Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched the most ambitious reforms in Ethiopia’s recent history, then watched ethnic conflict and a deadly Amhara assault expose how vulnerable that project remains. BBC Africa editor Fergal Keane wrote that the murder of army chief Gen. Seare Mekonnen during the alleged Amhara coup attempt showed how quickly the reformer’s momentum could reverse.
Only weeks earlier Abiy had been celebrated across Africa for releasing political prisoners, filling more than half the cabinet with women, naming a noted dissident to the election board, and making peace with Eritrea. Keane recalled meeting him in December 2018, when Abiy said the world should look to Ethiopia to see how people can live together in peace.
Nearly 2.5 million people were displaced by ethnic violence, and deep divisions inside the ruling EPRDF coalition left Abiy exposed. Keane argued that Ethiopia’s nine self-governing ethnic regions and rising ethnic nationalism meant liberalisation had lifted a lid on grievances that older repression had held down.
The alleged coup organiser was shot dead and arrests followed, yet Keane wrote that no serious observer believed the crisis was finished. The piece framed Abiy as, to some extent, a victim of his own reformist speed in a federal system still organised around ethnicity.
Sources: BBC News