Industrial and Econimic Development Meets Land Politics in Ethiopia
Violence in Ethiopia
Recently Ethiopia has witnessed a wave
of violence in which the death toll is not easy to determine given the securitisation
of politics in the horn of Africa’s power house. But unconfirmed figure given by the major
opposition party, the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) is 87 deaths. According
to the police 5 people had died during the
protests, but casualties could be higher but they are yet to announce an
updated number since early December.
Police Crackdown
Following the violence, Ethiopian police
are reported to have arrested unknown number of people including some
opposition personalities. The senior opposition politicians arrested have been
accused by the police of inciting the public but they have not been produced in
court. One of the key opposition figures,
the Chairperson of the OFC reported on Saturday that the police rounded up the
deputy of his party Bekele Gerba and the Assistant Secretary Dejene Tafa on
Thursday 24th December 2015. He further argued that the police
accused the OFC and its members of being part of the protest movement that
rocked the country for several weeks. However, he maintained that the OFC has
never incited any violence. Hard for us to determine who is telling the truth
between the opposition and the police, meanwhile since those arrested have not
been charged in a court of law, our lot remains mere speculations.
Economic Zone
Underlying the protests is the expansive
economic plans by the government of Ethiopia. The government plans to develop
and economic zone near Addis Ababa as part of its mega industrial and economic advancement
of the capital and the economy. This is the so called Addis Ababa Integrated
Development Master Plan aimed at creating an investment and industrial zone
near the capital. This plan entails an eviction of a number of residents to
create room for the projected expansion, a move that the affected community is
said to be against hence the opposition, protest and deadly violence that has
been witnessed.
The Oromiya Issue
The planned
expansion is set to be carried out in the Oromia territory. It should not be
lost in mind that historically the Oromo people have held a secessionist ideology
hence making the situation even more complicated. This is perhaps the major
reason that the Addis Ababa administration accuses the secessionist Oromo
Liberation Front (OLF) and opposition group Ginbot 7 of involvement in the
protests. It labels both groups as terrorist organisations.
Oromiya is
Ethiopia’s largest region by size and population. Dissident groups such as the
OLF, which is waging a low-key rebellion, accuse the ruling EPRDF coalition of marginalizing
ethnic Oromos. Plans to annex their territory to expand the economic zone of
the city remains largely unwelcome. Whereas the heavy hand of government has quelled
the violence, it is unlikely that the dispute has been resolved and the impact could
be bigger than the information that we are able to access.
The Land Question
In Ethiopia land
is an emotive issue. Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous nation after
Nigeria. The country has more than 90 million people. Majority of the people
depend on subsistence farming and pastoralism for survival. Reallocating land
for new uses is a thorny issue in a country where the vast majority of the
population still survives on smallholder farm plots. According to the
opposition farmers have often been forced off land and poorly compensated.
Getting the Oromo people to vacate part of their territory is not going to be
an easy venture given the community’s secessionist ideology, the current political
landscape and the nature of their life and relation with the state. The
question of land remains thorny and majority of the Oromo people are ready to
fight and die in defense of their land. How the government is going to handle
this issue without exacerbating the already volatile situation remains a
balancing act yet to be seen.
The Prime Minister’s Take
Speaking
about the protests in Parliament on Friday, 25th December, the Prime
Minister Hailemariam Desalegn argued that the protests are isolated incidences
of anti-peace terror elements which have been contained. He held that the “anti-peace
forces” had incited violence by spreading false information.” He said members
of “terrorist groups” had infiltrated protesters and that the government would
take “unflinching measures” against them. Such utterances puts him and his
government at loggerheads with the opposition which insists that those arrested
are innocent opposition figures who have not in any way been involved in incitement
of the public to violence.
Conclusion
Well this
incident of weeks of violence is a demonstration of a situation where the
economic and industrial ambitions of Ethiopia have met the secessionist Oromiya
region, the politics of opposition and a highly militaristic state. The
political outcome of it remains to be seen as time goes. Unfortunately the
price may be higher for the population in the territory in question.
Industrial and Econimic Development Meets Land Politics in Ethiopia
Reviewed by Ibrahim Magara
on
December 27, 2015
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