67 dead + 213 injured in pro-Jawar protests - likely to run for PM after messy divorce with Abiy.

[Crow]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/25/world/africa/ethiopia-protests-prime-minister.html

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Weeks after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is coming under harsh criticism over his silence in the face of protests this week that police said had resulted in the deaths of 67 people.

Mr. Abiy remained at a summit meeting of African leaders in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, Russia when thousands of people took to the streets of the Ethiopian capital and several regional towns on Wednesday.

This is where he was.

The protests were spurred by a prominent critic of the prime minister who had accused the police of plotting an attack on him. The critic, Jawar Mohammed, is the founder of an independent media network, and claimed that there was a plan to arrest or possibly kill him at his house in the capital, Addis Ababa.

The accusations stoked longstanding tensions in Ethiopia, the second-most populous nation in Africa, and drove hundreds of Mr. Jawar’s ethnic Oromo supporters to gather outside his home.


Thirteen of those who died in the protests were killed by security forces and the remainder died in sporadic fighting that broke out between rival groups, said Kefyalew Tefera, the regional police commissioner for the Oromia region. He said that another 213 were injured. He did not say what the root cause of that fighting was or what groups were involved.

By Thursday night, Commissioner Kefyalew said, calm had been restored to the country, with “no kind of protest or violent activities.” Officials also announced on Friday that they had deployed soldiers to seven regional towns, including six in the Oromia region, after violence broke out this week.

“This will bring about stability in the areas in cooperation with the regional security forces,” Maj. Gen. Mohammed Tesemma of the Ethiopian Army said at a news conference.

Since coming to power, Mr. Abiy has released tens of thousands of political prisoners and been credited with ending the decades-long conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, its isolated neighbor. The Nobel Committee that awarded Mr. Abiy the Peace Prize on Oct. 11 cited the accomplishments of his first 100 days, including lifting a state of emergency, granting amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, halting media censorship and legalizing outlawed opposition groups.

But during his time in office, domestic tensions have festered between ethnic groups that feel emboldened by a renewed sense of political freedom.

Mr. Abiy’s failure to return to Ethiopia when the protests broke out, or to say anything to try to calm the tensions, has disappointed some Ethiopians.

“The fact he was in Russia, doing nothing to take measures, that is raising some eyebrows,” said Zemelak Aytenew, an associate professor in government studies at Addis Ababa University. “He’s supposed to be a prime minister. In other countries when these crises happen people abandon their invitations and take charge of the situation.”

“Like many people I feel ashamed he has not done more than he did in terms of taking charge of the situation,” Mr. Zemelak said.

Mr. Jawar, the Ethiopian media owner and activist, has sometimes been an ally, and sometimes a rival of Mr. Abiy. Earlier this week, before the protests erupted, Prime Minister Abiy warned Parliament that unidentified media owners were fomenting ethnic unrest.

Analysts say that Mr. Jawar, who is 33 and has American citizenship, could mount a convincing campaign to succeed Mr. Abiy in next year’s general election. Mr. Jawar fueled the protests that helped bring Mr. Abiy to power in 2018, after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was ousted.

Mr. Jawar called for calm on Thursday, from his home, telling his supporters: “Open the blocked roads, clear the towns of barricades, treat those who have been injured during the protests and reconcile with those you have quarreled with.”

Mr. Abiy now finds himself in the tricky position of having to quiet Mr. Jawar’s supporters while living up to his new acclaim as a global peacemaker.


Mr. Jawar, who founded the independent Oromia Media Network, enjoys an extensive social media reach in Ethiopia — he has 1.75 million Facebook followers — giving him considerable ability to mobilize demonstrations, especially in the urban areas where he is popular with internet users.

“He does have the network to launch a party,” said Mr. Zemelak, of Addis Ababa University, though he said it was unclear how popular Mr. Jawar is in poorer and more rural areas of the country.

 

[Ibrahim hassan]

And I heard the Egyptians are planning to blow up Thier dam.

 

[embarassing]

@AfranQallo do you support Jawar?

 

[Khalid ali]

muslim oromos support jawar the gaals support abiye

 

[embarassing]

muslim oromos support jawar the gaals support abiye

Are there more Muslims or gaals? I’ve only ever known/met Muslim Oromos.

 

[Abba Sadacha]

muslim oromos support jawar the gaals support abiye

False.



And about 60 percent or so, of Oromos are Muslims.

 

[embarassing]

False.



And about 60 percent or so, of Oromos are Muslims.

What’s false?

 

[tyrannicalmanager]

didn't jawar say in a speech "cut the heads of christians" ethiopian might be become even more destructive than 1990s somalia.

 

[Crow]

Jawar played a large part in bringing down the TPLF. After Abiy's sudden rise to power, he was seen kissing the ring on a number of occasions.

After over a year in his chair, Abiy has grown confident enough to forge his own path.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/...hiopian-pm-2020-election-191025154446076.html

Prominent activist and media entrepreneur Jawar Mohammed has said he might challenge Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in elections planned for next year, accusing him of resorting "to the early signs of dictatorship".

Jawar, who spoke to reporters at his home in Addis Ababa on Friday, had earlier accused security forces of trying to orchestrate an attack against him, prompting protests by his supporters in the capital and across Ethiopia's Oromia region on Wednesday and Thursday. Police denied Jawar's claim.

In an interview with the AFP news agency earlier in the day, Jawar alleged that Abiy - who two weeks ago was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for pursuing regional peacemaking efforts and democratic reforms - seemed to be taking Ethiopia back to "the old ways" of authoritarian rule.

"[Abiy] has resorted to the early signs of dictatorship, of trying to intimidate people, even his very close allies who helped him come to power who happen to disagree with some of the policies and positions and ideologies he's advocating," Jawar said.

"Intimidation is the start of authoritarian rule."

Abiy has not directly addressed Jawar, but on Tuesday expressed frustration with "media owners" who are seen to be promoting ethnic agendas ahead of Ethiopian unity. The comments were viewed by many as a not-so-veiled reference to Jawar.

His exact words were:

"Those media owners who don't have Ethiopian passports are playing both ways. When there is peace you are playing here, and when we are in trouble you [are] not here."​

The developments underscore a growing rift between the prime minister and Jawar, an Ethiopian-born US citizen and founder of the Oromia Media Network who had previously mobilised a movement of young men in Oromia from 2016 to 2018 that led to anti-government protests and paved the way for Abiy to take power.

Abiy, who like Jawar is from the Oromo ethnic group, has since enacted sweeping political reforms in the country which had suffered decades of repressive rule.

The greater freedoms in the country have exposed long-repressed tensions within and between Ethiopia's many ethnic groups.

Jawar said his supporters have stopped believing in Abiy's promises of reform and accuse the prime minister of centralising power, silencing dissent and jailing political prisoners.

Amnesty International has said that, since the prime minister took office, there have been several waves of mass arrests of people in the Oromia region perceived to be opposed to the government.

The "ruling party and its ideology will be challenged seriously not only in the election but also prior to the elections", Jawar told Reuters News Agency on Friday.

He said that running against Abiy in the election planned for 2020 was only "one possibility", though he also said he could be convinced to back the prime minister if he changes course, according to AFP.

"I want to have an active role in the coming election. In what capacity I'm not sure, but I want to make sure that the influence I have in the country has a positive contribution," he said.

Federal troops have been deployed to 7 cities across Oromia and Abiy has warned that the situation will only get worse.

 

[Ibrahim hassan]

I like this jawar guy

 

[Crow]

To no one's surprise, Jawar's Qeero (Oromo mooryaans) were behind the chaos and they took this opportunity to kill other ethnicities.
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1X50BC

The majority of the deaths came from fighting between civilians, he said. Police have arrested 150 people in Oromiya region so far in connection with the violence.

Sixty-eight people were arrested on suspicion of robbing and attempting to burn a mosque and an orthodox church in the city of Adama in Oromiya, the city's mayor said in an interview on a state-run broadcaster. He said the suspects took advantage of peaceful protests to spark ethnic and religious conflict.

A 69-year-old man in Dodola, a town about 300 km (185 miles) south of the capital in the Oromiya region, said he saw young men carrying sticks and metal rods in a part of town where people from the Amharic ethnic group are known to live, attacking and setting fire to houses.

He said the young men shouted "Qeerroo can do this....and that" in the Amharic language as they rampaged through his neighborhood.

Supporters of Jawar call themselves "Qeerroo", an Oromo term meaning "bachelor" adopted by politically active young men.

He said he also heard them speaking the Oromo language.

The man said the group took to the streets suddenly on Wednesday morning, when people were on their way to work.

"I saw the corpses of seven people who were killed by the youths," he said. "They all were beaten to death using sticks, metal rods and machetes. I managed to save my life by hiding here and there."

The Dodola hospital has treated 56 people since violence began, nearly 35 of them appearing to have been beaten with sticks and machetes, the rest with gunshot wounds, an official there said.

Priest Firesebhat Getachew, head of an Orthodox church in Dodola, said eight people killed this week had been buried at his church and 3,000 more were sheltering inside its compound.

"The attackers targeted Orthodox Christians," he said by phone, adding that the victims were from the Oromo, Amhara, and Sidama ethnic groups. "The area is dominated by Muslims, and they don't want us and the church there."

In Alem Gena on the outskirts of the capital, a woman watched from inside the gate to her home as young men speaking Oromo destroyed signs written in Amharic. "A young man standing on the side of the road asked them why they were doing this. Then they started to attack him with a stick," she said.

 

[tyrannicalmanager]

i found the where say "muslim oromo will cut the heads of christians"
it's in oromo though

 

[Crow]

i found the where say "muslim oromo will cut the heads of christians"
it's in oromo though

If this terrorist becomes Prime Minister, Ethiopia is finished.

 

[tyrannicalmanager]

If this terrorist becomes Prime Minister, Ethiopia is finished.

that why it's within our interest as somalis to support jawar. #jawar2020

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

Unconditional support for Jawar. He is a hero. This is not about religion but whether the majority rules or the xabash minority does. It is time for Oromo to be the official language of Ethiopia, and it is time Finfinne became the capital of Oromia.

 

[tyrannicalmanager]

Unconditional support for Jawar. He is a hero. This is not about religion but whether the majority rules or the xabash minority does. It is time for Oromo to be the official language of Ethiopia, and it is time Finfinne became the capital of Oromia.

jawar is a oromo seperatist

 

[embarassing]

@Crow why do you support axmaro propaganda over a muslim oromo? Muslim Oromo > Amhara Christian extremist no matter what the history is.

What did they expect when they tried Jawar? Everyone knows the Qeero support him.

 

[Crow]

@Crow why do you support axmaro propaganda over a muslim oromo? Muslim Oromo > Amhara Christian extremist no matter what the history is.

What did they expect when they tried Jawar? Everyone knows the Qeero support him.

Don't play dumb. You know what Qeero have been doing to Somalis and Hararis for the last few years. They are roving bands of mooryaans with no religion.

 

[Crow]

Here is an cadaan guy in Ethiopia's take on the situation:

 

[embarassing]

Don't play dumb. You know what Qeero have been doing to Somalis and Hararis for the last few years. They are roving bands of mooryaans with no religion.

I do know. Habeshi would be and have been worse.