WASHINGTON —
The state of emergency in effect in Ethiopia since October 8 is being used broadly to silence critical media voices and lock up suspected dissidents, according to a range of reports coming in from the country.
More than 1,000 people who are considered “ringleaders” or “bandits” have been arrested in Ethiopia since a national state of emergency began, according to state-controlled Fana Broadcasting Corporation (FBC).
Some of the hotspots have included north Gonder and the surrounding region where 93 arrests were made; Kelem Welega Zone in Oromia where 110 people were arrested; Guji Zone in Oromia where 302 people were arrested and Western Arsi in Oromia where 670 people were arrested, FBC reported.
FILE – In this Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 file photo, protesters chant slogans against the government during a march in Bishoftu, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia.
The number of arrests adds to earlier reports of 1,000 people arrested in Sebeta town according to its mayor, Ararsa Merdesa, who spoke to the Associated Press.
Information crackdown
The country is also taking steps to prevent information from getting out. The internet is shut down and the act of posting updates about the security situation on Facebook has been declared a crime.
It has also been made illegal to watch certain opposition cable and satellite channels. The Oromia Media Network (OMN), a satellite television channel based in Minnesota that broadcasts into Ethiopia, and Ethiopian Satellite Television and Radio (ESAT), one of the largest broadcasters into the country and run by the diaspora, were both labeled terrorist groups and singled out in the state of emergency’s Article 2.
FILE – Ethiopian soldiers try to stop protesters in Bishoftu, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia.
Jawar Mohammed, executive director of OMN said that this is not an unusual occurrence since the government has jammed his broadcast signal 15 times over the last two and a half years.
“I think the key objective of the state of emergency is to reinstall fear in people’s minds,” Mohammed told VOA. “Because the breakdown of fear, people coming out in large numbers, is seen as threatening so that’s what they attempted to do.”
Mohammed said he is heartened to see that, despite the attempts at intimidation, people continue to send his station video, photo and text updates.
“We have thousands of people scattered across the region reporting to us with tangible evidence: videos, pictures of the regime’s brutality and the bravery of our people,” he said. “We are broadcasting this to Oromia, connecting all corners of the region. The government perceives that as a serious threat.”
Kassahun Yilma, editor and producer of ESAT, based in Washington D.C., said his station has also been blocked. However, Yilma said the current protests will be difficult to stifle since
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