By ETHDefenders
Four years have passed since the disappearance of the Amhara female students from Dembi Dolo University. Four years of silence. Four years of unanswered questions. Four years of parents begging the authorities: “If they are alive, tell us. If they are dead, tell us.”
No transparent investigation. No credible accountability. Only silence.
Their disappearance has become a symbol of a nation gripped by fear — a country where citizens increasingly ask whether they are governed by elected officials or ruled by intimidation.
Across Ethiopia, reports continue to emerge of Amhara ethnics arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and prolonged detentions without charge.
Political prisoners are taken from their homes in the middle of the night. Civilians are detained without due process. Journalists are imprisoned for doing their jobs. Some detainees have described weeks and months of brutal beatings before release. Many others simply vanish.
Opposition members of parliament — individuals chosen by the people — have allegedly been kidnapped, arrested, and assaulted for criticizing those in power. When elected representatives are silenced through force, democracy becomes an empty word.
Independent media outlets have been shut down. Journalists have been jailed, killed, or driven into exile. Foreign reporters have faced arrest for documenting events on the ground. When information itself becomes a crime, truth becomes a threat to the state.
Torture, according to numerous testimonies and human rights reports, is not treated as an aberration but as a tool. A system that permits torture, arbitrary detention, and suppression of dissent does not merely violate rights — it dismantles the foundations of lawful governance.
Governments exist to protect their citizens. They are bound by constitutional and international obligations to uphold human dignity, ensure due process, and respect freedom of expression. Security challenges do not nullify these responsibilities. Armed conflict and political unrest cannot justify collective punishment, enforced disappearances, or the silencing of all criticism.
When fear replaces accountability, when prisons replace dialogue, and when silence replaces transparency, a dangerous transformation occurs. The line between state authority and state terror begins to blur.
The families of the missing students are still waiting. Political prisoners are still waiting. Journalists in exile are still waiting.
The question remains unanswered:
Is Ethiopia moving toward justice and democratic accountability — or toward a system sustained by repression and fear?
History will judge the answer.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
__
Support Borkena : https://borkena.com/subscribe-borkena/
Join our Telegram Channel : t.me/borkena
Like borkena on Facebook
Add your business to Ethiopian Business Listing / Ethiopian Business Directory Business Listing Toronto
Join the conversation. Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter) @zborkena to get the latest Ethiopian News updates regularly. Subscribe to YouTube channel To share information or for submission, send e-mail to info@borkena.com