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Ethiopia's State of Emergency Makes Posting To Facebook a Crime (qz.com)

Due to anti-government protests occurring in the country, Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency that, among other things, makes it a crime to post updates on Facebook about the current status of the country. "The military command will take action on those watching and posting on these social media outlets," Siraj Fegessa, Ethiopia's minister of defense, said on state television. Those who violate the terms of the state of emergency may be subject to prison for up to five years. Quartz reports: Ethiopia's largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and the Amhara, are protesting what they see as the marginalization of their rights and freedoms by the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), dominated by the Tigray minority. After a week of intensified protests that left businesses and government property destroyed, prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn declared a state of emergency on Oct 9 for the next six months. Under the state of emergency, all expressions or communication that could incite violence have been banned, including the now famous protest gesture of raised hands, crossed at the wrist. Authorities can search and detain citizens without prior approval. Discussing issues with foreigners that could incite violence or communicating with groups deemed terrorists is also illegal.

38 comments

  1. Rules for thee but not for me by penguinoid · · Score: 2

    Under the state of emergency, all expressions or communication that could incite violence have been banned,

    How can they communicate that new rule without violating it?

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    1. Re:Rules for thee but not for me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Clearly, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, view themselves above the law,

    2. Re:Rules for thee but not for me by alantus · · Score: 1

      Everybody is equal, but some are more equal than others.

    3. Re:Rules for thee but not for me by monkeyzoo · · Score: 1

      Silly Ethiopians. Don't they know if they want to decree a human-rights-violating state of emergency, they also have to ban public gatherings?! Come on! France has been oppressing the right way for a full year now...

      https://news.vice.com/article/...
      "France's state of emergency legislation allows the government and the police to search and detain people without a warrant, place suspects under house arrest without prior judicial clearance, block certain websites, and ban public gatherings."

    4. Re:Rules for thee but not for me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Huh - this'll look like nothing if Her Royal High-anus gets elected next month...

    5. Re:Rules for thee but not for me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The state of emergency is entirely consistent with France's modern military strategy of immediate and utter surrender. Following the terrorist attacks, since it was not clear who to surrender to, the French surrendered to their own government, which enjoys 70% popular support for the state of emergency that has suspended basic democratic civil rights, and you have complete and willing submission to a total electronic surveillance state.

    6. Re:Rules for thee but not for me by monkeyzoo · · Score: 1

      LOL. "The state of emergency is entirely consistent with France's modern military strategy of immediate and utter surrender. Following the terrorist attacks, since it was not clear who to surrender to, the French surrendered to their own government, which enjoys 70% popular support for the state of emergency that has suspended basic democratic civil rights, and you have complete and willing submission to a total electronic surveillance state."

    7. Re:Rules for thee but not for me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      retard

  2. This is terrible! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 3, Funny

    Only one government was brave enough to make posting to Facebook a crime? What a travesty! ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:This is terrible! by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      With a brands US origins and freedom of speech will that posting enjoy a lot of freedom globally?

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      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    2. Re:This is terrible! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they didn't ban cat pictures.

      that posting about state of the state is banned also on facebook is just incidental, because it's banned everywhere. that would also include twitter, email(even private email), any kind of a chat, basecamp, slack, line, pastebin.. ANYTHING.

      you can still post cat pictures to all of those. even cat5 pictures. but maybe a picture of a cut cat5 cable would be too much. you can't ask if it would be too much though.

      maybe the protesters had a point..

  3. When googles are in charge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is what happens when googles are in charge. Minds of 11 year olds.

  4. Have you ever noticed? by reboot246 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The more oppressive a government is, the more likely their name will include words like "people's", "republic", "democratic", "union", etc.. It means that the words have lost all of their original meanings.

    I hope Ethiopia gets their problems worked out. I do love their coffee, especially the dry processed coffee.

    1. Re:Have you ever noticed? by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

      Words have lost all their original meaning? Good thing that can never happen here! http://thepublicslate.com/2015...

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    2. Re: Have you ever noticed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What, you think they're going to call themselves COBRA, HYDRA or the Empire of Blood?

      Even the Rock knows enough to call himself the People's Champion. And he betrayed the United States of America no less than five times. Six if we count both aliens.

    3. Re:Have you ever noticed? by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

      Also any time a law contains words such as "common sense" or "affordable" or "patriot"

    4. Re:Have you ever noticed? by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Rather than guessing here is a solid signal that any particular bit of legislation is corrupt, the politicians who vote for it, don't bother to read it :/ .

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    5. Re:Have you ever noticed? by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

      Well if it uses those key words, no reason TO read it, right? That means it is awesome!

    6. Re:Have you ever noticed? by just+another+AC · · Score: 1

      The more oppressive a government is, the more likely their name will include words like "people's", "republic", "democratic", "union", etc..

      The republic of the united states of america, is therefore due for a name upgrade:
      The (rich) people's democratic republic of the unionised states of america.

      The most oppressive form of government is one where you pretend to have freedom because then you yourself form part of the opression. Unfortunately at this stage most of us are in countries where we are being boiled like proverbial frogs.

    7. Re:Have you ever noticed? by m.alessandrini · · Score: 1

      You forgot "revolution". And tying a nation's destiny to your desire for coffee, that's not very democratic, too.

    8. Re:Have you ever noticed? by penguinoid · · Score: 2

      The more oppressive a government is, the more likely their name will include words like "people's", "republic", "democratic", "union", etc..

      You mean like with "Honest John's Quality Cars"?

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  5. When can we get this here? by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    I know a LOT of people I would like to have thrown in jail for posting to Facebook! And one that posts really mean tweets at 3:30am!

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    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:When can we get this here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have it now: You have the freedom not to register with Facebook and to never post there or read the posts of there for your entire life.
      What more do you want?
      Liberty. Cherish it and protect it.

    2. Re:When can we get this here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is different when that tweet is meant as a call to attack you whether you see the tweet or not. Ethiopia was for many western ideologists a model state of multiculturalism. A socialist government was the icing on the cake.
       
      But even the model state is struggling with radical Muslims and radical Christians. Many churches and monasteries have been destroyed. People wanted to take revenge, so many mosques were destroyed. The primary tool for mass organization is the use of Facebook. Of course there are other tools, but they don't have the single broadcaster power of Facebook and need to invite and accept people first. At least Ethiopia tries to do something about the constant unrest between the different cultures.
       
      When you look at history of the last decade, Facebook as been 'praised' for the 'Arab Spring'. But it was not spring, it was winter that led to an awful anarchy where brutal warlords try to succumb minorities.With this fact in mind, can you blame a country like Ethiopia to completely block Facebook? In a country where a post of an ignorant 12 year old can lead to a deadly clash of cultures, it is better to kill the platform that facilitates the eruption of blind hatred. There are probably better solutions, but for developing counties there are not that many options.
       
      My guess is that even western countries will prefer to block Facebook when filtering no longer works. For now western countries filter Facebook and posts that may lead to unhappy civilians are already blocked. But this costs a lot of effort and money and a well staffed secret police. But can you blame Ethiopia for not having this kind of spy network?

  6. How is this enforceable? by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    Does everybody in Ethiopia post to Facebook using their real name and address? Nobody in Ethiopia knows how to use an anonymous proxy so that it looks like they are posting from another country?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  7. Unthinkable! What a travesty! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This never happened when Ethiopia had an Emperor.

    We should return to that period of peace and prosperity.

    When men hunted lions with the wit of their brow.

  8. So, almost as bad as France's "state of emergency" by monkeyzoo · · Score: 2

    "Under the state of emergency, all expressions or communication that could incite violence have been banned... Authorities can search and detain citizens without prior approval."

    They would just need to add a ban on public gatherings to have the same conditions as France's state of "emergency" that has been in place for a full year now and been condemned [repeatedly] by the UN human rights council. As disturbing as such a thing is in Ethiopia, it is even more shocking in a "western democracy."

    https://news.vice.com/article/...
    "France's state of emergency legislation allows the government and the police to search and detain people without a warrant, place suspects under house arrest without prior judicial clearance, block certain websites, and ban public gatherings."
    "They criticized France for imposing 'excessive and disproportionate restrictions on fundamental freedoms.'"

    http://www.un.org/apps/news/st...
    "In a list of concerns... regarding several state of emergency and surveillance laws that relate to the legitimate rights of privacy and freedoms – of expression, peaceful assembly and association."
    "The UN experts also expressed alarm that environmental activists in France have been under house arrest in connection with the state of emergency invoked following the November attacks."

  9. Re:So, almost as bad as France's "state of emergen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The world only knows about the most deadly attacks, but there is a continuous struggle with radical Muslims in France. The majority of the attacks are intimidations, fights, destruction of churches, stone throwing groups, public prayers that block all traffic, rapes, murders, ... They don't get the headlines in foreign media. One article has caught attention of foreign media. The burkini girl. This was a set up. The police that ordered the girl to remove the burkini were not real police officers. The girl and police knew each other, and the girl knew the 'police' was not police. This was a set up to show the world how awfully racist France is towards Muslims.

    Meanwhile people still live in fear. 2,5 months ago I was in a small city in the Provence when a loud sound was heard. Immediately everyone stopped what they were doing and started to run to a safe place. The loud sound came from a construction site where a steel container side was opened a fell on the concrete. The fear doesn't come from the state of emergency, the state of emergency comes from the fear of Muslims. Whether the fear is irrational or not, doesn't matter. If nothing is done the irrational fear will take over and groups will form to take revenge. France has a history of violent groups of people. Just look when union take the right in their own hand. A few years ago an American CEO was put in his underwear when he took over and fired 1/3 of the employers as his first action. Just imagine what would happen if people took over when they saw that the police nor politician didn't give an answer the Muslim attacks.

  10. Re:So, almost as bad as France's "state of emergen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This was a set up to show the world how awfully racist France is towards Muslims.

    While disagreeing with your debunked allegations of a setup, I do agree wholeheartedly that the *fact* that MANY women were ticketed for wearing innocuous articles of clothing on beaches under Islamophobic laws passed across several towns in southern France showed the world how "awfullly racist France is towards Muslims."

  11. I support this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All posting to Facebook, particularly photos of food and kittens, should be banned. Facebook is the scourge of the planet and should be eradicated by any means, including fire and/or hammers by State Department staff.

  12. Re:So, almost as bad as France's "state of emergen by loonycyborg · · Score: 1

    It's still not as harsh as it was in times of Robespierre. But it's only matter of time before they'll return to their revolutionary roots.

  13. Ethiopia Joins the Doom March! by ememisya · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You realize we here at the US are still in a state of emergency for 15 years? We've signed snooping and all the extraordinary powers into law, like a permanent state of emergency. This is what's to be expected, good luck Ethiopia.

    1. Re:Ethiopia Joins the Doom March! by monkeyzoo · · Score: 1

      True. France has even outdone the USA however with terrorist over-reaction... They have suspended democratic principles for over a year and even passed their own "Patriot Act on Steroids"...

      https://news.vice.com/article/...
      "France's state of emergency legislation allows the government and the police to search and detain people without a warrant, place suspects under house arrest without prior judicial clearance, block certain websites, and ban public gatherings."
      "UN experts expressed alarm that environmental activists in France have been under house arrest in connection with the state of emergency invoked following the November attacks."

      http://rare.us/story/france-ha...
      "The fact is that France already has a latitudinous surveillance law—call it the PATRIOT Act on steroids. At least in theory, [the US's FISC is] a layer of accountability. France’s power of oversight, on the other hand, is vested in a committee chaired by [the Prime Minister], who can singlehandedly override the other members’ objections.The French law also forces Internet Service Providers to install “black boxes” that vacuum up metadata and make it accessible to intelligence agencies. It contains a “sneak-and-peek” provision similar to the PATRIOT Act, which allows government operatives to break into suspects’ homes and monitor them. And it green-lights the use of ISMI catchers—essentially incognito cell towers, they sweep up all phone communications within a given area, including, if needed, people’s locations. Even worse, while the PATRIOT Act is explicitly limited to terrorism, the French law applies to other cases, including those of “organized delinquency.” It can also be activated to protect the country’s “economic, industrial and scientific interests,” which is so elastic as to include just about everything. Senator Rand Paul was absolutely correct to call the French law “a thousandfold more invasive” than anything on the books in America."

  14. Same in US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Same in US, what was the name of the American girl posting about Dakota riots....

  15. Funny 80s joke. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Q: What's the fastest animal in the world?

    A: The Ethiopian chicken.

    1. Re:Funny 80s joke. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're old!