Quartz: The backstory of how Ethiopia and Eritrea found peace after 20 years

The first indication that these historic events might be possible came on June 4. Abiy declared that he would accept the outcome of an international commission’s finding over a disputed border between the two countries. It was the border conflict of 1998-2000, and Ethiopia’s refusal to accept the commission’s ruling, that was behind two decades of armed confrontation. With this out of the way, everything began to fall into place. [...]

Perhaps most important of all, the border will be demarcated. This won’t be an easy task. Populations who thought themselves citizens of one country could find themselves in another. This could provoke strong reactions, unless both sides show flexibility and compassion. [...]

For Ethiopia, there would be the end to Eritrean subversion, with rebel movements deprived of a rear base from which to attack the government in Addis Ababa. In return, there is every chance that Ethiopia will now push for an end to the UN arms embargo against the Eritrean government. [...]

Finally, behind the scenes, the UN and the African Union have been encouraging both sides to resolve their differences. This culminated in the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, flying to Addis Ababa for a meeting on Monday – just hours after the joint declaration. Guterres told reporters that in his view the sanctions against Eritrea could soon be lifted since they would soon likely become “obsolete.”

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Quartz: Ethiopia will end its state of emergency early, as part of widening political reforms

The council of ministers sanctioned the decision on Saturday (June 2) after noting that “law and order has been restored,” prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, said on Twitter. The parliament, where all 547 members belong to the ruling party, was expected to rubber-stamp the order, even though it is unclear when that would take place. [...]

For over two years, Oromo and the Amhara communities agitated for social change, economic equality, and political inclusion. The government’s crackdown has been brutal, with more than 1,000 people dead and tens of thousands of people put behind bars, according to advocacy groups. Ethiopia’s authorities also imposed emergency rule between Oct. 2016 and Aug. 2017, following deadly demonstrations.

Calling time on the emergency order marks a significant moment for Abiy’s nascent administration, which has promised and undertaken reforms since coming to power in April. Besides releasing thousands of political prisoners and journalists, the government has ended an internet blackout, started talks with exiled opposition members, and dismissed charges against diaspora-based media outlets. Yet despite the improvements, many observers and critics awaited the end of the state of emergency—the last one was extended for four months at the end of its term—as a signal that Abiy was truly walking the talk.

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Foreign Policy: Ethiopia’s Great Rift

Bekele’s release was the culmination of a three-day standoff between the government, which had previously announced its intention to release some of its many thousands of political prisoners, and the protesters, who had grown impatient with the slow pace of the promised amnesties. For nearly a month, the wind has seemed to be at the protesters’ backs: More than 6,000 political prisoners have been freed since January, meeting one of the demonstrators’ most central demands. “Within a month, the political environment has completely changed,” says Hallelujah Lulie, a political consultant based in Addis Ababa. [...]

Behind the drama of the last week lies a radical shift in Ethiopia’s political landscape, one that has the potential to lead to genuine reforms. The EPRDF, a coalition of four nominally ethnic parties that has ruled the country single-handedly since taking power in 1991, is in the midst of a vicious internal power struggle. At issue is the question of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has long been the dominant of the four ethnically based coalition partners, despite representing only a small minority of the country (Tigrayans make up about 6 percent of the population). Yet the influence of the TPLF is waning as two rival factions, the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) and the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) — which represent Ethiopia’s first- and second-most populous regions, respectively — vie with the TPLF for control over the coalition and, with it, the country.  [...]

His administration has made significant steps toward reforming the party and the regional government. Thousands of local officials have been replaced. The revamped regional broadcaster, the Oromia Broadcasting Network, has been transformed from a government mouthpiece into an investigative watchdog, covering, among other things, land grabs, ethnic violence, and the release of Oromo political prisoners. The regional security forces seem to have changed some of the worst of their ways, too: Oromo police, once despised for beating up civilians, are now widely seen as allies in their political struggle, at times even posing for photos with protesters. The party has also launched a left-wing economic program, known as the “Oromo economic revolution,” involving land redistribution and higher taxes on foreign investors.

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