Under the Radar: Foreign investors under attack in Ethiopia

By Jeremy Luedi Mounting violence in Ethiopia has seen over 500 killed, as protests against the government’s economic and human rights policies continues. The tensions at the heart of the crisis are systemic ones, yet what makes the violence particularly worrisome is that foreign investors have become prominent targets. Foreign businesses are being systematically attacked…

What’s fuelling protests in Ethiopia?

A state of emergency has been imposed and the government accuses foreign forces of instigating unrest.  Ethiopia It has been hailed as an oasis of political stability and a model of growth in Africa but for the past year, Ethiopia has been in the news not because of its economic successes, but because of insecurity…

US State Department on Ethiopia’s Declared State of Emergency

Press Statement John Kirby Assistant Secretary and Department Spokesperson, Bureau of Public Affairs The United States takes note of the Government of Ethiopia’s October 8 declaration of a State of Emergency in response to recent protests and violence in the Oromia and Amhara regions.  We are troubled by the potential impact of the decision to authorize detention…

The tyrannical EPRDF must go

By Alemante Gebre-Selassie The country’s deadly protests stem from ethnic division, endemic corruption and high youth unemployment. The world must support calls for a new government ‘A further factor fuelling the protests in Ethiopia is youth unemployment and the sense of hopelessness it has engendered.’ Photograph: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters The deadly protests that have rocked Ethiopia over…

EPRDF meets protests with bullets

Biftu Bole Lutheran Church holds a prayer and candle ceremony for protesters who died in the town of Bishoftu. (Tiksa Negeri/Reuters) By Editorial Board ETHIOPIA’S RULERS have redoubled a repressive policy that is failing. Instead of looking for ways to alleviate the pent-up frustrations of the ethnic Oromo and Amhara populations that spilled out in…

Ethiopia Human Rights Abuses Spark U.S. Congressional Action

By J. David Thompson U.S. Representatives push for legislation targeting Ethiopia after Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch document human rights abuses. A bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives has proposed legislation targeted at the government of Ethiopia, after Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch documented hundreds of cases of alleged human rights abuses. House Resolution…

Growing Protests Bring Ethiopia to the Tipping Point

Anuradha Mittal The past weeks have seen an escalation of ongoing protests across Ethiopia—including widespread acts of resistance like citizens shaving their heads in solidarity with jailed opposition leader Bekele Gerba and stay-at-home protests that have turned bustling cities into near ghost-towns. Despite the undeniable peacefulness of these actions, state violence and repression has continued.…