RugbyRebels

So what's happening in Ethiopia? Marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa was seen making a cross-armed gesture during the medals ceremony at this month's Olympic Games in Rio. This is the gesture Oromo people are making in protests against the government. Ethiopia is Africa's second most populous nation after Nigeria, with 100 million people - about a third of them Oromo. But the Tigray peope have control of the government, and they only number around 6 million, or 6% of the population. They are mostly Christian. In fact, Ethiopia is about two thirds Christian and one third Muslim, but the Oromo are more or less 50/50. There are several million more Oromo living in Somalia and Kenya. When Ethiopia went to war with Somalia a decade ago it claimed to be 'fighting terrorism' and thus gained American support. Indeed, Ethiopia remains the biggest recipient of US aid on the continent (ahead of the military dictatorship in Egypt). But the Oromo people, who were incorporated into Ethiopia during the colonial era, were against the war on Somalia, protests ensued and many were killed and imprisoned. Things have deteriorated further recently with government schemes that involve uprooting many Oromo, who remain a largely agricultural-based people. This has led to further protests, with the Human Rights Organization estimating at least 400 Oromo deaths and 5000 imprisoned.

Tragic

A protest in Ethiopia turned into a stampede that left at least 100 people drowned or crushed to death as police dispersed a crowd at an annual cultural festival of the Oromo people, the nation’s largest ethnic group, a doctor from Bishoftu Hospital said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -dispersed

When I was in Ethiopia in 2009, no one had any real idea of the population size. Estimates varied by 10s of millions. The place seemed irredeemably fucked in a number of ways, at least partly due to an objectionable government, an objectionable yet revered church, institutionalised aid dependency and, as you note, tribalism.

Incredible place though. The scenery, history and food each justify a visit in their own right.


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I think the major issue is that little of the vast financial support Ethiopia receives from the US trickles down to the wider population, with the Oromo basically being bottom of the heap (remembering that approximately half of them are Muslim). The reason Ethiopia receives that support is that it is a predominantly Christian nation surrounded by predominantly Islamic countries and is therefore considered strategically vital in the so-called war on terror, especially the fight against al-Shabaab in Somalia. A violent crackdown on protestors in 2005 left more than 200 dead, and although the World Bank at that time threatened to move away from Ethiopia, due to clear evidence of mismanagement of funds, it has failed to do so.

State of Emergency declared: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/e ... 06730.html

Looks like Ethiopia is the African 'Turkey' right now:

Authorities have arrested more than 11,000 people since Ethiopia declared a state of emergency early last month amid violent protests.

A majority of the arrests were made in the Oromo and Amhara regions - the centre of demonstrations and home to two ethnic groups that make up about 60 percent of the country's population.

"Some 11,607 individuals have so far been detained in six prisons, of which 347 are female, in connection with the state of emergency declared in the country," official Taddesse Hordofa said in a televised statement on Saturday.

More than 500 people have been killed in unrest since last year, rights groups say, triggered initially by anger over a development scheme for the capital, Addis Ababa, which demonstrators said would force farmers off their land in the surrounding Oromo region.


Inside Story: What's fuelling protests in Ethiopia?
The protests evolved into broader demonstrations over politics and human rights and led to attacks on businesses, many of them foreign-owned, prompting the government to declare a six-month nationwide state of emergency on October 9.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/e ... 19319.html