Ethiopia Declares Six-Month State of Emergency; U.S. Strongly Opposes

Ethiopia's Defense Minister announced on Saturday, February 17, that the state of emergency declared in the country will last for six months, as Ethiopian officials are trying to address unrest in Africa's second-most populous country. The declaration of the state of emergency came one day after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn unexpectedly resigned from his position. This is the first time in modern Ethiopian history that a sitting prime minister has resigned. He stated that he was stepping down to pave the way for political reforms. According to a Reuters report, following his resignation, violence erupted in some areas of the country, and officials in Addis Ababa banned any demonstrations and the distribution of materials deemed 'provocative and divisive.' Siraj Fegessa, Ethiopia's Defense Minister, stated, 'The government tried to contain the violence, but people are still losing their lives, many have been displaced, and economic infrastructure has been damaged.' The Ethiopian parliament, which has 547 seats held by four coalition parties, is expected to approve this decision within the next two weeks. Ethiopia has the largest and fastest-growing economy in East Africa and is considered a Western ally in the fight against Islamist groups. However, human rights groups often criticize the government for persecuting political activists and the media. The United States, one of Ethiopia's major aid donors, has stated that it 'strongly opposes' the declaration of a state of emergency in the country. The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa emphasized in a statement, 'We recognize and sympathize with the government's concerns regarding violent incidents and human casualties, but we firmly believe that granting more freedom, not less, is the answer to this situation.' The U.S. Embassy added, 'The declaration of a state of emergency calls into question recent positive actions to create a more open political space, including the release of thousands of political prisoners.' Ethiopia has released over six thousand prisoners since January, who faced various charges, including participating in protests and anti-government activities. The country has also closed a prison where human rights activists claimed individuals were tortured. Many of these prisoners were detained for participating in anti-government protests in 2015 and 2016 in two populous provinces, where the Oromo and Amhara minorities complained of lacking representation in the government. Some experts point out that the Tigrayan ethnic minority, which makes up six percent of Ethiopia's population, holds many economic and political privileges, has high-ranking officials in power and the military, and possesses significant economic activities and land compared to other ethnic groups. Protests two years ago began in response to a government plan to develop the capital but also raised broader demands, including civil rights. The Ethiopian government had previously declared a state of emergency in October 2016, which was lifted in August 2017. At that time, a nighttime curfew was imposed, resulting in the detention of 29,000 people.