Ethiopia: Residents of Ambo, Sebata say tensions remain high after declaration of martial law

ESAT News (February 10, 2017)

Tensions remain high as security forces continue with their intimidation following the state of emergency declared last october, according to residents of Ambo and Sebeta who spoke to Deutsche Welle (DW).

“Four months after declaring a state of emergency in a crackdown on protests, Ethiopia’s government claims the country has returned to normal. Critics says the emergency decree remains an instrument of repression,” the report by DW said.

One Ambo resident, who asked to remain anonymous as he took part in the protests, said that the state of emergency had “unsettled the public’s inner repose,” the report said.

“Repression was still in place despite the government “falsely” claiming that life was returning to normal,” the resident told DW.

“You cannot go out after curfew. You cannot stand anywhere with a few people. People are filled with fear. They fear the Command Post,” he said referring to   the government body charged with implementing the state of emergency.

A resident of the town of Sabata said arrests and repression under the state of emergency continue. “For example, there are youth who got arrested without a warrant and have been in prison for over three months on the charge that they have listened to music,” he told Deutsche Welle. “The state of emergency is being used by the state to take revenge against youth,” he said.

DW quoted Mulatu Gemechu, deputy chairperson of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), as saying “a de facto state of emergency had been in force in Oromia for some time, but by making it public the government had acquired a legal shield for further acts of repression.”

Gemechu said the number of arrests in the Oromo region is close to 70,000.

This coming April marks three years since protests broke out in Ethiopia. They were sparked by protests by students in Ambo town, some 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the capital Addis Ababa.