State terror in Ethiopia: 570 deaths since November 2015

After almost 100 protesters got killed in clashes with the security forces in Ethiopia over the past three days, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has accused the Ethiopian government of state terror. “There is no justification for the totally excessive use of force against the Oromo and the Amhara. They were merely making use of their right to freedom of expression,” said the STP’s Africa consultant, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Tuesday. “Ethiopia is not a safe haven as Europe’s politicians would like to make believe. The country is characterized by arbitrariness and lawlessness – and the Ethiopian government is ruling with an iron fist. It has been losing credibility, provoking an open revolt of the civilian population. After decades of oppression, the marginalized Oromo and Amhara have very little to lose, which is why they are prepared to risk being shot during peaceful protests.” Since the beginning of the Oromo’s protests on November 12, 2015, a daily average of two unarmed demonstrators were killed in clashes with the security forces. All in all, 520 Oromo and 50 Amhara have lost their lives.

The STP also raises serious allegations against the European Union, stating that human rights violations in Ethiopia are being ignored or covered up in the scope of the appeasement politics of the last few years. “Obviously, the EU is trying to keep Ethiopia as a partner in the refugee crisis at all costs, although the country’s policy of repression contributes significantly to the state of emergency in the region. This is like keeping a fox to guard the sheep,” criticized Delius. “It is no wonder that more and more Oromo are trying to find refuge in Europe.”

Further, the STP emphasized that the EU will have to rethink its relations to the Horn of Africa. “The serious human rights violations must not be ignored! Otherwise, this will encourage the security forces in their arbitrariness and their use of force. If the EU’s declared aim is to combat the causes of flight, the state terror against the Ethiopian civilian population cannot be ignored!” According to estimates, at least 20,000 Oromo have fled from the escalation of violence in Ethiopia since November 2015. Many of these refugees lost their lives in Sudan, in Libya, or drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.

With its controversial anti-terrorism measures and other repressive laws, the Ethiopian government aims to systematically silence all human rights organizations and opposition parties – and to muzzle or break down the civil society. However, foreign governments have tried to avoid harsh criticism so as to be able to rely on Ethiopia as a partner in the anti-terror struggle. “The backlash is that the country is now about to get lost in spiral of violence,” said Delius.

Header Photo: Rod Waddington via Flickr