Hawassa handed 3 weeks deadline on status
Finfinnee (Yeroo.Org) – The capital city of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People’s Region (SNNPR) is facing less than 3 weeks deadline on its future status, according to an NEBE source who seeked to remain anonymous. The NEBE chairwoman Judge Birtukan Mideksa is expecting the final decision on Hawassa by October 2, 2019, confirmed the official.
Hawassa, also called “Awasa,” was one of the fastest growing cities in Ethiopia until its economy nearly collapsed in 2018, following reoccurring ethnic violence. According to the NEBE insider, the Sidama referendum date scheduled for November 13, 2019 might be changed if all sides do not agree on the status of Hawassa before the deadline.
“In Essence, people view Sidama statehood as primarily being about the Hawassa ownership question, because the rest of Sidama already has autonomy today as a zone. So NEBE is on alert and prepared to challenge the regional council if unrealistic high-risk demands are made up on the multiethnic city,” he added.
Critics have stated that the NEBE does not have jurisdiction on such political matters and questioned the integrity of the institution, due to its leader’s, Judge Mideksa, affiliation with Ethiopian nationalist opposition groups who reject the current constitution. Last year, the influential Oromo politician Jawar Mohammed accused the NEBE of “violating the constitution” by allowing “all residents” (including non-Sidamas) to vote on the upcoming Sidama statehood referendum. Jawar suggested that Judge Mideksa is “unfit” to lead the NEBE and advised her to return back to running an opposition political party.
Wolayta Zone, whose officials have also demanded a referendum for statehood, is waiting NEBE’s response. Wolayta nationalists, locally known as Yelaga, have set December 20, 2019 as the deadline for the vote or to unilaterally declare independence.
