Partial resumption of telecommunication services has been witnessed in parts of the Northern Ethiopia state, Tigray. This follows an announcement by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that the federal government had “victory” over the defiant state.
Ethio Telecom’s Statement
Ethio Telecom, formally Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), is the major internet and telephone service provider in the second most populated African country. The provider took to its Twitter handle to explain the outage being experienced in the Tigray region.
In a Wednesday statement published on the provider’s Twitter account, they announced the partial resumption of telecommunication services in six towns and one full resumption in Alamata. The six towns are Shiraro, Dansha, Humera, Turkan, Maykadra, and Maytsebri.
They further reassured their customers that they were exploring other power options and working round the clock to restore telecom services.
“Dear our esteemed customers, we would also like to inform you that we are working to restore telecom services in all areas of the region within a short period. To this end, we are working on maintenance and rehabilitation of damaged telecom infrastructures and also working with Ethiopian Electric Power to ensure commercial power availability in addition to considering alternative power solutions,” read the last part of the statement.
Background
On November 4, 2020, telephone and internet services were restricted in the Tigray state after the Ethiopian government declared a “law and order” enforcement operation in the region.
In a recent interview with DW, Ethiopia’s democratization minister, Zadig Abraha, accused Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of the telephony and internet outages.
He added that TPLF wanted to “keep the people disconnected from the rest of the world” and feed them “false propaganda.” The minister further said they are working to restore communication services and that his government is ready to submit itself to independent scrutiny.
Tigray region has since been in communication darkness ever since, until the recent announcement. The situation had impeded humanitarian services in the state. In addition, getting the actual happenings in the state became an uphill task for the media.
This is not the first time there have been internet outages in Ethiopia. In June 2020, there was a multi-week internet shutdown after the assassination of activist singer Hachalu Hundessa. Another similar blackout was in 2019, resulting from the Amhara region’s alleged coup attempt.
Calls to restore telecommunication services
The European Union’s crisis management Commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, on Thursday, urged the Ethiopian authorities to lift the “communication blockade.” His request to the Ethiopian government was driven by the sympathy he had for the Ethiopian refugees who had “zero information” about their friends and relatives who stayed behind.
On November 30, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released a statement calling for the government to restore telecommunications and basic services. EHRC highlighted that the restoration, among other factors, will help the people return to normalcy as law and order are being enforced.
With Prime Minister announcing an imminent control over the Tigray region and shifting focus to the postponed parliamentary elections, the war is likely coming to an end.
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