violence in the city ran to the countryside to hide hoping to absolve themselves from the crimes they have orchestrated.” (ECADF, 1 March 2019)
Dhaldiim
The Gambella youth is organised under the name Dhaaldiim (Ethiopia Observer, 13 October 2018). The head of the youth group is Omot Ouguta Adew (Ethiopia Observer, 10 October 2018).
For further information on youth organisations please also see pp. 15 to 16 of the following report by the Danish Immigration Service:
DIS – Danish Immigration Service: Ethiopia: Political situation and treatment of opposition, September 2018
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1450527/1226_1542183917_ethiopia-political-situation-report-2018.pdf
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“In a bid to form a nationwide, unified and strong opposition political party together with other like-minded opposition parties; the general assembly of the Semayawi Party a.k.a.
Blue has decided to cease the existence of the party as of December 30, 2018, Getaneh Balcha, vice chairman of the party told The Reporter.” (The Reporter Ethiopia, 5 January 2019)
In May 2019 the African Press Agency (APA) reports that nine political parties established the Ethiopian Unity National Front (National Front) and further notes:
“Accordingly, the two national and seven regional ethnonationalist political organizations that have agreed to establish the front are: Ethiopian National Unity Congress, Ethiopian Hibrehizeb National Movement, Gambela Peoples Liberation Movement, Gambela People Justice for Peace and Development Movement, South Ethiopia Democracy Congress, Agew Democratic Party, South West Ethiopia Peoples Unity, Sheko and Democratic Organization, and Argoba Nationality Democratic Movement.” (APA, 25 May 2019)
In February 2019 the political parties “All Ethiopia Unity Party, Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party, Ethiopian Democratic Union, Ethiopian National Unity Party, Afar People Justice Democracy Party, Afar People Liberation Party and Oromo People's Justice Democracy Party agreed to work together” (ENA, 27 February 2019). In July 2019 Ezega mentions that the seven parties signed a deal to merge (Ezega, 25 July 2019). In May 2019 the five opposition parties
“Ethiopian National Transitional Council, South Ethiopia Green Stars Coalition, Omo People’s Democratic Union, Ethiopian people’s Movement, and Ethiopian Renaissance Democratic Organization agreed to unite to achieve their political goals.” The new coalition is called Hibir Ethiopia Democratic Party (Borkena, 13 May 2019). According to an August 2019 article by Borkena there are “four opposition parties in Tigray: National Congress of Great Tigray (BAITONA), Third Revolution Tigray (TRT), ARENA Tigray, and TAND (Tigray Alliance for National Democracy)” (Borkena, 25 August 2019).
The Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM) was formed in 2001 (Africanews, 10 October 2018). In October 2018 FBC mentions the return of 2,000 fighters of the TPDM from Eritrea. The article provides the following overview:
“More than 2,000 fighters of the Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM) has returned to Ethiopia from Eritrea today. Upon arrival at Zalambess, the fighters were welcomed by residents and local officials of the areas. The fighters will join the society after they are given training, it was noted. TPDM reached an agreement with the government of Ethiopia to engage in a peaceful political activity following the meeting held on 28 August in Asmara, The meeting was attended by an Ethiopian government delegation led by General Adem Mohammed, Director of the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Agency and the Chairman of the TPDM, Mr. Mekonen Tesfay.” (FBC, 10 October 2018)
In October 2018 Arena Tigray For Democracy and Sovereignty (Arena) and the Tigray Alliance for National Democracy (TAND) signed an agreement to work together (The Reporter Ethiopia, 27 October 2018). An October 2018 article by Ezega also mentions the agreement and provides the following overview of the two parties:
“Arena Tigray for Democracy and Sovereignty (Arena) and Tigray Alliance for National Democracy (TAND) have signed an agreement to work together, according to the Reporter.
Citing deputy chairperson of Arena, Goytom Tsegay, the two parties have agreed to work together and possibly merger in future. Both Arena Tigray and TAND were established by former members of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Arena Tigray was established by former members of the TPLF, including former Tigray President Gebru Asrat, after fallout with Meles Zenawi over Ethio-Eritrea war in 1998-2000. TAND was established in exile 24 years ago by former TPLF leader Aregawi Berhe who also had a fallout with Meles Zenawi and his supporters in 1979, and expelled from the front in 1985. […]
Arena is one of the parties in Medrek, a coalition of four political parties. Other parties within the coalition includes: the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), the Sidama Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Ethiopian Social Democracy Party (ESDP). TAND is a party which was established some 24 years ago in exile and returned home recently. The party was mainly founded by former chairperson of TPLF Aregawi Berhe, who left his position and went into exile during the struggle days, and other senior members of the same party such as Geday Zeratsion, who also left TPLF around the mid-80s.” (Ezega, 29 October 2018)
In January 2019 The Reporter Ethiopia mentions the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek), a coalition “of four parties, which includes the Ethiopian Socialist Democratic Party (ESDP), Arena for Sovereignty and Democracy (Arena), Sidama Liberation Movement (SLM) and Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC)” (The Reporter Ethiopia, 12 January 2019a). In September 2018 fighters of the Amhara Democratic Forces Movement (ADFM) returned to Ethiopia. The group “terminated their armed guerrilla operation from Eritrea after the Ethiopian government negotiated their return to the country for a peaceful struggle” (Borkena, 9 September 2018b).
In November 2018 the ADFM agreed to merge with the Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) (FP, 4 July 2019; Addis Standard, 12 November 2018). The ADP is “one of the four parties that constitute the ruling coalition, EPRDF” (Borkena, 24 February 2019). In June 2018 the National Movement of Amhara (NAMA) was founded (Borkena, 10 June 2018). Desalegne Chane is the chairman of the party (Addis Standard, 19 June 2018; Africanews, 26 August 2019; Borkena, 10 June 2018).
In June 2018 Addis Standard published an interview with the President of NAMA:
Addis Standard: The Interview: NaMA is expected to be the guardian of a fully fledged Amhara Nationalism: Dr. Dessalegn Chanie, 19 June 2018
http://addisstandard.com/the-interview-nama-is-expected-to-be-the-guardian-of-a-fully-fledged-amhara-nationalism-dr-dessalegn-chanie/
For further information on opposition groups please see pp. 37 to 42 of the following report:
UK Home Office: Country Policy and Information Note Ethiopia: Opposition to the government, August 2019
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2014641/Ethiopia__-_Oppn_-_CPIN_-_v3.0e__August_2019_.pdf
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4 Security forces
In March 2019 the USDOS lists several actors of law enforcement in Ethiopia: The Federal Police which report to the Ministry of Peace, a regional or special police force in each of the nine regions, reporting to the respective civilian authorities, and local militias (USDOS, 13 March 2019, section 1d). With regard to these militias, USDOS notes:
“Local militias operated across the country in loose and varying coordination with these regional police, the Federal Police, and the military. In some cases militias functioned as extensions of the ruling party. Local militias are members of a community who handle standard security matters within their communities, primarily in rural areas. Local government authorities provided select militia members with very basic training. Militia members serve as a bridge between the community and local police by providing information and enforcing rules.” (USDOS, 13 March 2019, section 1d)
USDOS also mentions an expanded role of the military with respect to internal security during the state of emergency (USDOS, 13 March 2019, section 1d).
In August 2019 an article by London-based African Business Magazine notes the following on federal arrangements regarding securiy forces In Ethiopia:
“[…] the central government doesn’t wield a monopoly of force. Ethiopia’s federal arrangement grants each region the right to its own security forces alongside Ethiopia’s federal army, the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF), which is undergoing reform.
‘There are about three to four different groups that have the use of force in each of these states up to and including the federal army,’ says Martin Plaut, fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. ‘It starts at the regional level and moves all the way up to the ordinary police and the special police forces. Then there are paramilitary forces who resemble something of an army and are usually answerable to just one influential figure.’
Individual loyalties between the nation and the regional ethnicities are fluid. The balance of power between the central administration in Addis Ababa and its regional components is therefore up for debate.” (African Business Magazine, 19 August 2019)
In October 2019, an article published by The Africa Report also reports on regional autonomy regarding security forces:
“Each village, or ‘kebele’, chairman heads a militia consisting of, on average, 50 armed men.
Each region commands its own police, including thousands or even tens of thousands of constitutionally dubious ‘special police’ equipped with combat weaponry. […] ‘Under the constitution regional states are supposed to have police forces just to maintain law and order – nothing more than that. The special forces are much more than that. They are readied for combat,’ says Zemelak Ayele, director of Addis Ababa University’s Centre for Federalism and Governance Studies. In a recent interview Mustafa Omer, the acting president of Ethiopia’s Somali Region, concurred: ‘One of the biggest mistakes made along the way [was] creating autonomous security structures in the regions. No country can survive that.’” (Africa Report, 11 October 2019)
The July 2019 EIP report notes that a “deeper reform in the security sector may be needed to ensure that the complex configuration of security forces – military, federal police, regional police, regional special police, and militia – will effectively cooperate in addressing ethnic violence, rather than fanning its flames.” (EIP, July 2019, p. 33)
With regard to human rights violations by security forces, Freedom House notes:
“Security forces frequently commit human rights violations including torture and extrajudicial killings, and often act with impunity. However, the new government has shown some willingness to hold police and military personnel accountable. In November, 36 senior intelligence officials were arrested for human rights abuses including torture, and awaited trial at year’s end.” (Freedom House, 4 February 2019, section F3)
The USDOS country report on human rights practices covering the year 2018 mentions that impunity remained a problem within the police and security apparatus. The report further notes:
“An internal investigation process existed within the police forces, although officials acknowledged that it was inadequate, and there were continued efforts to reform and modernize these internal mechanisms. There were no public reports documenting internal investigations of the federal police for possible abuses during the SOE [state of emergency].
The government rarely disclosed the results of investigations into abuses by local security forces, such as arbitrary detention and beatings of civilians.
The government supported limited training on human rights for police and army personnel.
It accepted assistance from NGOs and the EHRC to improve and professionalize training on human rights by including more material on the constitution and international human rights treaties and conventions. Additionally, the Ethiopian National Defense Force routinely conducted training on human rights, protection of civilians, gender-based violence, and other courses at the Peace Support Training Center in Addis Ababa.” (USDOS, 13 March 2019, section 1d)
In August 2019 Ethiopia and the United States signed an agreement on law enforcement and administration of criminal justice to improve Ethiopia’s justice sector through capacity-building of law enforcement organs (FBC, 20 August 2019).