Ethiopia: protest against state of emergency

In Ethiopia, many businesses were closed down on Monday, March 5, in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopians intended to protest against the state of emergency imposed by the government for almost a month.

They blame the authorities for restricting freedoms.

Streets almost deserted, many shops with curtains drawn….

Addis Ababa remained unusually quiet on Monday as well as several localities in the vicinity of the capital.

In Oromo region where is the main focus of the anti-government protest, for three years, there also reigned a dead-city atmosphere with many shops closed.

Why this strike? According to reports collected by AFP, it is a way to protest against this state of emergency that is scary to the population and especially the Oromo.

Indeed, for nearly a month, the police can search homes, search vehicles or even make arrests.

Clearly, as soon as the authorities consider that a person is suspected of disturbing public order, they are authorized to arrest him without a judicial warrant.

This provision is therefore already a climate of fear when in 2016, a first state of emergency that resulted a protest movement in Oromo, which led to arresting of thousands of Ethiopians.

The political climate has been particularly tense since the resignation of Prime Minister Desalegn, unprecedented in the history of the country, on February 15th.

A new prime minister should be appointed in the coming days.

He could be from the Oromo majority ethnic group to try to calm tensions in the country.