms in Ethiopia that followed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s rise to power.
The Ethiopian government says it has “received assurances from South African authorities that the safety and security of Ethiopian nationals would be protected”, adds the story.
The full story, on Addis Standard, here.
Tigray: ensuring survival
Social media has been awash with news of the forced conscriptions happening across Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Here’s a refresher from last week’s edition on that.
The region’s main political party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), shared in a recent statement that the claims on the party taking steps to “unilaterally enforce military conscription in Tigray” by the European Union are unsupported.
Here’s an excerpt from Addis Standard from the statement by the TPLF:
“Faced with growing threats of renewed war and the continued mobilization of forces around Tigray, the authorities in Tigray have a fundamental responsibility to protect the population from further atrocities and destruction,” the statement said, adding that any measures adopted would be guided by the imperative of ensuring the survival, security, and well-being of the people of Tigray.
Earlier in June, the US government imposed “visa restrictions on hardline members of the TPLF and their immediate family members” for undermining the resolution to the crisis in the region.
The statement from the European Union Delegation to Ethiopia, here, the story on Addis Standard, here, and the statement on the visa restrictions by the US government, here.
Migration: the executions in Saudi Arabia
Earlier in May, three Ethiopian men were executed in Saudi Arabia on narcotics-related offenses.
At the end of last month, five more Ethiopian nationals were executed, “among many foreigners accused of non-violent drug crimes by Saudi authorities,” according to a story on the Middle East Eye.
Here’s an excerpt:
“There are many migrants in all six prison blocks here in Saudi Arabia,” Berhane said.
“In the Khamis Mushait detention facility there are 58 Ethiopian migrants, and most are from Tigray, uprooted by constant conflict and crises, and dwindling humanitarian support.”
The full story, which includes conversations with the parents of the executed Ethiopian migrants, on Middle East Eye, here.
Minority rights: attacks in South Ethiopia
Ten people have been killed by government-backed armed forces in South Ethiopia region.
The attacks took place across several days in mid-to-late June in the region’s Zayse area, according to a statement by the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC).
Here’s an excerpt from a story on Addis Standard:
The Zayse are a small minority community indigenous to Ethiopia’s southwestern highlands. Their homeland lies west of Lake Chamo in the Gamo Zone of the South Ethiopia Regional State.
People in the area have been forced to leave their homes after these incidents, which included mass arrests and sexual violence, according to the statement.
The full statement from the EHRC, in Amharic, here.
Heritage: monasteries on the verge
The ancient monasteries around Lake Tana in Ethiopia’s Amhara region could risk being closed because of the conflict.
The conflict between the federal government and the region’s informal militia has left the monasteries without visitors and, in turn, without a way to sustain their work, according to a story on France 24.
Here’s a line from one priest in Debre Maryam Monastery:
“Tourists are afraid for their lives, and we have no farmland, so we can’t afford to pay priests their salaries.”
The link to the video story, which features tour guides in the region, here.
That’s all for this week. I’ll catch you next Monday.
In the meantime, if you know someone who might be interested in this, share and let them know!
thank you, Maya~