Misryoum reports a new Addis Ababa Media Council says ethnic hate politics threaten residents, and vows to defend civic rights and independent media.
A new campaign framed around fears of genocide is emerging in Addis Ababa, with Misryoum reporting the launch of an independent media and civic platform aimed at what its founders describe as preventing violence.
The Addis Ababa Media Council (AAMC) says it will focus on defending residents against threats it links to hate-driven ethnic politics associated with Ethiopia’s Prosperity Party-led regime, while also advocating for the rights and dignity of all Ethiopians under the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The group argues that Ethiopia’s constitutionally demarcated regional administrative lines based on ethnicity have entrenched exclusivity and hostility, and it says this environment has made Addis Ababa vulnerable to calls for removing the city’s administrative autonomy.
In this context, the AAMC claims that pressures to dissolve Addis Ababa’s distinct status have intensified, alongside rhetoric it characterizes as normalization of genocidal violence toward the city.
Misryoum notes that the council’s message also targets what it describes as efforts to reshape the city’s ethnic and religious composition, including allegations of neighborhood demolitions, restrictions on migration from certain regions, and limits on dissent.
This matters because when political debate shifts toward identity-based hostility, civic spaces can shrink quickly, leaving residents with fewer channels to seek protection or respond to escalating tensions.
The AAMC says Ethiopia’s situation is marked by suppression of rights to speak, write, organize, and protest, with a particular emphasis on Addis Ababa, and it positions the council as a platform to confront what it calls the status quo with “truth” and advocacy.
Among its stated priorities, the council says it will defend civic rights, strengthen independent media, and push back against the politicization and weaponization of identity, especially ethnicity and religion.
At the same time, the group calls on the international community, global media institutions, human rights organizations, and democratic partners to show solidarity with its aims and what it describes as endangered residents in Addis Ababa.
The AAMC’s decision to frame its mission as a defense of “the right to exist” suggests it wants to shift public attention toward how policy choices affect everyday safety and belonging, which can shape how communities respond to fear-driven narratives.