Ethiopia passes law to encourage an all inclusive national dialogue

House of People’s Representative (HoPR)

ADDIS ABABA, DECEMBER 29, 2021 – Ethiopia’s House of People’s Representative (HoPR) approved the draft Proclamation 1265/2014 for the establishment of the National Dialogue Commission today during its second special session held with Legal, Justice and Democracy Permanent Committee.

The draft proclamation received a majority vote with 13 votes against it and one abstention.

Parliament member Dr. Desalegn Chanie, National Movement of Amhara Party, objected the rush to establish the commission at a time Ethiopians in the north are in difficult situation to express their opinions.

The draft proclamation was approved following the decision of the Council of Ministers to establish a National Dialogue Commission, on December 10, and after the HoPR conducted two rounds of discussions, on December 20 and 25, with stakeholders and the public aiming to form a Commission which will genuinely resolve problems.

During the discussions concerns were raised as to the independence of the Commission if the leadership is appointed by the Prime Minister and if it receives funding from the Ministry of Finance. It was also recommended that the Commission directly answer and receive budget approvals from the HoPR in the same manner as the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

After the discussions, changes were made to draft proclamation. The National Dialogue Commission will now report directly to the HoPR and the Prime Minister will not be the one to appoint Commissioners instead the HoPR will receive nominations from the public, political parties and civil societies.

After the public nominations, the HoPR will identify and make public 14 names which will undergo another round of discussions with political parties, civic societies and religious institution council to finally select 11 people who will serve as the Commissioners of the National Dialogue Commission.

The rationale behind the establishment of the National Dialogue Commission is due to the presence of differences of opinions and disagreements among various opinion leaders and segments of society in Ethiopia on the most fundamental national issues and hence the Commission serves to alleviate and resolve the differences and disagreements through broad based inclusive public dialogue that engenders national consensus.

All in all, this national dialogue will not include the TPLF or OLA, groups designated as a terrorist organizations by the Ethiopian parliament in May, rather will only be composed of Ethiopians who wish to peacefully express their ideas instead of violent means.

Comments

Ethiopian Muslims Protest Over Demolished Mosques By Government

Addis Ababa – As Ethiopian Muslims completed their Friday (Jum'a) Prayers, May 26, they began denouncing government decision to demolish more than 30 Mosques in the newly established Shaggar City, formerly Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne. Addis Ababa Police attempted to storm the Anwar Grand Mosque amid protests on Friday. But the police angered the Muslims inside who saw the police's move as an attempt to desecrate the holy place. This forced the Muslims to throw stones at the police pushing them out of the Mosque. In a statement released on Friday, Addis Ababa Police said that two were killed. Although the statement did identify the victims, they were later identified as Siraj Mohammed and Abubaker Elias. Addis police said only four individuals, 37 police officers as well as 15 different police backup forces were injured. Many expected better years when the Oromia Regional government decided to establish the Shaggar City with a promise of ensuring equal growth and

Thousands Attend Funeral For Four Muslims Killed By Police In Addis Ababa

ADDIS ABABA – Thousands of Muslims gathered today for the funeral of Anwar Surur, Zubair Mudasir, Ibrahim Danbal and Jemil Redwan killed by police in Addis Ababa following Juma'a Friday Prayers at the Grand Anwar Mosque. Three of the four Zubair, Anwar and Ibrahim were killed yesterday after the Juma'a prayers were completed at the Grand Anwar Mosque while Jemil Redwan, was among those who were seriously injured in last week’s crackdown and has since been receiving medical treatment before he succumbed to his injuries. Their bodies were laid at Addis Ababa Kolfe Muslim Cemetary. And from yesterday's shooting Mukerem Asrar, Yonatan Mulugeta and Tadele Wabada are said to be in a critical condition at AaBET hospital, Addis Ababa. Reports also indicate that Yonatan and Tadele were shot while heading to work. Siraj Mohammed and Abubaker Elias were killed by police last week, May 26, when Muslims protested the demolition Mosques in Sha

Another Mosque Demolished in Ethiopia as Regional Government Denies Targeting Mosques

ADDIS ABABA – Oromia Regional Government said in a statement today that the demolishing of illegal housing taking place in the newly formed Shaggar City does not target Mosques. This statement came amid the destruction of another Mosque at Ajamba, at the outskirt of west Addis Ababa. In the statement, the regional government stated that the demolishing of illegal houses is planned to take place around 600 cities in Oromia. "Some groups are painting as if the demolishing of illegal houses targets one single religion", said Hailu Adugna, Communication Office Head, Oromia region. "When we are implementing this decision, many interest groups are disseminating information as if we are targeting one ethnicity and one religion. This is wrong.", said Hailu Adugna. The Ethiopian Institute for the Ombudsman has reported that it has received over one hundred thousand complaints from individuals whose homes were destroyed by Shaggar City a

Ethiopian Citizen

Search This Blog