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Ethiopia protests: What's behind the trouble in Gondar? What is behind Ethiopia's wave of protests?
(3 days later)
Sunday's protest in Ethiopia involving thousands of people in Gondar, a city in Amhara region, was the biggest anti-government demonstration in the country for many years. Ethiopia's government normally keeps a tight grip on the country but has been unable to prevent a wave of protests in recent months. There has not been anything on this scale in the last 25 years.
Until recently, such protests were never allowed. They began in the Oromia region last November but have now sprung up in the Amhara region - the homelands of the country's two biggest ethnic groups.
It was organised on social media but no group has taken responsibility for it. The demonstration comes two weeks after another protest in the city in which 15 people died, including members of the security forces and civilians. Activists say dozens of people were killed in Oromia, as security forces clashed with the demonstrators, along with seven in Amhara, although the Oromia deaths have not been confirmed.
What's behind the protests? In response to the protests, the government shut down the internet for two days.
At the root of the recent demonstrations is a request by representatives from the Welkait community - known as the Welkait Amhara Identity Committee - that their land, which is currently administered by the Tigray regional state, be moved into neighbouring Amhara region. Why now?
There has not been a specific trigger and what we are seeing is an accumulation of years of frustration from ethnic groups who say they have been marginalised by the government.
Protesters in the Amhara region - from the Welkait community - first took to the streets of the city of Gondar in July over a land issue.
New York-based Human Rights Watch says that more than 400 people have been killed in clashes with the security forces in Oromia, although the government disputes this figure.
So what is behind this?
The Oromos, who make up around a third of the population, have long complained that they have been excluded from the country's political process and economic development.
The recent protests were initially over a plan to expand the boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa, into the Oromia region.
That plan was dropped, but the demonstrations exposed some underlying issues and protests continued with the latest round taking place on Saturday in many places in Oromia and the capital, Addis Ababa.
At the root of the recent demonstrations in Amhara is a request by representatives from the Welkait Amhara Identity Committee that their land, which is currently administered by the Tigray regional state, be moved into the neighbouring Amhara region.
The Welkait committee says community members identify themselves as ethnic Amharas and say they no longer want to be ruled by Tigrayans.The Welkait committee says community members identify themselves as ethnic Amharas and say they no longer want to be ruled by Tigrayans.
Demonstrations began a fortnight ago but leaders of the Welkait community have been asking for the move for a year. Amharas used to form the country's elite and the language, Amharic, remains the most widely spoken in the country.
Amharas used to form the country's elite and the language remains the most widely spoken in the country.
Is that the only issue?
Observers say that Ethiopia's governing coalition is dominated by the party from the small Tigray region (TPLF), and some see the protests as a way of criticising the country's government.
When Sunday's demonstration was organised on social media, no mention was made of other issues, but during the protest banners could be seen expressing solidarity with people from the Oromia region.
Since November last year, the government has been dealing with a wave of protests in Oromia as people complain about alleged marginalisation. Those demonstrations began over a plan to expand the federal capital, Addis Ababa, into Oromia. That plan has been dropped, but the issue highlighted grievances with the government which have not gone away.
The Oromos are Ethiopia's most populous ethnic group.
People on Sunday were also calling for the release of a group of 18 Muslims who were imprisoned last year under controversial anti-terror legislation.
Ethiopia's ethnic make-upEthiopia's ethnic make-up
Source: CIA World Factbook estimates from 2007Source: CIA World Factbook estimates from 2007
Why are regional boundaries so important? Is there a connection between the protest movements?
When the current government came to power in 1991 after overthrowing the military dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam it introduced a federal constitution aimed at decentralising power. Observers say that Ethiopia's governing coalition is dominated by the party from the small Tigray region (TPLF), and some see both sets of protests as a way of criticising the country's government.
The regional states that were created were based on ethnicity and language. There is no formal connection between the Amhara and Oromia demonstrations but at last week's protest in Gondar, banners could be seen expressing solidarity with people from the Oromia region.
That has meant that ethnic identity has come to the fore in disputes over where regional boundaries should lie. These tensions have been witnessed in other parts of the country, not only in Amhara and Oromia. Oromo activists referred to the demonstrations in Amhara in their Facebook post calling for Saturday's protests, but highlighted the fact that they thought the protesters there had been treated more leniently.
Is there a connection with other protests in the country? Is the government in trouble?
There is no formal connection between the protesters in Amhara and those in Oromia, but it does appear to represent a growing boldness amongst some people to challenge the government. The central government is in a very powerful position and has total control over the security forces.
Ethiopia's government has been criticised by rights groups for cracking down on protests and dissident voices and using anti-terror laws to silence people. There is not a single opposition member in parliament, so it faces no real political threat.
In Amhara, the demonstration two weeks ago was sparked by the imprisonment of members of the Welkait Amhara Identity Committee. But its reaction to the weekend's protests suggests that it is worried.
In the face of this apparent repression any anti-government demonstration can be seen as significant. One of the first things it did was to shut down the internet across the country, fearing that that was how the demonstrations were being organised.
How serious is this for the government? There is only one, state-controlled internet service provider so this was fairly straightforward.
Two weeks ago, Ethiopia's federal government accused neighbouring Eritrea of being behind the unrest and strongly warned the country to refrain from its "evil actions". This went way beyond the reaction to protests from other governments where access to certain social media sites has been restricted.
But so far there has been no word from the authorities in Addis Ababa about Sunday's protest. Last week, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn issued a veiled threat to protesters saying that the government is obliged to ensure the rule of law. But he did not specify what that meant in practice.
They may prefer for this to be handled at a regional level, and the Amhara government has commented. He also appeared to be concerned that the country was sliding into ethnic conflict, which could become difficult to contain.
It said that the problems the protesters raised on Sunday were to do with good governance and it will try to address these. Correction: We have removed a reference to anti-government protests being rare in Ethiopia that appeared in a first version of this story
This echoed the response of the Oromia regional government earlier this year when it said it would address the grievances of the people there.
For some observers, the Amhara protests appear to be part of a growing anti-government feeling, which the authorities are trying to contain.
But with no opposition parties represented in parliament, this feeling is manifested in sporadic bursts of activity rather than a concerted campaign.
Correction 5 August: We have removed a reference to anti-government protests being rare in Ethiopia