Merkel in Ethiopia…

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Ethiopia to check out the volatile political situation on the ground — and what I found was widespread discontent, fear, and despair. While visiting the Red Terror Martyrs’ Museum in Addis Ababa and surveying its somber display of martyrs’ skulls from the Derg regime, I couldn’t help but think of all the Ethiopian protestors recently imprisoned and killed. A number of Ethiopians confided in me that they believe the ongoing violence could lead to a genocide similar to the one that occurred in neighboring Rwanda. Earlier today, Angela Merkel signaled support for Ethiopia’s protesters while visiting Addis Ababa under the recently declared state of emergency. She said: “In a democracy there always needs to be an opposition that has a voice – in the best case in parliament.” If serious steps are not taken soon to address the legitimate grievances of the Ethiopian protestors, there will be much more blood shed throughout the country for a long time to come.