The Precarious State of Religious Freedom in Ethiopia
In a weekly column entitled “Unity in Divinity” this past June, I expressed grave concern over official encroachments on
religious freedom in Ethiopia. I lamented the fact that religious
freedom was becoming a new focal target of official human rights
violations. But I was also encouraged by the steadfast resistance of
some principled Christian and Muslim religious leaders to official
interference in religious affairs. I noted that “For the past two
decades, Ethiopia has been the scene of crimes against humanity and
crimes against nature.
Now Ethiopian religious leaders say Ethiopia is
the scene of crimes against divinity. Christian and Muslim leaders and
followers today are standing together and locking arms to defend
religious freedom and each other’s rights to freely exercise their
consciences.”
Officials of the ruling regime in Ethiopia see the
issue of religious freedom as a problem of “religious extremism”. The
late Meles Zenawi alleged that some Christians at the Timket
celebrations (baptism of Jesus, epiphany) earlier this year had carried
signs and slogans expressing their desire to have a “Christian
government in Ethiopia”. He also leveled similar accusations against
some Ethiopian Muslims protesting official interference in their
religious affairs for being “Salafis” linked to Al Qaeda. Meles claimed
that “for the first time, an Al Qaeda cell has been found in Ethiopia.
Most of them in Bale and Arsi. All of the members of this cell are
Salafis. This is not to say all Salafis in Ethiopia are Al Qaeda
members. Most of them are not. But these Salafis have been observed
distorting the real teachings [of Islam].”
A Statement issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
last month not only dismissed allegations of religious extremism but
also expressed “deep concern about the increasing deterioration of
religious freedoms for Muslims in Ethiopia.” USCIRF virtually indicted
the “the Ethiopian government [for seeking] to force a change in the
sect of Islam practiced nationwide” and for “punishing [Muslim] clergy
and laity who have resisted.” According to the USCIRF Statement,
since
July 2011, the Ethiopian government has sought to impose the al-Ahbash
Islamic sect on the country’s Muslim community, a community that
traditionally has practiced the Sufi form of Islam. The government
also has manipulated the election of the new leaders of the Ethiopia
Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC). Previously viewed as an
independent body, EIASC is now viewed as a government-controlled
institution. The arrests, terrorism charges and takeover of EIASC
signify a troubling escalation in the government’s attempts to control
Ethiopia’s Muslim community and provide further evidence of a decline in
religious freedom in Ethiopia. Muslims throughout Ethiopia have been
arrested during peaceful protests: On October 29, the Ethiopia
government charged 29 protestors with terrorism and attempting to
establish an Islamic state.”
USCIRF Commissioner Azizah al-Hibri bluntly stated,
These
charges are only the latest and most concerning attempt by the
Ethiopian government to crush opposition to its efforts to control the
practice of religion by imposing on Ethiopian Muslims a specific
interpretation of Islam. The individuals charged were among tens of
thousands peacefully protesting the government’s violations of
international standards and their constitutional right to religious
freedom. The Ethiopian government should cease interfering in the
internal affairs of its Muslim community and immediately and
unconditionally release those wrongfully imprisoned.
It is
important to note some very important facts about USCIRF to underscore
the significance of its findings. First, USCIRF is not an NGO, a
partisan human rights advocacy group or organization or a government
agency. It is an independent Commission established by the U.S. Congress
(the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998) for the purpose of
“monitoring the status of freedom of religion or belief abroad and to
provide policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State,
and Congress.” Second, Commissioners are appointed in a bipartisan
process by the U.S. President and Democratic and Republican leaders in
the U.S. House and Senate. Third, Commissioners are “selected among
distinguished individuals noted for their knowledge and experience in
fields relevant to the issue of international religious freedom,
including foreign affairs, direct experience abroad, human rights, and
international law.” Fourth, as an independent body, USCIRF’s mission is
to “examine the actions of foreign governments against these universal
standards and by their freely undertaken international commitments” such
as those found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The
Statement of USCIRF is based on substantial evidence that freedom of
religion in Ethiopia is under sustained official attack.
Ethiopia’s International and Constitutional Obligations to Uphold Freedom of Religion
The
ruling regime’s constitutional duty to respect the religious freedom of
its citizens revolves around its obligations to prevent the
establishment of an official religion and refrain from interference in
the free exercise of religious belief. Article 11 of the Ethiopian
Constitution (which could be described as the “establishment article”)
mandates “separation of state and religion” to ensure that the
“Ethiopian State is a secular state” and that “no state religion” is
established. This article creates a reciprocal obligation between
religion and state by prohibiting the “State [from] interfere[ing] in
religious affairs” and “religion [from] interfere[ing] in the affairs of
the State.” Article 27 (which could be described as the “free exercise
of religion article”) guarantees “Everyone the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion” including the “freedom to have or
adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either
individually or in community with others and in public or in private, to
manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and
teaching.” Article 27 prohibits “coercion by force or any other means,
which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief
of his choice.”
The constitutional language of Articles 11 and 27
is derived almost verbatim from Article 18 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (ratified by Ethiopia on December 10, 1948) and Article
18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified
by Ethiopia on June 11, 1993) which provide that “Everyone shall have
the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right
shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his
choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and
in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship,
observance, practice and teaching.” Article 8 of the African [Banjul]
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights similarly guarantees “freedom of
conscience [and] the profession and free practice of religion” and
prohibits States from enacting “measures restricting the exercise of
these freedoms”. Article 13 of the Ethiopian Constitution incorporates
by explicit reference as the law of the land international legal
obligations in securing fundamental freedoms, including religious
freedom: “The fundamental rights and freedoms enumerated in this Chapter
[“Chapter Three, Fundamental Rights and Freedoms”] shall be interpreted
in a manner consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
international human rights covenants and conventions ratified by
Ethiopia.
The Ruling Regime in Ethiopia Must Conform Its Actions to Its Own Constitution and Obligations Under International Law
There
is substantial and independently verified evidence and a massive amount
of anecdotal evidence in the form of testimony by victims of violations
of religious freedom that the ruling regime in Ethiopia has engaged and
continues to engage in acts that flagrantly violate the constitutional
and legal rights of citizens to freely exercise their religion. The
regime has sought to impose upon the Muslim community in Ethiopia not
only leaders that it has chosen for that community but has also tried to
impose its own preferred al-Ahbash Islamic sect on them. It has
interfered in quintessentially religious affairs by engineering the
election of preferred leaders to the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme
Council which is the “central organizing body of the Muslim Community in
Ethiopia” and manages 11 Regional Islamic Affairs Councils in various
zones and districts. The regime has usurped established procedures to
conduct elections of religious leaders in officially controlled centers
instead of mosques. Religious leaders and administrators who have
demanded official non-interference or refused to cooperate with
officials in protest have been removed from office, persecuted and
prosecuted. Religious dissidents and leaders have been placed under
surveillance for pursuing purely religious activities and theri vocal
opposition to official interference. As a result, the officially
engineered Council has little credibility with the vast majority of
Muslims and is generally viewed as an agency of the regime created by
the regime and for the regime to serve the interests of the regime in
politically controlling the Muslim population.
The ruling regime
has produced no evidence to support its claims of subversion, terrorism
and other allegations of criminality by those protesting official
interference. There is no evidence to show that those demanding
non-interference in their religious affairs are in alliance with any
radical groups or have any intention whatsoever to seize political power
or establish an “Islamic state” in Ethiopia. All independent observers
confirm that the protesters seek nothing more than their constitutional
right to democratically elect their own Islamic Affairs Supreme Council
leaders. That is not an unreasonable demand. It is their democratic
right. The protesters insist that the “leaders” elected for them by the
regime do not have their consent nor can they faithfully represent their
interests. They believe the regime selected leaders could ultimately
create strife, division and conflict in the Muslim community throughout
the country. It is also clear that the leaders that emerged from the
regime orchestrated elections do not enjoy much credibility with a
significant segment of the Muslim community.
The ruling regime has a bad habit of whipping out its “anti-terrorism law”
every time it violates its own Constitution and laws by denying the
rights of citizens to religious freedom, the right of the press to
report freely and the right of citizens to freely express themselves.
Its arrest and detention of at least 29 Muslim leaders on charges of
“terrorism” is just the most recent example of the regime’s
indiscriminate and predictable use of its so-called anti-terrorism law
as a cure all for all of its problems in society.
What the leaders
of the regime in Ethiopia do not seem to appreciate is the simple fact
that there is a limit to the use of the “anti-terrorism law”. The
regime cannot get legitimacy or acceptance by the people by exacting
harsh punishment on citizens who exercise their constitutional rights.
The “anti-terrorism law” is not a panacea to fix the complex political
problems facing Ethiopian society. It does not guarantee stability or
permanence for the regime. What the “anti-terrorism law” does is keep
the regime blinded to the real problems, issues and demands of citizens
in Ethiopian society. Citizens want and demand basic human dignity — to
be respected and treated fairly by those in power and to have their
human rights protected. They do not want to be treated as criminals for
demanding or exercising their constitutional rights.
With their
“anti-terrorism law”, the leaders of the regime see peaceful protesters
and demonstrators in the streets demanding official non-interference in
religious matter; but they are completely blinded to the quiet riot that
is raging in the hearts and minds of citizens and communities
throughout the country. They are blinded to the quiet riot among the
masses of the youth whose sense of despair and hopelessness is deepened
daily by lack of educational, employment and other opportunities for
self-improvement and participation in the development of their country.
For a time, the quiet riot of despair and hopelessness will simmer. But
those in power today should not doubt that when hopelessness and despair
reaches the boiling point of desperation and citizens overcome their
fear of fear, their winter of discontent will be made glorious by an
inexorable spring, just like the “Arab Spring”. When that happens, the
tables will turn and the “anti-terrorism law” will visit its erstwhile
practitioners.
The regime could learn an important lesson from the counsel of two eminent U.S. Supreme Court Justices:
Nothing
can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its
own laws. Our government teaches the whole people by its example. If the
government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it
invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.
As
USCIRF deamnded, the regime must “release those it has arrested and end
its religious freedom abuses and allow Muslims to practice peacefully
their faith as they see fit.”
If government becomes the lawbreaker, it hastens its own demise.
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino.
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