Ethiopia removes restrictions on access to social networks after nearly five months of blockade

July 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Government of Ethiopia has withdrawn this Tuesday the restrictions on access to the main platforms on social networks, imposed nearly five months ago in the midst of anti-government protests in the context of tensions within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

The restrictions affected services such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok and YouTube and, despite an agreement between the Synod and a faction of the Orthodox Church in February, they remained in place, forcing the population to use VPN services, according to reports. picked up by the Ethiopian news portal The Reporter.

The blockade sparked criticism from human rights groups and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which argued that the measure violated freedom of expression and access to information, while the state company Ethio Telecom argued that the situation was out of his control.

The tensions started on January 22, when three Orthodox bishops declared the creation of the so-called Holy Synod of Oromia, Nations and Nationalities, initially made up of 25 episcopates. All of them were suddenly excommunicated three days later by the main branch, the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, followed by some 50 million faithful throughout the country.

The crisis worsened on February 4, when eight people died as a result of the repression of an attempt to occupy the church of Saint Michael the Archangel, according to a complaint by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. Currently, the Synod of the Orthodox Church is holding its annual conference in Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church assured in February that it had resolved an internal dispute after a group of bishops declared a schism within it, a decision reached after a process of talks in which the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, reportedly participated, although it is still have registered differences during the last weeks.