Ethiopia: Muslim Protests Raise Slender Hopes of Change in Ethiopia

BY PHILIPP SANDNER, 9 AUGUST 2013 

http://allafrica.com/stories/201308100009.htm

Muslims in Ethiopia staged protests to coincide with the end of Ramadan. The opposition joined them. Both criticize the government for carrying out arbitrary arrests.

Muslims in Ethiopia are angry over the detention of 29 religious leaders and activists and are calling for their release. They believe they have been wrongly accused of terrorism.

Speaking to DW, Claire Beston, an expert on Ethiopia at Amnesty International said "we think that these people are persecuted because they got themselves involved in a peaceful protest movement."

"We have seen that the Muslim protest movement which has been active for more than 18 months, continues to be subjected to a massive oppression," Beston added.

Muslims are in the minority in mainly Christian dominated Ethiopia, but they have been in the country for more than a thousand years and now make up at least a third of the population. The constitution says religion and the state should be kept apart. Some Muslims are outraged because they believe the government is violating constitution by giving financial support to the moderate Islamic group "Al-Ahbash." The government, they say, is forcing moderate religious education on the country. They also accuse the government of meddling in the appointment of key figures in Ethiopia's supreme Islamic council.

Three people have been killed in a protests that sparked a confrontation between security forces and protestors

Under the guise of fighting terrorism

Confrontation between security forces and protesters is frequent. According to government figures, last Saturday's (03.08.2013) protest left three people dead. Eyewitnesses and bloggers, however, say that dozens were killed that day. The Ethiopian police claimed that Salafists coordinated the protests.

"The government says there is a link between the Muslim protest movement and terrorism," said Beston. "It also says the same about other political parties and protest movements in the country," she added. Political activists are repeatedly detained under the pretext of being suspected terrorists.

The government says it is acting in accordance with the law on combating terrorism, which came into force in 2009. That law says any one who makes statements or remarks which can be construed as encouraging terrorist acts will be punished by up to 20 years in jail.