About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (January 21, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govbcxx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 0S;0 p\w -- , gnom goo mppm qq\ , q I as 11LIANJILiN, Updated January 21, 2020 Ethiopia Ethiopia is one of Africa's fastest growing economies, its second most populous country, and its oldest independent state. It is an important regional development and regional security partner for the United States, but also a source of concern regarding democratic governance and human rights. Protests, fueled by repression and a violent crackdown on dissent, shook the country in 2016 and 2017, prompting concerns about its stability. Growing pressure on the government led to a leadership transition that has stirred cautious optimism regarding prospects for change. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia's charismatic prime minister since 2018, has committed to opening the country politically and economically. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his pursuit of peace with neighboring Eritrea a longtime enemy as well as for reforms at home and his efforts to resolve other disputes in the region. Prime Minister Abiy faces high expectations and serious challenges, though, and some have criticized his response to rising ethnic violence. Ethiopia plays a key leadership role in the region. It hosts the African Union (AU) and is the world's largest troop contributor to U.N. peacekeeping operations. It has deployed peacekeepers along the volatile Sudan-South Sudan border and in U.N. missions in Darfur and South Sudan. Ethiopia also plays a critical role in efforts to counter Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab in Somalia. It hosts one of Africa's largest refugee populations: over 735,000 refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan. In the past century, Ethiopia's politics were dominated by three leaders: Emperor Haile Selassie (1930 to 1974), military dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam (1977-1991), and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Meles seized power from Mengistu's socialist Derg regime in 1991 and ruled until his death in 2012. As leader of both the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition and one of its ethno-regional components, the Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF), Meles was a powerful figure in Ethiopian and regional politics, and his policies contributed to rapid economic growth. Critics accused him of stifling dissent and ensuring that his minority Tigray ethnic group dominated the government and senior security posts. The EPRDF increasingly suppressed dissent after contested elections in 2005, following a brief democratic opening in the early 2000s. The opposition rejected the 2005 results as rigged, and security forces killed roughly 200 people in protests that followed, detaining thousands of opposition members, journalists, and civic activists. Some faced treason charges. The EPRDF won 99.6% of legislative seats in the 2010 elections and 100% in 2015, leveraging repressive laws and electoral regulations to retain its political advantage. Ethiopia ranked among the world's most censored countries until 2018, with opposition activists and journalists jailed on national security charges. Figure I. Ethiopia: Key Facts Comparative area: s140Les r~r Life expectancy; 5,3 ''Pal Literacy:4 1 GDP, GDP growth, GDP per cespita: S1 Thio 7. . Source: CRS map. Data (2019) from CIA and IMF databases. Efforts to suppress dissent intensified from late 2015 into 2016, as protests over the perceived marginalization of Oromo and Amhara communities (the country's first and second largest ethnic groups) escalated. The government responded with force and mass arrests: over 1,000 people were reportedly killed in the unrest and 29,000 were detained under a state of emergency in which restrictions on expression and assembly increased. The protests surged again in late 2017 as ethnic violence also flared in parts of the country, spurring large-scale displacement and increasing pressure on the government. The unrest shook the foundations of the EPRDF. The coalition, under public pressure and internal strain, pledged reforms. In early 2018, then-Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (Meles' former deputy, who replaced him in 2012) released hundreds of political prisoners, then resigned to pave the way for reforms. The EPRDF's first contested leadership election followed, and Abiy emerged as its first Oromo leader. In April 2018, the legislature elected him prime minister. Abiy, 43, is currently Africa's youngest leader. A military veteran with a doctorate in philosophy, he attracted international headlines with fast-paced announcements of political and economic reforms. In his first 100 days, the government released tens of thousands of political prisoners, lifted the state of emergency, removed terrorist designations that had been placed on opposition groups, closed a notorious detention facility, and granted amnesty to jailed dissidents. He invited exiled critics and former insurgents back into the country. He replaced top security chiefs and fired prison officials. The government opened access to over 260 blocked websites, blogs, and broadcasts. In his inaugural address, Abiy acknowledged critiques of EPRDF governance and the need to address existing inequities that led to recent unrest, declaring that democracy cannot be realized in the absence of rights. He shocked many when he admitted, in an address to parliament, that the government had tortured prisoners. K~:>

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most