Businesses, journalists, opposition party politicians and activists among targets of the new legislation
Borkena
Toronto – Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has introduced unprecedented levels of new laws under the guise of new legislations particularly over the past few years under the guise of “reform measures.”
Part of them seems to be a response to funders with cultural or economic objectives. Others seem to be informed by the need to have a “legal approach” to consolidate power in the name of “reforming” institutions. Still many others seem to be intended to broaden the revenue base for the government by introducing a fee for a range of government service delivery or a tax.
Passing legislation in the parliament is an easy undertaking that requires little or no effort for the ruling party as it controls more than 95 percent of Ethiopia’s 547 seat parliament.
The legislation introduced and approved in the Ethiopian parliament on Tuesday is clearly on another level to the point that it is trending on social media as a legislation that legalizes crime.
It is packaged as “Proclamation on the Prevention and Control of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.” Law enforcement forces are given what sounds like U.S. style, in essence, interrogation and investigation rights of suspects as observed in the infamous Guantano Bay interrogation. Ethiopia’s new legislation could even be worse.
The new proclamation grants undercover crime investigators impunity for any kind of crime committed in the course of carrying out an investigation in connection with “money laundering and financing terrorism. ” Exception to it is killing.
It was only about a week ago that the Prime Minister held a meeting with big businesses from across the country and made claims that “over 60 percent of businesses in the country are funding rebel groups in the country.”
A few members of the parliament opposed it. Muluken Assefa, an MP from the opposition, explicitly pointed out that the law restricts the rights of human rights activists, businessmen, journalists, and opposition party members.
Desalegne Chanie, another MP from the opposition party, shared a similar sentiment. The proclamation is primarily intended against “opposition parties, journalists and government critics from within the government structure.
Notably, in most cases political prisoners in Ethiopia face “terrorism charges.” The businesses are informally incriminated, as cited above, by the prime minister.
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