No Obama-hype in Ethiopia compared to Kenya

U.S. President Barack Obama Ethiopia’s visit will be the second part of an Africa trip focused on security and economic initiatives as he shores up his legacy on the African continent.

The visit comes after Obama winds up his three-day trip in Kenya where he said the United States was ready to work more closely with the government of Kenya in the battle against Somalia’s Islamist group, Al Shabaab.

Ethiopia, sandwiched between volatile Somalia and Sudan, is also seen as a key security ally for the United States, although critics say the government regularly uses security concerns as an excuse to stifle dissent and clamp down on media freedoms.

The streets of Addis Ababa were lined with men and women in traditional dress streaming to church early on Sunday, amid tight security.

Unlike in Kenya, where dozens of American flags and billboards across the capital Nairobi welcomed the US president ‘home’, there was more subtle expectation in Ethiopia.

“I think Obama’s coming to Ethiopia is good for our relationship with the U.S. and building our image. I believe we are now in a good place compared to many other African countries in terms of infrastructural development and it is good for him to come and see these things. So it’s a good thing for him to visit,” Biniyam Abebe told Reuters.

“I know that he is coming and I am very happy about this visit to Ethiopia because he is an African. I am very happy,” said Mulalem Bayu.

Ethiopia is forecast to expand by more than 10 percent this year, although rights groups say Addis Ababa’s achievements are at the expense of political freedom.

Rights groups and the opposition say the government has quashed dissent, jailed bloggers and journalists for their views and rigged elections. The government denies the charges, saying it guarantees free speech and conducts fair elections.

Rights groups, including U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, have also questioned the U.S. government’s level of concern for democratic freedoms as it seeks to advance economic relations with Ethiopia.

Five Ethiopian journalists and bloggers, who were at the centre of a long-running criminal case that government critics say was meant to silence dissent, were released two weeks before Obama’s visit.

Security researcher Hallelujah Lulie told Reuters the issue of human rights is likely to come up in talks between the leaders of the two countries, but not much is expected to change as a result.

“All we need to do is just look to the series of reports by the State Department of the United States which highlights numerous cases of human rights violations, arbitrary detention, torture and even killings of people with dissent, the opposition, people in the media and of course the imprisonment of bloggers and independent journalists. But I don’t think Obama’s visit or anyone’s visit will make any significant difference in dealing with these issues. They may have an effect, but I don’t I don’t think they will bring a structured change in how human rights and democracy are being addressed by the Ethiopian government,” he said in an interview with Reuters.

The government claims to have rebuilt Ethiopia after mass killings under communist dictatorship in the 1970s, war and famine into a country that draws increasing interest from foreign investors.

The country of 96 million is still mired in poverty but has one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.