By Alemayehu G. Mariam

On March 24, 2020, Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, proposed a three-point plan to the G-20 to proactively deal with the inevitable health, economic and social fallout of the COVID-19 crises in Africa.

The first prong of the plan aims to create an “Africa Global COVID-19 Emergency Financing Package” to deal with the crushing USD 44 billion interest payment African countries are carrying today on their outstanding loans, which exceeds the continental budget for all health care expenses. The package would include USD 150 billion for increased budgetary support from the World Bank and balance of support payments from the International Monetary Fund. It would also require trade financing, working capital support, etc. from the International Finance Corporation.

The second prong consists of a Global Health Emergency Package which would engage the World Health Organization in strengthening the public health sector in Africa by increasing emergency preparedness and financing of health equipment purchases by the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and malaria.

The third prong proposes writing off all interest payment on government loans, partial debt write-off for low-income countries and conversion of the remaining debt into long term low interest loans with 10 years grace period before payment. Moreover, all debt repayments will be limited to 10% of the value of exports.

On March 25, 2020, PM Abiy used the Financial Times as a pulpit to aggressively push the debt burden issue in Africa must be addressed with the fierce urgency of now.

Advanced economies are unveiling unprecedented economic stimulus packages. African countries, by contrast, lack the wherewithal to make similarly meaningful interventions. Yet if the virus is not defeated in Africa, it will only bounce back to the rest of the world. There is a need to establish a facility to provide budgetary support to African countries. The issue of resolving Africa’s debt burden also needs to be put back on the table as a matter of urgency.

On April 14, 2020, PM Abiy delivered a second salvo in an op-ed piece in Bloomberg arguing the first step in Africa’s post-COVID-19 reconstruction is “debt relief for all of Africa. Africa needs an immediate emergency fiscal stimulus worth $100 billion in addition to the International Monetary Fund’s already programmed $50 billion of regular support to tackle the crisis. The crisis will not be short-lived: Additional support over the next two to three years is required.”

On April 15, 2020, G-20 finance ministers, after conducting a virtual meeting on the global economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, issued a Communique consistent with the core set of proposals presented by PM Abiy including, among others:

Time-bound suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries that request forbearance effective May 1, 2020 and lasting through at least December 2020 with possible extension.

Temporary doubling of annual access limits to IMF emergency facilities (Rapid Financing Instrument / Rapid Credit Facility) to provide financing to countries with urgent balance-of-payments needs and support IMF’s readiness to mobilize its US$1 trillion lending capacity to meet members’ needs through augmenting existing programs or new programs.

Take emergency trade measures designed to tackle COVID-19 that avoid barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains.

Provide substantial support to businesses, especially small and medium sized enterprises, and households most affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Ensure sustainable public finances and repairing government balance sheets to ensure they are sufficiently robust to address future shocks.

Make targeted investment programs in the health sector in coordination with specialized institutions such as the WHO.

David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group welcomed the “temporary debt relief worth around $20 billion to low-income countries” but warned that “much more is needed”.  The debt relief suspension includes $8 billion from private sector creditors. The  G-20 called on other private lenders to voluntarily “participate in the initiative on comparable terms.”

On April 15, 2020, the International Monetary Fund  approved six months of debt service relief for 25 low-income countries, including 19 in Africa.

Africa’s #2 deadly enemy today, after COVID-19, is crushing foreign debt

Foreign/external debt, the Black Horseman of the Apocalypse, is riding right behind the Pale Horseman of COVID-19 toting despair, gloom and doom for the people of Africa.

The total amount of external debt for the African continent is estimated at USD $417bn.

Nearly one-half of all sub-Saharan African countries are said to be on the verge of insolvency unable to service their debts and with little change of paying it all.

The World Bank has classified 18 African countries as at high risk of debt distress, where debt-to-GDP ratios surpass 50%.

PM Abiy’s three-point plan is a wake-up call for all African countries of an impending doom catalyzed by COVID-19 crises and a clarion call to the G-20 that without their help a large percentage of the 1.2 billion people in Africa will likely face imminent existential threat.

The handwriting is on the wall. As PM Abiy warned, “If the virus is not defeated in Africa, it will only bounce back to the rest of the world.”

As he observed in his Nobel speech, “I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper. For you to have a peaceful night, your neighbor shall have a peaceful night as well.”

For the world to be free from the COVID-19 plague, Africa must be free of the COVID-19 plague. Africa cannot remain sick and the rest of the world healthy.

Such is the intertwining of the fate of Africans with the rest of the world. COVID-19 has leveled the playing field and the lines are clearly marked. There is one and only one war. The invisible armies of COVID-19 against the Human Race. The choice is clear: The Human Race shall defeat the Vi-Race or the beginning of the race for the end of the Human Race in pandemics shall have begun.

I am deeply disappointed African leaders are not lifting their voices to be heard. To my knowledge, not a single African leader has taken to the international court of public opinion and pleaded Africa’s cause and case in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.

It could be that other African leaders have stepped back because PM Abiy’s voice as a Nobel Peace Laureate could command broader global attention. But that is no excuse for all African leaders to come forward and help PM Abiy do the heavy lifting.

That is why I wish to see all African leaders “lift their voice” and let the world know that we are ONE: “Facing the rising sun of our new day begun/Let us march on ’til victory is won” against COVID-19.

Let us give credit and show gratitude to PM Abiy

In December 2018, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Thank You PM Abiy Ahmed for All You Have Done for Ethiopia!” in which I personally thanked PM Abiy for what he has done in Ethiopia and reflected on the virtues of gratitude.

In April 2020, I wish to thank PM Abiy for all he has done to s,ound the alarm on the Pale COVD-19 Horseman of the Apocalypse stalking Africa and organize Africa’s first responders.

I have previously called PM Abiy Ahmed Africa’s First Responder. In June 2019, when Sudanese forces indiscriminately fired into crowds of unarmed pro-democracy street demonstrators, killing and wounding hundreds, Sudan was on the verge of civil war. PM Abiy Ahmed came to the rescue and saved the day when he got contending Sudanese factions to form a unity government.

On March 15, 2020, PM Abiy became Africa’s First Responder in the War on COVID-19. He was able to talk to Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group, and make arrangements to expedite delivery of critical medical supplies in anticipation of the COVID-19 invasion of Africa.  Ethiopian Airlines airlifted from China “5.4 million face masks, kits for 1.08 million detection tests, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000 sets of protective face shields.”

Each of the continent’s 54 nations received 20,000 testing kits, 100,000 masks and 1,000 protective suits in the fight to contain the spread of the virus.

By March 23, Ethiopian Airlines (a/k/a “Africa’s Air Force in the COVID-19 War”) was delivering the supplies to Eritrea, Djibouti, Egypt and Sudan.

Thank you, PM Abiy for what you have done for Ethiopia and all Africa in the life and death struggle against COVID-19.

Thank you for

Being the voice of Africa in the face of COVID-19 invasion.

Working with Jack Ma to get emergency medical supplies distributed throughout Africa at lightning speed.

Sounding the alarm so that the G-20 and multilateral lending institutions pay attention to Africa’s predicament with the fierce urgency of now.

Relentlessly pleading the cause of Africa in the court of international public opinion.

Mobilizing the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to fight COVID-19.

Not giving up on a continent when it is so easy to give up.

Creating mass awareness and spreading the word on COVID-19 mitigation in Ethiopia.

The almost daily COVID-19 briefings to the people of Ethiopia with facts, facts and nothing but the facts.

Being the commander-in chief in the war against COVID-19 as well as the chief medical information officer and chief preacher of preventive sanitary practices.

Making Ethiopia Africa’s first responder and the equivalent of Africa’s Delta Force against COVID-19 terrorizing the African continent and for deploying Ethiopian Airlines as “Africa’s Air Force in the War Against COVID-19.”

On a very personal note: The war of the worlds and the day Africa stood still

The world can ignore Africa at its own peril.

Africa is the future of the world.

Since 2008, the GDP of the continent has expanded by nearly 40 per cent. The continent’s population will rise from 1.3 billion to 2.5 billion in 2050.

As the world greys, by 2050 Africa’s young people will be the mainstay of the global workforce.

It is estimated by 2050 the combined economy of Africa will be worth some $29 trillion, tenfold of what it is now.

Africa has the resources the world needs most including bountiful agricultural land. The largest reserves of rare earth metals essential for the global digital economy will be available plentifully in Africa.

To save the world for COVID-19, Africa must be saved!

For decades, Hollywood movies and science fiction writers stoked our imagination with stories of extraterrestrials invading earth and wreaking havoc.

In H.G. Wells’ 1897 “War of the Worlds”, the war was between the Martian Race and the Human Race. The Martians terrorized the human race and vaporized  helpless Earthlings with heat rays and poisonous black smoke.

In the 1951 movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, an alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully with each other or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.

The real war today is not between the Human Race and an Alien Race from outer space.

The real war today is between the Human Race and an invisible Vi-Race on Planet Earth The Vi-Race known as COVID-19 is an equal opportunity destroyer.

COVID-19 is robotic, algorithmic, inexorable and inhumane. It does not care about race, religion, gender, age, class, nationality or anything else. Nor does it distinguish between humans, canines and felines. When COVID-19 comes, it rides the Pale Horse of the Apocalypse and no one will be spared.

COVID-19 has brought the mighty, mighty U.S.A. to its knees.

Americans are standing in line for handouts as “food bank lines stretch for miles as desperate Americans struggle amid economic crisis.”

That breaks my heart. I never, never thought I would witness such a disaster in America.

But thousands of Americans are lining up at the food banks not because of a food deficit but because of the moral and economic bankruptcy of the Trump administration.

Trump said don’t worry about coronavirus. “It is under control.”

Now that COVID-19 has put 22 million Americans on the unemployment line, Trump is looking for a fall guy, a scapegoat.

But remember, remember!
The third of November 2020.

But in November 2016, I knew it was the dawn of “Darkness at Noon in Amerikkka.”

So today, many of my fellow Americans, unemployed and in despair, are asking, “Brother, can you spare a dime?”

That was the title of one of the best-known American songs  of the Great Depression:

Say, don’t you remember, they called me Al
It was Al all the time
Why don’t you remember, I’m your pal
Say buddy, can you spare a dime?

How U.S. (We) the mighty have fallen!

In 2020, we are living in a world at war with an enemy we cannot see, feel or touch. We face an enemy that can take us out silently, unseen and unheard.

In “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, Klaatu the alien says:

I speak bluntly. The universe grows smaller every day.  I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run your own planet. But if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: Join us and live in peace or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer; the decision rests with you.

Our world grows smaller every day. It is of vital importance we must run our planet as ONE human race. If we continue our current path of violence, injustice and environmental degradation, we will make the world a pandemic graveyard.

The choice is simple with COVID-19. The Human Race can join forces against the Vi-Race and live in peace and prosperity or pursue the present course/curse and face obliteration.

The decision rests with the Human Race. We have very limited time to give our answer to the Vi-Race!

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Asylum Policy Changes Threaten Eritreans’ Rights

(Nairobi) – The Ethiopian government’s changes to asylum procedures for Eritreans undermines their access to asylum and denies unaccompanied children necessary protection. The Ethiopian authorities should ensure that all Eritreans have the right to apply for asylum and publicly announce changes to its asylum and camp management policies.

In late January 2020, the Ethiopian government unofficially changed its asylum policy, which for years granted all Eritrean asylum seekers refugee status as a group. Staff from Ethiopia’s Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) have only registered some categories of new arrivals at the Eritrea border, excluding others, notably unaccompanied children, the United Nations and aid groups say. Ethiopia’s refusal to register these asylum seekers could force them to return to abusive situations in violation of international refugee law.

“Ethiopia has long welcomed tens of thousands of Eritreans fleeing persecution each year,” said Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “With no letup in repression in Eritrea, the Ethiopian government shouldn’t be denying protection to Eritrean nationals, particularly unaccompanied children.”

Each year, thousands of Eritrean secondary school students, some still under 18, are conscripted into the country’s abusive indefinite national service program. National service is supposed to last 18 months, but the government often extends it to well over a decade. National service hampers children’s access to education and family life.

To apply for asylum and gain official refugee status, Eritreans need to register with Ethiopia’s refugee agency at “collection centers” when they cross the border. After registration, many then move into 1 of 6 refugee camps, 4 in the Tigray region. A smaller number live as urban refugees. With official refugee status, Eritreans are eligible for services and protection.

In July 2018, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace agreement, ending two decades of armed conflict and hostility, but it has not led to improvements in the human rights situation in Eritrea. In 2019, about 6,000 Eritreans arrived in Ethiopia every month. Ethiopia currently hosts 171,876 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers, over a third of Eritrea’s global refugee population. According to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, as of December, 44 percent of Eritrean refugees in the Tigray refugee camps were children.

In January 2019, Ethiopia’s parliament adopted progressive revisions to its refugee law that allow refugees and asylum seekers to obtain work permits and access primary education, receiving significant international acclaim. However, in January 2020, for reasons not made public, the government began to exclude certain categories of new arrivals from Eritrea from registering, including unaccompanied children.

Denying people access to asylum is inhumane and unlawful, Human Rights Watch said. It may violate the fundamental principle of non-refoulement, which bars returning refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they face threats to their lives or freedom or the risk of torture. This principle also applies to indirect acts that have the effect of returning people to harm – for example, when uncertainty leads people to believe that they cannot apply for asylum and have no practical option but to return.

The refusal to register unaccompanied children may compel them to return to abusive situations, Human Rights Watch said. Under international standards, governments should prioritize children’s access to asylum and offer children, particularly those who are unaccompanied, special care and protection.

As of December, UNHCR said 27 percent of the Eritrean children arriving in the Tigray refugee camps were unaccompanied. About 30 unaccompanied or separated children arrived every day. Previously, Ethiopia had granted unaccompanied Eritrean children immediate care arrangements, access to emergency education, and individual counseling, although those services were reportedly under significant strain.

However, the authorities have not been registering unaccompanied children since late January, and these children are not entitled to protection services or refugee camp accommodations, leaving them to fend for themselves. An aid worker in the Tigray region said “If children are undocumented [i.e. unregistered], they don’t have access to food, shelter, protection, or any psychosocial support. That exposes them to many external risks, including exploitation.”

Under Ethiopia’s 2019 Refugees Proclamation, the government recognizes refugees as people who meet both the 1951 Refugee Convention definition and the definition of the 1969 African Union Refugee Convention, which includes people fleeing “events seriously disturbing public order.” The proclamation states that the government can revoke group refugee determination, in consultation with UNHCR, by giving due consideration to the country of origin situation and publishing a directive.

The Ethiopian government does not appear to have followed these guidelines. It has not published a directive to inform new arrivals, refugees, and humanitarian partners, including the UNHCR, of the new criteria for registration, appeal procedures if their claims are denied, alternative legal routes for new arrivals, and reasons for the changes. This uncertainty risks creating significant confusion and fear for Eritrean asylum seekers, Human Rights Watch said.

On March 27, Human Rights Watch sent a letter with questions to Ethiopia’s refugee agency requesting a response on any changes to its policies or practice towards Eritrean refugees. No response has been received.

UNHCR maintains its 2011 eligibility guidelines on Eritrea. The guidelines offer countries advice on how to assess protection needs of Eritrean asylum seekers, and the agency recently said at an immigration hearing in the United Kingdom that “until there is concrete evidence that fundamental, durable, and sustainable changes have occurred, these guidelines should be maintained.”

The human rights situation in Eritrea remains dire and has not fundamentally changed since the 2018 peace agreement, making any shift in policy premature, Human Rights Watch said.

The Ethiopian authorities announced in early March that it would close the Hitsats refugee camp in the Tigray region, where 26,652 Eritreans live, as of mid-April, according to UNHCR. That includes about 1,600 unaccompanied children who are receiving care, UNHCR said.

Refugees and aid workers told Human Rights Watch that the timeline and procedures for the camp to close remain unclear. The deputy director general of Ethiopia’s refugee agency recently told the media that the relocations, reportedly on hold because of Covid-19, could begin by late April. The lack of clarity and the asylum policy change make it difficult to assess the impact of the camp’s closure and plan for viable, safe alternatives, including for unaccompanied children, Human Rights Watch said.

An Eritrean man who was unlawfully imprisoned for seven years in Eritrea and now is in Hitsats camp said, “No one explains clearly our rights, where we go, what is the time frame, all these details. We are very worried – we already have our own problems. In addition to our everyday stresses and difficulties, this is adding more.”

“Unaccompanied Eritrean children who seek asylum in Ethiopia face an impossible choice between lack of legal protection and services and uncertainty inside Ethiopia, or the risk of serious abuse if they return home,” Bader said. “Ethiopia should continue to show leadership in its treatment of Eritreans, with international support, and ensure that even during the Covid-19 crisis, it continues to protect asylum seekers from needless harm.”

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Some one million people in Ethiopia require emergency food aid after swarms of desert locusts damaged 200,000 hectares (half a million acres) of cropland in a region already struggling with food security, the United Nations has said.

The announcement on Monday from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which recently concluded a joint assessment with the Ethiopian government, came as parts of East Africa are bracing for new swarms that could be even more devastating.

Billions of desert locusts, some in swarms the size of Moscow, have already chomped their way through much of the region, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.

Their breeding has been spurred by one of the wettest rainy seasons in the region in decades.

In Ethiopia, the locusts have caused widespread losses of sorghum, wheat and maize, also known as corn, and vastly reduced the amount of available land for cattle grazing, FAO said.

Of the one million individuals requiring emergency food assistance, some 75 percent live in the country’s Somali and Oromia regions.

About 8.5 million people in Ethiopia are already in severe acute food insecurity and in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the FAO.

Ahmed Ibrahim, 30, an Ethiopian farmer, attempts to fend off desert locusts as they fly in his khat farm on the outskirts of Jijiga in the Somali region, Ethiopia [File: Giulia Paravicini/Reuters]

In the six East African countries worst affected or at risk of locusts – Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania – some 20 million people are already experiencing acute food insecurity, according to FAO.

Fatouma Seid, FAO Ethiopia representative, said farmers and pastoralists in the country, needed help in the form of agricultural inputs and cash transfers to get them through the emergency, which was being worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.

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“It is critical to protect the livelihoods of the affected population especially now that the situation is compounded by the COVID-19 crisis,” Seid said, referring to the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country with 110 million people, has recorded just 74 cases of COVID-19 including three deaths. Testing, however, has been limited and experts fear the country’s weak health system, like others in the region, could be quickly overwhelmed by an influx of cases.

The pandemic is also having a crippling economic effect in many countries, destroying jobs, dislocating trade systems and crimping supply lines through lockdowns and movement restrictions.

The locust situation, meanwhile, is likely to worsen.

Last week, FAO warned a “massive increase” in locusts across the region would pose “an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods” by imperilling the upcoming planting and harvest seasons.

At the same time, coronavirus-linked flight restrictions have hampered efforts to wipe out the swarms by causing delays in the delivery of pesticides.

“The biggest challenge we are facing at the moment is the supply of pesticides and we have delays because global air freight has been reduced significantly,” Cyril Ferrand, FAO’s Resilience Team Leader for East Africa, said last week.

“Our absolute priority is to prevent a breakdown in pesticide stocks in each country. That would be dramatic for rural populations whose livelihoods and food security depend on the success of our control campaign.”

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Participants included Major General Zewdu Belay, Commander of Eastern Division of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and Major General Nuh Ismail Tani, the Chief of Staff of Somaliland Armed Forces
Etenesh Abera @EteneshAb

Addis Abeba, April 22/2020 – High level military officials from Ethiopia and Somaliland met and discuss works being implemented to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 in the border city of Tog Wajaale, according to state daily ENA. Participants included Major General Zewdu Belay, Commander of Eastern Division of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and Major General Nuh Ismail Tani, the Chief of Staff of Somaliland Armed Forces as well as members of Ethiopian federal police and other civilian officials.

Major General Zewdu Belay, Commander of ENDF Eastern Division, said during the discussion that the peoples of Ethiopia and Somaliland are people who have lived in unity for many years, ENA quoted Maj. Gen Zewdu. He added that currently joint efforts to stop the movement of people in order to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus were being undertaken.

Maj. Gen. Zewdu also cautioned that although measures are being taken to stop the people on both sides from crossing borders, “sometimes there are incidents whereby people on both sides are seen crossing borders,” he said. This, according to Maj. Gene Zewdu, was negatively influencing the works being done to control people’s movements. He cautioned immigration officials, security forces, district administrators and customs officials on both sides to coordinate their efforts closely in order to solve the problem.

Awareness raising efforts should also be done to brainstorm the people on both sides that the border between Ethiopia and Somalia was closed for the purpose of controlling the virus and that the brotherhood between the two people will remain for good.

Major General Nuh Ismail Tani, (pictured above) the Chief of Staff of Somaliland Armed Forces, said that the COVID-19 has already brought severe damages on developed nations worldwide. To this end, he commended the works being done by the government of Ethiopia to prevent the spread of the virus and minimize its damages. He said he agreed with measures being taken to stop the movement of people in the border areas. On its part, Somaliland was already implementing its own measures to stop its people from making movements in areas bordering Djibouti and Ethiopia and will further strengthen those measures.

Mayor of the border city of Tog Wajaale Muktar Habib on his part said that a task-force was established to prevent the spread of the virus and efforts are being exerted to raise awareness among the communities living in the border areas. Currently, the federal defense forces and federal police are jointly manning the borders areas between Ethiopia and Somaliland and halting the movement of people. More security forces were dispatched in various spots because the large size of the border.

ENDF Easter Division operation chief Colonel Mengesha Fentaw on his part said all members of security forces in the area were coordinating their works with the task force established to prevent the spread of the virus to implement measures included in Ethiopia’s COVID-19 state of emergency. “We are working with customs and immigration officials to implement works that are allowed within the scoop of the state of emergency regulations, he said, adding that beyond coordinating with officials from Somaliland, security forces are also working with their counterparts on Djibouti in order to mitigate challenges arising from implementations of measures to contain the spread of the virus.

At the end of the meeting, participants visited Tog Wajaale border checkpoint, which is already closed. they have also visited some of the works being done to contain the virus.

AS

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Yohannes Kinfu (PhD)

A personal perspective on managing COVID-19

Addis Abeba, April 22/2020 – Few events, in our shared humanity, have divided and united the world at the same time as COVID-19. In most, if not all parts of the world, flights are largely suspended, dis-connecting the web of nations. In some, sub-national units within nations, are functioning like islands or a country of their own because of stringent restrictions on movements. In fact, it is not just countries, or states within them that now appear apart, the ‘social distancing’ interventions promoted across nations also give the impression of a divided society but looks can be glaringly deceiving. And, sure they are. In all these seemingly ‘divided entities’, what is clear is a united human front focused on fighting a single enemy: COVID-19.

The goal is universal.
It is about saving lives, livelihoods and upholding social cohesion. But
fighting such a deadly and universal enemy and winning the war (not the battle)
requires each country choosing its weapon or weapons carefully.

The first COVID-19 case in Ethiopia was reported on March 13, 2020. It took 16 days to reach the first 20 cases; only seven to add another 20 and required even fewer days (5 days to be exact), to get to the next 20 cases. If we go by the trend for the week ending April 13, the country would have doubled its total number of cases—which, as of April 13, 2020, were at 74 – every 9 days. Fortunately for now, the nine days since April 13 saw less numbers recorded as compared to the days preceding the week of April 13. As of today the number of cases has reached 116.

However, for students of population sciences and disease monitoring, like myself, such a trend is still worrying because it signifies a steady expansion of cases, known scientifically, as exponential growth.

So, what should be done in the days, and months to come. The best place to start this is to talk about what should not be done. In times like this, it is not wish nor panic or being aloof of reality that would save the country from an impending disaster. In fact, when each day matters a great deal in one’s life, it is exactly there and then that one must look beyond wish and panic and seek their right weapon.

The weapon of choice to fight COVID-19 for most has been to follow international practice. In the case of Ethiopia, the government has already ordered civil servants to work from home, had asked citizens to observe hand hygiene and social distancing practices, while religious institutions had instructed their followers to observe religious practices from the comfort of their home. To co-ordinate national action, the government has also imposed national emergency law recently. All these actions are within the global to do list, and, no doubt, will help in significantly reducing the number of people each person would meet physically in their daily life. This is central to arresting any infectious disease.

However, weapons also need to adapt to local context.  Intervention policies that are fit for a country in a middle of a pandemic should be qualitatively different from those which are in the early or later stages. For Ethiopia, most, if not all, of the new cases are so far imported, and this is where its key weapon also lies. A strong central team with skills and experience in disease surveillance is required. Each passenger coming into the country needs to be fully registered, and systematically allocated to a designated isolation or quarantine center. The management of the isolation centers and the entire airport need to be under the control of the military and viewed and managed, for all practical reasons, as a war zone. This is a fight against an enemy for which there is no vaccine or effective treatment options.

In terms of operation, controlling cross-infections within isolation centers and during transfer from Airport is highly critical. The designated isolation areas need to be completely sealed and ‘campers’ (read passengers) should not be allowed to mingle with others. Ideally, they should be assigned their own accommodation and should not be allowed to leave their rooms before they complete their quarantine period. It is also ideal if ‘campers’ coming from various destinations and during the same period are accommodated in the same location, because this makes it easier to trace cases should infection happens within the centers. Soldiers working in the designated areas, once allocated, should not be allowed to leave, and should be required to stay until they complete the quarantine period.  At the end of the day a system is as good as its weakest link, and any lapse in these chains of events will ultimately cost the nation.  Hence, to put it differently, but blatantly, the quarantine centers should be administered as high security ‘prisons’ with a human face.

The talk of ‘high security prisons’ and the call for the participation of the military is a tricky one and may raise eyebrows, given the past role of the military and high security prisons in Ethiopia and Africa more broadly.  Those who know me well as an advocate and believer to the core of individual right and a minimalist government would also be surprised to see these suggestions coming from me. However, at times, especially during hard times when negative externalities are greater for the individual being some form of hard decisions and corrections could be necessary because the alternative to a strong and quick intervention is loss of life and livelihoods, and this is not an alternative that I am happy to live with.  This said, it is important to emphasize that the military should exercise high level of discipline while executing its assignment. It is also important to establish a civilian team composed of health professionals, legal practitioners, experts in data science and supply management to monitor and provide oversight on the day to day functioning of the isolation centers. For the military, especially if it manages this operation professionally and successfully, this is like a lifetime opportunity to create a new image for itself in the nation.

The country should also
focus on active surveillance rather than the current practice which appear to
rely on citizens to call and report, if they had been in contact with confirmed
COVID-19 patients. This is what is called passive surveillance. Passive
surveillance has the merit of being cost-effective because the burden is pushed
to the reporter, rather than the state. It is known to work well for events
that have less serious impact on society. However, for the kind of crisis the
world is faced now, time is the essence. Moreover, in a couple of cases
reported in the daily brief on COVID-19 by the MoH, the source of infection had
been reported as an ‘unidentified’.  It
must be understood by those in charge of surveillance that, for better or
worse, the life and fortune of the nation is now primarily on their hands; in
their ability to detect cases. All efforts should be made by the state to take
the history of each suspected case in greater detail.  One extra day and one unreported case can be a
huge threat to the nation and in the long-term a big gamble on the life and
livelihood of people, and the social cohesion of the country.

Hand in hand, inter-regional movements need to be highly regulated and must be allowed only for life sustaining cases, such as to maintain supply chains. The movement between Djibouti and Somalia needs special focus, because these two countries are expected to be the hot bed of new infections in the days and months to come.  Completely sealing the border between these countries and Ethiopia may not be feasible nor desirable, but drivers and those working on the supply chain may need to be asked to board at a designated site and made to undertake regular testing for timely intervention.

Community level screening should be strengthened. So far, the only one known to the public is those held in Addis Abeba and Adama. It is true that tests need to be used judiciously as test kits are likely to be in short supply, however they need to be efficiently targeted and follow standard statistical procedures to allow meaningful conclusions.  The screening and tasting should also target high risk communities and areas. For example, some places to focus on include public transport users, traders in major marketplaces, banks and government offices.

Partial lock downs, as is the case in the country now, in the absence of effective surveillance and loose management of isolation centers and the main entry to the country, Bole Airport, will only drain life and livelihoods. The key issue, here, is to stop new infections from entering the community and when it is suspected or happens to deal with it in a timely manner, through isolation and clinical intervention.  In a country, like Ethiopia where the health system is fragile and incapable of caring for a bigger case load, these are some of the cheapest and easiest weapons to fight back COVID-19.   Once the infection jumps to the community, a complete lock down may be required to reduce the caseload to zero or to a level that will not be a trait to the country.  Whether this is feasible or not will depend on resources, because this requires a huge war chest, probably a good share of the country’s GDP.

Finally, we need also to have the capacity to identify opportunities through our challenges. What history has shown is that, when humans are faced with the greatest threat that is also when they are known to rise and learn their greatest lesson. This is an opportune time for thinking soles in the country to be bold, and question old habits and learn new lessons that lasts. If there is any single important lesson from COVID-19 is that it only needs you to be human: your language, your ethnic origin or religious affiliation won’t matter. So, the politics of division must give way for one of co-operation. This is the other weapon that the country needs, perhaps up on which the success of those mentioned earlier greatly depend on.  It requires each of us accepting the reality that if any part of the nation fails, it is a failure of the whole, the continent of Africa and the world.  In the worst of circumstances, nations who are unable to deal with COVID-19 effectively, will eventually risk being completely cut of the global community, especially if that nation does not bring much to the world by way of global trade. Therefore, every Ethiopian and each part of the country, is in here together for better or worse. In here, it is also important not to lose sight of the place that Ethiopia and Ethiopian (i.e. Ethiopian Airlines) hold in the region and the African Continent more broadly. Given the country’s population and the fact that Ethiopian Airlines serves as a connection point for much of Africa, more specifically its role in bringing the world to Africa and taking Africans to the World, what happens in Addis Abeba and Ethiopia can have a seismic effect beyond our borders, which we cannot afford to ignore. This also means that a co-ordinated approach with other countries should be part of this important containment framework.

The government has recently adopted a State of Emergency to co-ordinate national efforts, which will be managed by members of the council of Ministers.  However, given the federal structure in place and the fact that most COVID-19 related interventions need day to day follow up at local level, this is an opportune time to start practicing shared governance and get the regions involved effectively.  Particularly for the purposes of COVID-19 it is preferable to establish a council of ‘governors’, which is independent of the party structure and its central committee. The council of ‘governors’  should involve each of the regional heads, the city administration of Addis Abeba and Dire Dawa, with the Prime Minister as its head. This body is more likely to be effective than the currently constituted group incorporating members of the council of ministers appointed to manage the emergency law, because members of the council of governors are intimately linked to local realities, and able to reflect on their challenges and share their success story.  It can also cut the bureaucracy involved and bring on board all sections of the country on the same table. Parallel to this, to support the work of the Ministry of Health, it would also be prudent to establish a similar council for health, and other relevant ministries.

The idea of council of governors and the various sectoral councils could prove to be one of the most useful political innovations coming out of the COVID-19 crisis, because once the next election is held, chances are that the different regions of the country are likely to be led by diverse political parties and the old way of sorting our issues through a centralized party system may lead to further division and to a dysfunctional state. They can be permanent legacies of post COVID-19 Ethiopia, and a way to navigate the nation toward a more perfect union. AS

___________________________________//___________________________________

Editor’s Note: Yohannes Kinfu (PhD), is an economist and demographer by training, with research interests in the statistical and mathematical modelling of diseases, population processes, risk factors and the economics of health care in global context. He is currently an Associate Professor of Global Health at the Faculty of Health, University of Canberra; Associate Professor of Population Medicine at College of Medicine, Qatar University, and an Associate Professor (Affiliate) of Health Metrics at Department of Health Metrics Sciences, University of Washington. He also holds an Honorary Fellow position at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute at the Royal Children Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

He can be reached at: ykinfu@uw.edu

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this opinion are that of the author and do not represent any of the institution he is affiliated with.

The post Opinion: When each day matters a great deal in one’s life, one must seek beyond wish and panic appeared first on Addis Standard.

The post When each day matters a great deal in one’s life, one must seek beyond wish and panic appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

The Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago is deeply saddened by the loss of Mr. Mengistie Asressie (affectionately referred to as Gash Mengistie), who passed away after fighting Covid-19 complications.

Gash Mengistie has been our towering community leader, a founding member of ECAC in 1984, ECAC’s first president, and a current board member. Gash Mengistie is a larger than life figure for Ethiopians and Ethiopian-Americans in the Chicagoland area. He was loved by all and easily socialized with all groups both young and old. He was deeply involved in making positive and lasting changes in the community, culture, and lives of Ethiopians. We are working with the family to provide a detailed account of Gash Mengistie’s life and contributions which we will share shortly.

We will also provide details of a funeral service (which is restricted to immediate family members due to the CDC and IDPH compliance requirements). Below is contact information for those of you who wish to reach out and support the family. More information to follow.

Should you feel led to support the family during this difficult time, please give using one of the following options.
• Zelle to Muluget Ayele at 773-443-5260
• Cash/checks delivered to
Ethiopian Diamond Restaurant & Bar
6120 N. Broadway St., Chicago, IL 60660 or
Demera Ethiopian Restaurant
4801 North Broadway St., Chicago, IL 60640
• By mail to Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago at 5800 N. Lincoln Ave. Unit A/B, Chicago, IL 60659.

The post 𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐂 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐞, 𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐂’𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫, & 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

A peace deal between neighbours Ethiopia and Eritrea ending two decades of tension has transformed the border areas, reports the BBC’s Rob Wilson.

Sat in a ground-floor flat in the city of Adigrat, northern Ethiopia, Zefer Sultan is having her hair braided ready for the baptism of her first child.

Playing on the TV in the corner of the room is her wedding video from a year before, which is keeping them entertained.

“Our wedding was almost at the same time as when the border was opened. It was a double happiness,” she explains.

Image copyrightNICK BENNETT

Late 2018 was a time of jubilation for many living close to the Ethiopia-Eritrea border.

A new peace deal between the previously warring countries had been agreed, and movement across the border permitted for the first time in 20 years.

Families who had been separated for this time were reunited, and events such as Zefer’s wedding brought friends and relatives together to celebrate once again.

“Now I hope our son’s baptism will be even better. I hope lots of family from both Eritrea and Ethiopia will come,” Zefer adds.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

The ceremony is set to take place in Zalambessa, where the families of Zefer and her husband Zeray come from. It is situated just on the Ethiopian side of the border.

The town saw heavy fighting during the 1998-2000 war and suffered from economic stagnation for the following 18 years as the border was closed and heavily militarised on both sides.

Everyone in the town has a story of separation.

‘We had to watch the funeral from a distance’

Important family events such as baptisms and weddings were missed by many. In some cases, people were not able to say goodbye to their loved ones as they were taking their final breaths.

Image copyrightNICK BENNETT

Abrahaley Gebremariam, a local Ethiopian photographer, was unable to reach his ailing grandmother in Eritrea.

“We had to watch the funeral and remembrance services from a distance, we had no choice but to grieve her death from here,” he says, pointing out her village just across the border.

“But we were with her in spirit.”

Abrahaley has been able to cross the border twice since 2018 to celebrate religious festivals and visit his family.

“I am the flesh and blood of both people,” he says.

This sentiment oozes through the borderlands.

It would be easy to imagine there might be animosity between Ethiopians and Eritreans in the area; as many as 100,000 people were killed during the conflict and many more were forced from their homes.

Image copyrightNICK BENNETT

But the social and cultural ties have proved to be deeper, and have endured the forced separation that followed the war.

Gebrehiwet Kahsay, the grandfather of Zefer’s new-born baby, explains why.

“The people were not in conflict, the problem was the leaders,” he says.

“The people never betrayed each other.”

Borders open – and then close

Zalambessa started to go through a transformation when the checkpoints opened again in 2018. Unrestricted movement brought about a business boom as trade and travel multiplied. Local businesses reaped the benefits.

“It became a bustling trade hub with hundreds of vehicles travelling back and forth. Peace and reconciliation enabled me to work in both countries as a cameraman,” Abrahaley recalls.

But just months after the border opened up, the official checkpoints began to close once again.

No official reason was given at the time, and almost all of the checkpoints are still closed to all trade and traffic.

While Ethiopia and Eritrea both say they are trying to resolve the situation, no formal agreement has been reached.

Nonetheless there has been a fundamental and lasting change. The border itself has been demilitarised and is not patrolled as it was before, so informal movement on foot continues in a way unimaginable just two years ago.

The bustling Saturday market in Zalambessa is one place where this is apparent.

It has been given a new lease of life since the peace agreement, when Eritreans started coming to buy goods.

And now while vehicles are restricted at the checkpoint, shoppers continue to walk across, carrying what they can in their arms.

For one Eritrean woman this meant tying a large wooden table to her back and walking three hours to get home. But she was not downhearted.

Before the border opened, she says she had to travel five hours to get to the nearest market in Eritrea.

Cross-border contraception

At Zalambessa Health Centre, the border opening saw a surge in people coming across from Eritrea to receive services.

Image copyrightNICK BENNETT

While the numbers have fallen since the border checkpoints closed again, some still make the difficult journey on foot.

Everyone who comes to the clinic is treated equally.

“We have no reasons to treat Eritreans any differently than we do Ethiopians. We provide medical care to anyone first and foremost because they are humans,” says acting director Dr Samrawit Berhane.

Patients tell the staff that in many cases it is closer than the nearest clinic in Eritrea, and some say they receive better treatment too.

Samrawit explains that they have also noticed a number of women coming specifically for family planning services and contraceptives.

They say that in Eritrea, their husbands must grant permission for such services, and collections of contraceptives must be made together.

“Many women tell us they prefer to come here so that they can avoid these restrictions,” says Samrawit.

‘We are brothers and inseparable’

As you drive north towards Zalambessa, the vast and rocky landscape is awe-inspiring. But just as striking is the amount of construction work under way.

Peppered all along the road are half-built houses and blocks of flats, huge piles of gravel and sand, wooden scaffolding reaching up to the sky.

When the border opened in 2018, entrepreneurs came from all over the country to invest along the road.

Image copyrightNICK BENNETT

Among them was Fisehaye Hailu, a self-assured and straight-talking Eritrean man who left his country after being detained as a political prisoner for 13 years. He has the look of a man who knows a hard day’s work.

“It felt like things had brightened up overnight and I didn’t waste any time before buying a plot of land,” he says.

Fisehaye knows Zalambessa well, having been born just across the border.

Image copyrightNICK BENNETT

Now his business venture is a three-storey hotel in the town.

“After it is finished, the name of my hotel will be an expression of my desire for the two people to be together. So I plan to name it The Two Brothers’ Hotel,” he explains.

“It’s to say we are brothers and we are inseparable.”

The baptism ceremony

The day of Zefer’s son’s baptism starts at 03:00 as they make their way up to the cliff-top church overlooking the borderlands between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Image copyrightNICK BENNETT

As the ceremony begins, relatives from both sides of the border gather at the house belonging to the parents of her husband at the bottom of the hill.

Zeray is keen to introduce one guest in particular, one of his cousins who has come from Massawa in Eritrea, as she did when he married in 2018.

“The fact that she has been with me from my wedding until now shows you love, culture and unity,” he says.

Although she did not want to disclose her name, she explains how the 2018 peace deal has changed her life.

“Before, we had no news of who was dead and who was alive. But now we have learned about our dead and we are happy to meet those who are still alive,” she says.

“It’s a massive difference. It’s like the difference between the earth and the sky.”

Image copyrightNICK BENNETT

Despite many sharing similar feelings about the new-found, but unofficial, freedom of movement, the closure of border checkpoints continues to affect all areas of life.

Zefer explains that there were actually fewer Eritreans at the baptism than at their wedding. Many chose not to come because they were not sure whether they would be allowed to cross the border.

“It’s worrying,” she adds. “If the checkpoints are closed, we can’t move forward.

BBC

The post Ethiopia and Eritrea: A wedding, birth and baptism at the border appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

Peter Hasson

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Was A Top Ethiopian Official While The Ethiopian Government Was Accused Of Widespread Human Rights Violations.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was a top official in the Ethiopian government at the same time that it was accused of widespread human rights violations.
Tedros is now facing increasing scrutiny over the WHO’s alignment with China’s oppressive regime throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Human rights watchdog groups repeatedly criticized the Ethiopian government’s poor human rights record while Tedros was a top minister.

Tedros served as Ethiopia’s health minister from October 2005 until November 2012, during which time he was accused of covering up three different cholera outbreaks. He then served as foreign minister from November 2012 until November 2016.

During his time in as a high-profile Ethiopian official, the government was repeatedly castigated around the world for its human rights record, including the detainment and torture of political opponents.
When Ethiopia secured a non-permanent spot on the United Nations Security Council in June 2016, Tedros said it was a sign that his country had won the world’s respect, but Amnesty International noted that Ethiopia had a deplorable human rights record.

“The ruling government in Ethiopia has a persistent history of violent repression of independent media, civil society organizations and political opposition,” Amnesty International noted.

“The government enacted many restrictive laws that have led to the dismantling of civil society, and through the misuse of the counter-terrorism law, has stifled peaceful dissent.”

In January 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Ethiopia’s human rights violations.

The resolution stated that “it is known that the Ethiopian Government is systematically repressing freedom of expression and association and banning individuals from expressing dissent or opposition to government policies, thereby limiting the civil and political space, including by carrying out politically motivated prosecutions under the draconian anti-terrorism law, decimating independent media, dismantling substantial civil society activism and cracking down on opposition political parties.”

The resolution said that the international body “Strongly condemns the recent use of excessive force by the security forces in Oromia and in all Ethiopian regions, and the increased number of cases of human rights violations; expresses its condolences to the families of the victims and urges the immediate release of all those jailed for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.”

A 2010 report from Human Rights Watch noted that Ethiopia’s government used foreign aid, including foreign aid meant to improve Ethiopians’s health, to fuel repression of political opponents and further tighten its authoritarian rule. At the time, Tedros was Ethiopia’s health minister.
The watchdog found that “development aid flows through, and directly supports, a virtual one-party state with a deplorable human rights record. Ethiopia’s practices include jailing and silencing critics and media, enacting laws to undermine human rights activity, and hobbling the political opposition.”

In his role as foreign minister, Tedros pushed back on criticisms of the country’s human rights record.

In an October 2016 blog post, less than a year before he took over as the top WHO official, Tedros accused Human Rights Watch of encouraging political violence by criticizing the Ethiopian regime’s handling of protests at the time.

Tedros dismissed the watchdog’s criticism of the government’s clampdown on political protests and its response to an October 2, 2016 protest that saw dozens of protesters die in a stampede after authorities reportedly deployed tear gas and fired warning shots to disperse the protesters.

Tedros argued that Human Rights Watch might bear responsibility for the stampede, writing that “one reason for the panic, of course, might very well be people’s awareness of the scare stories Human Rights Watch has so assiduously propagated over the last few months.”

While the watchdog’s investigations found that “it is clear that the number of dead is much higher than government estimates,” Tedros insisted that there was “no evidence” that the official figures were incorrect.

Under Tedros’s leadership, the WHO, which didn’t return a request for comment, has provided cover for China’s suppression of the truth about the coronavirus outbreak in its country.

One study found that China could have limited the global spread of the virus by up to 95% if it had acted three weeks earlier to combat the virus. Chinese authorities took steps to silence whistleblowers, journalists and doctors from warning the public about the virus’s severity in its early stages.

China is widely believed to have significantly underreported the scale of its coronavirus outbreak, and Chinese authorities admitted that their initial numbers left out asymptomatic carriers of the virus. Dr. Anthony Fauci said on April 16 that he still doesn’t “feel confident at all” that China is accurately reporting its coronavirus cases yet.

Nevertheless, Tedros and other top WHO officials have consistently lauded Chinese authorities’s “transparency” in their handling of the global pandemic.

The post WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL WAS TOP ETHIOPIAN OFFICIAL WHILE ITS GOVERNMENT WAS ACCUSED OF WIDESPREAD HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

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The total laboratory tests conducted within twenty-four hours are 1019; of this five (5) of them are confirmed positive for COVID-19 and the total confirmed case as of today is 122. The laboratory tests conducted in 24 hours are collected from the health facility, contact tracing, mandatory quarantine and community (including prison centers and public facilities and factories). The tests were conducted by The Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Armauer Hansen Research Institute, National Animal Health Diagnostic and Investigation Center, International Clinical Laboratories, Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute, Amhara Public Health Institute, Hawassa University Hospital, Haramaya University Hospital and Arsi University Hospital. Furthermore, four people (from Addis Ababa) recovered from the virus that makes the total number of recoveries twenty-nine (29). The Details of the cases are presented below;

S. No

Citizenship

Residence

Age

Sex

Travel history of Abroad

Contact with confirmed case

1

Ethiopian

Addis Ababa

75

Female

No

Under investigation

2

Chinese

Sebeta

39

male

No

Yes

3

Chinese

Sebeta

49

Female

No

Yes

4

Chinese

Sebeta

59

male

No

Yes

5

Chinese

Sebeta

28

male

No

Yes

COVID-19 Situational Update as of Today

Total laboratory test conducted

12,688

Laboratory tests conducted within 24 hours

1019

Number of Confirmed cases within 24 hours

5

Total patients of COVID-19 in the treatment center

88

Patients in intensive care

0

Newly recovered

4

Total Recovered

29

Total Deaths

3

Returned to their country

2

Total confirmed cases as of today

122

The Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Public Health Institute would like to advise the public if any personhad contact with confirmed COVID-19 patient should immediately call 8335 or 952 or report to the regional toll-free lines or to the nearby health facilities. Furthermore, the publicis advisedto strictly adhere to all precaution measures including avoiding mass gatherings, wash hands with water and soap and maintain physical distancing.

For more information please call to the free toll line 8335 and 952 or to regular phone 0118276796, or use our email:-ephieoc@gmail.com.

Dr. Lia Tadesse Minister of Health

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Ethiopia.

The post Coronavirus – Ethiopia: Notification Note on COVID-19 Situational Update – 25 April 2020 appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

By Sertse Desta

Now the US contributes over a third of confirmed cases and a quarter of deaths of the world COVID19 data. Most nations that were highly hit by the virus seem now controlling it. The European economic power, Germany, has brought the total active cases from ~73,000 down to ~42,000 with a total recovery of ~110,000 death of only less than 6 thousand.  Although the world economic power US allocated huge money and resources and has been under lockdown for over a month, both new cases and deaths haven’t yet shown a waning.  The country recorded the highest daily new cases just yesterday, amounting to ~39,000. New York, the world epicenter with approximately 300 thousand cases and 22 thousand deaths (Today, April 25, 2020, around 8 pm) is still counting a third of both the nationwide new cases and deaths per day. Why is the US unable to be successful in fighting this virus? Different people say different things. Let me list some and discuss each further.

President Trump: The President obviously didn’t act properly at the beginning, although he closed travel from China very early. He undermined the incidence and couldn’t give appropriate attention. However, since the time he realized the seriousness of the problem, he has been very aggressive and has been working very hard. However, he couldn’t get enough supports and collaboration from the states as well as the public. For example, he availed most critically necessary resources in excess, including a new Hospital and military ship of total 3500 beds for the epicenter New York. He also mobilized the military for assistance.  Unfortunately, the New Yorkers did not seem to help themselves at least by complying with the guidelines. Until recently, after a nationwide lockdown, New Yorkers were walking in crowded streets and parks freely with no protection. We even have seen big crowd funeral events.  Trump sometimes behaves at odds that expose himself and confuse the public. It was shocking to hear from Trump the idea of injecting disinfectant into humans. This was really terrible. Whatsoever he is eager to see the US free of the virus; it is so embarrassing to hear injection of disinfectant through human veins from the US president. Yet, his effort and determination to bring down what he mentioned ‘hidden enemy’ is so huge. His efforts need to be appreciated while correcting even challenging when he goes wrong.

State/local leaders: Some states seem right in their actions, but others looked even totally unaware of what was going on until recently, let alone helping their public awareness. It was only two weeks and so that we heard a state governor publicly saying he was not aware that asymptomatic people could transfer the virus.   Some others seem to talk much but do little. For example, I hardly understand what the New York governor Cuomo and county leaders in the state have been doing. Indeed, Cuomo worked well in requesting necessary resources and equipment’s from the federal government. But I could not understand why he and the county leaders in the state couldn’t do on awarenessto of their people about what is going in their surroundings and take measures so that people should comply with guidelines. After a month and more, we still see numbers rising, although the federal government support has been so tremendous. That seems to be mainly the problem with the local leaders.

Test: Testing might be somehow limited considering the outbreak. But it is clear that the US has tested more tests than any other country. It has already tested over 3million tests. Having more tests is good, but the number of tests in the US seems to be quite reasonable to get insight into the level of the problem. What seems lacking instead is that to strictly complying with the guidelines during the lockdown. Had there been a strict obeyance to the rules and regulations from the first day of the lockdown, they could have effectively reduced the number and would have shortened the lockdown.  Unfortunately, in some states like New York, things seem even just fresh.

Media: US media have had no help; if not, they even have aggravated the outbreak. Big media daily talk about Trump. Most of them against some in support. They have had little space to transfer critical information to the public.  The Trump disinfectant injection idea was like a big opportunity to attack Trump for media working hard to let him see failed. Though it is unexpected from a mature person, let alone from US president, it can also partially be understandable; he seemed to suggest whatever that halt the virus. Since he has been worried about the situation too much, he wants a miraculous solution. The media mostly follow his lips seeking any wrong word he may speak. That is not good!  Earlier, Trump publicly suggested his “game-changer” Chloroquine or derivatives for COVID19 treatment. Nearly all media have been working hard to defy the use of Chloroquine and its derivatives for COVID19 treatment. But they hardly mention their source of information for what they are talking about. Scientific reports have, however, been consistent with what Trump suggested. Of course, Trump got that information from scientists may be from one of his advisors.

Anyone who reads most of the scientific articles (eg. (Colson et al. 2020; Gao et al. 2020) feels that these drugs really are “game-changer”.  What Trump said was not out of the blue. Media didn’t mention any of such scientific reports, but they used unverified sources like from Nigeria, Brazil, and the US itself just to attack Trump. Early on, the media used Trump’s rally word ‘Hoax’ inaccurately as if he said corona was ‘hoax’ though he already had established taskforce and also had banned travels from some countries. He clearly meant how democrats were (still are) using this challenge for political profits.   The other thing is that journalists don’t seem professionally behaving. The way they ask at briefings and elsewhere does not look good. They even don’t wait for their turn. It seems everyone in the room is asking his/her question at a time. It looks more like in a bar than in a meeting room. That is awful!

Political condition: The tension between Republicans and Democrats is the other problem in the US COVID19 control effort. The President doesn’t want to acknowledge democrats in the senate and house even when they are supportive. Obviously, the previous impeachment and other itchy things since Trump came to power have contributed a lot to deepen the rift between the President (also Republicans) and democrats.  We also see the carryover effect of pre corona situations during this pandemic that diluted coordinated efforts.

Science: Some of the confusions might have been avoided by clear scientific evidence. For example, what scientific team of the taskforce telling about the use of mask and chloroquine seem confusing. Masks have now become mandatory in some states, particularly in shopping and other essential working areas.  Earlier, advisors undermined the importance of masks. They still flimsily explain their importance. They say, “use a mask to protect others, not yourself.”  Yet, one can understand by common sense how a mask can protect the person wearing the mask as well. It is clear face masks can’t fully protect, but they can reduce the risk of getting the virus while at the same time, protecting others too. The other problem with this kind of message is that people are usually selfish, so if the mask does not protect themselves, many don’t want to wear a mask simply to protect others. The other confusion is on the use of Chloroquine and its derivatives for COVID19 treatment.   It was clear the President didn’t mention these drugs as if they were “game-changer” with out getting some kind of advise from professionals. He got the information from some scientists. Some papers even mentioned these drugs nearly in the same word as the President mentioned: “game-changer” (Colson et al. 2020; Gao et al. 2020). These drugs seem on shelves of all hospitals treating COVID19. Perhaps the success of some countries is connected to the use of these drugs.  The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have given the green light to use these drugs as COVID19 treatment, but it recently cautioned to be used only in hospitals by professional health care workers.  It seems that the drugs are helping the fight against the virus. Research results, however, are scantily and without clear evidences. The drugs showed successful results in vitro (Wang et al. 2020).   The in vivo research result from French researchers (Gautret et al. 2020) was blamed for its poor experimental design (Molina et al. 2020). But, other reports based on a randomized experiment with reasonable number of patients showed the significant effect of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (Chen et al. 2020). There were other large-scale clinical trials promised from the US. We have not yet heard the result of any of those.  Even it would be possible to understand the effects of these drugs by collecting and analyzing from existing patients who took the treatment and those who did not without going into a designed experiment. For some reason, this issue has remained vague. I don’t know why?

May The Almighty God have mercy on us and the entire world! Amen!

ቅዱስ እግዚአብሔር ምህረቱን ለዓለም ሁሉ ይላክ! ኢትዮጵያንና ሕዝቧን ይጠብቅ! አሜን!

Thank you!

Chen Z, Hu J, Zhang Z, Jiang S, Han S, Yan D, Zhuang R, Hu B, Zhang Z (2020) Efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19: results of a randomized clinical trial. MedRxiv

Colson P, Rolain J-M, Lagier J-C, Brouqui P, Raoult D (2020) Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as available weapons to fight COVID-19. Int J Antimicrob Agents 105932

Gao J, Tian Z, Yang X (2020) Breakthrough: Chloroquine phosphate has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of COVID-19 associated pneumonia in clinical studies. Bioscience trends

Gautret P, Lagier J-C, Parola P, Meddeb L, Mailhe M, Doudier B, Courjon J, Giordanengo V, Vieira VE, Dupont HT (2020) Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID-19: results of an open-label non-randomized clinical trial. International journal of antimicrobial agents:105949

Molina JM, Delaugerre C, Goff J, Mela-Lima B, Ponscarme D, Goldwirt L, de Castro N (2020) No evidence of rapid antiviral clearance or clinical benefit with the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in patients with severe COVID-19 infection. Med Mal Infect:30085-30088

Wang M, Cao R, Zhang L, Yang X, Liu J, Xu M, Shi Z, Hu Z, Zhong W, Xiao G (2020) Remdesivir and chloroquine effectively inhibit the recently emerged novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in vitro. Cell research 30:269-271

The post appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

By  Alemayehu G. Mariam

Author’s Note: COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global health, economic and social system. Two weeks ago, the Ethiopian Parliament passed a law (Proclamation No. 3/2020 “State of Emergency Proclamation Enacted to Counter and Control the Spread of COVID-19 and Mitigate Its Impact) to respond to the looming COVID-19 crisis in Ethiopia. I applaud the Parliament for taking swift action and enacting a narrowly tailored and clearly written proclamation that balances the interests of individual liberty with the necessity of safeguarding public health and safety.

In Part I here, I shall examine the constitutional dimensions of Proclamation No. 3/2020 and some of its key provisions, particularly from the perspective of protecting civil liberty and civil rights during the COVD-19 crisis.

In Part II, I shall argue that the Ethiopian Government must now focus its attention on the postponement of the parliamentary elections scheduled for late August 2020 using constitutional mechanisms. It is manifest to all reasonable minds that the August elections cannot proceed with the COVID-19 crisis upending the country’s social, economic and political system. It is foolhardy and downright reckless and dangerous to even suggest that full-scale election campaigns and electoral preparations can go on given the great uncertainties in the spread of COVID19 in Ethiopia. It is because of the deep uncertainties in the burgeoning COVID-19 crisis, the need to devote all available material and human resources to its prevention, treatment and mitigation, the necessity to deal effectively with the social and economic dislocations caused by the cries and ultimately  ensure a free and fair election that can withstand international standards that I shall urge the Government of Ethiopia to use constitutional measures at its disposal and formally  postpone the August 2020 election for a reasonable period of time.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: Stopping COVID-19 before it stops Ethiopia

COVID-19 has stopped America cold in its economic, social and political tracks.

In less than 6 weeks, nearly 30 million Americans have found themselves unemployed.  Most small businesses (the backbone of the American economy), schools and government offices are shut down and there are no firm plans to reopen them on a date certain.

The mighty United States despite its technological and medical prowess stands helpless, powerless and defenseless before the invisible marauding COVID-19 Army which has taken nearly one million American “prisoners” and killed over 55 thousand. COVID-19 is without a doubt the most formidable terrorist army in America, and indeed the world, has ever seen. The human race today is living in terror looking out for COVID-19 lurking everywhere.

One fact is indisputable. The invisible COVID-19 Army has proven to be the great equalizer. It does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, language national origin, geographic boundaries or even species. It will attack a fearsome tiger, a kitten just as easily as it would young and old Homo sapiens.

The object lesson for Ethiopia in the COVID-19 invasion is the United States of America, “Land of the free and home of the runaway COVID-19.”

But on March 24, 2020, Donald Trump told the American people not to worry about COVID-19. “We have it totally under control. It will go away in April with the heat.”

On April 24, a million Americans are infected and over 55 thousand dead.

On April 10, Trump predicted total “US death toll from Covid-19 could reach 60,000.” How many Americans will die by the end of summer? Only God knows!

On April 23, Trump recommended Americans inject disinfectants, poisonous to humans,  as a possible COVID-19 treatment.

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, often referred to as the “Father of Medicine” and founder of the Hippocratic School of Medicine is credited with the aphorism, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

That is literally true with COVID-19. In Aphorisms, Hippocrates wrote, “For extreme diseases, extreme methods of cure, as to restriction, are most suitable.”

There is no more extreme disease facing Ethiopia today than COVID-19.

It has no cure. There is no vaccine. There is a global shortage of test kits and personal protective equipment. The human race has no effective defense against COVID-19. How the human race got caught with its pants down facing COVID-19 is something I will never understand.

The fact is COVID-19 is spreading throughout the globe like wildfire.

Extreme methods to deal with COVID-19 crisis necessary and mandatory.

The Ethiopian Government did the right thing by declaring a COVID-19 state of emergency in a timely manner

If COVID-19 can wreak havoc on the medical and economic system of the mighty, mighty United States, I shudder to think what it can do to Ethiopia.

There is no way Ethiopia can win the war with COVID-19 in a hand-to-hand combat, literally. Ethiopians may have a fighting chance if they meticulously and diligently wash their hands, unfailingly practice social distancing and employ other preventive measures using personal protection equipment.

The level of public compliance with such measures is woefully inadequate. Ethiopian government officials, public figures, journalists, health professionals and others are seen daily on television lamenting the lack of public compliance with recommended mitigation measures and expressing frustration over what appears to be inexplicable public indifference to the potentially disastrous consequences of COVID-19.

The facts are the facts.

Ethiopia will be overwhelmed if COVID-19 spreads as it has in America and Europe. If the medical infrastructure in America and Europe is unable to handle the rising tide of COVID-19 cases, what chance could Ethiopia possibly have in dealing with such a crisis?

In a historical context, when Ethiopia had 70 million people in 2002, the ratio of physician to population was 1 per every 36,000 people.

In 2004, Randall Tobias, President Bush’s global AIDS coordinator, said “there were more Ethiopian-trained doctors practicing in Chicago than in Ethiopia.”

In 2017, according to the World Bank, Ethiopia had 0.1 physicians per 1000 population (1 physician per 10,000 persons). Ethiopia had 0.8 nurses per 1,000 population in 2017.

In 2015, Ethiopia had hospital beds at a ratio of 0.3 per 1,000 people.

How many ventilators and respirators does Ethiopia have today?

Ethiopia has over 100 million people, but only 54 respirators out of 450 available have been reserved for coronavirus patients. The Ministry of Health would like to acquire 1,500 more. The government has ordered a thousand devices from China. But global demand is strong. Addis Ababa will have to settle for 250 by April.

The lack of supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Ethiopia, not unlike most places in the world, is frightening. Diaspora Ethiopians (including the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund which committed USD$1 million and has an ongoing COVID-19 fundraising campaign), have been working fast and furiously to secure specialized clothing, equipment, gloves, gowns/aprons, goggles/face shields, facemasks and respirators for health care workers and vulnerable populations to help prevent the spread of the virus.

As of today, Ethiopia has 123 reported COVID-19 cases and 3 deaths. Personally, I attribute that to divine intervention for it has been written, “Ethiopia shall soon stretch her hands to God.”

Unlike Italy, Spain and other countries, Ethiopia has not yet gone all out creating a national cordon sanitaire preventing travel in and out of hamlets, towns and cities. There is no lock down of millions of people.

The Ethiopian government has adopted a reasonable policy that allows movement of people by balancing the interests of work, health and societal concerns. Houses of faith have voluntarily cooperated in keeping their members at home or maintaining social distance in places of worship.

But the low COVID-19 infection and death rates should not lead to complacency.

Neither Ethiopia nor Africa are out of the woods. The UN is predicting COVID-19 could lay Africa to waste.

By enacting Proclamation 3/2020, Ethiopia has gone the distance in COVID-19 mitigation under the principle of the rule of law.

Contrast Ethiopia with Hungary. In March 2020, Hungary drafted a law which allowed the “government to rule by decree during the state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic risks staying in place indefinitely, the opposition has warned.”

Contrast Ethiopia with Italy. The Italian government enacted a series of stringent emergency measures to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. People were forbidden to gather in public including sports and other events. Only people with permits could travel. Cruise ships were forbidden to dock in Italian ports. People violating the emergency orders could be fined up to Euro 3,000 per offense (Ethiopian Birr 108,000).

A number of African countries have also put strict emergency measures to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

The Ethiopian government has avoided harsh measures in its COVID-19 mitigation campaign. It has closed schools and heavily promoted social distancing and effective hygienic practices. It has effectively suspended the operations of Ethiopia Airlines, recognized as the best airline service in Africa. It has closed land borders and released thousands of prisoners to ease overcrowding and sprayed main streets in the capital with disinfectant.

PM Abiy Ahmed has declined calls to impose a total lockdown arguing it is “unrealistic” because “many citizens who don’t have homes” and “even those who have homes have to make ends meet daily.”

What is in Proclamation 3/2020?

I am impressed by the intentionality, thoughtfulness and reasonable care taken in drafting Proclamation 3/2020.

I shall focus on a number of aspects which I believe make Proclamation 3/2020 an effective policy tool in the fight against COVID-19.

First, the Proclamation is narrowly and thoughtfully drafted to address the evolving COVID-19 crises. There is not even a hint of political advantage in the language of the Proclamation nor do any of its provision lend themselves as a basis for expanded or extra-constitutional exercise of political power by the government. To me, that is one of the critical elements of the rule of law. Laws and policies should be written in such a way to address the need at hand or a specific objective without affecting other rights or opening the possibility of encroaching on other rights.

Second, the Proclamation is fully couched in the Ethiopian Constitution. The legal framework for the Proclamation are Article 77(10) (“The Council of Ministers has the power to declare a state of emergency; in doing so, it shall, within the time limit prescribed by the Constitution, submit the proclamation declaring a state of emergency for approval by the House of Peoples’ Representatives.”) and Article 93 (1a) (“The Council of Ministers of the Federal Government shall have the power to decree a state of emergency… [in the event of] … , a natural disaster, or an epidemic…”) There is no obfuscation of constitutional authority and the government’s claims, assertions and exercise of authority are open to public and judicial scrutiny. To me, that is another important element of the rule of law. The government must never exercise power or authority that is not granted in the supreme law of the land which is enshrined in Article 9 of the Ethiopian Constitution.

Third, the Proclamation is based on clear, indisputable and demonstrable factual findings. The government has demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that ordinary governmental systems and capabilities are woefully inadequate in meeting the rapid spread of COVID-19 or proactively deal with the highly likely humanitarian, social, economic and political damage that could be caused by the pandemic. To me, this is a critical element of the rule of law. Any law that could impact civil liberties and civil rights must be based on demonstrable and challengeable facts, which the Proclamation lays out in its preamble. So, there are different standards that apply to extraordinary legislation (state of emergency declaration) and ordinary legislation which could be based on claims and assertions of facts subject to legislative notice. I am glad the Proclamation observes these basic distinctions.

Fourth, the Proclamation takes special care not to encroach or infringe on individual liberties and civil rights. Under Article 4 of the Proclamation, the scope of governmental action is narrowly defined. The Council of Ministers are required to “stipulate details of the suspension of rights and measures adopted to counter and mitigate   the humanitarian, social, economic and political damage that could be caused by the pandemic.”

This is exceedingly important in maintaining and institutionalizing what I shall call the “golden age of human rights” in Ethiopia today. Under Article 4, the government cannot use the Proclamation to amass amorphous powers to limit and curtain the rights of citizens. The Proclamation imposes the burden of proof on the government to demonstrate with compelling evidence why a certain right must be suspended and the nexus to a particular mitigation effort. For instance, under the Proclamation the government may not order a lockdown unless it can show that the lockdown measure is supported by evidence of rapid spread of COVID-19, the lack of preventive and mitigation capacity, sustained escalation in COVID-19 deaths, etc.

Fifth, the implementation of the Proclamation does not lend itself to a discretionary exercise of power by one individual. The Proclamation calls for action by the Council of Ministers or a Ministerial Committee to be established by them. That is very important as a rule of law issue for at least two reasons: 1) The Council is required to take leadership and collective responsibility for actions it takes under the Proclamation, and 2) because COVID-19 is unpredictable, the Council will be able to respond to dynamic situations and act in real time. These are important elements in monitoring implementation as the Council have great flexibility to respond to constantly changing circumstances, anticipate new ones and make decisions proactively based on up to date data and information.

Sixth, the Proclamation actively promotes education, public awareness and other reasonable means of non-coercive compliance. Only in extraordinary circumstances does it authorize federal and regional law enforcement agencies to “use proportionate force to enforce the suspension of rights and measures.” I have a special appreciation for this provision. First, it respects individual autonomy and dignity. It assumes that people with the right information will act in their own enlightened self-interest. In other words, people will act rationally to protect their interests and in doing so protect the interests of society. Second, it mandates the restrained use of force. That is important because I do not believe in the use of violence to convince people to pursue their enlightened self-interest. Only in the most dire circumstances when public health and safety is threatened should coercive measures be used to obtain compliance. That is why I like the operative phrase “proportionate force” in the Proclamation. Proportionality is a fundamental principle in law. Let the punishment fit the crime.

Seventh, the Proclamation is transparent and provides for maximum accountability of government officials. It conforms to Article 12 of the Ethiopian Constitution which mandates, “the conduct of affairs of government shall be transparent” and requires “any public official or an elected representative [to be] accountable for any failure in official duties.” Under the Proclamation, it is the duty of the Prime Minister and the Attorney General to “communicate to the public the conditions pertaining to suspension of rights and measures through media outlets that are widely accessible to the public.” Simply stated, the buck stops with the Prime Minister and the Attorney General.

Eight, the Proclamation requires “all commercial, community and public media with a local, regional or national reach have an obligation to broadcast free of charge the public notifications, explanations and messages” concerning COVID-19. I appreciate this provision because it requires of the private media to engage in the most important aspects of the war on COVID-19. The best way to get information to the public is through the mass media, especially radio and television. I have no problems in compelling the private media to do the government’s work as long as the task is clear and narrowly defined. In the Proclamation, the private media is required to disseminate “notifications, explanations and messages” concerning COVID-19. The Proclamation does not allow for any other use of the private media by the government.

Ninth, Proclamation 3/2020 upholds fundamental principles of the rule of law and should serve as model legislation for the rest of Africa. It is constitutionally rooted and has various accountability measures built into it. It provides for procedural and legal transparency. It avoids arbitrariness and respects civil liberties to the maximum level in a state of emergency.

Tenth, Individual responsibility. Individual responsibility. Individual responsibility. I do not believe in the “nanny state” idea. The Ethiopian government simply does not have the resources to provide personal protective equipment, testing services and life support technologies to respond to widespread infections. For that matter, the American federal government has failed woefully.  The Ethiopian government has its role to play in the protection of health and public safety. But the lion’s share of responsibility for prevention and mitigation must be borne by the individual. To be sure, Proclamation 3/2020 is as far as I would like to see government legislative intervention in the protection of public health and management of the COVID-19 crises in Ethiopia. I would like to see a whole lot more NGOs, members of the advocacy and activist communities, faith leaders and institutions, business leaders and organizations, political parties and similar institutions taking a commanding role in the war against COVID-19 by raising public awareness and providing actionable information to the public, and especially discrediting unsafe and unproven remedies for COVID-19. Anyone who believes the Ethiopian government can single-handedly  defeat the COVID-19 plague without the massive support, participation and action by each individual citizen is at best delusional. I argue this point precisely because I have seen countless news reports documenting public indifference and ignorance bordering on arrogance about hand washing, social distancing and other similar practices.

On a personal point…   

I wish to deeply thank all diaspora Ethiopians who have come to the aid of Ethiopia in this time of extreme need by donating and arranging delivery of personal protective equipment. I am equally thankful to all in Ethiopia who have generously donated money, property and other resources in the fight against COVID-19.

I must confess that over the past decade and half relentlessly fighting for human rights and the rule of law in Ethiopia, I never thought Ethiopia would prove to be a shining example of the rule of law. I doubt there is anyone who has consistently, tenaciously and relentlessly litigated the cause of Ethiopian human rights and the rule of law in Ethiopia more than myself. This is not intended be self-congratulatory, only a statement of fact.

I have written countless commentaries on “state of emergency” declarations by the previous regime. That regime chose to implement its declarations by a “command post.” That way, the mastermind criminals responsible for human rights violations thought they could evade legal accountability.

It is refreshing and a very big deal for me to see the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, not some faceless, remorseless and ruthless command post, standing up and taking full responsibility for the implementation of Proclamation 3/2020.

I thank PM Abiy Ahmed, the Council of Ministers and the Ethiopian Parliament for enacting a proclamation that meets the highest standards of international scrutiny. I am proud of them all.

Now, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his government must rise and address the issue of postponement of the August elections with the same constitutional tour de force of Proclamation 3/2020.

To be continued… The constitutional bases for the postponement of the August 2020 election.

The post Ethiopia: Desperate Times Call for Extraordinary Constitutional Measures (Proclamation 3/2020) (Part I) appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

Steve Kiviat

Every Friday from 2016 until recently in a small, second-floor room of the Crystal City restaurant Enjera, Ethiopian guitarist Selam Seyoum Woldemariam has led his trio through minor key, groove-filled renditions of 20th century Ethiopian songs. For the crowd of mostly 40-something-and-up Ethiopians in attendance, Woldemariam’s catalogue brought back memories of when these tunes were the radio soundtrack to their lives. The band stands on a tiny stage jammed up against a wall, playing their lounge-funky East African jazz for an audience of roughly 50 people who enjoy plates of Ethiopian and Eritrean food with spongy injera or just drink and socialize at tables close by.

Performing live, Woldemariam says, gave him “the utmost satisfaction and a chance to meet my fans,” who he says treasured his shows and aren’t fans of going out to other types of nightlife like dance clubs or hookah bars.

Woldemariam, 65, is one of the stars of a lively Ethiopian music scene that, before the pandemic, encompassed local clubs and restaurants, most notably in D.C., Silver Spring, and Falls Church. But as the novel coronavirus has spread, restaurant closures and bans on large gatherings has put everything on pause, including gigs for two popular Ethiopian artists who just released new albums.

Hailu Mergia, a 74-year-old keyboardist and accordionist based in Fort Washington, typically brings his funky Ethio-jazz to larger venues, such as the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage or the 600-person capacity Hamilton. On March 27, Mergia released his new album, Yene Mircha. The Washington Post and music website Pitchfork have hailed both hailed the new work, but because of the pandemic, Mergia has been unable to translate that acclaim into live appearances: His American and European tour have been cancelled.

Woldemariam also recently released a new album, Grace, in January, under the name Selam “Selamino” Seyoum. (Seyoum is his father’s last name and Woldemariam is his grandfather’s last name.) He was able to put on some album release shows locally and one in Texas before the pandemic, though planned shows in Oakland, Calif., and Los Angeles have been cancelled.

Both artists, best known for being part of the 1970s Ethiopian music scene that later reached a fanatic audience through a collection of retrospective albums called Ethiopiques, mix traditional Ethiopian pentatonic scale chords with sounds from elsewhere in Africa, plus American R&B, jazz, and rock to create their funky afro-psychedelic Ethiopian styles.

In the ‘70s, Mergia was performing as a member of the renowned Walias Band, a funky house band that played throughout the night at a hotel in Addis Ababa to guests who, because of a military-imposed curfew of 11 p.m., were unable to leave until the next morning.

Mergia’s career took an unlikely path to the acclaim he has today, when in 1981 Walias Band received the Ethiopian government’s permission to tour the U.S. During the tour, the band broke up, and Mergia and several other band members chose to stay in the United States, rather than return to the stifling restrictions in Ethiopia.

Mergia then largely gave up playing music publicly for years, working several jobs, including a two-decade stint as a cab driver at Dulles International Airport. He made music on breaks between fares, when he would pull his keyboard out of the trunk and sit with it in the backseat and play for himself. He returned to performing for audiences in 2013 after Brian Shimkovitz of the Awesome Tapes from Africa label found a 1985 Mergia instrumental solo cassette and reissued it to great acclaim, eventually leading Mergia to release the album Lalu Belu in 2018.

Woldemarian, who came to the United States in 2000, achieved renown in Ethiopia with the popular Ibex Band and, later, Roha Band. (Roha Band become so known in Ethiopia that the bandmembers’ beard-and-sideburns look became known as the “Roha style.”) In the studio over the years, he has backed five generations of Ethiopian vocalists, including Mahmoud Ahmed, Aster Aweke, Efrem Tamiru, Teddy Afro, and Dawit Tsige. As recently as January, he backed legendary Ethiopian singers Mahmoud Ahmed and Abeba Desalegn at an Ethiopian Christmas show at the Ethiopian Embassy in D.C.

Younger Ethiopian musicians have asked him to play on their albums, and Mark Speer, the guitarist of indie band Khruangbin, recently praised him in an  interview with Reverb while demonstrating the type of licks that Woldemariam plays.

“That’s the style he is using: my style,” Woldemariam says of the video. “It’s going out to other musicians, especially the ones who don’t want to repeat the music of the digital era.”

Woldemariam has become known for using the same two Gibson ES-335 guitars since 1980. “I don’t want to sound like Santana or Wes Montgomery, but I take sounds from them and mix it with mine,” he says of his uniquely Ethiopian method of playing. “I am not blues or jazz or rock.”

His new album, Grace—so named “because God has graced me to continue playing guitar. Most people my age have stopped playing music,” Woldemariam says—contains smooth and polished covers of Ibex and Roha songs put together in a 21st century manner. Woldemariam recorded his guitar tracks for the songs at the studio of friend and drummer Ruphael Woldemariam (no relation) in Chicago. Ruphael Woldemariam added drums, and then Woldemariam sent the recorded music to Yohannes Tona, a friend who added bass and keyboards, and then mixed and mastered the album in his Tabor Studio in Minneapolis.

Mergia’s Yene Mircha, Amharic for “my choice,” also involves a collaboration, but with members of the locally based Feedel Band. Bassist Alemseged Kebede and drummer Kenneth Joseph recorded on all of the tracks with Mergia. Other members, including saxophonist Moges Habte, Mergia’s former bandmate from Walias Band, also make guest appearances. When Kebede and Joseph weren’t touring the world with Mergia, they and the other supporting musicians on the album perform together regularly at the intimate Bossa Bistro + Lounge in Adams Morgan. (Bossa is closed due to the coronavirus.)

On Yene Mircha, one can hear traces of reggae as well as funky jazz riffs drawn from Mergia inspiration Jimmy Smith. The opening track “Semen Ena Debub,” which means “North and South,” starts off with a leisurely rhythm from the northern part of Ethiopia before transforming into a speedier tempo from the country’s south.

“It’s good to have a variety of arrangements for listeners,” Mergia says.

While some songs have flashy instrumentation, Mergia says the melody is what is most important to him. That’s why, he says, the album includes both a recent number by Ethiopian pop-reggae singer Teddy Afro and a haunting tuneful older piece by Ethiopian singer Asnakech Worku, to which he has added a Jamaican lilt.

As the pandemic continues, instead of promoting his album, Mergia says he is staying busy at home by himself, practicing and writing new material. (He stopped driving taxis two years ago.)

Woldemariam, who lives in Arlington, is currently spending much of his time working on writing a book on the origin and development of Ethiopian secular music. The book is a musical dream project for him—an expansion of his Addis Ababa University history major essay. He is also playing guitar daily and hopes to someday record another album of his newer original songs.

He doesn’t have any plan to play live on social media from his home during the pandemic. Going onstage before an audience with his Gibson is his passion, he says. “The guitar is an extension of my heart,” Woldemariam says.

The post Two Local Ethiopian Jazz Greats Have New Albums appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

Ethiopia is imposing tighter controls at its border with Djibouti after authorities noticed an unusual spike in the number of returning nationals from the Red Sea nation.

The post Ethiopians flee Djibouti as coronavirus cases rise appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

By David Whitehouse
Posted on Thursday, 30 April 2020

The process of economic liberalisation in Ethiopia risks grinding to a halt as postponement of elections raises the prospect of a constitutional crisis.

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• Ethiopia is facing a pronounced economic slowdown and an urgent balance of payments need owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To address this urgent need, the IMF approved US$411 million emergency assistance for Ethiopia under the Rapid Financing Instrument. The country will also benefit from IMF debt service relief under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust.
• The authorities have taken swift and decisive action to contain the impact of COVID-19 by strengthening the health system, adopting a state of emergency to limit the spread of the virus, and implementing measures to support the economy.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved today a purchase under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) equivalent to SDR 300.7 million (about US$411 million, 100 percent of quota) to help Ethiopia meet the urgent balance of payment needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Board also approved a rephasing of disbursements under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Financing Facility (EFF) arrangements that have been supporting Ethiopia’s economic reform program since December 2019, and a reduction in access under the EFF arrangement, to maximize financial support under the RFI.

In addition, Ethiopia will benefit from the IMF Executive Board decision of April 13, 2020 to provide debt service relief to the poorest and most vulnerable countries that are eligible for grant assistance under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT). As a result, the Board today approved Ethiopia’s request for relief under the CCRT on debt service falling due to the IMF until October 13, 2020 of about US$12 million. This relief could be extended up to April 13, 2022, subject to the availability of resources under the CCRT.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created severe health risks and weighed heavily on the Ethiopian economy. If the pandemic is not contained, it will put severe pressure on the health system with devasting social consequences. On the economic front, a fall in demand for exports, combined with domestic containment measures will slow growth and weaken external and fiscal accounts.

The authorities have taken strong actions to contain the health impact by implementing a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers entering the country, improving testing and containment capacity, strengthening epidemic response coordination and adopting a state of emergency to limit movement and gatherings and facilitate social distancing. Implementation of expenditures to strengthen the health system and address food security challenges are welcome and will help contain the spread of the virus and support the poor and most vulnerable.

The IMF continues to monitor Ethiopia’s situation closely and stands ready to provide policy advice and financial support as needed.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion on Ethiopia, Mr. Tao Zhang, Deputy Managing Director and Chair, issued the following statement:

“Ethiopia showed good progress under the extended arrangements with the Fund, which aim to address external vulnerabilities and transition to a private sector-led growth model. The authorities remain committed to the reform program. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant adverse impact on the economy and created urgent fiscal and balance of payments needs. The authorities have moved decisively to contain the spread of the virus and manage the economic fallout from the global downturn and the needed health-related measures.

“A temporary widening of the budget deficit is appropriate. The immediate priority is to increase spending on health care and provide emergency assistance, including food assistance. The authorities are committed to full transparency on the spending for the emergency response and aim to conduct an ex-post audit of crisis-related spending once the crisis abates. Fiscal consolidation will need to resume after the crisis, with a focus on strengthening debt sustainability and domestic revenue mobilization.

“The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has appropriately provided liquidity to banks to maintain financial stability. Once the crisis abates, monetary policy will need to be tightened significantly to achieve the single-digit inflation objective. Strong efforts are needed to address the real overvaluation of the exchange rate, allowing the exchange rate to act as a shock absorber.

“Fund emergency support under the Rapid Financing Instrument and debt relief under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust would help address balance of payments pressures and create fiscal space for essential pandemic-related expenditures. Participation in the G20 debt relief initiative could provide additional resources to respond to the pandemic.”

More information

IMF Lending Tracker (emergency financing request approved by the IMF Executive Board)

https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/COVID-Lending-Tracker

IMF Executive Board calendar

https://www.imf.org/external/NP/SEC/bc/eng/index.aspx

The post IMF Executive Board Approves US$411 Million in Emergency Assistance to Ethiopia to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

Now is the time for Ethiopia’s democratic institutions to step up and play their role in the transition, writes Mamo Mihretu, Senior Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, exclusively for Ethiopia Insight.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the world with its biggest test in living memory. To manage both the disease and its socio-economic impact, it has become necessary for most countries to implement some version of a lockdown to reinforce social distancing.

Some lessons are already self-evident: first, fighting the pandemic is not a matter for public health institutions alone; it needs the active participation of economic and security sectors; and second, the impact will be exponentially greater on developing countries such as Ethiopia.

As a result, the federal government has declared a state of emergency that has laid out social distancing requirements and enhanced the powers of its law enforcement authorities to ensure these measures are observed by the public. It is encouraging to note that private and civic organizations have responded to the call with a sense of duty and responsibility. However, the task before us is immense and requires coordination at local, national, regional, and global levels.

The record of the government so far in fighting the pandemic is highly encouraging, but until all cases have been detected and isolated, the risk of the disease getting out of control is ever present. One indicator that may signal that we are close to the finishing line is the question of whether all cases have successfully been traced either to travel history or the country’s first infection. As we continue to quarantine, test, and trace, it is crucial that the cases we may have missed do not lead to community transmission.

What does this all mean?

It means that until these criteria are met, the goal of containing the disease ought to supersede all other priorities; all other agenda items that compete with this priority must be postponed. In the face of death, we all are one. We are far stronger when we are focused on this singular agenda and fighting it together.

One consequence of this single-minded focus on the pandemic and the need to enforce mandatory social distancing has been the postponement of the general elections beyond the timeframe required by the constitution.

Article 58(3) of the constitution provides that elections should be held every five years, and new elections be concluded at least one month before the expiry of the term of the parliament. The term of parliament will expire in early October 2020, and the elections should therefore be held by early September. On the other hand, the measures described above to prevent and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 make it impractical to hold elections within this timeframe. A historic pandemic has brought us to an unprecedented constitutional moment—if not a constitutional crisis—which must be addressed by legal and democratic means.

Ethiopia Insight — COVID-19 and federal supremacy in the constitutional system

By Markos Debebe

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia’s (NEBE) planned milestones that are pre-requisites for the election—such as voter education and registration; production, procurement and distribution of election materials/ equipment; recruitment and training of election support staff; etc.—have been missed or delayed. With the uncertainty created by the pandemic in mind, NEBE has concluded that it will not be able to conduct the elections on 29 August as planned.

It hardly needs elaborating that this pandemic and its profound health and socio-economic consequences were unforeseen by the government—indeed, by any government. It is public knowledge that the ruling party had been preparing for the elections on the assumption that they would take place as scheduled.

Events such as COVID-19 have been labelled ‘black swans’; they are highly unlikely, have substantial effects that threaten to change the course of history, and are only rationalized in hindsight. While many public health experts and public figures have warned us of the possibility of a pandemic flu, the novelty of the virus and its modes of transmission meant that no nation was prepared to handle it. In fact, COVID-19 has called into question traditional models of disaster preparedness, since preparing for it would have required vast resources with a substantial cost burden to maintain the necessary excess capacity in the health and industrial systems. For instance, manufacturing businesses could not switch to the production of masks and medical equipment without a significant redesign and investment. This is all to say that almost the entire world was caught unprepared. It is precisely this novelty that has led to an impasse that requires a creative constitutional solution when it comes to Ethiopia’s upcoming election.

Despite the requirements on periodic elections and the term of the parliament, the constitution has no explicit provisions dealing with situations where it might be impossible to hold elections before the expiry of the term of the parliament due to a force majeure event such as COVID-19. In the absence of a general election by early September 2020 or a constitutional solution, we will face one of two possible outcomes: First, if the current administration stays in office, it will overstay its mandate and risk becoming illegitimate, legally and in the eyes of the public. In the alternative outcome, if the administration steps down, the Ethiopian state would be without a government.

Ethiopia Insight — Yes, the pandemic does present a political opportunity—for Abiy

By René Lefort

As we search for the right constitutional solution, we should ensure that it meets several imperatives of our battle with the pandemic, as well as our long-term ambition of consolidating democratic governance. Any proposed solution should allow us to manage the pandemic with the full resources of the state. At the same time, any path forward should adhere to the spirit and letter of the constitution; guarantee an election that is inclusive, free and fair; and be seen as credible, legitimate, and beyond reproach in the eyes of the public and the international community.

Finally, the solution we propose needs to be expedient taking into account the time and resource constraints, and enjoy the broadest possible degree of acceptance by the public so as to ensure an orderly transfer of power to the party or parties that win the elections.

With these criteria in mind, we may entertain at least four constitutional options (albeit with limitations of their own) that will lead us towards a new normal, both in terms of public health and political leadership:

1. Current government stays with a limited mandate as “caretaker” after the dissolution of parliament;
2. Current government extends term through a state of emergency and enjoys regular full mandate;
3. Constitutional amendment; and
4. Situation referred to the House of Federation’s Council of Constitutional Inquiry, so that it can provide constitutional interpretation and pass a binding resolution.

Under option one, having dissolved the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HoPR) using Article 60 of the constitution, the current administration may continue with a limited mandate that precludes the issuance of new legislation and amendment of existing laws. On the positive side, this buys an additional six months to hold elections and it only requires a simple majority vote in the HoPR to trigger. On the negative side, its application arguably does not extend to regions, which would mean that it would only provide for a federal solution. The limited mandate of the caretaker government would tie the hands of the administration from taking policy measures to cope with the pandemic and its secondary impacts. In addition, a government with limited mandate may signal weakness and encourage disorder.

Under option two, the current administration may extend its regular mandate through a state of emergency (SOE). While this has the benefit of enabling the government to deal with the pandemic with a complete set of legal and administrative instruments, it has several weaknesses. Extending its own term means the government would be likely to suffer from poor legitimacy in the eyes of the public and it would undermine the spirit of our constitutional order. If elections are held during an SOE, their credibility would be at risk. This option would also be perceived as being self-serving, as the parliament is extending its own term by renewing the state of emergency. Moreover, if the COVID-19 issue is resolved, there will not be a substantive reason for extending the SOE, and this would lead to a greater constitutional crisis as parliament’s term would expire along with the emergency. In this sense, it solves the short-term challenges, but without paving a path to a long-term solution.

Ethiopia Insight — Ethiopia’s COVID-19 quandary

By Ethiopia Insight

Amending the constitution under option three—though it may provide continuity of government through the pandemic and help guarantee a free and fair election—has the weakness of requiring cumbersome public participation and a two-thirds majority vote in a joint session of the HoPR and House of Federation, as well as majority support in two-thirds of regional state councils. The major challenge here is the requirement in Article 104 of the constitution that a proposal for constitutional amendment shall be presented for public discussion.

If the COVID-19 situation continues until at least September 2020, it would not be possible to conduct public meetings and conduct extensive discussions on proposals for an amendment. Further delay would also be likely as a broader set of more complicated topics in the constitution may well be opened for debate. As a result, it may necessitate a timeframe well beyond the deadline of August 2020, and therefore distract the government and the public from the more urgent task of protecting public health and fighting a potential economic crisis.

The fourth and, on balance, the most optimal option is to refer the issue to the House of Federation for authoritative interpretation of the constitution. The upper chamber of parliament has the sole mandate to do this, and hence is the legitimate body to undertake this task. The framers of the constitution considered the document to be a “political contract” by the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia—and grants the ultimate power to interpret it to the House of Federation on the understanding that it is composed of representatives of the various communities, who are delegated by the regional state councils.

Although the House of Federation has the final say, the Council of Constitutional Inquiry (CCI) is the “quasi-constitutional court” that takes up the issue first. Article 3(c) of Proclamation No. 798/2013 provides that constitutional disputes on non-justiciable matters may be submitted to the CCI by one-third of members of the federal parliament or a regional council, or by executive organs at either tier. The fact that the CCI is led by the President of the Supreme Court and her deputy and several independent lawyers will add to its legitimacy. Compared with the other options, the involvement of the judiciary would enhance political legitimacy.

Ethiopia Insight — Is Tigray’s COVID-19 state of emergency constitutional, practical?

By Dejen Yemane

The case at hand requires a binding constitutional interpretation as the constitution does not explicitly address what will happen when an unforeseen event prevents the holding of periodic elections as stipulated by the constitution.

This option has several advantages: expediency, nationwide applicability, allowing for the continuity of government through the COVID-19 crisis, and it will pave the way for credible elections. The final decision by the CCI and House of Federation after due deliberation will be an authoritative resolution of the case.

To summarize: The constitution offers several options that ensure the continuity of a legitimate government beyond its term on a temporary and exceptional basis. There would have been a crisis if the constitution had not provided for such safety valves; but, it has. Instead, what we have is an unprecedented challenge to understand, interpret, and apply the constitution in a manner that best serves its most fundamental purpose—the continuity of the Ethiopian state.

Institutions are meant to provide continuity and objectivity. With all the risks that it entails, now is a ripe occasion, an opportune moment, to put the maturity of our institutions to the test, to empower them to exercise their raison d’etre and to entrench constitutionalism. The Council of Constitutional Inquiry would have a historic chance to interpret the constitution in a manner that reflects its text, spirit, and history, but without looking at it as a document frozen in time. If it succeeds in this task, then history will view the decision as a watershed moment that not only shapes the course and character of Ethiopian politics, but also a great day that heralds the consolidation of our democracy and the durability of our institutions.

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By TESFA-ALEM TEKLE
AFP

Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki on Sunday made an unexpected visit to Ethiopia, ending curiosity and wild speculation over the whereabouts of the reclusive long-time leader.

Upon arrival at Bole International Airport, President Afwerki — accompanied by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Presidential Advisor Yemane Ghebreab — was received by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The leaders subsequently discussed bilateral ties and regional concerns of common interest.

Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde hosted a luncheon for the visiting Eritrean leader and his delegation. The event was held at a public park in the capital Addis Ababa.

“It was a renewed pleasure to join our PM Abiy Ahmed Ali in welcoming President Isaias Afwerki who is on a two-day visit to Ethiopia. We hosted him in the stunning park coming up on Entoto Mountain, a truly amazing place to relax and unwind,” said president Zewde in a tweet.

The two leaders also inaugurated an irrigation project located outside the capital in Oromia regional state.

The Eritrean president’s surprise visit to Ethiopia comes amid wild rumours that have been circulating for weeks in Ethiopia and overseas among diaspora communities regarding the state of his health.

A number of political analysts and exiled Eritrean opposition had speculated on the whereabouts of the leader after he disappeared from public view for over two weeks in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Isaias has reportedly returned home from recent medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.

“After the latest bout of intensified rumours, President Isaias may have wanted to make a strong statement that not only was he in good health, but that he still maintains positive relations with Abiy and was still active in regional diplomacy,” William Davison, International Crisis Group (ICG) senior analyst for Ethiopia told the Nation.

At a time when world leaders are choosing to hold meetings virtually, such as via video or telephone, Mr Afwerki’s decision to meet PM Abiy in person raised eyebrows.

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By Alemayehu G. Mariam

Special Author’s Note: In Part I of this commentary last week,  I examined Proclamation No. 3/2020 (“State of Emergency Proclamation Enacted to Counter and Control the Spread of COVID-19 and Mitigate Its Impact”) enacted to respond to the looming COVID-19 crisis in Ethiopia and determined it passed constitutional muster and scrutiny under international standards. That Proclamation is narrowly tailored, clearly written and carefully balances the interests of individual liberty with the necessity of safeguarding public health and safety.

In Part II, I shall argue the Ethiopian Government, having crafted a model health emergency legislation in Proclamation 3/2020, must now follow through by postponing and rescheduling the August 29, 2020 federal/regional parliamentary elections by exercising its constitutional authority, which includes, among others, and declaring a state of emergency.

I was pleasantly surprised last week to learn the Ethiopian Parliament had decided to hear and consider a report from the Ethiopian National Election Board on the untenability of holding elections on August 29, 2020 given the COVID-19 crisis. Two weeks ago when I began drafting my commentaries on the necessity of taking “extraordinary constitutional measures” necessitated by the COVID-19 crisis, I had no idea the Ethiopian Parliament would take prompt action. I am glad Parliament decided to address the issue early on and provide ample time for public dialogue and discussion of available options. Indeed, I am pleased to see robust dialogue between the ruling Prosperity Party and opposition parties.  I am also impressed by the high quality of legal analysis and constitutional commentary. I am also amused by some of the dogmatic and uninformed public dialogue.

I have written these commentaries on the necessity of taking extraordinary constitutional measures in light of the COVID-19 crisis for three special reasons.  First, I aim to promote and support informed and critical constitutional discussion on urgent and emergent social, legal and political issues facing Ethiopian society.

Second, I aim to share my knowledge and expertise as a teacher and practitioner of constitutional law in America.

Third, I want to make sure the voices of diaspora Ethiopians are heard in the constitutional dialogue and debate currently taking place in Ethiopia. It must never be forgotten that many diaspora Ethiopians have fought relentlessly to bring democracy, the rule of law and protection of human rights in Ethiopia. My participation in the defense and promotion of human rights for nearly a decade and half in Ethiopia has been a labor of love. I want to make it perfectly clear that many diaspora Ethiopians have earned the right through blood, sweat and tears to have a say in the fate of our country. Let it never be forgotten that we were the voice of Ethiopia when Ethiopia had no voice– when Ethiopia was muzzled– for 27 years. Today, we want to make sure we are heard and our views taken into consideration in these trying times and as those doing the heavy lifting in Ethiopia make their decisions about the coming election and the democratic changes to follow.

It is in this spirit that I share my views in these commentaries.

Nota Bene: This commentary is admittedly very long. The headings are intended to capsulize the relevant subject matter and readers may read each section independently and follow my analysis and arguments. But I am not apologetic for the length of the commentary. The gravity of the constitutional issues demands a thorough analysis and incorporation of supporting evidence. Those who seek instant answers for the serious constitutional questions raised in a paragraph or two will be disappointed. Only those interested in an in-depth understanding of the issues will likely benefit from my commentaries. I am aware there are many interested individuals who would like to read my commentaries but are unable to do so because of linguistic challenges. I fervently hope someone, from among my readers, will be able to translate this series of commentaries into Amharic for the benefit of those who do not read English.

The abuse and misuse of extraordinary measures in the form of “state of emergency” declarations in Ethiopia

Historically, extraordinary measures have been taken in Ethiopia in the form of “state of emergency” declarations. Indeed, such measures have been synonymous with abuse of power, extrajudicial killings, mass arrests and incarcerations and generally massive human rights violations.

In November 1974, the so-called Derg military regime declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law in Ethiopia. Ad hoc military tribunals summarily executed former imperial government officials accused of corruption, maladministration and negligence in the country’s famine. The Derg launched a campaign of Red Terror killing and jailing hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians without due process of law. In the late 1980s, the Derg declared a state of emergency in the northern provinces of Ethiopia and imposed martial law resulting in massive human rights violations.

On May 15, 2005, following parliamentary election that day, Meles Zenawi, the late leader of the regime of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in a nationally televised address declared a state of emergency by personal fiat (without constitutional authority) claiming he had to take action to “counter havoc and fear  created by opposition charges of abuses and a threat to reject the results.” Zenawi announced, “As of tomorrow, for the next one month no demonstrations of any sort will be allowed within the city and its environs. As peace should be respected … the government has decided to bring all the security forces, the police and the local militias, under one command accountable to the prime minister.” Zenawi immediately contradicted himself by stating, “We are not expecting any big danger, but as a government there is a role to play in looking after the peace and harmony of the people. This action is just simply a precaution to see that no one is endangered.” As a result of Zenawi’s state of emergency, nearly 800 persons were killed and over 30 thousand incarcerated. An Inquiry Commission created by Zenawi himself laid the blame entirely on Zenawi and his regime for excessive use of force.

I joined the Ethiopian human rights movement to vindicate the victims of the Meles Massacres of 2005.

On October 9, 2016, the government of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) issued its “State of Emergency Command Post” Decree on the vague pretext that “the situation posed a threat against the people of the country.” That decree was issued in a futile attempt to brutally suppress popular opposition to TPLF ethnic oppression.

I resolutely opposed that emergency declaration: “The T-TPLF did not declare a state of emergency for Ethiopia. It declared an emergency S.O.S. for the “S.S. (Sinking Ship) T-TPLF”.

Since 2009, the TPLF regime, for all intents and purposes, has used its so-called anti-terrorism law (Proclamation No. 652/2009), to impose a de jure (by law) state of emergency. Under that “Proclamation”, the T-TPLF created a police state and imposed a reign of terror. Thousands were arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed on an industrial scale.

When Erin Burnett of CNN visited Ethiopia in July 2012, she described what she saw in stark terms:

We saw what an African police state looked like when I was in Ethiopia last month… At the airport, it took an hour to clear customs – not because of lines, but because of checks and questioning. Officials tried multiple times to take us to government cars so they’d know where we went. They only relented after forcing us to leave hundreds of thousands of dollars of TV gear in the airport…”

On March 19, 2017, the TPLF government announced it had lifted three elements of the state of emergency having to do with arbitrary searches and searches and curfews.

On March 30, 2017, the TPLF government authorized  a four-month extension of the state of emergency absurdly arguing  “82 percent of Ethiopians want a partial or full continuation of the state of emergency.”  More than 25,000 people suspected of taking part in protests were detained under that state of emergency.

I resolutely opposed the extension of the state of emergency. I warned the TPLF they will never be able to contain the volcanic eruption of the people’s anger and frustration by declaring a command post government.

In June 2018, Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed permanently lifted the state of emergency and opened the political space for all contenders, including those declared terrorist and sentenced to death in absentia, to return to the country and help build a democratic governance process.

Let the facts speak out! Let us not lie to ourselves!

The history of state of emergency in Ethiopia over the past three decades has been a history of state terror on citizens.

Ethiopia has been under a de facto or de jure state of emergency since May 28, 1991, the date the TPLF rebels marched from the bush on the capital Addis Ababa until April 2018. That was the principal means the TPLF used to imposed its will on the people of Ethiopia.

The unfortunate fact is that civilian and military dictators in Africa have ruled by declaration of state of emergency for far too long.

In 2011, Tunisia declared state of emergency following unrest from economic issues leading to the Arab Spring.

Egypt was ruled under a permanent state of emergency for 32 years, indeed a military dictatorship, which granted security forces sweeping powers of arrest, detention and prosecution in special courts was in place until it presumably ended in 2012. It seems the permanent state of emergency continues in Egypt today as President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi managed to remain president for life, at least until 2030.

In 2013, Nigeria declared a state of emergency for the entire northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa because of attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram.

In 2016, Namibia declared last a state of emergency because of an ongoing drought.

In 2017, Zambia declared a state of emergency following a fire that destroyed country’s biggest market in the capital Lusaka.

In 2019, Sudanese president Al Bashir declared a one-year state of emergency and dissolved the country’s central and state governments and replaced them by military leaders. He was subsequently overthrown which declared a state of emergency.

In 2019, Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency over widespread occurrences of rape and sexual assault in that country.

Why I support a declaration of a state of emergency to postpone the August 2020 election

It is a fair question to ask why I would urge, not merely support, postponement and rescheduling of the August 2020 election by declaration of a state of emergency or other constitutional mechanisms given my history of opposition to such declarations.

First, COVID-19 has been a global game changer. The pandemic has rocked the global economic system to the core. Even the most advanced industrialized countries are unable to withstand the chaos and dislocation created by COVID-19. The world has been reduced to a global village and the fate of the villagers intertwined. Countries have sought to deal with the COVID-19 crisis by taking extraordinary measures. As I demonstrated in Part I of my commentary last week, the Ethiopian Government drafted and implemented  Proclamation No. 3/2020 (“State of Emergency Proclamation Enacted to Counter and Control the Spread of COVID-19 and Mitigate Its Impact”). I will not rehash those points here.

Second, as a die hard constitutionalist, I would like to see the Ethiopian Constitution serve as working, living and breathing instrument of government. Since its adoption in 1995, the Ethiopian Constitution has been abused and misused by the TPLF regime to practice “constitutional dictatorship” in the form of a state of emergency or command post government. The Constitution served and protected only the interests of the TPLF. For everyone else, the Constitution was not worth the paper on which it was written. The TPLF’s maxim was always,  “Justice for Just Us.”

While I believe that Constitution needs massive overhaul, the fact remains, to paraphrase a military metaphor of former U.S. Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld, “You resolve a constitutional question you have, not by a constitution you might want or wish to have at a later time.” There are multiple answers in the Ethiopian Constitution to address the question at hand.

Third, the government of PM Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly declared its wish, desire and determination to hold free and fair elections on numerous occasions. That commitment is irrevocable come hell or high water. Indeed, to make that possible, from the very beginning the government has completely opened the political space allowing organizations and individuals previously declared “terrorists” and “criminals” to participate in a peaceful manner. The government has even tolerated, in the face of enormous public pressure, individuals and organizations that have openly and flagrantly flouted the law in the interest of social harmony. No government that intends to impose dictatorial rule would allow the opposition that is sworn to violence and force to participate in the democratic process. That gives me great confidence that postponement of the election for 6 months will not lead to abuses of power or violation of human rights.

Fourth and most importantly, the government of PM Abiy has been committed to the principles of the rule of law, inclusivity, due process, resolution of problems by dialogue in free and open forums and full accountability and transparency. Until substantial and credible evidence (not bellyaching, teeth gnashing, mudslinging, whining and finger pointing) to the contrary is shown, I shall grant the full benefit of the doubt to the government based on what it has done to date in protecting human rights, institutionalizing the rule of law and promoting free and fair elections.

Fifth, unlike Ethiopia, many governments have criminalized reporting on COVID-19. The Egyptian Government made reporting on COVID-19 inconsistent with the government narrative a crime. Amnesty International reported, “The Egyptian authorities have made it very clear that anyone who challenges the official narrative will be severely punished.” Other countries that have criminalized COVID-19 reporting under a state of emergency decree include Iran, China, Hungary and South Africa, among others. Rodrigo Duterte shut down Philippines’ largest television network because he did not like the way the station reported on COVID-19.

In contrast, in Ethiopia under Article 7 (2) of Proclamation 3/2020, compels the private media to report on COVID-19 and participate in public education programs aimed at mitigation. If the Ethiopian government was interested in abusing power under a state of emergency decree, Proclamation 3/2020 would have provided it its best pretext. But the Ethiopian government chose to fight the COVID-19 war with full accountability, transparency and media scrutiny. I am very much impressed by that commitment. But I hasten to add that the media bears a heavy responsibility in its role as “watch dog”. It must not be a patsy for purveyors of lies, fake news and disinformation.

Understanding the juridical fact of “state of emergency”

In my discussions with may Ethiopian scholars, activists and political leaders, I have concluded most of them are unaware of the juridical nature of a “state of emergency” or the declaratory legislative act that brings it into existence. Indeed, I am surprised that many confuse declaration of state of emergency with martial law. While a declaration of a state of emergency may be used to impose martial law, it is different in the fact that under martial law the military takes direct functions of ordinary civilian government instituting military administration as was the case during the Derg regime in Ethiopia.

The modern idea of “state of emergency” has roots in Roman antiquity in which a “Roman magistrate with extraordinary powers was appointed during an emergency”. Indeed, “in the fifth and fourth centuries, the dictatorship was also used to solve internal problems, e.g., to conduct difficult elections or solve a constitutional crisis.” At the onset of the “Reign of Terror” in 1793 in the French Revolution, Robespierre and the Committee for Public safety declared a state of emergency and arbitrarily jailed and executed their opponents. It is after the French Revolution that “state of emergency” regimes became common and widespread especially in the 20^th century.

There are two general perspectives on the legality of a “state of emergency”. One leading scholar on the subject argues declaration of state of emergency is a function of sovereignty. According to this view, “a polity must be entitled to decide whether to suspend the application of its law on the ground that the situation is abnormal.” The sovereign power may in its discretion bring about “a total suspension of the law and then to use extra-legal force to normalize the situation.” The competing legal/rule of law view argues legal norms, conditions and standards could be established for a declaration of a state of emergency with built-in safeguards to prevent abuse of power.

I do not regard the two views as mutually exclusive. I shall argue that a declaration of a state of emergency is inherently a sovereign act but is most effective when it is sanctioned and legitimized by constitutional or statutory authority. A government may declare a state of emergency when it determines the normal course and systems of governance are incapable of addressing an extraordinary occurrence. For instance, a government facing external aggression, imminent domestic insurrection, uncontrolled widespread civil unrest, natural disasters and epidemics does not necessarily obtain prior legislative approval before acting.

The scope of special emergency powers is determined by a given country’s constitution and   laws. Generally, a declaration of a state of emergency may restrict press freedom, prohibit public gatherings, grant security and military forces special powers of arrest and detention without due process of law, authorize extrajudicial search and seizures, regulate the economy and the operation of businesses and the like.

General state practice shows a country’s constitution or legislation normally describes the circumstances that can give rise to a state of emergency, enumerates the procedures to be followed and prescribes the scope of authority to be exercised under emergency powers. Usually, the head of the executive branch either declares a state of emergency and notifies the legislature within a specified period of time for ratification or proposes a declaration of state of emergency to the legislature to enact it into law. In a few countries, the legislature declares a state of emergency sua sponte.

Most constitutions require well-considered justifications and sufficient facts for the decision to declare a state of emergency and the specific measures to address the situation, among others: 1) facts supporting existence of extraordinary circumstances posing a fundamental threat to the country; 2) the legal framework consisting of constitutional and legislative authority for the implementation of the emergency declaration; 3) the emergency preparedness plan and operational framework for implementation of the state of emergency for a designated period; 4) specification of a sunset clause or a time definite for termination of the state of emergency ; 5) provisions for further extension of the state of emergency and related procedures and 6) procedures for post state of emergency review and accountability. .

It is of the utmost importance that in a state of emergency, full control and responsibility for government operations and functions remain with civilian authorities. Military, police and security agencies must be subject to full civilian control or civilian supremacy. The alternative is a slippery slope to martial law.

Most parliaments also have the power to review the state of emergency at regular intervals and to suspend it as necessary.

In most national constitutions including the United States, no one individual has the sole authority to declare a state of emergency. Though a president or prime minster may initiate a declaration of state of emergency, it is often the case that the parliament and in the U.S., the Congress, that has the power to issue the declaration or retroactively ratify it as the U.S.  President Abe Lincoln’s assertion of vast presidential war powers during the civil war is instructive. In 1861, Lincoln claimed as commander-in-chief he had the power to “take any measure which may best subdue the enemy”, declared martial law and suspended the writ of habeas corpus by presidential decree and authorized the trial of civilians by military courts. He declared, “I may in an emergency do things on military grounds which cannot be done constitutionally by Congress.”  Subsequently, Congress ratified Lincoln’s actions.

State of emergency declarations must conform to international law

State of emergency declarations often involve restrictions on the course of social, economic, civil and political activity and curtail civil liberties and rights. The overriding concern is always the abuse and misuse of a state of emergency by the ruling regime issuing the declaration to suppress the opposition, dissent and human rights.  All states should have an interest in ensuring that the declaration and implementation of states of emergency are subject to certain limitations and proceed in accordance with international norms.

Ethiopia became a party by accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), in June 1993. Article 4 to the ICCPR allows states “in a time of public emergency to take measures derogating from their obligations under the present Covenant to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation”, subject to notification of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Under ICCPR, there are additional requirements that states must meet in justifying a declaration of a state of emergency:

1) it must be supported by substantial evidence of exceptional, real and imminent threat to the nation; 2) the declaration must not negate the principle of the rule of law or encourage state action in violation of the principle of the rule of law; 3) it must not condone or approve violations of non-derogable fundamental human right principles including the prohibition on torture, freedom from slavery, freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the right to recognition before the law, the humane treatment of all persons deprived of their liberty, prohibition of propaganda advocating war or national, racial, or religious hatred; 4) citizens must be fully informed of the facts and legal basis for the declaration; 5) the state must notify  appropriate treaty-monitoring bodies as per Article 4; 6) the aim at the end of the limited state of emergency must be to secure a swift return to normalcy and the restoration of the constitutional order in which rights can again be fully ensured; 7) whatever the emergency situation, the post hoc accountability powers of parliament, i.e. the right to conduct inquiries and investigations on the execution of emergency powers ought to be guaranteed by law. This is important for both assessing government behaviour and identifying lessons learned with a view to future emergencies.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has recently published detailed guidelines on the declaration of state of emergency necessitated by the COVID-19 crisis incorporating ICCPR treaty language. A proper state of emergency declaration must be 1) “strictly temporary in scope”; 2) “least intrusive to achieve the stated public health goals” and 3) “include safeguards such as sunset or review clauses, in order to ensure return to ordinary laws as soon as the emergency situation is over.”

To declare or not to declare a state of emergency to postpone the August 2020 election is NOT the question

On March 31, 2020, the independent Ethiopian Election Commission (Art. 102, Ethiopian Constitution) issued a statement that “because of issues related to the coronavirus, the board has decided it cannot conduct the election as planned… so it has decided to void that calendar and suspend all activities.” On April 30, Commission Chair Birtukan Mideksa formally reported to the Ethiopian parliament that given COVID-19, it is “impossible” for her commission to do the vital preparatory work to conduct a free and fair election. Because of COVID-19, the Commission could not undertake voter registration and education, ballot preparation and distribution of election materials, organize election observers and train election workers, supervise nomination of candidates, monitor campaign activities, organize polling booths and other related essential functions.

It is manifest to all reasonable minds that the August elections cannot proceed with the COVID-19 crisis upending the country’s social, economic and political system. It is foolhardy,  downright reckless and dangerous to even suggest that full-scale election campaigns and electoral preparations can go on given the great uncertainties in the spread of COVID19 in Ethiopia. It is because of the deep uncertainties in the burgeoning COVID-19 crisis, the need to devote all available material and human resources to its prevention, treatment and mitigation, the necessity to deal effectively with the social and economic dislocations caused by the crisis and ultimately to ensure a free and fair election that can withstand international standards and scrutiny that the election must be postponed for a reasonable period of time or until the pandemic threat is declared minimal for normal processes to continue.

Unfortunately, the constitutional timetable cannot be met because of the force majeure of COVID-19. To proceed with the August election would be playing Russian roulette on the heads of 110 million Ethiopian with a fully loaded gun. Untold numbers of people could die and the resulting impact on society would be catastrophic.

The question is not whether a state of emergency can be declared to postpone the August 2020 election. The question is how best to postpone the election with public dialogue that maximizes accountability, transparency, inclusivity and collective concern for the public good.

The constitutional matrix for postponement of the August 2020 election

Mamo Mehretu has summarized the various suggested options along four dimensions: 1) The current government stays with a limited mandate as “caretaker” after the dissolution of parliament; 2) The current government extends term through a state of emergency and enjoys regular full mandate; 3) clarification can be obtained through a constitutional amendment; and 4) refer the question to the House of Federation’s Council of Constitutional Inquiry, for constitutional interpretation and final determination. Ethiopian legal experts have studied the issues and made their recommendations.

Transitional government?

First, let me dispose of two arguments that claim there are no constitutional options to postpone the election. Proponents argue the only solution is political and insist on the formation of a “transitional government.” Second, TPLF leaders have proclaimed they can organize and run their own election in Tigray region “because there will not be a legitimate government after September 2020” when the current five-year term ends for the current parliament.

In August 1991, I wrote a commentary on the TPLF’s proposals for a “transitional government reflecting the differences of opinion, interests and aspirations of the peoples of the country.” The late TPLF leader Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia’s problems stemmed from “denial of democratic rights” and pronounced the end of an “unjust system that relegated the people to the status of second-class citizens in their own country.” The TPLF “transitional government” led to a 27-year TPLF dictatorship in Ethiopia.

In 2015, I argued Ethiopia needs a “a successful transition from dictatorship to constitutional democracy. Ethiopians need to practice the arts of civil discourse and negotiations. As difficult and embarrassing as it is to admit, many Ethiopian elites on all sides seem to suffer from a culture of inflexibility and zero-sum gamesmanship.” In other words, those who clamored for a transitional government in 2015 and those clamoring for it today cannot even sit together and have a conversation on soccer let alone dialogue meaningfully over the weighty issue of forming a transitional government. None of the “leaders” publicly urging formation of a transitional government today have any credibility and are known for their dishonesty, duplicity and mendacity.

A “transitional government” for six months until a new election can be held is absurd and nonsensical.

Manifestly, the proponents of the formation of a transitional government are naïve, ignorant, benighted or all three. Transitional governments are not formed in a day or even a month. They are extraordinarily difficult and often futile exercises. There are many preparatory undertakings that must precede even before the parties to form such a government are brought together for discussion. Independent third-party intermediators must be established. Contentious agenda items must be negotiated. Terms of power sharing must be drafted and circulated. Contending groups and leaders must be selected using criteria likely to be contentious. Deadlines and timetables must be set and other logistical arrangements must be made.

Talk of a transitional government is a red herring, an irrelevant topic introduced to divert public attention.

The proponents of a transitional government in Ethiopia should carefully study the experience of South Sudan.

In 2015, leaders of contending factions in South Sudan signed an agreement to create a transitional government, which did not even last until the ink on the agreement dried. Because of the failure to implement that agreement, hundreds of thousands of innocent South Sudanese died in factional violence and massive human rights violations were committed by both sides.

In 2019, pressured by the U.N and the U.S., the South Sudanese leaders again agreed to form a transitional unity government to end a five-year civil war.

It was not until February 2020, barely two months ago, that the South Sudanese were able to implement a transitional government agreement. How long that will last is anybody’s guess.

The proposal for a transitional government for Ethiopia until the next election, following postponement of the August 2020, is an invitation to anarchy, disorder, lawlessness and mobocracy.

Those who are howling for a transitional government in lieu of postponement of the August 2020 election are either willfully ignorant, think they can steal their way into power in the chaos of a transitional government or both. Truth be told, what these “leaders” want is not a transitional government. They want to create chaos in government so that they can transition themselves into power.

The TPLF’s plans for an illegal regional election

The TPLF’s proclamation that they will proceed to have elections in August 2020 in complete disregard of the mandate in Article 102 of the Ethiopian Constitution shows the utter hypocrisy and abysmal duplicity that is coded in their DNA. Article 102 provides, “There shall be established a National Election Board independent of any influence, to conduct in an impartial manner free and fair election in Federal and State constituencies.”

The TPLF has always been a fair-weather friend of the Ethiopian Constitution. They will pontificate and defend the Constitution when it suits their purposes and throw it away like a dirty rag when they are held to account under it.

The TPLF Central Committee Official Statement on the Occasion of the 45th Anniversary in February 2020, barely two months ago, proclaimed:

Institutions and institutionalism are being destroyed. Reversal of the country’s achievements accompanied by monstrous violations and actions in both the economic and the political fronts are prevalent. The Constitution, which is the only reliable savior of the country, is violated and rule of law is endangered…The continuity of the country is guaranteed only when the Constitution and the federal system of governance are respected. Thus, we assure you that TPLF will work with you in strengthening and scaling up the struggle you have already begun to save the Constitution and the multinational federal system.” (Boldface added.)

In May 2020, the TPLF is caught red handed destroying institutions and institutionalism –indeed, the most important institution of democratic election – established under Article 102.  When the TPLF invokes the Constitution to suit its purposes it is “the only reliable savior of the country.” When it does not, it is not worth the paper it is written on.

The proclamations of the TPLF merchants of lies, deceit and duplicity remind me of lines from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice:

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!

So, the TPLF Princes of Darkness can cite the Constitution for their own purposes with a smiling cheek!

In 2006, I wrote a commentary severely criticizing the TPLF regime for its failure to respect its constitution in the treatment of the Kinijit Party defendants and others. One of the charges against those defendants was violation of Article 238 of the Penal Code (“Outrages against the Constitution or the Constitutional Order”). Suffice it to say that the TPLF proclamation to hold a regional election in Tigray in violation of Article 102 of the Ethiopian Constitution and a flagrant violation of Article 238 of the Penal Code (“Outrages against the Constitution or the Constitutional Order”).

I am not surprised by the TPLF’s threat to breach the Constitution for two reasons. First, since its adoption in 1995, the Ethiopian Constitution has been abused and misused by the TPLF regime to practice “constitutional dictatorship” in the form of a state of emergency or command post government. The Constitution served and protected only the interests of the TPLF. For everyone else, the Constitution was not worth the paper on which it was written. The TPLF’s maxim was always,  “Justice for Just Us.”

Second, the TPLF was established for the single purpose of creating a “Tigray State”. In its Manifesto, the TPLF declared its mission is to create an independent Tigray State. The TPLF claimed Tigray was invaded by (Emperor) Atse Menelik and became an Amhara colony.  When the TPLF was in power, its core strategy was to systematically cleanse Ethiopian national identity, history and consciousness. It is a fact that the TPLF has NEVER repudiated its Manifesto.

In the 1990s, the late Meles Zenawi  was fond of saying that without his guiding hand and TPLF leadership, Ethiopia will go the way of Yugoslavia. Balkanization was Meles’ dream for Ethiopia. It is the TPTLF’s dream today. For a quarter of a century, the TPLF toiled day and night to carve up and chop up Ethiopia to facilitate and prolong their rule.

Having failed to dismember Ethiopia, the TPLF now prepares to dismember Tigray from Ethiopia by holding an illegal election. (Aya jibo, satamehagne bilagn.) 

No one should be surprised. What the TPLF is doing by conducting its own illegal election is simply to use the current so-called constitutional crisis to implement their dream of a “Tigray State” foretold in their Manifesto. They will fail!

We must be clear about the constitutional issues at hand

The constitutional question on the delay and postponement of the August 2020 election arises from an apparent lack of clarity in Article 58 (3) of the Ethiopian Constitution which mandates, “The House of Peoples’ Representatives shall be elected for a term of five years. Elections for a new House shall be concluded one month prior to the expiry of the House’s term.”  Unfortunately, Article 58 does not expressly anticipate postponement or delay of elections or provide for extraordinary circumstances that could prevent an election as prescribed in the timetable.

The current term of parliament expires by the end of September 2020, which means under Article 58 (3), the election must take place by the end of August. The problem is such an election cannot be held within the constitutionally prescribed time frame because of the COVID-19 crisis.

The question is what constitutional mechanism are available to address the apparent lack of express language authorizing postponement or delay of an election under Article 58?

The experience in American constitutional jurisprudence should prove instructive in this regard.

The U.S. Constitution contains 4,543 words, including the signatures and with the 27 amendments comes to a total of 7,591. The Constitution “phrasing is broad and the limitations of its provisions are not clearly marked. Its majestic generalities and ennobling pronouncements are both luminous and obscure. This ambiguity of course calls forth interpretation, the interaction of reader and text…”

The 19^th century British Prime Minister William Gladstone said, “The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.” I agree and am very proud to have had the privilege to teach, practice and defend it in the highest state and federal courts of the United States.

In contrast, the Ethiopian Constitution barely three decades-old and contains 13,625 words by my count. It needs much refinement and careful redrafting.

The 1787 U.S. Constitution does not designate a branch of government to definitively resolve constitutional questions and issues. Article III which creates the judicial branch does not grant the Supreme Court the express power to review the constitution and render a definitive interpretation.

In 1803, in Marbury v. Madison, arguably the single most important case in American legal history, the U.S. Supreme Court case established the principle of judicial review. Justice John Marshall declared it was the exclusive duty and responsibility of the judicial branch to interpret and apply the language of the Constitution. “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is,” including the supreme law of the land. With that case, Marshall managed to establish the power of the court as the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution has been developed through interpretation and re-interpretationby the courts.

Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the Ethiopian Constitution clearly delegates the ultimate power of constitutional interpretation to the House of Federation with investigative powers granted to Council of Constitutional Inquiry. To borrow from Marbury v. Madison, “It is emphatically the province and duty of the House of Federation to say what the constitutional law is and is not.” Indeed, the House of Federation over the past decades has been engaged in “investigating questions of constitutional interpretation from various individuals and sections of the society.”

Article 62 (1) provides, “1. The House has the power to interpret the Constitution.”

Article 83 (1) “All constitutional disputes shall be decided by the House of the Federation. 2. The House of the Federation shall, within thirty days of receipt, decide a constitutional dispute submitted to it by the Council of Constitutional Inquiry.”

Article 84 (1) “The Council of Constitutional Inquiry shall have powers to investigate constitutional disputes. Should the Council, upon consideration of the matter, find it necessary to interpret the Constitution, it shall submit its recommendations thereon to the House of the Federation.”

Therefore, there is no question that the House of Federation and Council of Constitutional Inquiry have the power to review the issue of delay or postponement of the August 2020 election under Article 58 and render a final determination.

The task of the Council of Constitutional Inquiry are spelled out in Article 84(1) of the Constitution (which empowers the Council to “investigate constitutional disputes”)  and Proclamation 798/2013. The Council is established as an independent body (Art. 15) consisting of the President and Vice President  of the Federal Supreme Court as chair and vice chair respectively, six legal experts of high standing  appointed by the President of the Republic on recommendation by the House of Peoples’ Representatives, and three persons designated by the House of the Federation from among its members.

Under Article 3 of Proclamation 798, the Council has the power to consider and review for constitutionality “any law or customary practice or decision of government organ or decision of government official” submit its recommendation to the House of the Federation.” Under Article 9, the Council has the power to compel “pertinent institutions or professionals, to appear before it and give opinions.”

The House of Federation and the Council are expected to review issues before them fairly and impartially and with fidelity to the principles of constitutionalism, fairness, equity and justice.

While I am not presumptuous enough to tell the House of Federation and Council of Constitutional Inquiry on how to perform their constitutional responsibilities, I would like to share my experience as a teacher and practitioner of American constitutional law for over three decades. Indeed, I have been privileged to spar in and out of court with some of the highest jurists and academics in America on constitutional interpretation. I trust the Federation and Council will consider my views as part of their deliberation.

In performing constitutional review, I believe the House of Federation must be guided by two questions:

First, in the absence of express language authorizing delay or postponement of an election under Article 54, does a force majeure epidemic recognized under Proclamation 3/2020 provide a necessary and sufficient condition for postponement under Article 93 (a)?

Second, is there an independent constitutional basis to postpone the August 2020 election based exclusively on Article 93 (a)?

The first question requires the House of Federation to interpret Article 54 and determine whether postponement can be obtained consistent with the language and spirit of that Article.

First, let me state that Ethiopia, unlike the United States, does not have a well-established tradition of constitutional interpretation. The U.S. has a rich constitutional history that spans well over two centuries. There are hundreds of thousands of constitutional appellate decisions that serve as precedent and countless numbers of academic and scholarly treatises and critiques on the constitution and how it should be interpreted. Ethiopia does not have the benefit of a well-developed constitutional jurisprudence and scholarship.

In the absence of guiding judicial precedents, doctrines, standards and tests to interpret and fix the meaning of constitutional language, the House of Federation and Council should follow an approach/principle employed widely by American jurists called “Ockham’s razor”, which prescribes the correct answer is often the simplest one. In other words, in their task of constitutional interpretation, the Federation and Council should not waste time engaging in academic and scholastic analysis and debates and be distracted by inconsequential political rhetoric squandering their energies. Rather, their aim should be provide a simple direct answer based on an ordinary understanding of language found in Article 58 and related provisions of the Constitution and render a decision based on reasonable explanations.

In my view, the House of Federation should begin its constitutional analysis NOT by simply focusing on Article 58 but rather by undertaking a structural interpretation of Article 58 within the bundle of constitutional provisions dealing with elections, including Articles 38(1)(c); 38(3); 54 (1), 58(3) and 102(1) (relevant constitutional provision are excerpted at the end of this commentary), the totality of the structure of the constitution and the history of the electoral process since the promulgation of the Constitution in 1995.

The texts of Article 54(1), 58 (3) and 102(1) are clear on the constitutional mandate of ensuring election of members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives for a term of five years in a free and fair elections and for the National Election Board to be the sole organizer and arbiter of such an election. The texts of Article 38 (1)(c) and (3) are equally clear in underscoring the necessity of having elections that “guarantee the free expression of the will of the electors” and that such elections “be conducted in a free and democratic manner.”

The seminal question within the bundle of these provisions is why the drafters of the Constitution omitted contingency language in the event an election could not be held as mandated in Article 58(3). Were the drafters simply unaware of a possibility that could lead to a postponement of an election? Did they intentionally omit it such language? Did they intend to create chaos and anarchy by leaving out a contingency clause?

A fair and reasonable reading of Article 58(3) shows that the language therein was intended to be an ironclad constitutional guarantee that elections will take place as prescribed, and not to preclude delay or postponement under extraordinary circumstances. Article 58 did not provide qualificatory language for postponement or delays because the drafters had already anticipated and provided for such extraordinary circumstances under Article 93, which specifically include external invasion, a breakdown of law and order which endangers the constitutional order, a natural disaster, or an epidemic. For instance, there could be no election if the country is under external invasion. The outcome is the same if the country is facing a pandemic of global proportions.

One of the principal purpose of constitutional interpretation is to harmonize the meaning of constitutional language and to illuminate obscure implications locked in words and reconcile linguistic omissions with intended constitutional purposes to produce fair and reasonable outcomes, and in extreme cases to sever language that is manifestly repugnant to the scheme of the constitution.

The House of Federal and Council of Constitutional Inquiry should consider the constitutional scheme evident in Articles 38, 54, 58 and 102 and obtain a result that harmonizes these provisions in rendering their judgment.

Alternative I- Constitutional basis for postponement of the August 2020 election under Article 93

In my constitutional analysis, the critical issue is not the simple fact of meeting a designated constitutional deadline for an election but most importantly the fact of ensuring elections that are held are free and fair. It is pointless to have an election on a particular date if it is not free and fair.

Since 1991, Ethiopia has had elections for the purpose of having elections but none of them were free and fair. For the TPLF elections were nothing more than ritualistic practices and not a process by which the people elected their leaders freely and fairly. Indeed, for the TPLF elections were political theater staged for the benefit of donors and loaners as I argued in my 2009 commentary. Before an election, the TPLF created a fanfare, snagged millions of dollars in aid to conduct the elections and on election day declared total victory. I called elections under the TPLF regime “elektions”, that is fake elections.

In 2011, Seeye Abraha, one of the founders of the TPLF wrote, “The most incredible fact about the May 2010 Ethiopian election is not that the ruling Ethiopian People Revolutionary Party (EPRDF) won; that was foreordained.”

A foreordained election is not much of an election. It is political drama.

In a country where there are over 80 political parties, in 2010, the TPLF regime claimed to have won 99.6 percent of the seats in parliament in 2010.

In 2015, the TPLF claimed it had won 100 percent.

Neither the 2010 nor 2015 elections could be called free and fair by any reasonable standard but they were held on the constitutionally prescribed date.

An election that is not free and fair is no election at all. It is a travesty of election, a monumental disregard of the democratic right to self-government.

Whether or not the August 2020 election should be postponed should pivot on a single question: Given the COVID-19 crisis, is it possible to have a free and fair election in August 2020?

For me, elections under the Ethiopian Constitution is not about having a mechanical process of selecting candidates on a prescribed date. It is about ONE and only ONE thing: Having a free and fair election!

While ignorant demagogues and political junkies bandy the phrase “free and fair election” like expletives, it is rooted in universally accepted principles and practices.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union which represents 179 parliaments, including Ethiopia’s, has published standards for free and fair election which include establishment of 1) procedures and criteria for voter registration, initiation or facilitation of national programs of civic education on election procedures and issues; 2) neutral, impartial mechanism for the management of elections; recruitment and training of election officials and operatives; 3) procedures to ensure the integrity of the ballot and institution of  measures to prevent voting fraud, establishment of mechanisms to ensure the integrity of the vote counting process, 4) mechanisms to ensure freedom of movement, assembly, association and expression for all contenders, particularly in the context of political rallies and meetings and creating conditions that will ensure parties and candidates are free to communicate their views to the electorate and 5) updating of electoral rolls and balloting procedures, and monitoring of performance under election Code of Conduct, among others.

The African Union Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa sets similar standards for free and fair election. Under Section III are listed numerous factors that must exist to ensure a free and fair election including: compilation of voters’ registers, establishment of national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel, set up of safeguards ensuring freedom of movement, assembly, association, expression, and campaigning, promote civic and voters’ education on the democratic principles and values in close cooperation with the civil society groups, implementation of measures to prevent the perpetration of fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral process, ensure the availability of adequate logistics and resources for carrying out democratic elections and provision of adequate security to all parties participating in elections as well as accrediting national and/other observers/monitors.

These internationally recognized conditions for a free and fair election simply cannot be met today or in August 2020 as unequivocally stated by the head of  the National Election Commission because of the COVID-19 crisis.

What constitutional options are available to ensure that a free and fair election is held?

Since the reason precluding a free and fair election in August 2020 is COVID-19 and since COVID-19 is constitutionally recognized as creating a state of emergency in Proclamation 3/2020, it follows that an already recognized emergency under Article 93 is a constitutionally sufficient condition to postpone the election by a declaration of a state of emergency.

The constitutional framework for Proclamation 3/2020 include Article 77(10) (“The Council of Ministers has the power to declare a state of emergency; in doing so, it shall, within the time limit prescribed by the Constitution, submit the proclamation declaring a state of emergency for approval by the House of Peoples’ Representatives.”) and Article 93 which provides:

1. (a) The Council of Ministers of the Federal Government shall have the power to decree a state of emergency… [in the event of] … an epidemic….
2. (a) If declared when the House of Peoples’ Representatives is in session, the decree shall be submitted to the House within forty-eight hours of its declaration… [and when not in session it]  shall be submitted to it within fifteen days of its adoption.
3. A state of emergency decreed by the Council of Ministers, if approved by the House of Peoples’ Representatives, can remain in effect up to six months [and extended]… by a two-thirds majority vote…every four months successively
4. (a) When a state of emergency is declared, the Council of Ministers shall… have all necessary power to protect the country’s peace and sovereignty, and to maintain public security, law and order.

(b) The Council of Ministers shall have the power to suspend such political and democratic rights contained in this Constitution to the extent necessary to avert the conditions that required the declaration of a state of emergency.

(c) In the exercise of its emergency powers the Council of Ministers cannot, however, suspend or limit the rights provided for in Articles 1, 18, 25. and subArticles 1 and 2 of Article 39 of this Constitution.

The House of Peoples’ Representatives, while declaring a state of emergency, shall simultaneously establish a State of Emergency Inquiry Board, comprising of seven persons to be chosen and assigned by the House from among its members and from legal experts [with the duty of]…mak[ing] public within one month the names of all individuals arrested on account of the state of emergency together with the reasons for their arrest… [ensure] no measure taken during the state of emergency is inhumane… [and] (c) To recommend to the Prime Minister or to the Council of Ministers corrective measures if it finds any case of inhumane treatment.

The Council of Ministers of the Federal Government has the plenary constitutional power to declare a state of emergency, in much the same way as it did in Proclamation 3/2020 and postpone the election for the constitutionally mandated period of six months.

A Proclamation to postpone the August 2020 election should be crafted in the same way as Proclamation 3/2020.

Alternative II: Constitutional basis for postponement of the August 2020 election under Article 60: Dissolution of Parliament  

The Prime Minister has plenary powers to dissolve parliament before the expiry of its term.  The Prime Minister is required to consult and obtain the consent of Parliament but ultimately the power to dissolve parliament is delegated to the office of the prime minister. The post-dissolution government will serve as a “caretaker” government.

Article 60 (1) provides, “With the consent of the House, the Prime Minister may cause the dissolution of the House before the expiry of its term in order to hold new elections.”

Article 60 (3) provides, “If the House is dissolved pursuant to sub-Article 1 or 2 of this Article, new elections shall be held within six months of its dissolution.”

Article 60 (5) provides, “Following the dissolution of the House, the previous governing party or coalition of parties shall continue as a caretaker government. Beyond conducting the day to day affairs of government and organizing new elections, it may not enact new proclamations, regulations or decrees, nor may it repeal or amend any existing law.”

Dissolution of parliament is not a viable alternative. Indeed, it is recipe for anarchy and chaos. The post-dissolution government is mandated to play the role of “care taker” which means it is limited in its scope of action. The Prime Minster and the Council of Ministers will be limited to “essential business”. They cannot undertake any new policy initiatives. They cannot make new appointments. They cannot enter into international agreements.

Could any reasonable person seriously consider a “care taker government” when Ethiopia is facing an existential threat unprecedented in living memory?

Could any reasonable person seriously consider a “care taker government” when hundreds of thousands, and possible more, Ethiopians are facing a death sentence at the hands of COVID-19?

Could any reasonable person seriously consider a “care taker government” when Ethiopia is in the grips of COVID-19, Egypt is saber-rattling and beating the drums of war against Ethiopia if Ethiopia should begin to fill the Grand Renaissance Dam in July 2020?

Could any reasonable person seriously consider a “care taker government” when there are those proclaiming to hold their own elections in violation of Article 104 of the Constitution and de facto create their own state?

Could any reasonable person seriously consider a “care taker government” when the world’s leading economists are predicting COVID-19 will exact “a heavy toll on the economy”?

Could any reasonable person seriously consider a “care taker government” when so-called leaders are stoking the flames of ethnic and religious division so that they can grab power?

Could any reasonable person seriously consider a “care taker government” when Ethiopia is rising as a model of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Africa and the rest of the world?

Could any reasonable person seriously consider a “care taker government” when Ethiopia needs hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and aid to fight COVID-19 but will not have a government capable of concluding international agreements. The IMF gave Ethiopia over USD 400 million because it was impressed by the approach and commitment of the government of PM Abiy Ahmed in the COVID-19 crisis. The IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva tweeted, “I commend the swift and decisive response by @AbiyAhmedAli  and #Ethiopia to mitigate the impact of #COVID19.”

PM Abiy will not be able to deal with the IMF, the Wold Bank or any other government or agency if he is the head of a caretaker government!

For lack of a more appropriate phrase fit for polite company to describe my reactions to a dissolved parliament followed by a caretaker government, I will simply say, Bah! Humbug!

Alternative III: Constitutional basis for postponement of the August 2020 election under Article 104 – Amending the Constitution

Article 104 provides for a constitutional amendment: “Any proposal for constitutional amendment, if supported by a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Peoples’ Representatives, or by a two-thirds majority vote in the House of the Federation or when one-third of the State Councils of the member States of the Federation, by a majority vote in each Council have supported it, shall be submitted for discussion and decision to the general public and to those whom the amendment of the Constitution concerns.”

According to one legal commentator, the Ethiopian Constitution has been “amended twice in the past twenty years.” Article 98 was “amended so as to change the spirit of concurrent power of taxation into revenue sharing.” Article 103(5) was amended “to extend the period for conducting national population census to more than 10 years.” This commentator cites authority for the proposition that the “Ethiopian Constitution is silent on defining the bodies having the power to initiate constitutional amendments.” The commentator argues “the constitutional framers [] wished to give the [amendment] power to the House of Peoples’ Representatives, House of Federation and State Councils.” The commentator “conclude[s] in Ethiopia, the HPR, the HoF and State Councils have the power to initiate constitutional amendments” and presentation of the final “‘submi[ssion] [of the amendment] to the general public for discussion and decision”. It “is not clear whether it denotes referendum or not.”

The principle of Ockham’s razon should apply here. There is no need to seek out complex and convoluted solutions when direct and constitutionally sound solutions are available. If indeed a referendum is required for ratification of a constitutional amendment under Article 104 in which a direct and universal vote is required, one might as well have the August 2020 election in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis. If the August 2020 election could not be held because of COVID-19, by the same token no referendum on a constitutional amendment could also held.

The bottom line

The choice is simple. Saving Ethiopian lives against having an election on a particular date and risk untold numbers of deaths. Elections make sense when people are alive. Those who try to make political hay out of the postponement of the August election have no regard for the lives of the people they claim to protect and represent. They are only interested in grabbing power at all costs. They will continue to run around threatening violence if the election is postponed and claim there will be no legitimate government after September 2020. But they will find out that when push comes to shove, the velvet gloves will be taken off. They may see this as their last opportunity to sneak themselves into power. They will fail in their evil plans because the people of Ethiopia will reject them totally.

Regardless, The alpha and omega constitutional question in the current debate over postponing the August 2019 elections is whether it is possible given the COVID-19 crisis it is possible to hold a free and fair election, not the mechanical process of electing candidates to office. If an election could be held on the scheduled date but it cannot be free and fair, it will amount to nothing more than an exercise in futility and a gross abuse of the people’s right to democratic self-rule.

To be continued…

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Relevant Constitutional Provisions:

Article 38 (1) (c): “Every Ethiopian national has the right to vote and to be elected at periodic elections to any office at any level of government; elections shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.”

Article 38 (3): “Elections to positions of responsibility within any of the organizations referred to under sub-Article 2 of this Article shall be conducted in a free and democratic manner.”

Article 5: “The Federal government has the power to declare and to lift national state of emergency and states of emergencies limited to certain parts of the country.”

Article 54 (1): “Article Members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives shall be elected by the People for a term of five years on the basis of universal suffrage and by direct, free and fair elections held by secret ballot.”

55 (8): “The House of Peoples’ Representatives in conformity with Article 93 of the Constitution it shall declare a state of emergency; it shall consider and resolve on a decree of a state of emergency declared by the executive.”

Article 58 (3): “The House of Peoples’ Representatives shall be elected for a term of five years. Elections for a new House shall be concluded one month prior to the expiry of the House’s term.”

Article 60 (1) provides, “With the consent of the House, the Prime Minister may cause the dissolution of the House before the expiry of its term in order to hold new elections.”

Article 60 (3): “If the House is dissolved pursuant to sub-Article 1 or 2 of this Article, new elections shall be held within six months of its dissolution.”

Article 60 (5): “Following the dissolution of the House, the previous governing party or coalition of parties shall continue as a caretaker government. Beyond conducting the day to day affairs of government and organizing new elections, it may not enact new proclamations, regulations or decrees, nor may it repeal or amend any existing law.”

Article 62 (1): “1. The House has the power to interpret the Constitution.”

Article 77 (10): “The Council of Ministers has the power to declare a state of emergency; in doing so, it shall, within the time limit prescribed by the Constitution, submit the proclamation declaring a state of emergency for approval’ by the House of Peoples’ Representatives.”

Article 83 (1): “All constitutional disputes shall be decided by the House of the Federation. 2. The House of the Federation shall, within thirty days of receipt, decide a constitutional dispute submitted to it by the Council of Constitutional Inquiry.”

Article 84 (1): “The Council of Constitutional Inquiry shall have powers to investigate constitutional disputes. Should the Council, upon consideration of the matter, find it necessary to interpret the Constitution, it shall submit its recommendations thereon to the House of the Federation.  (2) 2. Where any Federal or State law is contested as being unconstitutional and such a dispute is submitted to it by any court or interested party, the Council shall consider the matter…

Article 87: “The armed forces shall protect the sovereignty of the country and carry out any responsibilities as may be assigned to them under any state of emergency declared in accordance with the Constitution.”

Article 93: 1. (a) The Council of Ministers of the Federal Government shall have the power to decree a state of emergency should an external invasion, a breakdown of law and order which endangers the constitutional order and which cannot be controlled by the regular law enforcement agencies and personnel, a natural disaster, or an epidemic occur.

2. (a) If declared when the House of Peoples’ Representatives is in session, the decree shall be submitted to the House within forty-eight hours of its declaration. (b) Subject to the required vote of approval set out in (a) of this sub-Article, the decree declaring a state of emergency when the House of peoples’ Representatives is not in session shall be submitted to it within fifteen days of its adoption.
3. A state of emergency decreed by the Council of Ministers, if approved by the House of Peoples’ Representatives, can remain in effect up to six months. The House of Peoples’ Representatives may, by a two-thirds majority vote, allow the state of emergency proclamation to be renewed every four months successively
4. (a) When a state of emergency is declared, the Council of Ministers shall, in accordance with regulations it issues, have all necessary power to protect the country’s peace and sovereignty, and to maintain public security, law and order.

(b) The Council of Ministers shall have the power to suspend such political and democratic rights contained in this Constitution to the extent necessary to avert the conditions that required the declaration of a state of emergency.

(c) In the exercise of its emergency powers the Council of Ministers cannot, however, suspend or limit the rights provided for in Articles 1, 18, 25. and sub Articles 1 and 2 of Article 39 of this Constitution.

The House of Peoples’ Representatives, while declaring a state of emergency, shall simultaneously establish a State of Emergency Inquiry Board, comprising of seven persons to be chosen and assigned by the House from among its members and from legal experts.

6. The State of Emergency Inquiry Board shall have the following powers and responsibilities:

(a) To make public within one month the names of all individuals arrested on account of the state of emergency together with the reasons for their arrest.

(b) To inspect and follow up that no measure taken during the state of emergency is inhumane.

(c) To recommend to the Prime Minister or to the Council of Ministers corrective measures if it finds any case of inhumane treatment.

(d) To ensure the prosecution of perpetrators of inhumane acts.

(e) To submit its views to the House of Peoples’ Representatives on a request to extend the duration of the state of emergency.

Article 102 (1) (2): “1. There shall be established a National Election Board independent of any influence, to conduct in an impartial manner free and fair election in Federal and State constituencies. 2. Members of the Board shall be appointed by the House of Peoples’ Representatives upon recommendation of the Prime Minister.”

Article 104: “Any proposal for constitutional amendment, if supported by a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Peoples’ Representatives, or by a two-thirds majority vote in the House of the Federation or when one-third of the State Councils of the member States of the Federation, by a majority vote in each Council have supported it, shall be submitted for discussion and decision to the general public and to those whom the amendment of the Constitution concerns.”

The post Desperate Times Call for Extraordinary Constitutional Measures: The Necessity of Postponing the August 29, 2020 Federal Parliamentary/Regional Elections in Ethiopia (Part II) appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.

By Carma Hassan and Rebekah Riess, CNN
May 6, 2020

University of Pittsburgh professor Bing Liu was shot and killed in apparent murder-suicide, police said.

(CNN)A University of Pittsburgh professor on the verge of making “very significant findings” researching Covid-19, according to the university, was shot and killed in an apparent murder-suicide over the weekend, police said.
The research assistant professor, identified as Bing Liu, was found in his townhouse Saturday with gunshot wounds to the head, neck, torso and extremities, according to the Ross Police Department.
Investigators believe an unidentified second man, who was found dead in his car, shot and killed Liu in his home before returning to his car and taking his own life.

Police believe the men knew each other, but say there is “zero indication that there was targeting due to his (Liu) being Chinese,” according to Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp.
The university issued a statement saying it is “deeply saddened by the tragic death of Bing Liu, a prolific researcher and admired colleague at Pitt. The University extends our deepest sympathies to Liu’s family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time.”

“Bing was on the verge of making very significant findings toward understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-CoV-2 infection and the cellular basis of the following complications,” his colleagues at the university’s Department of Computational and Systems Biology said in a statement.
Members of the university’s School of Medicine describe their former colleague as an outstanding researcher and mentor, and have pledged to complete Liu’s research “in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence.”

CNN’s Christina Walker contributed to this report.

The post Professor researching Covid-19 was killed in an apparent murder-suicide, officials say appeared first on Satenaw Ethiopian News/Breaking News / Your right to know!.