News in the Humanosphere: South Sudan’s civil war spills over into Ethiopia

A government soldier mans a vehicle-mounted machine gun in the oil-rich town of Malakal, South Sudan. (AP Photo/Jacob Zocherman)

Gunmen from South Sudan killed 28 people and kidnapped 43 children in neighboring Ethiopia, a government official said on Wednesday, another demonstration of how Sudan’s civil war threatens the region. The raids on Sunday and Monday occurred in Gambella’s Gog and Jor areas, which border South Sudan’s Boma region, said Chol Chany, a regional government spokesman. “Murle bandits carried out the attack. They fled along with 43 children,” Chany told Reuters, using a term for a local ethnic group. “The (Ethiopian military) is pursuing them. The assailants haven’t crossed over to South Sudan yet.” Regional governments have expressed fears that violence in South Sudan could spill over its borders into their own nations. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2nsS8If)

A grim anniversary…Suicide bombers killed dozens of people in the Syrian capital on Wednesday, the sixth anniversary of antigovernment protests that devolved into one of the deadliest wars of the century. Syrian state media said a first attacker detonated his payload outside the largest courthouse in Damascus, known as Justice Palace. Hours later, it reported that a second bomber attacked a restaurant in the city’s Rabweh district, killing several people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, put the death toll at 39, with more than 100 wounded. (WaPo http://wapo.st/2mtMKE5)

Top Stories

A cholera outbreak in parts of Mozambique has infected more than 1,200 people, killing two this month after heavy rains, and will spread further if no action is taken, a health ministry official said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2nt01h2)

A U.N. agency published a report on Wednesday accusing Israel of imposing an “apartheid regime” of racial discrimination on the Palestinian people, and said it was the first time a U.N. body had clearly made the charge. (Reuters http://reut.rs/2mu6ZkM)

The Venezuelan government says it will expropriate bakeries which fail to abide by new government regulations aimed at tackling bread shortages. In a growing row between the government and bakers, officials said that bakeries could face fines if people had to queue to get their bread. (BBC http://bbc.in/2no1TL0)

The Ethiopian government lifted some restrictions imposed during a state of emergency declared last year following deadly protests, state-run media quoted the defense minister as saying on Wednesday. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2n0jo3d)

Six years into the war in Syria, civilians continue to suffer from a brutal conflict that has precipitated a complex humanitarian crisis, with ever-mounting suffering and millions without access to basic health care. (MSF http://bit.ly/2mt0yO5)

British foreign minister Boris Johnson met Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Wednesday, pledging aid to help combat the effects of a devastating drought, the Somali president’s office said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2mKoJJD)

A campaign to inform would-be migrants in Africa about the dangers of heading to Europe via the Mediterranean sea aims to reach people in 15 African countries through social media, radio and television adverts, migration officials said. (Reuters http://bit.ly/2mtzoYa)

A new UN initiative calls the women’s pay gap, which sees women paid 23 percent less than men globally: “the biggest robbery in history.” (IPS http://bit.ly/2mtkYHt)

Opinion/Blogs

Uncertain what’s next, Cubans go about their business while they wait for a signal from Trump (PRI http://bit.ly/2nsOGNW)

‘Countless lives at stake’ warn NGOs as hunger in east Africa prompts major appeal (Guardian http://bit.ly/2no2FIa)

What would deep cuts to US foreign aid look like? (Devex http://bit.ly/2n1nFDA)

New Broadband Commission call to action provides guide to close digital gender gap (Inter Press Service http://bit.ly/2mOTBKN)

World Bank takes on pernicious beliefs (CSM https://yhoo.it/2n0n6JW)

The roots of the current crisis in South Africa (Africa is a Country http://bit.ly/2mKCqZc)

Why The Famine In South Sudan Keeps Getting Worse (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/2n1Ab5J)

The global development lowdown at SXSW (Devex http://bit.ly/2nsYIOR)

Source: http://www.humanosphere.org/news-rounds/2017/03/news-humanosphere-south-sudans-civil-war-spills-ethiopia/

Opinion: The Ethiopian Dam Between Egypt and Saudi Arabia

The image of the Saudi minister Ahmed Al-Khatib visiting the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam appears to have been an excuse for a media exchange that turned the relationship between Riyadh and Cairo from an intimate one to one where bad language is used.

Even if we assume that the image and the visit are intrinsically not tourism and investment related, dealing with the crisis by using the media is considered an old, obsolete, failed and harmful means to exert pressure.

Ethiopia is an economically important country in Africa, and the United States relies on it to address a number of military and political issues in the continent. For example, it succeeded in containing Somalia by force, unlike Afghanistan, and it disciplined Eritrea. However, Egypt remains larger and more important, and is more valuable to the Saudis than Ethiopia. This is a settled issue regardless of what Egyptian and Saudi media figures say to the contrary.

Yes, there are times when relations are cold but this does not occur over major regional political issues as is being portrayed, or at least this is not the case yet. Skilful diplomats must separate the reasons behind the dispute from relations in general. It is common for disputes to arise when there are interrelated and strong relations. This is why our relations with Scandinavian countries are always stable.

The differences between the two countries are not about what is being conveyed and nor are they about Syria as rumours suggest. I also rule out the claim that Egypt is supplying the rebels in Yemen with rockets, and this is because Egypt is aware that this is a serious act; Houthi rockets are responsible for killing Saudi civilians and they deliberately target villages and towns inside Saudi Arabia. All these narratives are being promoted by figures affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The announcement made by some Iraqi parties that the government intends to supply Egypt with oil products to replace suspended Saudi oil shipments is not logical as it is difficult for Iraq to provide them considering that it does not have enough for its own needs. In addition to this, it cannot continue to provide them for free.

As for Egypt’s stance towards Syria, it is realistic and no different from Turkey’s recent position. During the last two resolutions submitted to the UN General Assembly, Egypt voted in favour of the Syrian people and against the Assad regime unlike some Arab allies. In addition to this, Egypt’s recent stance at the UN Security Council concerning Israeli settlements is linked to the overpowering circumstances of Cairo, and we do not expect it to expose its security and interests to danger, especially when other countries did their “duty”. Cairo was therefore spared embarrassment and a crisis for the sake of a symbolic decision.

Saudi – Egyptian differences are over bilateral issues that may be resolved with mutual understanding after a month or a year. Alternatively, they will remain unresolved. Relations should not be left to bargaining because they are strategic. It is wrong to believe that Egyptian support for GCC countries against Iran is in solidarity with the GCC. Rather, this serves Egypt’s higher interests because it prevents Iranian expansion and domination whether in Syria, Iraq or the Gulf.

Iran’s influence is expanding at the expense of Egypt, which is a big country in the region. If Cairo wants to retreat and surrender its role, there are many countries in the region that will be eager to fill it. Gulf countries are the ones that strike a balance between Turkey, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Iran. Playing a regional role increases the economic, military and political value of countries.

Egypt is the second-largest recipient of US economic and military aid, not only because of the arrangements of the Camp David agreement, but also because of its regional importance. This is why opponents of this aid in Congress have failed to suspend it or decrease it.

I think that the biggest failing in Gulf-Egyptian relations lies in their limited horizons. They remain mere relations with simple content. The recent move made about two years ago to build economic partnerships is good because it ensures the continuity of relationships instead of the policy of giving and providing aid.

Partnerships expand activity between the two sides involved and can change the reality of Egypt and the Gulf’s economy. This is what the Saudi and the UAE governments proposed to Cairo. Egyptian bureaucracy is always to blame and is more of an enemy to the Egyptian government than all of its rivals put together.

If Egypt does not walk on the path of reform quickly, it will lose historic opportunities in the Gulf and will not become a giant economic partner. Furthermore, it will continue to look for aid, and this is impossible to sustain.

Finally, we know that those who are trying to sabotage relations are groups that oppose both parties. They are distributing fake images of rockets, inflating limited political decisions and encouraging rifts. Read more here

ETHIOPIA Ethiopian newspaper editor, bloggers caught in worsening crackdown

Nairobi, November 17, 2016--Ethiopia should immediately release all journalists detained amid an intensifying crackdown on the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In recent weeks, Ethiopian authorities have jailed a newspaper editor and detained two members of the award-winning Zone 9 bloggers' collective, which has faced continuous legal harassment on terrorism and incitement charges. A fourth journalist has been missing for a week; his family fears he is in state custody.

The crackdown on the media comes amid mass arrests following large protests that led the government to declare a state of emergency on October 9. Security forces have detained more than 11,000 people since the state of emergency was declared, Taddesse Hordofa, of the Ethiopian government's State of Emergency Inquiry Board, said in a televised statement on November 12.

"Silencing those who criticize the government's handling of protests will not bring stability," CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal said from New York. "The constant pressure on Zone 9 bloggers with repeated arrests and court appearances is clearly designed to intimidate the remaining independent journalists in Ethiopia."

Ethiopia's Supreme Court on November 15 continued hearing prosecutors' appeal of a lower court's October 2015 acquittal of five bloggers from the Zone 9 collective on terrorism charges, campaigners reported on social media.

Security forces again detained Befekadu Hailu--a co-founder of the collective, which CPJ honored with its 2015 International Press Freedom Award--from his home on November 11, according to news reports. Authorities have not yet announced any new charge against the blogger. The Africa News Agency quotedBefekadu's friends saying that they believed he may have been arrested following an interview he gave to the U.S.-government-funded broadcaster Voice of America's Amharic service, in which he criticized the government's handling of the protests.

An Ethiopian journalist in exile in Kenya, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, told CPJ that Befekadu's criticism of the government's handling of protests in the Oromo and Amhara regions of Ethiopia on his blog may have also led to his detention.

When the terrorism charge against the bloggers was dismissed by the judge in October last year, Befekadu was informed that he would still face incitement charges, according to media reports. That case is still before the courts.

Ethiopian Information Minister Negeri Lencho did not respond to CPJ's calls and text messages seeking more information.

Security forces also detained another Zone 9 blogger, Natnail Feleke, on October 4 on charges he had made "seditious remarks" in a restaurant while criticizing security forces' lethal dispersal of a protest, according to diaspora news websites. He was released after three days with a caution, according to news reports.

Separately, a court in the capital Addis Ababa on November 15 sentenced Getachew Worku, the editor of the independent weekly newspaper Ethio-Mihidar, to one year in prison on charges of "defamation and spreading false information" in connection with an article published in the newspaper alleging corruption in a monastery, the Addis Standard news website reported.

Abdi Gada, an unemployed television journalist, has not been seen since November 9, family and friends told diaspora media. The journalist's family and friends told the Ethiopian diaspora opposition website Voices for Voiceless that they fear he is in state custody.

Ethiopia ranked fourth on CPJ's 2015 list of the 10 Most Censored Countries and is the third-worst jailer of journalists in Africa, according to CPJ's 2015 prison census.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Paragraph nine of this text has been corrected to reflect that Natnail Feleke was released on October 7. Paragraph four has been corrected to reflect that the Ethiopian Supreme Court heard an appeal against five Zone 9 bloggers. Read more here

Troop Withdrawals Raise Concern of Al-Shabab Resurgence

ANALYSISBy Harun Maruf

Ethiopian troops who have been fighting Al-Shabab militants in Somalia have vacated a series of military bases, sparking fears of a militant resurgence and a possible setback for African Union efforts to stabilize the country.

On Wednesday, Ethiopian troops vacated their posts in Tiyeglow which was seized from Al-Shabab in August 2014. It was the third town the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) vacated this month after El-Ali on October 11 and Halgan on October 23.

Experts have linked the withdrawals to the frequent anti-government protests in Ethiopia and the recent declaration of the state of emergency, but Ethiopian officials dismissed the connection.

Communications Minister Getachew Reda told journalists in Addis Ababa that the troop withdrawals have “nothing to do” with the state of emergency.

He said the troops were in Somalia to assist the African Union mission there but were not part of the mission, AMISOM. He said keeping the troops there is posing an “economic burden and logistical challenges” to his government.

Reda said the withdrawn troops have not yet returned to Ethiopia. But military sources tell VOA that the troops are being gathered in the towns of Beledweyne and Huddur, in western Somalia, before they start crossing the border into Ethiopia.

The troop withdrawal comes at a vulnerable time, as the government is organizing elections throughout November and AMISOM is on the defensive following a string of high profile Al-Shabab raids on key military bases, including an attack on El-Adde earlier this year.

AMISOM spokesman Joseph Kibet Murrey told VOA that the troops have left a “vacuum."

“That will now force AMISOM to rethink on how we are going to take back those positions and keep those positions. Definitely it will affect our operations, and our planning,” he said.

Murrey said the ENDF forces pulling out were deployed in Somalia through a “bilateral agreement” between the government of Somalia and Ethiopia.

“Those troops are not under AMISOM control, and AMISOM command," he said. "[W]e are not sure because it was something outside our jurisdiction, but we believe there must have been an agreement between the governments of Somalia and Ethiopia to enable these troops to move out their positions.”

In Somalia, Defense Minister General Abdulkadir Ali Dini told VOA it’s time the Somali government works towards self-reliance.

“Defending the country is the job of every Somali. If you don’t build your national army the anti-peace elements will continue to cause problems,” he said.

“Any country can help you but for how long? It’s up to the people and the leaders of Somalia in confronting this, and to prepare for the unexpected which is happening without consultation.”

Asked if Ethiopia informed his government about the withdrawal, General Dini said countries have the right to make their decisions based on their “interests” and “without interference” from another country.

“This is how Ethiopia sees its interest; they know what is best for their interest,” he said.
Impact on civilians

The withdrawal also revived the nagging question of when the Somali government will build an army capable of protecting civilians. As Ethiopian troops moved out, Al-Shabab moved in and targeted people suspected of working with foreign troops.

In Tiyeglow town for instance, Al-Shabab militants arrested two men, a father and son, and executed them for “collaborating” with the Ethiopians. In El-Ali town, four men were similarly executed by Al-Shabab including a clan elder and a shop owner after they were accused by the militants of “spying” for the foreign troops.

It was the same case in Adan Yabal town in May when four elders were also shot dead by the militias on similar charges.

These killings and the disorganized nature of the Ethiopian withdrawals from the towns have angered many ordinary Somalis and is destroying confidence in the AU mission, according to officials, some of whom expressed their discontent privately.

Hassan Barre Makaran, chairman of Moqokori, which was vacated by Ethiopian troops on September 15, said the troops did not tell him that they were leaving.

“It was not something that we were aware of. We only found out when they were leaving,” he said. "I asked – why didn’t you tell us, things will go wrong, can you wait until we get a replacement force? They said, ‘We have orders.'"

The chairman of El-Ali made a similar statement, saying he only learned of the withdrawal when he saw the troops pulling down their tents.

In addition to the troops currently being withrdrawan, another 4,400 Ethiopian troops were merged into AMISOM in January 2014. Uganda, Kenya, Djibouti and Burundi are the other troop contributing countries.

Dini said the Somali government is grateful for the sacrifice made by those countries that sent their troops the country to help Somalia.

General Dini said he feels for the victims of Al-Shabab.

“I understand their pain, those who were harmed by the anti-peace,” he said. “I urge them if we don’t defend ourselves, no one will. Ultimately, the person on the right side will win against the anti-peace and the merciless.” Read more here

Pitfalls of the New 'State of Emergency'

OPINIONBy Yohannes Woldegebriel

I have been following very closely the recently declared "state of emergency," officially announced in the statement of the Prime Minister. For me, the announcement was reminiscent of a proclamation read by the representative of the Dergue, standing before the August Emperor, about his formal deposition and the establishment of the Provisional Military Government.

It has been confirmed that the House of Peoples Representatives welcomed the announcement and unanimously adopted the proclamation. It is unprecedented and the first of its kind since the EPRDF led regime toppled the previous military government and came to power 25 years ago. It is also unique from the stand point of modern legal history of our country.

Let me first compliment the incumbent regime effort to align is decision and action to the provisions of its own constitution, perhaps for the first time, when declaring a state of emergency. I say "effort" because the said "state of emergency," though has already started to be enforced, is not yet published in the official federal law reporter of the country, as required by law, to enable persons to take "judicial notice" which has left citizens virtually in the dark and enforcement authorities with no possibility to make legal presumption of knowledge of such law.

Over the last 20 years, there were at least three major events that had necessitated the issuance of a "state of emergency" that the EPRDF regime was either reluctant or simply ignored to make use of such legal instrument.

The first and most important phenomenon occurred following the unprovoked aggression of Eritrea on Ethiopia's northern territory of Badime and other places. It was a classic case of international state of war that should have warranted the declaration of "state of emergency" that would necessarily follow the declaration of war by the Ethiopian parliament. To my knowledge, no such proclamation was issued that could have provided detailed directives on the do's and do not's during the enforcement period of the state of emergency.

The absence of such law, I very well remember, posed tough challenges and exacerbated the ordeals of my fellow federal public prosecutors in Tigray regional state, in proving charges at a civil court, against violations committed by suspected Eritrean infiltrators that were able to penetrate war zone military posts and were involved in acts of grave espionage and similar other offences.

The second important incident occurred in 2001, shortly after the split among the TPLF big wigs was announced and while the Central and East Africa Football Tournament was in progress when angry football fans turned hooligans, initiated violence and subsequently joined by ranks of urban vagabonds which resulted in a huge havoc and insecurity among dwellers of the capital. It is recalled that this violence destroyed numerous public transport, private and public institutions.

The last grave incident that should have called for the adoption of a "state of emergency declaration" if at all such law should have been issued, was following the post 2005 federal and regional election.

While the EPRDF led government never issued a "state of emergency" at all that could have helped it among others, giving it legal backing to free it from possible civil liability for its action of deportation on those Eritrean that were security risks, in the second and third situations, it opted to extraordinary legal recourse of issuing measures curtailing certain fundamental rights in an announcement given on the public media.

Therefore, the mass arrest of suspects that were allegedly involved in disrupting the peace and stability in Addis Abeba and damaging properties, including their arrest was based on an "emergency decree" issued on the daily Addis Zemen newspaper.

In those days, security forces were empowered to search for and arrest suspects without a court warrant. Similarly, during the post-election period, a televised statement was given by the former PM banning the constitutional right to assemble and conduct demonstration for one month duration, which was followed several months later by a mass arrest and incarceration of members and non-members of the opposition that were later prosecuted on charges of "genocide" and many of the young detainees for violating the controversial vagrancy control proclamation.

By far, the decision to issue a "state of emergency" is a step forward in upholding the rule of law and complying with the provisions of the constitution when the government is unable to control and govern with established legal procedures compared to the previous practice despite the existence of numerous pitfalls.

Following the onset of the Oromo students protest last year against the so called "integrated master plan of Addis Abeba," despite the heavy handed measures by security forces and the threats against protesters during the initial period, government officials and the media subsequently welcomed and praised the protest to have been based on and in line with the FDRE constitution.

Last July, the issue of Wolkayit surfaced triggering initially peaceful and later violent protests in Amhara region. Again the PM and other government officials announced that it was a legitimate question that should have been addressed long ago, by the regional state administrations of Tigray and Amhara. While the protest and its aftermath was ongoing in Amhara region, the tragic deaths of participants of the annual Irretcha festival in Bisheftu was followed by violence and damages on public and private properties, investments and infrastructures that in the opinion of the Council of Ministers constituted a ground and required to declare and pass a "state of emergency proclamation."

This "proclamation" envisages drastic measures that have already started to be enforced and attracted the attention of local and international right groups, political, and media commentators and legal professionals.

The last proclamation on the "state of emergency" issued in accordance with the standard legal format of the country was in 1988 and its scope of application was limited to Eritrea and Tigray region.

The "state of emergency proclamation" and "the directive" issued by the council of Ministers and later adopted by the parliament presupposes retroactive extension and application of the state of emergency proclamation that begs numerous issues of legality. The directive has extended the scope of application of the proclamation way back to incidents that have occurred one year ago. As explained above, the incidents that have occurred in the last one year have been described in the directives as havocs or disturbances and whoever participated in such incidents and caused deaths or property damage and lootings are required to report within 10 days of the issuance of the directive.

Ironically, there had been mixed reactions by government authorities particularly in Oromia, on the protest and acts committed by protestors and the security forces in the past one year, ranging from threats to a populist declaration of political solidarity with protestors that has reached even to expression of formal apology by the PM in the session of the house of people's representative.

Both the proclamation and the directive do not provide the principle of proportionality which is central in all emergency laws in taking actions to enforce the laws. The laws also do not make a specific reference to and their relationship with the Criminal Code and the criminal procedure code of Ethiopia which provided by far in great and reasonable details, together with the consequences for violations even in times of state of emergency.

It is not clear why the proclamation and the directive found it necessary to repeat what has been provided under the criminal code and the criminal procedure code. It is also baffling to determine what the power and competence of the so called "command post" is.

Unlike similar other laws in the legal system, there is no martial court established nor has the proclamation indicated that the command post will act as a martial court during the emergency period. The relationship of the command post with the judiciary is not explained.

On the other hand it is clear that the command post is empowered to exercise administrative, police, military, prosecutorial, quasi-judicial and judicial powers which is more like the of the Dergue period. While the command post is empowered to refer cases to be accountable by "ordinary laws," the distinction between this and extraordinary laws are not clearly stipulated.

This proclamation also mentions that the command post can "screen and after teaching, release the detainee." Again which category of detainees can be beneficiaries of such measures is not clearly spelled out. Whether previously established constitutional and legal bodies will be delegated for and on behalf of the command post to carry out such activities is not clear.

As explained time and again, the current situation of Ethiopia require extraordinary measures to ensure order, maintain peace and stability. For a lawyer like me, a "state of emergency proclamation" is certainly the appropriate instrument to deal with such situations.

While such laws provide certain restrictions, prohibitions, exemptions, derogation of rights, they are not totally detached from accepted principles and bodies of laws in the legal system of the country.

It seems quite clear however that during the validity period of the state of emergency proclamation, the entire set of substantive and procedural principles and laws governing criminal investigation, prosecutorial decision and action as well as normal judicial process are entirely inapplicable in as much as they are inconsistent or contradictory as provided under Article 10 of the proclamation.

The new situation unfolding in the country does not give the luxury to comment on legal niceties and it is not my purpose in preparing this article. To me, the examination of the proclamation and the directive reveal the need to stay in the smokescreen repressive untidy and clumsy "legal" instrument. Read more here

Yohannes Woldegebriel Is a Lawyer. He Has Served As Prosecutor in Four Different Public Institutions At Different Times.

Public Bailout As a Fix Not Best, Sustainable

OPINION

Government is soon to put aside some fund to 'support', a cautiously coined term by way of implying compensation and keep the options open, the attacked businesses in full or in part. The Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) and the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) are spearheading the initiative. The former in charge of studies, and coming up with policy options to be tabled to decision makers, and DBE active in dispatching technical team on the ground to do an independent assessment of the damage that will verify the individual claims of the companies.

The country's political unrest and protest have recently targeted private, big investments,- large scale farms, factories and resorts in Oromia and Amhara regions. No government bodies in regional and federal level have dared to officiate actual damage. Preliminary assessment of Oromia Region's Sebeta town which faced the brunt of the violent attacks has projected the damage to include 11 factories and no less than 60 vehicles, leaving close to 40 thousand people jobless. Yet to be verified the indicative is not simple to overlook of the magnitude.

It was following such damage and outcry of investors that the PM office along with regional and Federal Investment Offices had tabled multiple alternatives for supporting the companies. The government has proposed full or partial compensation, revising the new 50:50 equity share of FDI's back to the munificent of 70:30, with the government as the major stakeholder and providing the duty free privileges they have already enjoyed anew.

The proposals have already been presented to the companies with a stake and discussed. As described by some who were in the meeting it has left them with big hopes and expectations.

A distanced look into the process, the stage it has reached begs the question. Has the issue of government preparing to bailout in different forms being cleared? Was it beyond the question of fairness and equity to decide to inject the tax-payers money into the pockets of private companies, while risk associated with riots and political unrest are covered by Insurance policy worldwide?

Experts explain that there are two kinds of political risk insurance policies: contract frustration and asset protection. The first kind deals with companies that deal with foreign countries that default on payments, cancel licenses, or reject licenses. The second type of political risk insurance policy is more relevant to recent events in Ethiopia where violent protests have damaged properties owned by businesses. Such a policy covers, among others, physical damages and destruction of assets due to political unrests and violence. A fait accompli risk aversion mechanisms natural for private companies- particularly FDIs.

Due to the infancy of the insurance industry in the country and the dominant narrative of Ethiopia as one of the best destination for FDI in sub-Saharan Africa, which in 2015 was 2.1 billion dollars, had meant such political risk insurance policies were overlooked by investors and insurance companies operating in the country. The country's reputation as a hub of peace and security over the past two decades also made investors draw their guards against damages which may be caused by political risks.

Though the country has been under uncertainty for a good part of the past year, questioning the dominant narrative of stability, the insurance industry in the country had also failed to grab the challenge and turned into an opportunity by designing and selling the policy. Regional institutions such as the African Trade Insurance Agency had also failed to forecast the potential such policies being bought by customers in Ethiopia, though some multi-national companies operating in the country have these policies.

It is in this backdrop that the companies and the state are now faced with damages of properties worth millions, and they are negotiating bailout modalities - hushing the issue of whether the tax payers' money be injected to these private profit making institutions.

Both action and inaction associated with compensating the companies that incurred damages with tax payers' money. Champions of the two sides of the options are strong articulating merits and faults. The support will allow an extension of a lifeline for them to regroup and re-launch their production. This will, in the short-term at least, reinstate tens of thousands of people who lost their jobs. It may also harbor a positive impression on investors with FDI which currently accounts for 3.5pc of the country's GDP, in the long run, that the government will not abandon investment damaged by political unrests.

Conversely, however, the proposed compensation risks putting tax payers' money in the pockets of investors who did not necessarily take all the precautions a business should have taken before making decisions to invest in a given country.

The proposed support also risks falling in the hands of ailing businesses that were already losing out in competing on the international market for various reasons. Though their property may not have been destroyed, their fate as a profit making business had almost been sealed before the riots. Injecting public money into these 'sinking ships' would not be economically sound.

The compensation also does not address the issues at hand - a public uproar rooted in fundamental political and administrative issues, including issues of good governance, equitable distribution of wealth, fair compensation for land, and wider political space for diverse voices to be heard.

The investment playground as much as it was acclaimed for being stable has always been marred by its bureaucratic hurdles and poor performance. Ethiopia ranks 146 among 189 evaluated countries in the latest ease of doing business index.

Now faced by the challenge at hand the government is jumping on its coffers, opting for a short term, unsustainable approach of injecting taxpayers' money- public fund into bailing out private companies.

It goes without say that the country counts on FDI and private investment to drive its industrial development. It is attempting to maximize on its comparative advantage of high number of unskilled labor and vast land. Supporting businesses with the tax payers' money, despite its flaws will ensure the transfer of technology, massive employment opportunities and skills development.

Though there is no reason to suggest the financial support will halt similar riots from destroying property, making sure at all cost the companies stay has a ripple effect in the economy. Particularly in a setting where both the government and the companies reminded blindfolded to the dangers that had lurked on the horizon for the past one year, the best that could be done is facilitation in terms of financial loans.

This approach also does not guarantee the problem does not occur again in the future, without a concrete political reform. It sure is not sustainable, setting wrong precedence where the government prescribes the wrong solution for the problems it faces. It is also wrong for the tax payer to pay for companies that have made conscious decisions to enter a foreign country without adequate insurance policies to protect their assets in cases of political unrests.

The support even if used as a quick blanket fold fix, and not as an ultimate responses has to be done in a well thought and discriminated manner. There is little reason certain kinds of investments that have dominantly failed to be productive and have caused controversies with damage to the environment and locals, and in the case of various large scale commercial farms which have dropped in the middle of the process, the public support should not be extended to these ailing businesses. The questions have to be asked on general performance of the sector as well as a case by case performance of the companies in their stay and efficiency in the country. Read more here

Enough Is Enough!

OPINIONBy Yohannes Gebresellasie (Phd)

Democracy is not a matter of choice but a matter of survival all over the world and certainly this fact is true here in our country Ethiopia as well. This fundamental right has been well identified and priority number one of the incumbent. This has been so, because the Ethiopian people have put enormous sacrifices in order to attain and achieve fundamental human and democratic rights.

All the scarifies of the Ethiopian people bore fruits when they got rid of the former regimes that deprived them off their fundamental human and democratic rights for generations. The Ethiopian people endured all hardships imposed upon them by those autocratic and dictatorial regimes of the past. It has been over twenty five years now since the Ethiopian people started to enjoy peace, democracy and good governance and focus on sustainable development in order to get rid of another chronic enemy: Poverty and under development.

Our nation is on the right track since the incumbent came to power. Most importantly, the people have been living in peace and harmony. Violence and anarchy is becoming an issue of the past and people are focusing on development, investment, education and training in order to put the nation forward. All this can only be achieved if there is peace.

All the achievements can only be sustainable in the absence of violence and in the presence of peace, democracy and good governance. The Ethiopian peoples want to maintain and safeguard their achievements gained through the prolonged, hard fought struggle and immense sacrifice. They definitely do not want to give up and lose this achievements to self-serving individuals and groups, who with hidden agendas align with enemies of our nation and remnants of the former dictatorial regime which would like to take the nation back to the old and archaic mentality.

Democratization, good governance and sustainable development are here to stay and never to be hijacked by some internal and external extremists. The important achievements of the Ethiopian people have been safeguarded by the constitution of the land, which explicitly recognizes the equality of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. The constitution puts all the peoples of the nation on equal footings and safeguards their rights. Further, the constitution creates unity in diversity and recognizes and respects all ethnics groups in Ethiopia with the same status.

It is to be recalled that Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia were not treated equally prior to the current government: some were more equal than others during the times of former successive regimes in Ethiopia. The current government realized this unfortunate fact from the very outset and drafted and put into effect a construction of the people, for the people and by the people. The following is the preamble of the Ethiopian constitution:

"We, the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia: Strongly committed, in full and free exercise of our right to self-determination, to building a political community founded on the rule of law and capable of ensuring a lasting peace, guaranteeing a democratic order, and advancing our economic and social development; Firmly convinced that the fulfillment of this objective requires full respect of individual and people's fundamental freedoms and rights, to live together on the basis of equality and without any sexual, religious or cultural discrimination; Further convinced that by continuing to live with our rich and proud cultural legacies in territories we have long inhabited, have, through continuous interaction on various levels and forms of life, built up common interest and have also contributed to the emergence of a common outlook; Fully cognizant that our common destiny can best be served by rectifying historically unjust relationship and by further promoting our shared interest; Convinced that to live as one economic community is necessary in order to create sustainable and mutually supportive conditions for ensuring respect for our rights and freedoms and for the collective promotion of our interests; Determined to consolidate, as a lasting legacy, the peace and the prospect of a democratic order which our struggles and sacrifices have brought about; Have therefore adopted, on 8 December 1994 this constitution through representatives we have duly elected for this purpose as an instrument that binds us in a mutual commitment to fulfill the objectives and the principles set forth above".

Also article 39 of the Ethiopian constitution stipulates the following rights to Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia;

1. Every Nations, Nationality and People in Ethiopia has an unconditional right to self determination, including the right to secession.

2. Every nation, nationality and people in Ethiopia has the right to speak, to write and to develop its own language; to express, to develop and to promote its culture; and to preserve its history.

3. Every Nation, nationality and people in Ethiopia has the right to a full measure of self-government which includes the right to establish institutions of government in the territory that it in habits and to equitable representation in state and Federal governments.

4. The right to self-determination, including secession, of every Nation, nationality and people shall come into effect:

a) When a demand for secession has been approved by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Legislative council of the Nation, nationality or people concerned;

b) When the Federal Government has organized a referendum which must take place within three years from the time it received the concerned council's decision for secession;

c) When the demand for secession is supported by majority vote in the referendum;

When the Federal Government will have transferred its powers to the council of the Nation, Nationality or people who has voted to secede; and

d) When the division of assets is effected in a manner prescribed by law.

A "Nation, Nationality or People" for the purpose of this constitution, is a group of people who have or share large measure of a common culture or similar customs, mutual intelligibility of language, belief in a common or related identities, a common psychological make-up, and who inhabit and identifiable, predominantly contiguous territory.

The preamble and article 39 of the Ethiopian constitution clearly puts into perspective the rights of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. It also guarantees that the Peoples of Ethiopia have equal status, irrespective of their ethnic, linguistic, religious or any other differences.

In a way, it recognizes unity in diversity. This is recognizing the absolute reality of differences that exist and giving equal respect and recognition to all citizens of this nation. This is what article 39 is all about and nothing else. As a result, the constitution that is based on equal rights and responsibilities became a formula of unity in diversity and not a dividing factor of the people of Ethiopia as some wants us to believe.

So why do few opposition parties inside and outside the country want to scrap and destroy this binding formula that brought peace, stability and mutual respect among the people of Ethiopia? More importantly, with what formula do they want to replace it? Do they have any other constructive alternative to it? The answer to these questions is simple and clear.

First and foremost, these people have never opted for any workable alternative because they have none whatsoever. More importantly, they have no agenda except a formula of destruction. Therefore, they have been guided by this formula of destruction from the very outset. Second and of more importance, few opposition members, particularly extremists, have never stood for equality of and mutual respect for Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. Instead, they want to keep the old status quo used during the former regimes.

Third, they know that they cannot possibly win election in Ethiopia, where the majority of the population is rural and agricultural in a fair and democratic ways. This is because, they simply have no base what so ever in the area where majority of Ethiopians reside. Therefore, they were guided by illusion to take every option including violence to grasp power. That is why they usually opt for illegal, undemocratic means and ways including using violence and anarchy. Those destructive tactics resulted in an unprecedented human live loses as well as material damages in some parts of our nation. Their actions caused economic conspiracy and sabotage and negatively affected the nation's international image and reputation. Their illegal activities also ignored and violated the nation's constitution and the law of the land.

As a result, it provoked and initiated violence, anarchy, chauvinism and racism in the country. Cooperated and collaborated with enemies from within and abroad like OLF, Genbot 7 and Shabia against the national interest of Ethiopia, they caused economic sabotage and loss of human lives besides destroying pubic property. If this is not a crime then what is? Therefore, as nobody is above the law, those extremists who are committing the above and other criminal activities must face justice.

The government has been so patient for so long for the sake of democracy and good governance. But it can no longer be silent when innocent citizens are killed, public property destroyed and the national interest damaged. As government, it has to take every legal action to protect its citizen' livelihoods and rights as well as protect public property. In fact, that is the government's number one priority.

Those who ignite fire on innocent citizens and try to divide the Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and Peoples on an imaginary and illusionary basis such as race, religion, language etc. are purposely ignoring the generational mutual relationship and respect of the peoples of Ethiopia. Therefore, it is not to late for them to come to their senses. We say Enough is Enough. Please don't mess with our innocent children and our young generation. As the saying goes: "you can fool some people sometimes but you cannot full many people many times". Read more here