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Reports from the government of Ethiopia indicated that, now is the time for the country to review its State of Emergency as the entire situation has been turned to its normal status. The Command Post declared that it has lifted the curfew that it passed throughout the country in general and in those conflicting areas in particular.
It was public secret that, the government of Ethiopia was compelled to enforce a 6 pm to 6 am curfew around economic pillars, infrastructure, mega projects and investments in the country particularly in some areas of the Amhara and Oromiya Regional States.
In fact, curfew is not the only restriction that was made ineffective since 15 March 2017. There are also other measures dropped away from the State of Emergency that the Command Post directives declared some five months ago following political unrest in some areas of the country that resulted in the loss of life and property.
Some of the measures like search and confiscation of property that used to commit a crime any time without an arrest warrant issued by the court of law, limitation not access contents from various Radio, TV, Theatre and Film have already lifted. The restricted access to developmenting infrastructure is also ineffective.
Since the time the Ethiopian government and people bestowed a responsibility on the Command Post to ensure the security and stability of the country, it has now introduced a third execution directive which is made by amending the articles of the previous two directives.
Minster of National Defense and Secretariat of the Command Post, Siraj Fegessa told a press conference recently that the pick up of some sections of the directives was made following a nationwide assessment that ascertained the significant improvements of political stability and the statuesque of peace.
According to the Secretariat, the country’s current status doesn’t suffice to drop the State of Emergency as a whole automatically. There are a number of peace poisoning incidents in some parts of the country that might trigger political instability.
In fact, there might be some sorts of offenses in different places while these restrictive were effective; however, starting the 15th of March 2017 any offense could be managed by the regular due process of law so that security forces should resort to take offenders before the court of law.
The Command Post has also confirmed that the State of Emergency enabled the government of Ethiopia to fend off anti-peace forces that were agitating their sympathizers from home to advance their cause in a harmful way and posing threats to people and the constitution of the country.
At the beginning of the declaration of the State of Emergency, when the State of Emergency has become effective since the 8th of October 2016 aiming to bring stability, maintain law and order through controlling destabilizing practices of terrorist groups, a number of analysts and some groups described it as fragile and dysfunctional.
As a result, they intensively exerted unreserved efforts in blackmailing it as if it was imposed on the people. Those groups who were aggravating the violence and adding fuel to the demolishing activities of the terrorist groups immediately changed their propaganda to blackmail the intention of the government as if it stands against the interests of the people; as if the State of Emergency was undesirable.
Some five months before the declaration, people have had difficulties even to move from one place to another place particularly in some places of the Oromyia and the Amhara Regional States.
There was also closure of road transportations, which significantly affected all sorts of economic activities like trading, investment and other daily practices. It was really uncustomary in Ethiopia’s past two decades time to see such violence at wider ranges in which the violators were closing roads, making hard the transportation of people and goods.
The State of Emergency has become so effective that the entire Ethiopian public comprehended its objectives, owned it and came together for its implementation with the Command Force considering the emergency law a crucial element that came at such a critical time to prevent the danger upon the Ethiopian people.
In the past five months’ period of the State of Emergency, the government along with the people managed to identify the catalysts and main actors of the chaos who had been communicating with terrorist groups and foreign enemies to aggravate the lawlessness in the country.
As it was repeatedly reported, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Ginbot 7 are the two terrorist groups who have been adding fuels to the violence in Ethiopia and diverted the very questions posed by the people about good governance and justice to such violence and destruction.
Ethiopia is now one of the countries in the world with fastest growing economies. Its entire image has been changing since the coming of EPRDF into power. The forward move of the country has triggered anger upon its enemies residing both at home and abroad. These envious and angry groups have been devoting their time on planning various strategies to create havoc in the country and jeopardize its development.
For instance, the violence in some parts of the Amhara and Oromiya Regional States were not only directly or indirectly sponsored but also led by foreign enemies. In this regard, the interference of the states in Eritrea and Egypt was vividly observed. These countries allocated a ransom of money for the violence in a bid to jeopardize the construction of the historic Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The main agenda of those groups who were aggravating the violence and maximizing the lawlessness protests was retarding the country back; putting at risk its fast growing economy and disrupting peace and stability.
Now in five month period, the vicious situation has already turned to its normal condition. As a result, the Command Post lifted some of the restrictions emphasizing the country got back its peaceful status. The assenting situation will be strengthened and the fundamental rights of the people to move from one place to another place and work without any frustration would be respected.
Generally speaking, the government of Ethiopia in collaboration with the entire public and other peace loving stakeholders ascertained the country’s peace and stability. Peace restoration has become a reality because the people owned the State of Emergency and cooperate in its implementation. Hence, the government found some of the sections of the previous restrictions, including curfew have lifted as they wouldn’t help any more.
