Last week, reports of a major unrest and an orchestrated attack on non-Somalis residing in the Ethio-Somali Regional State started to leak out on Saturday. In a matter of hours, non-Somali residents in Jigjiga were scrambling for cover from what was said to be an organized assault on their lives and property. By Sunday night, a number of churches were reported to have been torched together with clergymen who were said to be non-Somalis. While total damage report is yet to be made public, the most debated issue during the week was the intervention of federal government or the lack there of, writes Asrat Seyoum.
Accounting for one-fifth of the total Ethiopian geographical area, and neighboring the problematic State of Somalia to the south, Ethio-Somali Regional State is the perhaps one of most important states to the security of the Ethiopian Federation.Especially with groups like the Al-Shebaab waging war on Ethiopia since the late 2000s, the security and stability of Ethio-Somali region is vital to the whole nation.
Together with five other states, the governing party of Ethio-Somali region, Ethiopian Somali People’s Democratic Party (ESPDP), is an affiliate of the ruling front Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Nevertheless, for many years, the region has not been active in the political dynamic at the center.
But, not anymore; ever since the change in the leadership at the very top of EPRDF, the region, ESPDP and its embattled leader Abdi Mohamud Omar (Abdi Iley) has been at the forefront of Ethiopian politics. Just five days after his appointment as the new Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed (PhD), made Jigjiga his first destination with the aim of solving the bloody boarder clash between Ethio-Somali and Oromia Regional State – the region Abiy hails from.
The new PM made a statement by choosing Jigjiga to be his first stop in what latter came to be called the “peace tour” around the country and neighboring nations. For a while there, the problems of the region looked to be over with Abiy encouraging Abdi Iley and Lemma Megerssa, longtime ally of the PM and president of Oromia, to shake hands and embrace, symbolizing peace.
Nevertheless, the conflict and atrocities were far from over. Later, the violence changed its style to ethnic based killings inside both the Oromia and Ethio-Somali regions. Just when things started to calm down on that front, Abdi Iley, for the first time since he come to power, started to face some serious opposition from his own political order.This resistance made its way to the capital and landed on the door-steps of PM Abiy last month with group of elders and political activists backing the movement.
While the resolution of the conflict was still pending, the flamboyant Abdi made another shocking but reveling statement. The statement he made on the occasion that marked the first 100 daysof the PM in office, from Jigjiga, Abdi Iley dropped a shocking accusation regarding the previous head of the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Services head, Getachew Assefa.
According to political commentators, Iley’s statement looks like he is looking to be onboard with the current reform vibe in the country and the so called “Team Lemma”. Abdi lay bare what he said was a covert pressure and interference by the former security chief, even in the most internal matters of his regional administration.
Meanwhile, the pressure and the push from Abdi’s antagonists was slowly building in the background; and in the middle of last week, Abdi was reported to have crashed a meeting between Somali elders and political elite in Dire Dawa, who apparently were said to have been a staunch opposition to Abdi Iley’s administration. Apparently, Abdi tried to put a stop to this convention by contacting the City’s mayor, although it did not go his way.
Days after the Dire Dawa incident, reports of a major unrest and an orchestrated attack on non-Somalis residing in the region started to leak out. In a matter of hours, on Saturday, non-Somali residents in Jigjiga were scrambling for cover from what was said to be an organized assault on their lives and property.
By Sunday night, a number of churches were reported to have been torched together with clergymen who were said to be non-Somalis. Some reports put the death toll until Sunday as high as ten people. While total damage report is yet to be made public, atrocities and abuse was widely reported.
Perhaps the most incomprehensible issue with this conflict is the way the federal forces acted. While it is important to note the full story as to what happened in the region is still coming out, it is apparent from first hand testimony in Jigjiga that federal forces were not deployed in the townin a meaningful manner until Monday afternoon. In light of all this, pundits and commentators wondered how and why the federal forces were so late in their response. At a different level, there is also a debate about the grounds on which the federal forces took their action to the regional capital.
According to the FDRE Constitution and the pursuant proclamation providing for the federal government to intervene in regional security matters, there are about four ways by which the latter can act in regional state jurisdiction. The most straightforward way is for the regional state to admit that the security situation in its jurisdiction is deteriorating faster than it can control and invite the federal forces to takeover. In this situation, the request reaches the Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister through the ministry of Federal Affairs and any of former bodies would decide whether they should deploy federal police or army to arrest the situation.
As a matter of fact, the federal forces under the command of PM Abiy decided to enter Jigjiga late Monday afternoon, which according to the Head of Government Communication Affairs Office, Ahmed Shida, was possible only after the invitation by the government of Ethio-Somali Regional State.
Regardless, the second method in which federal forces are allowed to intervene in the security matters of region is to follow the initiative taken by House of People’s Representatives (HPR) regarding a gross human right violation which the House will investigate sending an impartial team on the ground and use the report to convene a joint session with House of Federation (HoF) to pass a resolution that would compel the executive to act.
The other method is dedicated to the HoF alone and its power to deliberate on federal matters. In this regard, the HoF is said to have the power to investigate any systematic issue related to the constitutional order. It makes determinations whether the constitutional order is indeed endangered and whether the situation can be controlled by the regional states or if they are party to such crimes. Then, the HoF will see to it that its directives are implemented with the help of federal forces via federal Council of Ministers.
The last and most familiar mechanism is outright State of Emergency decree. This power is bestowed on the federal council of ministers with important caveat that it should be approved by the HPR in 48 hours and in 15 days, if the House is in recess.
Most commentators The Reporter talked to agree on one thing; that is federal government’s response to the crisis in Jigjiga was largely sluggish and due to that lives and property were lost.
Solomon Goshu, a legal and political commentator, for instance, says that the response from the federal forces came too little too late. “Thanks to that slow response, now the problem in Jigjiga has grown from a security problem to a humanitarian one with reports of major shortages of food and drinking water,” he said to The Reporter in a phone interview. He suspects that the shock waves from Jigjiga might not have resonated equally among policymakers and the public. “I certainly felt it warranted an immediate reaction,” he argues.
Nevertheless, there are some commentators who go even deeper. Wubishet Mualt, a legal expert and commentator, is alsoa bit drowsy on the details of what went down in Jigjiga.
He is in fact more confused about what the PM has said on a televised statement upon his arrival from the US. According to Wubishet, Abiy, in the back-drop of reports of lawlessness in different parts of the country, said that he has issued strict orders to security personnel across the nation to take measures. “Although I have doubts on the constitutionality of such directives, I also wonder how the federal security forces managed to stand down in the face of the Jigjiga upheaval when there was an outstanding order to take action,” he argued.
Furthermore, both wubishet and other commentators were really confused with the action of the Ethiopian defense forces in and around Jigjiga at the weekend. According to Wubishet, the forces are at least allowed to roam the city of Jigjiga, if not monitor the conflict sites. “I know taking action without the activation of one of the constitutional mechanisms is problematic,” Wubishet stated, “But there is nothing that prevents forces from roaming in region jurisdiction as far as I know.” In his opinion such show of presence might had a calming effect in Jigjiga, which could go a long way in minimizing the damages.
On the other hand, Ali Abdu Hijra, also a well-known political and legal commentator, takes issue with the whole notion of intervention by the federal forces and the exclusivity of regional jurisdictions. Abdu goes further to claim that “intervention” is a misnomer in this context; he in fact argues that the whole thing evolved out of a misunderstanding regarding the nature of jurisdictions in Ethiopian federalism systems.
“When we say that States are autonomous and that power was assigned to the federal government by apportioning some of the powers held by States, it does not mean that the federal government is landless or is without jurisdiction,” Abdu argues passionately. But that its jurisdiction co-exists with regional powers. Hence, he has serious issues with enacting special proclamation to bestow powers on federal institutions which already had the said power.
According to Abdu, the federal government as supreme watchdog of Human Rights violation in the regional states, it needs absolutely no proclamation to act on those powers. “The federal government has an inherent power when it comes to protecting human rights; why it need an additional proclamation is beyond me,” he said. Abdu argues that the duty of the federal government towards Human Rights gives it an inalienable right to execute measure in any regions regarding HR. “They simply need to invoke it; that should be the only requirement,”he said.
As far as Solomon is concerned, this might open the doors to unlawful and abusive actions by the federal government in the name of human right. There might be some politicians who might use these provisions for abusive purposes. “ That is why it has been assigned to the HoF where regional states and ethnic groups have adequate representation,” he said.
Abdu views this from a totally different angle. He says that, just like the inherent power of human beings to self-defense, which did not need to be proclaimed to be understood and invoked, the state with its duty to protect human rights, which in a way defines its existence, has an inherent power to defend its people. “But, I can understand if there is the need to state in the laws of the procedure (Modality) for this intervention, so that the intervention might not infringe up on the rights and freedoms of individuals,” he stated.
In fact, there are other provisions in the law where regional states can question the intervention of the federal government, even after the HoF approved it; Solomon confirms that states can question the federal intervention for a second time, during or after the intervention.
Nevertheless, the Ethiopian law seems to leverage the check and balance between the federal and state powers more than these inherent inconsistencies. On this note, some studies, even suggest that the laundry list of human rights enumerated in the Ethiopian constitution and the system of ethnic federalism might not be as such compatible to one another.
Both Solomon and Wubishet are not enchanted with such arguments. As far as they are concerned, the issue is highly debatable. For Solomon, such arguments could be better understood only in the context and environment of the time of ratification of the constitution. He says that, for long, legal text has been subservient to the political ideals in Ethiopia.
“Hence, the framers of the constitution might have taken into consideration the overall political and party structure at the time; now these underlying conditions has been shaken to their cores and that I think is the problem,” he maintains. He, however, emphasizes that respect for human rights and democratization is not only about the text of the law or the system of government. “There is a need to work on our democratic institutions and, in turn, they should work on nurturing the democratic culture”.
Ultimately, the country needs to work on a genuine constitutional system, since for the past 27 years; the party structure of EPRDF has been overshadowing/overriding the constitutional order. “Now, that the party structure is feeling the shakes, we need to start to revisit our constitution and work out such gaps,” Solomon reflects.
Abdu agrees with the advantagesof improving a working law. “This is the only way we can address gaps in our constitutions and other proclamations,” he said. One example, he raises is the fact that the proclamation which provides for the federal forces to intervene in the regional states, in spite of being an emergency proclamation, is set up in way that would take at least weeks to fulfil the legal procedures. All the three conditions stipulated in the intervention proclamation take weeks to execute and that, according to Abdu, is a self-defeating piece of legislation.
“Internationally, all emergency proclamations are about giving power to the executive so that it would not have to go through the lengthy process of convincing and defending its actions before the legislative as citizens are faced with danger,” he argues strongly.
While agreeing with the time taking nature of these conditions, commentators are also puzzled with the administration of PM Abiy for not using the SoE decree to intervene immediately. Both Abdu and Solomon argue that political sensitivity of a SoE Decree makes it difficult as a typical go-to instrument for the federal government.
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