RELIGIOUS CONFLICT FUELED BY GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 002126 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2019 TAGS: KIRF KISL PGOV PHUM KDEM ET SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS CONFLICT FUELED BY GOVERNMENT NON-RESPONSIVENESS Classified By: ADCM Michael C. Gonzales for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) A recent visit by PolOff to Dessie sheds light on a violent clash that erupted between Orthodox Christians and local police in Dessie town in late June. The local government granted the Orthodox Church a plot of land to build a church in 2006, but later prevented Christians from building a church on the site after Muslims claimed it was their burial ground and located in a Muslim-dominated area. The Orthodox Church made several attempts to appeal to local and regional government, but the government did not follow-up in addressing their concerns. After three years of mounting frustration, Christians defied the government orders and proceeded to build a church. When police tried to stop them, violence erupted and police shot and killed three people and wounded ten. Both sides expressed dissatisfaction in the government's response to the situation, and blame the government for conveying conflicting messages to each side. South Wollo Zonal Administrator Seyoum Mekonnen claimed that "there was no conflict between the Orthodox Church and the government, and the problem is already solved." End Summary. Land Granted, Government Reneges -------------- ¶2. (C) General Manager of the Orthodox Church for the South Wollo Diocese, Gebreselassie Belay (protect) told PolOff that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church began submitting requests to the government for a particular plot of land in Dessie in ¶1998. The government did not respond to the requests until 2006, when it approved the request in writing. (NOTE: PolOff observed the letter from the government granting the land to the Orthodox Church. End Note.) On June 21, 2006 the Church leadership planted a cornerstone at the site, and began fundraising to complete the church. One year later, they began construction of the church but were stopped by local authorities, who said they could not build there because Muslims claimed that the site is their burial ground. The local government offered to give the Christians another piece of land to build a church, but the offer came too late as construction was already underway. The local administration told the Orthodox Church representatives to air their grievances to Regional President Ayalew Gobeze in Bahir Dar. �A;Ayalew said that he would come to Dessie soon to resolve the matter. After one year passed and he never came, Christians resumed construction of the church and were not impeded by local authorities. Violence Erupts -------------- ¶3. (C) In April, 2009, Regional President Ayalew finally visited Dessie, accompanied by Prime Minster Meles Zenawi. Meles announced to the angry crowd of Christians that the local administration was at fault for being non-responsive, and that Christians and Muslims should discuss the problem together to reach a solution. The Christians and Muslims never discussed the matter, however, and one month later the zonal administration told the Orthodox leaders that the church would be demolished. Orthodox followers became very angry and requested permission to host a demonstration, but the zonal administration denied the request. On June 30, Christians organized a meeting at a downtown church to discuss a course of action. (NOTE: Orthodox leaders claimed that they were not involved in planning the meeting or the demonstrations that followed. End Note.) The Christian followers decided that they would finish constructing the church that very day, and collected 60,000 birr on the spot. They bought materials and began construction. Police did not take any action at first, but later blocked a truck carrying some materials to the church. An argument ensued and police opened fire, killing three people and wounding ten. The Ethiopian National Defense Force was quickly deployed to the region to restore calm. While the Orthodox representative claimed that Muslims attacked Christians who were forced to leave the church, a Muslim elder held that Muslims took no part in the violence. ¶4. (U) Following the incident, General Manager of the Orthodox Church in the South Wollo Diocese Gebreselassie ADDIS ABAB 00002126 002 OF 002 Belay was arrested and charged with "being part of the demonstrations." He was released on bail after seven days, and no future court appointment has been scheduled. Nobody was held responsible for the three persons who were killed. Police continue to prevent people from visiting the church site, and construction materials have been returned to the Orthodox Church office. Orthodox Church leaders have again appealed to the Regional President, but have received no response to date. Bad Feelings between Muslims and Christians? -------------- ¶5. (C) The land in question is reportedly a burial ground for Muslims. A Muslim elder claimed that the plot of land is located in an area where 99 percent of residents are Muslim. He said that Muslims do not understand why the Christians want to build a church in a Muslim-dominated area. He further explained that the conflict was not between the Muslims and Christians, but rather that each group blames the government for giving conflicting messages to either side. He said that Muslims and Christians continue to be friendly and neighborly towards each other. ¶6. (C) The Dessie area is traditionally very religiously tolerant, and is one of the only places in the country where mixed marriages are common and tolerated. However, Orthodox General Manager Gebreselassie expressed some discontent, stating that while formerly Orthodox leaders had a good relationship with Muslim leaders, they no longer have contact with them. He also pointed out that while there are 130,000 members of the Orthodox Church, there are only 14 churches in Dessie. He contrasted this with figures of 49 mosques for 75,000 Muslims. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) The non-responsiveness of the government to resolve the land dispute led Christians to resort to defying local authorities in order to build the church. It is difficult to determine why the government failed to respond to the issue, as it is usually quite proactive in resolving religious matters, as demonstrated earlier this year when the government initiated a series of interfaith dialogues following a religious conflict in Gonder. The Prime Minister was conspicuously silent on the issue once the conflict erupted, though he had intervened earlier and his directives were essentially ignored by the local administration. Though there seems to be some animosity on the part of the Christians towards the Muslims, it seems that most anger is directed towards the government. The long-standing harmonious relationship between Christians and Muslims in Dessie seems to have been preserved, indicating a high level of tolerance that is not easily shattered. End Comment. MEECE