As the election blues are catching up in the landlocked Ethiopia, the country’s parliament late last week approved amendments to the controversial anti-terrorist legislation. Experts say, the new version is more concise as opposed to the old one. Human rights activists have welcomed the amendments. Abiy Ahmed, country’s prime minister, known for his cherished liberal values has put an end to the practise of the government to detain and charge activists, journalists and opposition politicians under various sections.
More liberal and pragmatic, the new law guarantees the right to workers to strike, even if this leads them to “obstructing public services”. In the earlier dispensation, an offence of this nature was considered terrorism. The old version also empowered parliament to silence the government’s critics and they had used it very widely and conspicuously. Enacted in 2009 and had been used to control protests and other forms of dissent, the liberal thinkers dubbed the past law as draconian and repressive.
The trillion dollar question that is raised by many is about the rising cases of inter-communal and ethnic violence, which killed many and displaced over a million. Some of them have openly questioned the efficacy of such laws and advocate strict action against all types of crimes. Indeed, the May election will be a testing ground for the young prime minister -Abiy Ahmed as also for liberal values.
