Self Determination

Somaliland Steps Up Diplomatic Efforts to Secure International Recognition

Somaliland has stepped up diplomatic efforts to secure recognition from the international community as a sovereign nation. Despite declaring independence in 1991, Somaliland is still considered by many members of the international com...

Joburg Post·over 4 years ago

How the Dalai Lama is Chosen and Why China Wants to Appoint its Own

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, the spiritual leader of Tibet, is turning 84 on July 6. With his advancing age, the question of who will succeed him, has become more pressing. Winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize and one of the most ...

Joburg Post·over 4 years ago

Ethiopia Stalls Referendum for New Region

Members of the Sidama ethnic group must now wait several months longer for a referendum that could lead to the setting up of a new independent region. Many, especially young Sidama, are unhappy with the delay. Leaders of the Sidama ethni...

Joburg Post·over 4 years ago

Ethiopia deploys military to Southern Region

Ethiopia’s government said on Monday it would deploy soldiers and federal police to take over security in a restive southern region following days of violence that has left at least 18 people dead. “The regular security structure has bee...

Joburg Post·over 4 years ago

Violence in Ethiopia Over Regional Autonomy

At least 17 people have been killed in clashes between Ethiopian security forces and activists seeking a new autonomous region for their Sidama ethnic group, according to a local official and hospital authorities. A local district offici...

Joburg Post·over 4 years ago

Ethiopia’s Sidama People: Lessons for Post-Colonial Africa

Undoubtably the rise in conversation around Africa’s ethnic violence is the result of an increase in reporting and not in actual violence. However, in most cases, the violence is over limited resources and in defence of historical and tr...

Neo Sithole·over 4 years ago

Why Sidama Statehood Demand Threatens to Unravel Ethiopia’s Federal System

Ethiopia’s ethnic federal arrangement was designed to empower ethnic groups with the right to self administration rights. But it’s facing a major test. The current challenge comes from the Sidama ethnic group from a region commonly known...

Yohannes Gedamu·over 4 years ago

Ethiopia: Why the Sidama Secession Demand Needs to Be Negotiated

Mounting tensions in southern Ethiopia are creating high levels of nervousness in the country. At the centre of the conflict is the clamour for internal secession by the Sidama, the country’s fifth largest ethic group. Most recently, the...

Yonatan Fessha·over 4 years ago

Will Kenya’s First Anti-Colonial Leaders Ever Rest In Peace?

In African Culture(s), a dignified burial of the departed is an important feature that is thought to secure safe passage to the realm of the living-dead, the ancestors. This is further amplified if the deceased was a chief or a community...

Katlego Mereko·over 4 years ago