Amnesty International has accused the Ethiopian authorities of using the state of emergency in the Amhara region “to silence peaceful dissent by arbitrarily detaining prominent politicians critical of the government and journalists” and has called for an end to this practice.
In a new report published yesterday, global human rights watchdog Amnesty International called on the Ethiopian government to “stop resorting to the old tactics of denying basic rights through the pretext of emergency laws.”
On February 2nd, Ethiopian legislators voted to extend by four months the six-month state of emergency declared last August in the Amhara region in the north of the country. The decision, presented by Justice Minister Gedion Timothios, comes as the region continues to grapple with a military conflict involving federal and regional forces on the one hand and the Fano militia on the other.
The Ethiopian government initially announced the imposition of a six-month state of emergency in August 2023, stating that this decision was “essential to implement emergency measures to preserve public peace and security and to enforce law and order.”
A series of instabilities
This decision was preceded by a series of instabilities in the country that began with mass demonstrations in several major cities against the government’s decision to reorganize the regional special forces into a regular police force and a national army.
In addition, shortly before the state of emergency was extended, “the federal security forces arrested Desalegn Chane, a member of the opposition party in the federal parliament who is also known for his criticism of the Prime Minister,” confirmed Amnesty, referring to previous media reports. The organization also cited reports stating that, since the state of emergency was declared in August 2023, “mass arrests have taken place in the capital Addis Ababa and in the Amhara region.”
“Ethiopian authorities must stop detaining people en masse with disregard for due process under the country’s state of emergency law. They must uphold the country’s national laws and international human rights obligations by either pressing charges or releasing everyone detained under the state of emergency, including high-profile politicians and journalists,” reads Amnesty International’s statement.
Many civilian deaths
Many civilians were killed by Ethiopian state troops in the Amhara region last month, as reported by The Guardian. Ethiopian government troops are accused of going door-to-door in the town of Merawi to murder dozens of civilians, according to residents who said the bloodshed followed clashes with local militias.
The Fano fought alongside the Ethiopian Federal Army in the two-year civil war against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which ended in November 2022. However, the government is now considering this group and other regional forces as a threat to its authority.
Amhara regional forces, including the Fano, have also been accused of carrying out a bloody campaign of ethnic cleansing since November 2020 in western Tigray, a region they claim as their own and which they sought to annex during the war against the TPLF.
Local Amhara militias briefly controlled a major airport and took control of most of the major towns in the region. The army has since regained control of the larger towns, but fighting continues to be reported in rural villages and small towns such as Merawi.
No journalists, no internet
The Ethiopian government has banned journalists from traveling to the Amhara region and cut off Internet access.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the country’s oldest civil society organization, put the total number of victims at more than 80 civilians, issuing a statement asking for further investigation and calling on the government to “ensure that the parties responsible are held legally accountable for their actions.”
Earlier this month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on “extremists operating in the Amhara region and rebels in the neighboring state of Oromia to lay down their arms and take part in a peaceful political struggle.” Thousands of people arrested under the state of emergency “have been released,” he added.
