Wüstenschiff

The fourteen-month old Muslim civil rights movement in Ethiopia has so far had some spectacular implications for the development of democracy and democratic political culture in the country. It has affected both the cultural as well as the institutional dynamics of the country’s political situation. In the following lines, I will examine just three very inter-related, but immensely broad, points where the Muslim activism has left great impacts on the contours of the current and future democratic possibilities of Ethiopia. I will deliberately be sketchy and short, as I don’t intend to render this piece of writing a journal article.

An Ethiopian activist and blogger group, Zone9, has launched its third online campaign demanding the Ethiopian government respect citizens’ rights enshrined within the Horn of Africa nation’s constitution. Under Twitter hashtags #Assembly4Every1 and #Demonstration4Every1, the Addis Ababa-based activists are requesting the government to uphold Article 30 of the constitution - which grants the right to freedom of assembly and demonstrations.

About 10,000 Ethiopians staged an anti-government procession on Sunday in the first large-scale protest since a disputed 2005 election ended in street violence that killed 200 people. The demonstrators marched through Addis Ababa's northern Arat Kilo and Piazza districts before gathering at Churchill Avenue in front of a looming obelisk with a giant red star perched on top, a relic of Ethiopia's violent Communist past.

A peaceful protest rally in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, has sparked speculation the government may be relaxing its tight restrictions on political demonstrations. The large turnout at the rally has also raised the profile of a little-known opposition party that seems to be attracting a large following among Ethiopia’s disaffected youth. Sunday’s demonstration drew thousands to the streets of Addis. But estimates of how many thousands varied widely. State-run television reported it was 2,000, while organizers said it was more like 15,000 to 20,000.

Indeed protests are rare in Ethiopia. But while Blue Party’s rally was the first one authorized by the regime since 2005, over the last 18 months, Muslims in Ethiopia have been protesting against government meddling in religious affairs in far greater numbers. In February, Bloomberg’s William Davison reported some 90,000 people gathered in Addis Ababa to protest negative portrayals of the Muslim movement in a documentary film produced by the state-run Ethiopian Television (ETV), Jihadawi Harekat.

Ethiopian opposition activists said Saturday they will hold rare demonstrations in two northern towns calling for government reform in the tightly controlled country. The planned demonstrations, due to be held Sunday in the towns of Gondar and Dessie, follow protests last month in the capital Addis Ababa when several thousand activists called for the release of political prisoners. Those protests were the largest in the country since post-election violence in 2005, in which 200 people were killed and hundreds more arrested. The opposition will demand that the government "revoke the anti-terror legislation as it is being used to commit widespread human rights abuses," said Negasso Gidada, protest organiser and chairman of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party (UDJ).

Authorities in Addis Ababa have arrested dozens of members and supporters of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, an Ethiopian opposition group, locally known as Andnet. The arrests were made on Monday in the Ethiopian capital after the group held two protest rallies in the towns of Gondar and Dessie in the Amhara region.

Ethiopian Muslims staged Monday protests in several cities of the country due to the assasination of well-known religious leader Sheikh Nuri Imam Mohammed. In Ethiopian northern Amhara region, the protestors shouted anti-fascist and terrorism slogans. During the protests, Mohammed was announced as the recent victim of terrorism in the region. 2 suspects were detained, leaving the region calm down.

At least 11 people were killed, several others wounded, and scores arrested on Saturday in a clash between government forces and Muslim activists, eyewitnesses and social media reports said. The skirmish in Kofele, Edoo, Wabe, and Qore towns in West Arsi zone of Oromia region left hospitals in Awassa and Shashamane crowded with wounded people, the reports said. Surrounding towns of Dodola and Asasa remained under military siege Sunday morning, eyewitnesses said. There are also reports of palpable tension in Shashamane.

Anti-government Muslims in Ethiopia on Monday called for mass demonstrations to be held on the religious day of Eid al-Fitr later this week to protest the arrests of 28 people on terror charges. The calls followed a weekend of violence in which three people were killed after security forces clashed with what police labeled Muslim “extremists.” Hundreds of people held rallies near mosques in the capital, Addis Ababa, and some regional towns on Friday and Saturday.

Hundreds of Muslim protesters during the weekend clashed with police in Ethiopia’s Oromya region ahead of the upcoming holiday of the end of Ramadan, or Eid al-Fitr. The incident occurred in West Arusi Zone after regional police arrived at the scene to intervene the situation. Regional Police on Monday told Sudan Tribune that the violence led to death and injuries following fire exchange with what it alleged were some armed protesters.

Die Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker (GfbV) hat Äthiopien vorgeworfen, die Glaubensfreiheit von Muslimen zu verletzen und muslimische Demonstranten willkürlich zu kriminalisieren. „Massenverhaftungen von muslimischen Demonstranten und Bestrafungen aufgrund der umstrittenen Antiterror-Gesetze lassen Gewalt nur eskalieren“, erklärte der GfbV-Afrikareferent Ulrich Delius am Donnerstag in Göttingen. „Wir fordern die sofortige Freilassung aller Muslime, die nur wegen ihrer Teilnahme an öffentlichen Protesten festgenommen wurden.“ Heute wurden erneut Hunderte Demonstranten im ganzen Land von Sicherheitskräften niedergeknüppelt und inhaftiert, weil sie zum Ende des Ramadan friedlich gegen die willkürliche Einsetzung muslimischer Religionsführer durch staatliche Stellen protestiert hatten.

Muslims in Ethiopia protested in the capital Addis Ababa during Eid al-Fitr prayers on Thursday, as part of a two-year-old campaign against what they say is government interference in their religious affairs. A heavy police presence around the city's stadium - the venue for morning prayers - marked a tense runup to the Muslim holiday after clashes between Muslims and police killed up to five people last week in Ethiopia's south. Demonstrators chanted "Allahu Akbar" and hoisted banners that read "respect the constitution", referring to allegations that the government has tried to influence the highest Muslim affairs body, the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme Council. Ethiopia, long seen by the West as a bulwark against militant Islam in the Horn of Africa, denies the claims but says it fears militancy is taking root in the country.

Hundreds arrested, beaten, and tear gassed Thursday morning following nationwide Eid day protests, Muslim rights activists said. Police began rounding up peaceful protesters returning home near the Ministry of Justice in Addis Ababa shortly after the Eid prayers concluded at the national stadium, according to eyewitness reports on Twitter. Those detained were ordered to sit on the ground inside the Ministry's compound, the reports said [...] In similar protests, police in the northern city of Dessie fired machine guns and tear gas, indiscriminately beating the protesters, according to a Facebook post by activist group, Dimtsachin Yisema. During and after Eid prayers, the group posted live updates in Amharic, including photos, from various locations around the country.

In Äthiopien wird die Kritik an der Regierung lauter. Zum Ende des Fastenmonats Ramadan rufen Muslime zu Protesten auf. Aber auch die politische Opposition ist aufgebracht. Beide klagen über willkürliche Festnahmen. Teile der muslimischen Bevölkerung in Äthiopien sind wutentbrannt. Im ganzen Land protestieren sie, fordern die Freiheit von religiösen Führern und Aktivisten. 29 Inhaftierte müssen sich vor Gericht verantworten, ihnen wird Terrorismus vorgeworfen - zu Unrecht, sagen die Demonstranten. Unterstützung bekommen sie von der Menschenrechtsorganisation Amnesty International.

The appeal of non-violence as a means of social transformation is almost universal. Few deny its awesome power when unleashed with discipline. However, in the face of an impeding danger, especially one known to be as brutal as they come, it takes a lot of courage to remain nonviolent. Even though it calls for more valor than one need in a pitched battle, history has recorded only a handful of such defiant acts of ultimate heroism in man's long quest for freedom and justice. But no incident exemplifies the true genius of such silent rebellion more than China's Tank Man. The year was 1989, at the height of a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing that saw hundreds, if not thousands, dead and many more arrested [...] On August 8, 2013 - far from China's Tiananmen Square, in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, a lone worshiper prayed the Eid Salat and was encircled by an army of riot police. The image shows a man on his knees praying unintimidated as a phalange of soldiers, bearing shields and batons, looked on.

A year after Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn came to power following the death of longtime leader Meles Zenawi in August 2012, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) remains firmly in control. It has continued to govern through a collective leadership that includes three deputy prime ministers from the Amhara, Tigray and Oromo wings of the coalition; Hailemariam hails from the Southern People’s Party. Party discipline and coherence has held, although the lead-up to elections in 2015 may reveal destabilizing fissures. But while older opposition parties and armed movements have been marginalized, a social movement of Ethiopian Muslims is an important new development.