Ethnic tension threatens Ethiopia’s stability

By Abraham Fisseha

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 15 (AFP) — Recent deadly violence in western Ethiopia has highlighted the dangers ethnic tensions pose to the stability of a country that prides itself on the richness of its cultural diversity.

“I have never considered myself as belonging to this or that ethnic group,” said Assefa Megerssa, an ethnic Oromo living in the capital.

“It is sad that ethnic identity is now becoming a divisive instrument that is eroding our unity and self-esteem,” he added.

At least 200 people have been killed in recent weeks in ethnic violence in the western Gambella region that pitted members of indigenous Anuak community against the so-called “highlanders” or people originating from other areas of Ethiopia.

In southern Ethiopia, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is fighting for the creation of an independent state of ethnic Oromos to be called Oromia, near Ethiopia’s border with Kenya and Somalia.

Ethnic nationalism started surfacing in the late 1950s with tribal clashes erupting in the northern Tigray region in 1956, Bale in the south in 1957 and Gojjam in 1960.

With more than 65 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria and home to some 87 ethnic groups, known in official parlance as “nations, nationalities and peoples.”

Under Ethiopia’s federal system, enshrined in the 1995 constitution, the largest ethnic group in each state — the Anuak and Nuer in Gambella’s case — are meant to control local government affairs and dictate the official language.

But recently the Anuak have felt their authority has been undermined by outsiders, the so-called “highlanders” from the capital and other areas, who are accused of lording it over the indigenous population.

Minorities in some areas resent this type of federal administration, saying it has been been used to deny them jobs, business opportunities and even the right of residence.

And if one does not speak the official language in a given state, one is ineligible for political office.

Opposition groups such as the All Amhara People’s Organisation (AAPO), the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and other smaller organisations are opposed to ethnic federalism.

“This government came to power saying Ethiopia’s problem is an ethnic one and promised to solve it,” Medhanie Taddesse, a historian, told AFP.

“However, the way they (government) chose to implement (the solution) has shortcomings. It lacks dedication and honesty,” he said.
Medhanie criticised the government for not promoting grassroots democracy. He said Addis Ababa’s support for groups affiliated to the ruling Ethiopian People Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) in the provinces was stifling the opinion of other parties.

“The regional administration is shaped to the party’s (EPRDF) liking,” he charged.

According to some observers here, the growing ethinic tension can only be stemmed through the adoption of federalism based on geographic, as opposed to ethnic or linguistic lines, and on greater respect for the constitutional right to live and work in a region of one’s choice.

Another cause of unease is the government’s attempt to increase its powers to intervene in Ethiopia’s nine federal states — which in theory are so autonomous they have the right to secede — powers which are currently limited to areas such as defence, currency and foreign relations.