Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia

Esubalew Getenet

doi:doi:10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11

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Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia

Esubalew Getenet

Published in Journal of Political Science and International Relations (Volume 5, Issue 3)

Received: 9 July 2022 Accepted: 9 August 2022 Published: 17 August 2022

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Abstract

In an ethnically heterogeneous area like Metekel, federalism is not a solution to end ethnically diversified conflicts. The finding of this study also confirms that the indigenous and non-indigenous divide poses a great challenge to the principles of federalism in Metekel and it appears incompatible with the provisions of the FDRE constitution. This has been generating disunity or controversy since every Ethiopian citizen is entitled to equal rights wherever she or he resides in the country. The constitutional division coupled with exclusionary political practice on non-indigenous ethnic groups is seriously threatening the notion of unity in diversity in the region’s political environment. The main purpose of this study was to explore the current existing socio-political, cultural, economic, and linguistic conflicts of the Metekel zone in the North-West part of Ethiopia. The study is a pure qualitative investigation that mainly employed interviews, document analysis, and focus group discussions made with key informant participants of elders and a few elites who are living in the area. Through these instruments of data collection, it was tried to triangulate and crosscheck the results obtained from each instrument. The findings of the study indicated that the political interference and the politically interested groups around the Great Renaissance Dam escalated the conflict and the threat increased after the establishment of the dam in the area from the perspective of its future service around the dam. Besides, it was concluded that since Metekel is a fertile area, the demand increased through pretending to the heterogeneous nature of the geographical nature, social structure, and the sociolinguistics aspects of the people. The other threat used by the politicians was interested groups from the “minority in number (i.e., Shinasha and Gumuz) people that were used as an instrument for escalating the demand to take over the area into its former province called Gojjam. Furthermore, it was found that Pawe woreda is administered by “settlers of Amhara or Hadiya and Kenbata as a vice administrator in the woreda”. However, since the area is very fertile and huge, the study recommended that either ethnically or geographically, it has to be reunite to its previous province since it could not stay being as a lid, and/or it has to be an independent region.

Published in	Journal of Political Science and International Relations (Volume 5, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11
Page(s)	79-84
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Socio-Political, Economic, Cultural, Linguistic Praxes

References

[1]	Assefa, F. (2007). Federalism and the Accommodation of Diversity in Ethiopia: A Comparative Study, revised edition. Addis Ababa: Artistic Printing Enterprise.
[2]	Assefa, F. (2012). Ethiopia's Experiment in Accommodating Diversity: 20 Years' Balance Sheet. Regional & Federal Studies, 435-473. Benedict, K. (1999). The Applicability of the International Legal Concept of Indigenous Peoples in Asia. In J. B. Bell (ed.), the East Asian Challenge for Human Rights Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 336–77.
[3]	Assefa, F. (1995). Indigenous Peoples as an International Legal Concept. In B. H. R (ed.), Indigenous Peoples of Asia (pp. 13–34). Ann Arbor: Association of Asian Studies.
[4]	Gutmann, A. (1994). Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. William Street Princeton University.
[5]	Jung, C. (2008). The Moral Force of Indigenous Politics Critical Liberalism and the Zapatistas. London: Cambridge University Press.
[6]	Kymlicka, W. (2005). Liberal Multiculturalism: Western Models, Global Trends, and Asian Debates. In W. K. He (ed.), Multiculturalism in Asia (pp. 22-55). New York: Oxford.
[7]	Kymlicka, W. & Norman, W. (2000). “Citizenship in Culturally Diverse Societies: Issues, Contexts, Concepts” in Will Kymlicka & Wayne Norman, eds., Citizenship in Diverse Societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[8]	Muluneh Kassa (2020). Accommodation of Ethnic Diversities and Nurturing Unity in Ethiopia: Appraising Benishangul Gumuz Regional State Practice.
[9]	Tsegaye Birhanu (2020). The murky politics behind the Metekel massacres 29 December.
[10]	Wolde Sellassie Abutte (2000). “Social Re-articulation after Resettlement: Observing the Beles Valley Resettlement Scheme in Ethiopia,” In M. cernea and C. Mc (Eds.). Risks and Reconstruction: Experience of Resettlers’ Refugees, World Bank: Washing Dc., PP. 412-423.
[11]	“The Dynamics of Socio-Economic Differentiation and change in the Beles Valley (Pawie) Resettlement Area, North Western Ethiopia.” M. A. Thesis in Social Anthropology, Addis Ababa Univerity, PP. 26-119.
[12]	Zelalem Adugna (2016). The Gumuz and Highland Resettlers: Differing Strategies of sustaining the Livelihood and Ethnic Relations in Metekel, North Western Ethiopia.
[13]	Zanardi, Dario. The Tana- Beles Resettlement Project in Ethiopia, PP. 80-86.
[14]	As killings of civilians continue in Metekel, authorities in Benishagul Gumuz, Amhara regional states step up blames.
[15]	Benishangul Gumuz region ruling party admits ethnic targeted killings in Metekel, issues an apology & sacks senior members.
[16]	Amhara region police says it’s requesting federal gov’t to intervene or be given the task to solve security crisis in neighboring Benishangul Gumuz region.
[17]	On 12 March 2021, Unknown armed groups killed more than 80 civilians and wounded 22 at Daletti in the Metekel zone (Aljazeera, 13 March 2021).
[18]	On 16 March 2021, the Ethiopian military reported that 3,230 fighters surrendered to the army (Xinhua, 16 March 2021).
[19]	Egypt and Sudan behind deadly violence in Metekel. Addis standard. March 8, 2021.

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Esubalew Getenet. (2022). Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia. Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 5(3), 79-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11

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ACS Style

Esubalew Getenet. Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia. J. Polit. Sci. Int. Relat. 2022, 5(3), 79-84. doi: 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11

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AMA Style

Esubalew Getenet. Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia. J Polit Sci Int Relat. 2022;5(3):79-84. doi: 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11

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@article{10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11,
  author = {Esubalew Getenet},
  title = {Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia},
  journal = {Journal of Political Science and International Relations},
  volume = {5},
  number = {3},
  pages = {79-84},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jpsir.20220503.11},
  abstract = {In an ethnically heterogeneous area like Metekel, federalism is not a solution to end ethnically diversified conflicts. The finding of this study also confirms that the indigenous and non-indigenous divide poses a great challenge to the principles of federalism in Metekel and it appears incompatible with the provisions of the FDRE constitution. This has been generating disunity or controversy since every Ethiopian citizen is entitled to equal rights wherever she or he resides in the country. The constitutional division coupled with exclusionary political practice on non-indigenous ethnic groups is seriously threatening the notion of unity in diversity in the region’s political environment. The main purpose of this study was to explore the current existing socio-political, cultural, economic, and linguistic conflicts of the Metekel zone in the North-West part of Ethiopia. The study is a pure qualitative investigation that mainly employed interviews, document analysis, and focus group discussions made with key informant participants of elders and a few elites who are living in the area. Through these instruments of data collection, it was tried to triangulate and crosscheck the results obtained from each instrument. The findings of the study indicated that the political interference and the politically interested groups around the Great Renaissance Dam escalated the conflict and the threat increased after the establishment of the dam in the area from the perspective of its future service around the dam. Besides, it was concluded that since Metekel is a fertile area, the demand increased through pretending to the heterogeneous nature of the geographical nature, social structure, and the sociolinguistics aspects of the people. The other threat used by the politicians was interested groups from the “minority in number (i.e., Shinasha and Gumuz) people that were used as an instrument for escalating the demand to take over the area into its former province called Gojjam. Furthermore, it was found that Pawe woreda is administered by “settlers of Amhara or Hadiya and Kenbata as a vice administrator in the woreda”. However, since the area is very fertile and huge, the study recommended that either ethnically or geographically, it has to be reunite to its previous province since it could not stay being as a lid, and/or it has to be an independent region.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia
AU  - Esubalew Getenet
Y1  - 2022/08/17
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11
T2  - Journal of Political Science and International Relations
JF  - Journal of Political Science and International Relations
JO  - Journal of Political Science and International Relations
SP  - 79
EP  - 84
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2640-2785
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11
AB  - In an ethnically heterogeneous area like Metekel, federalism is not a solution to end ethnically diversified conflicts. The finding of this study also confirms that the indigenous and non-indigenous divide poses a great challenge to the principles of federalism in Metekel and it appears incompatible with the provisions of the FDRE constitution. This has been generating disunity or controversy since every Ethiopian citizen is entitled to equal rights wherever she or he resides in the country. The constitutional division coupled with exclusionary political practice on non-indigenous ethnic groups is seriously threatening the notion of unity in diversity in the region’s political environment. The main purpose of this study was to explore the current existing socio-political, cultural, economic, and linguistic conflicts of the Metekel zone in the North-West part of Ethiopia. The study is a pure qualitative investigation that mainly employed interviews, document analysis, and focus group discussions made with key informant participants of elders and a few elites who are living in the area. Through these instruments of data collection, it was tried to triangulate and crosscheck the results obtained from each instrument. The findings of the study indicated that the political interference and the politically interested groups around the Great Renaissance Dam escalated the conflict and the threat increased after the establishment of the dam in the area from the perspective of its future service around the dam. Besides, it was concluded that since Metekel is a fertile area, the demand increased through pretending to the heterogeneous nature of the geographical nature, social structure, and the sociolinguistics aspects of the people. The other threat used by the politicians was interested groups from the “minority in number (i.e., Shinasha and Gumuz) people that were used as an instrument for escalating the demand to take over the area into its former province called Gojjam. Furthermore, it was found that Pawe woreda is administered by “settlers of Amhara or Hadiya and Kenbata as a vice administrator in the woreda”. However, since the area is very fertile and huge, the study recommended that either ethnically or geographically, it has to be reunite to its previous province since it could not stay being as a lid, and/or it has to be an independent region.
VL  - 5
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Esubalew Getenet

Department of Political and International Studies, College of Social Science and Humanities: University of the Witwatersrand, Witwatersrand, South Africa

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Esubalew Getenet. (2022). Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia. Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 5(3), 79-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11

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ACS Style

Esubalew Getenet. Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia. J. Polit. Sci. Int. Relat. 2022, 5(3), 79-84. doi: 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11

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AMA Style

Esubalew Getenet. Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia. J Polit Sci Int Relat. 2022;5(3):79-84. doi: 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11

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@article{10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11,
  author = {Esubalew Getenet},
  title = {Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia},
  journal = {Journal of Political Science and International Relations},
  volume = {5},
  number = {3},
  pages = {79-84},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jpsir.20220503.11},
  abstract = {In an ethnically heterogeneous area like Metekel, federalism is not a solution to end ethnically diversified conflicts. The finding of this study also confirms that the indigenous and non-indigenous divide poses a great challenge to the principles of federalism in Metekel and it appears incompatible with the provisions of the FDRE constitution. This has been generating disunity or controversy since every Ethiopian citizen is entitled to equal rights wherever she or he resides in the country. The constitutional division coupled with exclusionary political practice on non-indigenous ethnic groups is seriously threatening the notion of unity in diversity in the region’s political environment. The main purpose of this study was to explore the current existing socio-political, cultural, economic, and linguistic conflicts of the Metekel zone in the North-West part of Ethiopia. The study is a pure qualitative investigation that mainly employed interviews, document analysis, and focus group discussions made with key informant participants of elders and a few elites who are living in the area. Through these instruments of data collection, it was tried to triangulate and crosscheck the results obtained from each instrument. The findings of the study indicated that the political interference and the politically interested groups around the Great Renaissance Dam escalated the conflict and the threat increased after the establishment of the dam in the area from the perspective of its future service around the dam. Besides, it was concluded that since Metekel is a fertile area, the demand increased through pretending to the heterogeneous nature of the geographical nature, social structure, and the sociolinguistics aspects of the people. The other threat used by the politicians was interested groups from the “minority in number (i.e., Shinasha and Gumuz) people that were used as an instrument for escalating the demand to take over the area into its former province called Gojjam. Furthermore, it was found that Pawe woreda is administered by “settlers of Amhara or Hadiya and Kenbata as a vice administrator in the woreda”. However, since the area is very fertile and huge, the study recommended that either ethnically or geographically, it has to be reunite to its previous province since it could not stay being as a lid, and/or it has to be an independent region.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Socio-Political, Cultural, Economic, and Linguistic Conflicts of the Metekel Zone in the North-West Part of Ethiopia
AU  - Esubalew Getenet
Y1  - 2022/08/17
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11
T2  - Journal of Political Science and International Relations
JF  - Journal of Political Science and International Relations
JO  - Journal of Political Science and International Relations
SP  - 79
EP  - 84
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2640-2785
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jpsir.20220503.11
AB  - In an ethnically heterogeneous area like Metekel, federalism is not a solution to end ethnically diversified conflicts. The finding of this study also confirms that the indigenous and non-indigenous divide poses a great challenge to the principles of federalism in Metekel and it appears incompatible with the provisions of the FDRE constitution. This has been generating disunity or controversy since every Ethiopian citizen is entitled to equal rights wherever she or he resides in the country. The constitutional division coupled with exclusionary political practice on non-indigenous ethnic groups is seriously threatening the notion of unity in diversity in the region’s political environment. The main purpose of this study was to explore the current existing socio-political, cultural, economic, and linguistic conflicts of the Metekel zone in the North-West part of Ethiopia. The study is a pure qualitative investigation that mainly employed interviews, document analysis, and focus group discussions made with key informant participants of elders and a few elites who are living in the area. Through these instruments of data collection, it was tried to triangulate and crosscheck the results obtained from each instrument. The findings of the study indicated that the political interference and the politically interested groups around the Great Renaissance Dam escalated the conflict and the threat increased after the establishment of the dam in the area from the perspective of its future service around the dam. Besides, it was concluded that since Metekel is a fertile area, the demand increased through pretending to the heterogeneous nature of the geographical nature, social structure, and the sociolinguistics aspects of the people. The other threat used by the politicians was interested groups from the “minority in number (i.e., Shinasha and Gumuz) people that were used as an instrument for escalating the demand to take over the area into its former province called Gojjam. Furthermore, it was found that Pawe woreda is administered by “settlers of Amhara or Hadiya and Kenbata as a vice administrator in the woreda”. However, since the area is very fertile and huge, the study recommended that either ethnically or geographically, it has to be reunite to its previous province since it could not stay being as a lid, and/or it has to be an independent region.
VL  - 5
IS  - 3
ER  -

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