The state of emergency was imposed in response to widespread unrest by members of the Oromo and Amhara ethnic groups, who have accused the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front government of suppressing their political and economic rights. But there have undoubtedly been concerns the state of emergency would damage Ethiopia's duty-free status on exports to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). "The reason the government put in place the state of emergency is not because the situation was out of control, but with the constitution we have the government cannot arrest people without an order from the court." The state of emergency gave security forces the power to arrest people. Even though the state of emergency is no longer in place, the underlying causes have not been resolved – meaning there is a strong likelihood that similar protests will erupt again.

Source: Ethiopian News August 08, 2017 14:14 UTC