Ethiopia expels Crisis Group senior analyst

November 22, 2020 World



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On November 21, the Ethiopian government deported William Davison, senior analyst for Ethiopia at Crisis Group. No formal reason was immediately provided, but his expulsion is undoubtedly linked to the severe conflict in Tigray and the growing sensitivity to unofficial views.

On November 20, immigration officials in Addis Ababa summoned Crisis Group Ethiopian senior analyst William Davison and informed him that he should leave the country immediately. He flew to the UK in the early hours of November 21st. Ethiopian authorities have yet to offer a formal reason for the decision. In a previous tweet, an official from the Prime Minister’s office said that Mr. Davison’s work permit had been revoked due to labor law violations.

Crisis Group has been transparent and sincere in all statements it has made regarding the employment of Mr. Davison. But, apart from these technicalities, there is no doubt that the reason for his expulsion is linked to the current tense situation in the country and to the increasing sensitivity of the authorities to points of view that do not match his line. Interestingly, on the same day that Mr. Davison was deported, authorities also sent warning letters to the Reuters news agency’s correspondent for Ethiopia and broadcasters BBC and Deutsche Welle.

Mr. Davison’s expulsion comes at a difficult and painful time for Ethiopia. On 4 November, Africa’s second most populous country plunged into a serious conflict between federal troops and security forces in the Tigray region, one of Ethiopia’s ten states. The conflict has already cost hundreds of lives and has sent tens of thousands of refugees to neighboring Sudan.

Crisis Group and its analysts do not take sides. Their responsibility is to present the views of the interested parties as faithfully as possible; their mandate is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts; their duty is to the civilians caught in their midst. Consequently, and from the very beginning, Crisis Group sought to explain the perspectives of the federal authorities and the Tigray leadership, insisted from the outset to end hostilities, and continued to urge the parties to explore a negotiated solution and resolve their differences through means.

Since joining Crisis Group in April 2019, Davison has been trying to follow this approach. He was a respected and highly sought after commentator on Ethiopian affairs. He contributed to 28 reports, briefings, statements and podcasts analyzing Ethiopia’s disputed transition. He also contributed significantly to Crisis Group’s work on the Nile waters dispute.