On Feb. 16, a day after Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn abruptly resigned, Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers declared a six-month State of Emergency (SoE). The Defense Minister, Siraj Fergessa, said the martial law was decreed to stop breakdown of law and order and a growing unrest that is endangering the constitution. The EPRDF regime continues to use the Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group that struggles for Oromo rights, as a pretext to systematically persecute and kill off Oromo dissidents. In a statement earlier this month, the party pledged to work with all political parties in and outside the country to advance Oromo rights. This gesture was quickly welcomed by a number of Oromo political parties, including the diaspora-based Oromo Democratic Front (ODF), which made a failed attempt to return to Ethiopia in 2015.

Source: Ethiopian News February 25, 2018 15:33 UTC