Thread by @LaurenBinDC

While high-level US & EU diplomatic visits drew int'l press attention to #Ethiopia this week, most of the focus was on diplomatic relations, $, and the #Tigray peace deal. There was little coverage of the dangerous undercurrents that continue to threaten the country's stability.

https://twitter.com/addisstandard/status/1636773804897890304

On Mar 15, while the intl press was focused on Blinken's visit, Ethiopia's election board issued a statement condemning the persecution of some political parties by the govt & its security forces, citing illegal detentions, intimidation & harassment.
m.facebook.com/story.php?stor…

The day prior, the Mayor of Addis -Ethiopia's culturally diverse capital city- made highly controversial comments alleging that youth from "some regional states" were trying to flood the city to overthrow the govt. Addis's police chief claimed most of the youth were from Amhara.

@addisstandard provides a deep dive into Mayor Adanech's remarks, seen by many as divisive & dangerous, and related developments that have gone largely uncovered by intl media. The detention of large numbers of ethnic Amhara over the past year...
addisstandard.com/in-depth-analy…

... has contributed to mounting tensions w/in Ethiopia's ruling party, alongside Amhara concerns over the peace deal Abiy's govt struck with the TPLF, which could have implications for Amhara's seizure of contested territory in Tigray.

The recent Orthodox Church crisis added further fuel to the tensions between Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups, and it appears to have further undermined Abiy's waning support among Amhara.
ethiopia-insight.com/2023/02/28/a-r…

In this context, the statement yesterday from Ethiopia's ruling Prosperity Party highlights that the party knows it has a problem, but it is unclear whether they can agree on a path to navigate the country beyond its divisions.
addisstandard.com/news-ruling-pa…

Notably, the ruling does not appear ready to accept some responsibility for problems the country faces. It points to "the burden of history" and says of Ethiopia's divisions, "we inherited them, we did not create them."

This, after spending the past few years blaming the country's ills on the TPLF, with no acknowledgement than most of the current ruling party was part of the ruling EPRDF coalition that governed the country for the past 3 decades. The TPLF did not rule alone.

It is positive to see party leaders acknowledge the "inability to manage freedom" and speak of the need for accountability. What changes this will lead to remains to be seen. Likewise, how the govt will deal with "the thieves within the government" will be something to watch.

Maybe just focus on the complicated business of governing & healing the country's wounds & divisions, and leave the book writing for later?

https://twitter.com/EsheteBekele/status/1637150458945978370?t=OL8xujZiLvbPP1C27L0AmA&s=19