Ethiopia Media and Telecoms Landscape Guide - Infoasaid

5During Mengistu’s 17-year rule, Ethiopia suffered from continuous political violenceas his Soviet-backed government sought to impose Marxist rule on the country.Rebel groups fighting against Mengistu’s rule in Eritrea and the northern province ofTigray steadily gained in strength during the 1980s.The impact of droughts and famines during Mengistu’s rule was aggravated by thisconflict. The fighting impeded humanitarian access to vast areas of the interior.Mengistu’s “villagisation” policy, which forced millions of peasants to move fromsmall outlying settlements into larger government-controlled villages, also causedgreat hardship.It is widely estimated that up to one million people died of hunger and relateddiseases during the 1984-85 famine in northern Ethiopia.Today, Ethiopia has a strong central government that allows for some localautonomy in several ethnically-based administrative regions.The government maintains tight control over the media and a state monopoly ontelecommunications services.The ruling EPRDF began life as an armed rebel movement based in the northernprovince of Tigray.After fighting its way to power in 1991, the EPRDF transformed itself into nationalpolitical party.It has allowed the emergence of a multi-party system and has granted a measure ofautonomy to the main tribal areas.However, most local administrators are stalwarts of the ruling party and their loyaltyto central government gives the federal authorities in Addis Ababa a strong handthroughout the nation.The government holds regular elections. However, after 20 years in power, theEPRDF remains the dominant political force in the country.Opposition parties complain that they have been marginalised by the EPRDF’s tightcontrol of radio and television, the persecution of opposition activists and electionrigging.According to the official results of the May 2010 general elections, the EPRDF won499 of the 547 seats in parliament.Parties allied to the EPRDF won a further 44 seats. Genuine opposition candidateswon just two.