Ethiopian PM warns against religious intolerance amid ethnic violence

ADDIS ABABA - Nobel Peace laureate Abiy Ahmed has for the first time spoken about rising cases of intolerance in Ethiopia, barely two weeks after receiving the award.

For the last two months, at least 89 people have died from radical ethnic violence and religious intolerance, threatening to taint Ahmed's legacy.

In a tweet on Saturday, Ahmed insisted that religious intolerance has no place in Ethiopia, adding that the country is keen to prosper.

He said: "Attempts by extremists to breakdown our rich history of religious tolerance and coexistence have no place in the new prosperity focused Ethiopia."

Ahmed termed the intolerance as "an act of cowardice", adding that Ethiopians should reflect on the spirit of peaceful coexistence.

Religious intolerance in Ethiopia is not synonymous, in a country that subscribes to Christianity, Islam among other religions.

"I condemn such acts of cowardice and call upon all peace-loving Ethiopians to draw upon our deep knowledge of coexistence," he said.

Since taking over from Hailemariam Desalegn in 2018, Ahmed has been spearheading radical reforms, which are somehow attributed to the current internal struggles.

So radical have been his engineered reforms, leading to freedom of expression and media, which were prohibited in previous regimes.

But the move has forced Ahmed's government to prepare a bill that aims at regulating freedom of speech, especially on social media, leading to an outcry from members of the public.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday asked the Ethiopian government to review the bill, warning that it would erase 'significant gains of democracy'.

Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize award in 2019, is increasingly under pressure to contain ethnic and religious violence, something that has forced him to issue a warning.

In October, at least 78 people died in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, following protests by youths supporting media entrepreneur Jawar Mohammed, his former ally.

Next year, Ethiopia will be going to polls, which would be a major test for Abiy's "Medemer" philosophy, which he has been riding on while pushing for reforms in Ethiopia.

At Somalia, Ahmed is also accused of deploying Non-AMISOM troops, who are allegedly working with FGS to sabotage state governments.

International partners of Somalia led by United Nations, last week observed "trouble" caused by FGS within states, warning that it could "sabotage Somalia polls".

Ahmed is keen to thwart religious animosity, which would attract sanctions from the international community among them the United States.

On Friday for instance, the US lifted sanctions imposed on neighboring Sudan, over religious intolerance, a major challenge now for the Ethiopians.

GAROWE ONLINE