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🇪🇹 Thousands in Addis Ababa Protest Alleged Forced Recruitment in Tigray Thousands rallied in Ethiopia’s capital on Saturday against an alleged campaign of forced conscription by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), in a pro-government protest organized by a coalition of Tigrayan opposition parties. Tigray is a mountainous region... in northern Ethiopia, bordering Eritrea and home to some 6 million people. From 2020 to 2022, it was the center of one of this century’s deadliest wars. The TPLF had dominated Ethiopia’s national government for nearly three decades before falling out with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose rise to power in 2018 ended the party’s dominance. Fighting erupted in November 2020, drawing in Ethiopian federal forces and troops from neighboring Eritrea, the TPLF’s longtime enemy. Estimates of the dead range from roughly 160,000 to as high as 600,000, with many dying from direct fighting, and also from starvation and the collapse of healthcare during the war and federal blockade. A November 2022 peace agreement ended the fighting but left major underlying disputes unresolved. Now the region is sliding back toward confrontation. The TPLF reasserted control over Tigray’s political administration on May 5, displacing the federal-backed interim administration established under the peace deal, and issued a June proclamation mandating military service. Human Rights Watch reported on July 6 that Tigrayan authorities and forces have been abducting and forcibly recruiting civilians, including boys as young as 15, through nighttime raids on homes and recruitment drives at offices and gold-mining sites. Protesters in Addis Ababa carried banners reading, “The Ethiopian government must fulfil its duty to protect the people of Tigray.” The federal government has separately accused the TPLF of sending fighters to Sudan, without providing evidence, with protestors holding signs reading “Stop trafficking combatants to Sudan!” 🎥 Melat Kiros, the Ethiopian-born, Tigrayan-American Democratic nominee for Denver’s overwhelmingly Democratic congressional district, recently spoke with Drop Site about her upbringing, her family’s experience during the devastating war in Tigray, and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis it left behind. That interview is linked in reply. Below, in a recent conversation in Denver on the Voice of Tegaru channel, Kiros discusses civic engagement and the importance of connecting the Tigrayan cause with struggles across the Global South and with issues facing communities in the United States. Melat Kiros for Congress, CO-1 | Drop Siteshow more

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The situation in northern Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is rapidly worsening, with ENDF mobilizing massive reinforcements to Tigray, while Amhara Fano soldiers are taking over their region. 2 weeks after fighting erupted between federal forces and TPLF/TDF in Tigray, the Ethiopian government is in the process of mobilizing thousands of soldiers in the north. Abiy Ahmed has been preparing for war with Tigray and Eritrea for months, while part of his army is stuck fighting in the vast Amhara region, as you can see on the map (from Thomas van Linge). We recently learned about additional regional implications, with Ethiopia hosting a Rapid Support Forces base, while Sudan is training and hosting TPLF forces in Qadarif state and Somali rebels in Somalia. In northern Ethiopia, a climate of war is settling, with both TPLF, Eritrea and ENDF mobilizing their forces. At the same time, ENDF are leaving large areas of Amhara regions, which are rapidly falling into AFNM control. The Amhara Fano forces do not control any city yet but are threatening the main garrisons in the region, while a war in the north could allow them to walk on Addis Abeba.

The situation in northern Ethiopia 🇪🇹 is rapidly worsening, with ENDF mobilizing massive reinforcements to Tigray, while Amhara Fano soldiers are taking over their region. 2 weeks after fighting erupted between federal forces and TPLF/TDF in Tigray, the Ethiopian government is in the process of mobilizing thousands of soldiers in the north. Abiy Ahmed has been preparing for war with Tigray and Eritrea for months, while part of his army is stuck fighting in the vast Amhara region, as you can see on the map (from Thomas van Linge). We recently learned about additional regional implications, with Ethiopia hosting a Rapid Support Forces base, while Sudan is training and hosting TPLF forces in Qadarif state and Somali rebels in Somalia. In northern Ethiopia, a climate of war is settling, with both TPLF, Eritrea and ENDF mobilizing their forces. At the same time, ENDF are leaving large areas of Amhara regions, which are rapidly falling into AFNM control. The Amhara Fano forces do not control any city yet but are threatening the main garrisons in the region, while a war in the north could allow them to walk on Addis Abeba.

Clément Molin

29,056 Aufrufe • vor 7 Monaten

Channel 4 reports on a “looming war” between Ethiopia and Eritrea driven by Ethiopia’s demand for access to the Red Sea via the Eritrean port of Assab. The dispute threatens to unravel the 2018 peace agreement that ended their long war, for which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which previously fought against the Ethiopian government with Eritrean support, is now aligned with the Fano militia and Eritrea against the Ethiopian state. A new force, the Tigray Peace Force, made up of former TPLF fighters who say they were betrayed by their leadership, has emerged and switched sides to support the Ethiopian government. Interviews with their fighters and leadership from Channel 4 News below.

Channel 4 reports on a “looming war” between Ethiopia and Eritrea driven by Ethiopia’s demand for access to the Red Sea via the Eritrean port of Assab. The dispute threatens to unravel the 2018 peace agreement that ended their long war, for which Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which previously fought against the Ethiopian government with Eritrean support, is now aligned with the Fano militia and Eritrea against the Ethiopian state. A new force, the Tigray Peace Force, made up of former TPLF fighters who say they were betrayed by their leadership, has emerged and switched sides to support the Ethiopian government. Interviews with their fighters and leadership from Channel 4 News below.

Drop Site

36,943 Aufrufe • vor 8 Monaten

The short story of Ethiopian 🇪🇹military Yes, the Eritrean 🇪🇷military has been involved in operations supporting the Ethiopian government since the start of the Tigray War in November 2020. Eritrean troops fought alongside the Ethiopian military and allied militias in the two-year conflict, which ended in November 2022 when the Ethiopian government and Tigray forces signed a peace agreement. However, Eritrea was not a party to the agreement and continued to attack Tigrayans through December 2022. Amnesty International has reported that Eritrean troops committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity in Tigray, including: •Extrajudicial executions of civilians •Sexual enslavement of women •Rape, including gang rape •Keeping women prisoner in their homes •Deprivation of food and water ‼️

The short story of Ethiopian 🇪🇹military Yes, the Eritrean 🇪🇷military has been involved in operations supporting the Ethiopian government since the start of the Tigray War in November 2020. Eritrean troops fought alongside the Ethiopian military and allied militias in the two-year conflict, which ended in November 2022 when the Ethiopian government and Tigray forces signed a peace agreement. However, Eritrea was not a party to the agreement and continued to attack Tigrayans through December 2022. Amnesty International has reported that Eritrean troops committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity in Tigray, including: •Extrajudicial executions of civilians •Sexual enslavement of women •Rape, including gang rape •Keeping women prisoner in their homes •Deprivation of food and water ‼️

JOHN

20,998 Aufrufe • vor 2 Jahren

How Abiy Ahmed’s Government Engineered Genocide in Tigray A former senior official in Ethiopia’s federal government has publicly admitted that the 2020 war on Tigray was deliberately provoked to target and purge ethnic Tigrayans, lending powerful confirmation to long-standing accusations by Tigrayan leaders and international human rights groups. Taye Dendea, a former Minister of Peace and senior member of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party, said in a recently published interview that the federal government intentionally initiated the war in order to single out and remove Tigrayans from the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF). “Do you think it is TPLF who started the war? It is us who deliberately started it. We had no other way to single out ethnic Tigrayan members of the national army,” Taye said during an interview with Horn Observer, recorded shortly before his arrest. He added that the attack on the army’s Northern Command, which the government had blamed on the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to justify its military assault, was used as a pretext to justify a mass purge of Tigrayan soldiers and an ethnic campaign that soon extended far beyond the military. Taye’s admission echoes a previously leaked audio recording of Brigadier General Tesfaye Ayalew, a senior ENDF commander, who was heard saying: “We had to clean out our insides… Even if there may be good people among them, we can’t differentiate… so we excluded them from doing work. Now the security forces are completely Ethiopian.” According to verified reports, more than 17,000 ethnic Tigrayan soldiers were disarmed, detained, or expelled from the army in the first weeks of the war. Simultaneously, ethnic Tigrayans across Ethiopia were subjected to widespread profiling, mass detentions, dismissals from public and private employment, and in many cases, disappearances. Throughout the war, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and senior officials insisted the conflict was a “law enforcement operation” triggered by an alleged TPLF attack on Northern Command bases in November 2020. The government framed the military campaign as an effort to restore constitutional order. However, human rights groups, UN investigators, and independent journalists have documented a very different reality one of systematic ethnic targeting, mass killings, sexual violence, forced starvation, and the displacement of millions of Tigrayans. The government’s narrative now appears increasingly hollow in light of multiple recent revelations. From the outset of the war, Tigrayan leaders and civil society maintained that: . The war was a premeditated genocidal campaign, prepared months in advance. . Tigrayans in the army, civil service, and society were systematically purged, imprisoned, or killed. . The federal government used siege warfare, coordinated attacks with Eritrean and Amhara forces, and blocked humanitarian aid to deliberately inflict suffering on Tigrayan civilians. .Independent investigations, including those by the United Nations and international NGOs, have consistently supported these claims. Taye Dendea’s testimony reinforces calls for the international community to act decisively: 1. Demand full accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict. 2. Insist on the safe and dignified return of displaced Tigrayans, especially those from Western Tigray, still under illegal occupation. 3. Push for full implementation of the Pretoria Agreement, which remains stalled due to the Ethiopian government’s lack of compliance. Taye’s admission provides a stark reminder of the true nature of the war on Tigray a war driven not by constitutional concerns but by ethnic hatred and political calculation. As millions of Tigrayans remain displaced and waiting for justice, and as the Pretoria peace process falters, the world can no longer look away. The victims deserve recognition, justice, and restoration.

How Abiy Ahmed’s Government Engineered Genocide in Tigray A former senior official in Ethiopia’s federal government has publicly admitted that the 2020 war on Tigray was deliberately provoked to target and purge ethnic Tigrayans, lending powerful confirmation to long-standing accusations by Tigrayan leaders and international human rights groups. Taye Dendea, a former Minister of Peace and senior member of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party, said in a recently published interview that the federal government intentionally initiated the war in order to single out and remove Tigrayans from the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF). “Do you think it is TPLF who started the war? It is us who deliberately started it. We had no other way to single out ethnic Tigrayan members of the national army,” Taye said during an interview with Horn Observer, recorded shortly before his arrest. He added that the attack on the army’s Northern Command, which the government had blamed on the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to justify its military assault, was used as a pretext to justify a mass purge of Tigrayan soldiers and an ethnic campaign that soon extended far beyond the military. Taye’s admission echoes a previously leaked audio recording of Brigadier General Tesfaye Ayalew, a senior ENDF commander, who was heard saying: “We had to clean out our insides… Even if there may be good people among them, we can’t differentiate… so we excluded them from doing work. Now the security forces are completely Ethiopian.” According to verified reports, more than 17,000 ethnic Tigrayan soldiers were disarmed, detained, or expelled from the army in the first weeks of the war. Simultaneously, ethnic Tigrayans across Ethiopia were subjected to widespread profiling, mass detentions, dismissals from public and private employment, and in many cases, disappearances. Throughout the war, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and senior officials insisted the conflict was a “law enforcement operation” triggered by an alleged TPLF attack on Northern Command bases in November 2020. The government framed the military campaign as an effort to restore constitutional order. However, human rights groups, UN investigators, and independent journalists have documented a very different reality one of systematic ethnic targeting, mass killings, sexual violence, forced starvation, and the displacement of millions of Tigrayans. The government’s narrative now appears increasingly hollow in light of multiple recent revelations. From the outset of the war, Tigrayan leaders and civil society maintained that: . The war was a premeditated genocidal campaign, prepared months in advance. . Tigrayans in the army, civil service, and society were systematically purged, imprisoned, or killed. . The federal government used siege warfare, coordinated attacks with Eritrean and Amhara forces, and blocked humanitarian aid to deliberately inflict suffering on Tigrayan civilians. .Independent investigations, including those by the United Nations and international NGOs, have consistently supported these claims. Taye Dendea’s testimony reinforces calls for the international community to act decisively: 1. Demand full accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict. 2. Insist on the safe and dignified return of displaced Tigrayans, especially those from Western Tigray, still under illegal occupation. 3. Push for full implementation of the Pretoria Agreement, which remains stalled due to the Ethiopian government’s lack of compliance. Taye’s admission provides a stark reminder of the true nature of the war on Tigray a war driven not by constitutional concerns but by ethnic hatred and political calculation. As millions of Tigrayans remain displaced and waiting for justice, and as the Pretoria peace process falters, the world can no longer look away. The victims deserve recognition, justice, and restoration.

Tigrai Media House

12,573 Aufrufe • vor 1 Jahr

#Ethiopia: PM Abiy says war may break out unless #TPLF registers with #NEBE Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in a recent discussion with political parties, stated that if the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) does not register with National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), it will not be eligible to participate in the upcoming 7th national election or form a government. NEBE revoked TPLF's legal identity following the outbreak of the #Tigray war. NEBE cited the party's engagement in "armed violence against the government" as the reason. Subsequently, On 05 May, 2021, the House of People's Representatives classified the TPLF as a terrorist organization. The two year war ended with the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement on 02 November, 2022. On 22 March, 2023, the Ethiopian Parliament removed the TPLF from its terrorist designation. Despite this change, TPLF has not yet registered with NEBE. Watch!

#Ethiopia: PM Abiy says war may break out unless #TPLF registers with #NEBE Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in a recent discussion with political parties, stated that if the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) does not register with National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), it will not be eligible to participate in the upcoming 7th national election or form a government. NEBE revoked TPLF's legal identity following the outbreak of the #Tigray war. NEBE cited the party's engagement in "armed violence against the government" as the reason. Subsequently, On 05 May, 2021, the House of People's Representatives classified the TPLF as a terrorist organization. The two year war ended with the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement on 02 November, 2022. On 22 March, 2023, the Ethiopian Parliament removed the TPLF from its terrorist designation. Despite this change, TPLF has not yet registered with NEBE. Watch!

Addis Standard

42,060 Aufrufe • vor 2 Jahren

Field Marshal Birhanu Jula: "Tigray Can Constitutionally Secede" A Message Interpreted as a Threat by Many Addis Ababa | In a controversial statement that is sparking renewed debate about Ethiopia’s federal structure and the future of Tigray, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, the Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, declared that "if the people of Tigray want to separate from Ethiopia, they can do so through constitutional means." The remark, made during a recent public address, echoes earlier comments by Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abebe during the height of the war in Tigray, who also suggested on national television that secession is a constitutional right. While these statements may appear to affirm the federal constitution's Article 39, which provides nations and nationalities the right to self-determination, many Tigrians see them as veiled threats rather than genuine acknowledgments of legal rights. Critics argue that such comments are not extended with goodwill but used as tools of coercion. "The message is loud and clear," said one observer. "If you dare invoke your constitutional rights, the government will treat you as an enemy. You’re expected to live not as free citizens but according to directives handed down from the center." This rhetoric, combined with the devastating toll of the Tigray war — widely recognized by international observers as involving war crimes, including ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide — has fueled mistrust and disillusionment. While many hoped for a path of justice, accountability, and reconciliation after the war, the official tone remains defiant and, to many, dismissive of the trauma experienced by the Tigrian people. Rather than addressing the underlying grievances in Tigray or meaningfully engaging in peacebuilding, critics say Ethiopian federal authorities have resorted to intimidation and nationalist rhetoric. This, they warn, may further entrench divisions and drive the region toward renewed instability. Calls are growing from both inside and outside Tigray for international mediation, justice for war crimes, and an honest national dialogue about Ethiopia’s future — one rooted in consent, rights, and respect for all peoples, not threats disguised as legal clarity.

Field Marshal Birhanu Jula: "Tigray Can Constitutionally Secede" A Message Interpreted as a Threat by Many Addis Ababa | In a controversial statement that is sparking renewed debate about Ethiopia’s federal structure and the future of Tigray, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, the Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, declared that "if the people of Tigray want to separate from Ethiopia, they can do so through constitutional means." The remark, made during a recent public address, echoes earlier comments by Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abebe during the height of the war in Tigray, who also suggested on national television that secession is a constitutional right. While these statements may appear to affirm the federal constitution's Article 39, which provides nations and nationalities the right to self-determination, many Tigrians see them as veiled threats rather than genuine acknowledgments of legal rights. Critics argue that such comments are not extended with goodwill but used as tools of coercion. "The message is loud and clear," said one observer. "If you dare invoke your constitutional rights, the government will treat you as an enemy. You’re expected to live not as free citizens but according to directives handed down from the center." This rhetoric, combined with the devastating toll of the Tigray war — widely recognized by international observers as involving war crimes, including ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide — has fueled mistrust and disillusionment. While many hoped for a path of justice, accountability, and reconciliation after the war, the official tone remains defiant and, to many, dismissive of the trauma experienced by the Tigrian people. Rather than addressing the underlying grievances in Tigray or meaningfully engaging in peacebuilding, critics say Ethiopian federal authorities have resorted to intimidation and nationalist rhetoric. This, they warn, may further entrench divisions and drive the region toward renewed instability. Calls are growing from both inside and outside Tigray for international mediation, justice for war crimes, and an honest national dialogue about Ethiopia’s future — one rooted in consent, rights, and respect for all peoples, not threats disguised as legal clarity.

Tigrai Media House

10,931 Aufrufe • vor 1 Jahr

Major Breaking New‼️ In a notable political development, Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed held a classified high-level meeting with senior Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) figures to discuss Ethiopia's long-standing goal of securing reliable access to the sea. The meeting included: - Tigray interim regional president Tadese Worede - TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael - Former Tigray interim president and current Minister Advisor for East African Affairs to the Prime Minister - Former TPLF chairman Tsadkan Gebretensae - Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces Birhanu Jula - And several other senior officials Despite deep political differences, all participants agreed on the strategic importance of Ethiopia gaining maritime access. The TPLF side consented to allowing Ethiopian National Defense Forces to enter the Tigray region in connection with advancing this objective. Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, was among the principal military attendees.

Major Breaking New‼️ In a notable political development, Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed held a classified high-level meeting with senior Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) figures to discuss Ethiopia's long-standing goal of securing reliable access to the sea. The meeting included: - Tigray interim regional president Tadese Worede - TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael - Former Tigray interim president and current Minister Advisor for East African Affairs to the Prime Minister - Former TPLF chairman Tsadkan Gebretensae - Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces Birhanu Jula - And several other senior officials Despite deep political differences, all participants agreed on the strategic importance of Ethiopia gaining maritime access. The TPLF side consented to allowing Ethiopian National Defense Forces to enter the Tigray region in connection with advancing this objective. Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Chief of General Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, was among the principal military attendees.

Habtish Gurmu (Commentary)

64,130 Aufrufe • vor 6 Monaten

While Ethiopia provides 🇪🇹 a rear base for the RSF fighting Sudan 🇸🇩, Khartoum, for its part, provides a rear base for the Tigrayan rebels fighting Addis Ababa. The Tigray People Liberation Forces Army 70 is based in Al Fao (located by Dinlas), fought in the battle of Khartoum and is training Tigrean recruits to launch an offensive on Welkait, a disputed region in north-western Ethiopia, between Amhara and Tigray. This force could be composed of more than 5 000 men ready to attack Ethiopia. -> The relationship between Sudan and Ethiopia cannot be understood without knowing about these two bases that are acting as a destabilization mean from abroad...

While Ethiopia provides 🇪🇹 a rear base for the RSF fighting Sudan 🇸🇩, Khartoum, for its part, provides a rear base for the Tigrayan rebels fighting Addis Ababa. The Tigray People Liberation Forces Army 70 is based in Al Fao (located by Dinlas), fought in the battle of Khartoum and is training Tigrean recruits to launch an offensive on Welkait, a disputed region in north-western Ethiopia, between Amhara and Tigray. This force could be composed of more than 5 000 men ready to attack Ethiopia. -> The relationship between Sudan and Ethiopia cannot be understood without knowing about these two bases that are acting as a destabilization mean from abroad...

Clément Molin

81,514 Aufrufe • vor 7 Monaten

Two Years ago today 💔 4th May 2021 - Meaza Gidey Gebremedhin: ❝The war started well long ago. Right after Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 was selected by the EPRDF, he forged a military pact with a neighboring country (Isaias Afewerki). They have been working together to wage war against the people of #Tigray. The #Eritrean government through its President had been seen visiting military camps, participating in all internal affairs of the country. There was also a report by the European Union Josep Borrell Fontelles 🔗 ⚠️ Warning about a war looming, and this is mainly because they had evidence showing Tigray being encircled not only by Eritrean troops but also by the #Amhara militia and the #Ethiopian National army. Having said that, what's happening in Tigray is devastating, people do not have access to Humanitarian Aid. 4.5 million people are starving, they're facing a man-made famine according to the United Nations report.❞ Neamin Zeleke supported the Genocidal campaign in Tigray with the involvement of Eritrean forces, Amhara including all other regional forces. He even went as far as to admit that #Somalian 🇸🇴 forces who committed Atrocities were in Tigray 🔗 ❝[Ethiopia] It had to scramble including bringing forces as far away as from #Somalia to deploy in Tigray. It is the right of the Ethiopian Government and it's within the sovereign rights of the Ethiopian people to use whatever force to defend the sovereignty.❞ FRANCE 24 🔗 #Ethiopia & #Eritrea are guilty of #TigrayGenocide

Two Years ago today 💔 4th May 2021 - Meaza Gidey Gebremedhin: ❝The war started well long ago. Right after Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 was selected by the EPRDF, he forged a military pact with a neighboring country (Isaias Afewerki). They have been working together to wage war against the people of #Tigray. The #Eritrean government through its President had been seen visiting military camps, participating in all internal affairs of the country. There was also a report by the European Union Josep Borrell Fontelles 🔗 ⚠️ Warning about a war looming, and this is mainly because they had evidence showing Tigray being encircled not only by Eritrean troops but also by the #Amhara militia and the #Ethiopian National army. Having said that, what's happening in Tigray is devastating, people do not have access to Humanitarian Aid. 4.5 million people are starving, they're facing a man-made famine according to the United Nations report.❞ Neamin Zeleke supported the Genocidal campaign in Tigray with the involvement of Eritrean forces, Amhara including all other regional forces. He even went as far as to admit that #Somalian 🇸🇴 forces who committed Atrocities were in Tigray 🔗 ❝[Ethiopia] It had to scramble including bringing forces as far away as from #Somalia to deploy in Tigray. It is the right of the Ethiopian Government and it's within the sovereign rights of the Ethiopian people to use whatever force to defend the sovereignty.❞ FRANCE 24 🔗 #Ethiopia & #Eritrea are guilty of #TigrayGenocide

Tigray Update

23,729 Aufrufe • vor 3 Jahren

The Perseverance of Welkait Amhara after 30 years of Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide at the hands of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) Today marks the 3 year anniversary of the #MaiKadraMassacre, one of the largest and most gruesome massacre of civilians since war broke out in #Ethiopia on November 4th when TPLF attacked a military command post in Tigray. On November 9th, as TPLF forces were losing ground on all fronts, a Tigrayan youth group named Samri, led by Capt. Kassaye Mehar, went door to door in the town of Mai-Kadra and massacred over 1600 Amhara civilians. Mai-Kadra is a town located in the Amhara ancestral land of Welkait, or what TPLF and their Western backers call Western Tigray. In 1991, when TPLF came to power after the fall of the DERG regime, it annexed Welkait into Tigray and called it West Tigray. It's important to point out that TPLF started its armed struggle with the goal of "liberating" Tigray from Ethiopia, as their name clearly indicates. In order to make this a reality Tigray lacked two things; fertile land and an international border with a neighboring country, as Tigray was encircled by Amhara, Afar, and Eritrea inhabited lands. This is how their plan to annex Welkait (to the west) and Raya (to the south), two Amhara ancestral lands, came about. By annexing these lands as soon as they came to power in 1991 (way before the ethnic based constitution was ratified in 1994), they were able to achieve both goals of getting fertile land and having an international border with Sudan. If you're curious as to why Ethiopia is the only country in the world to have an article in its constitution (Article 39) that gives any of the ethnic based regions the right to secede from Ethiopia, the answer should be obvious by now. TPLF did not add this into the constitution so that Oromia or Somali region can declare independence, it was a parachute they were saving for themselves when they can no longer rule Ethiopia (they lost power in 2018). It's not like TPLF was not warned about the dangers of annexing the Amhara ancestral lands of Welkait and Raya. As @_HornAfrica pointed out in a tweet today, "Haileleul Getahun, in his book 'Assault on Rural Poverty: The Case of Ethiopia,' predicted two decades ago that Tigray annexing Welkait (Amhara lands) will trigger a regional conflict." ------------------------------------------- Excerpt from "Assault on Rural Poverty: The Case of Ethiopia", Published April 18, 2001: Therefore, the government chose to annex the land that was traditionally the home of other ethnic groups by force of arms. The TPLF's major concern appears to be the consolidation of its power base by developing economic resources that will enable it to withstand any attempts from outside Tigray to adversely affect its goal of having the potential to be economically self-sufficient. To this end, the government was very active in developing the necessary infrastructure and resettling Tigrayan returnees from Sudan and demobilized TPLF soldiers in these districts. By resettling Tigrayan returnees and demobilized TPLF soldiers among the Amhara ethnic population, the TPLF tried to change the ethnic configuration of the annexed area with a view to ensuring that the majority of the settlers are from Tigray. To reinforce its plan, the language of instruction in the government primary schools quickly changed from Amharic to Tigregna, even though a substantial number of Amhara families still remained in the districts. As time passed, the TPLF evicted the peasants of Northern Gondar and Wollo from their ancestral lands and annexed these areas to Tigray. The ethnically cleansed peasants from these places are now landless paupers, many exploited as cheap farm labor by the expropriators of their land. Others are forced to survive as beggars in Gondar, Dessie, and Bahar Dar. ... Considering the gravity of this situation and its future implications, two prominent Ethiopians from region 3 (Amhara region), the late Dagnew W. Selassie, and Fitaye Assegu wrote a joint memorandum to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, asking him to annul or declare invalid the redrawing of boundaries along ethnic lines. To date, Meles Zenawi has not reacted one way or the other. Although information is scanty, it is now understood that the Ethiopian Patriotic Front (Keffagne), an underground movement for the liberation of Humera, Tselemt, Welkait, and Tsegede is now operating in the region. The TPLF, EPLF, and others started their movements in the same way as the Keffagne. These districts must be returned to their original killils, otherwise a bloody civil war possibly affecting the entire horn of Africa could erupt. ---------------------------------------- Fast forward to today, Welkait and Raya have been restored to their rightful owner and informally incorporated into the Amhara region for the past 3 years after the Federal, Amhara Special forces and Fano freed the areas from TPLF in November 2020. The Federal government has put these areas in a limbo for the past 3 years by refusing to ratify their incorporation into the Amhara region and refusing to release 3 years of budget. These areas have been getting by from budgetary support they're getting from Amhara region and individual contributions from Amharas. The Pretoria agreement that was signed by the Federal government and TPLF last November states that the resolution to these "contested" lands will be done through the constitution, but as stated earlier, these lands were annexed by TPLF in 1991, 3 years prior to when the Ethiopian constitution was adopted (1994). Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 in a recent speech said that the issue will be resolved through a referendum, but as the book by Haileleul Getahum illustrates, TPLF has spent the past 30 plus years ethnically cleansing the native Amhara and settling Tigrayans on these lands. So the Prime Minister saying this will be resolved through referendum is an indirect admission that he wants these lands to be given back to TPLF. This might raise a question of why Abiy would want these lands to be given to TPLF, as TPLF led an insurrection to topple his government. For Abiy, everything is about preserving his power. From his point of view, TPLF is too weak to pose a threat to his power. So handing back these lands to them won't pose a major threat, and will put him in good grace with the US government and can get him IMF and World Bank loans to save the crashing economy. With TPLF and Tigray weakened, the biggest threat to Abiy and his Oromo nationalist government are Amhara, as demonstrated by the all out war he has waged on Amharas since signing the Pretoria agreement. The reason he disband the Amhara Special Forces in April before disarming TPLF, and the reason he has waged a full scale war on Amharas to disarm Fano is to achieve his goal of weakening Amhara and handing over the Amhara ancestral lands of Welkait and Raya to TPLF as part of the Pretoria agreement that was sponsored by the US. The Amhara in Welkait and Raya are steadfast in their determination to live free as proud Amhara, after enduring over 30 years of subjugation at the hands of the ethno-fascist Tigray People's Liberation Front. They are now demanding for their land to be formally recognized as part of the Amhara region and their budget, that has been withheld the past 3 years, to be released. Meanwhile the Amhara in Gojjam, Gondar, Wollo, and Shewa have risen up and are fighting the new ethno-fascist in power, the Oromo Prosperity Party led by Abiy Ahmed, so they can live free as proud Amhara. After 50 years of torment, ethnic cleansing, and institutionalized genocide, the Amhara people have said enough and there is not enough drones or tanks or artilleries that Abiy can use to stop the rise of Amhara. #AmharaRevolution #WarOnAmhara #AmharaGenocide

The Perseverance of Welkait Amhara after 30 years of Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide at the hands of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) Today marks the 3 year anniversary of the #MaiKadraMassacre, one of the largest and most gruesome massacre of civilians since war broke out in #Ethiopia on November 4th when TPLF attacked a military command post in Tigray. On November 9th, as TPLF forces were losing ground on all fronts, a Tigrayan youth group named Samri, led by Capt. Kassaye Mehar, went door to door in the town of Mai-Kadra and massacred over 1600 Amhara civilians. Mai-Kadra is a town located in the Amhara ancestral land of Welkait, or what TPLF and their Western backers call Western Tigray. In 1991, when TPLF came to power after the fall of the DERG regime, it annexed Welkait into Tigray and called it West Tigray. It's important to point out that TPLF started its armed struggle with the goal of "liberating" Tigray from Ethiopia, as their name clearly indicates. In order to make this a reality Tigray lacked two things; fertile land and an international border with a neighboring country, as Tigray was encircled by Amhara, Afar, and Eritrea inhabited lands. This is how their plan to annex Welkait (to the west) and Raya (to the south), two Amhara ancestral lands, came about. By annexing these lands as soon as they came to power in 1991 (way before the ethnic based constitution was ratified in 1994), they were able to achieve both goals of getting fertile land and having an international border with Sudan. If you're curious as to why Ethiopia is the only country in the world to have an article in its constitution (Article 39) that gives any of the ethnic based regions the right to secede from Ethiopia, the answer should be obvious by now. TPLF did not add this into the constitution so that Oromia or Somali region can declare independence, it was a parachute they were saving for themselves when they can no longer rule Ethiopia (they lost power in 2018). It's not like TPLF was not warned about the dangers of annexing the Amhara ancestral lands of Welkait and Raya. As @_HornAfrica pointed out in a tweet today, "Haileleul Getahun, in his book 'Assault on Rural Poverty: The Case of Ethiopia,' predicted two decades ago that Tigray annexing Welkait (Amhara lands) will trigger a regional conflict." ------------------------------------------- Excerpt from "Assault on Rural Poverty: The Case of Ethiopia", Published April 18, 2001: Therefore, the government chose to annex the land that was traditionally the home of other ethnic groups by force of arms. The TPLF's major concern appears to be the consolidation of its power base by developing economic resources that will enable it to withstand any attempts from outside Tigray to adversely affect its goal of having the potential to be economically self-sufficient. To this end, the government was very active in developing the necessary infrastructure and resettling Tigrayan returnees from Sudan and demobilized TPLF soldiers in these districts. By resettling Tigrayan returnees and demobilized TPLF soldiers among the Amhara ethnic population, the TPLF tried to change the ethnic configuration of the annexed area with a view to ensuring that the majority of the settlers are from Tigray. To reinforce its plan, the language of instruction in the government primary schools quickly changed from Amharic to Tigregna, even though a substantial number of Amhara families still remained in the districts. As time passed, the TPLF evicted the peasants of Northern Gondar and Wollo from their ancestral lands and annexed these areas to Tigray. The ethnically cleansed peasants from these places are now landless paupers, many exploited as cheap farm labor by the expropriators of their land. Others are forced to survive as beggars in Gondar, Dessie, and Bahar Dar. ... Considering the gravity of this situation and its future implications, two prominent Ethiopians from region 3 (Amhara region), the late Dagnew W. Selassie, and Fitaye Assegu wrote a joint memorandum to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, asking him to annul or declare invalid the redrawing of boundaries along ethnic lines. To date, Meles Zenawi has not reacted one way or the other. Although information is scanty, it is now understood that the Ethiopian Patriotic Front (Keffagne), an underground movement for the liberation of Humera, Tselemt, Welkait, and Tsegede is now operating in the region. The TPLF, EPLF, and others started their movements in the same way as the Keffagne. These districts must be returned to their original killils, otherwise a bloody civil war possibly affecting the entire horn of Africa could erupt. ---------------------------------------- Fast forward to today, Welkait and Raya have been restored to their rightful owner and informally incorporated into the Amhara region for the past 3 years after the Federal, Amhara Special forces and Fano freed the areas from TPLF in November 2020. The Federal government has put these areas in a limbo for the past 3 years by refusing to ratify their incorporation into the Amhara region and refusing to release 3 years of budget. These areas have been getting by from budgetary support they're getting from Amhara region and individual contributions from Amharas. The Pretoria agreement that was signed by the Federal government and TPLF last November states that the resolution to these "contested" lands will be done through the constitution, but as stated earlier, these lands were annexed by TPLF in 1991, 3 years prior to when the Ethiopian constitution was adopted (1994). Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 in a recent speech said that the issue will be resolved through a referendum, but as the book by Haileleul Getahum illustrates, TPLF has spent the past 30 plus years ethnically cleansing the native Amhara and settling Tigrayans on these lands. So the Prime Minister saying this will be resolved through referendum is an indirect admission that he wants these lands to be given back to TPLF. This might raise a question of why Abiy would want these lands to be given to TPLF, as TPLF led an insurrection to topple his government. For Abiy, everything is about preserving his power. From his point of view, TPLF is too weak to pose a threat to his power. So handing back these lands to them won't pose a major threat, and will put him in good grace with the US government and can get him IMF and World Bank loans to save the crashing economy. With TPLF and Tigray weakened, the biggest threat to Abiy and his Oromo nationalist government are Amhara, as demonstrated by the all out war he has waged on Amharas since signing the Pretoria agreement. The reason he disband the Amhara Special Forces in April before disarming TPLF, and the reason he has waged a full scale war on Amharas to disarm Fano is to achieve his goal of weakening Amhara and handing over the Amhara ancestral lands of Welkait and Raya to TPLF as part of the Pretoria agreement that was sponsored by the US. The Amhara in Welkait and Raya are steadfast in their determination to live free as proud Amhara, after enduring over 30 years of subjugation at the hands of the ethno-fascist Tigray People's Liberation Front. They are now demanding for their land to be formally recognized as part of the Amhara region and their budget, that has been withheld the past 3 years, to be released. Meanwhile the Amhara in Gojjam, Gondar, Wollo, and Shewa have risen up and are fighting the new ethno-fascist in power, the Oromo Prosperity Party led by Abiy Ahmed, so they can live free as proud Amhara. After 50 years of torment, ethnic cleansing, and institutionalized genocide, the Amhara people have said enough and there is not enough drones or tanks or artilleries that Abiy can use to stop the rise of Amhara. #AmharaRevolution #WarOnAmhara #AmharaGenocide

ነብዩ

133,689 Aufrufe • vor 2 Jahren

3rd May - #Tigrayan Civilians Were The Target of a 'Relentless Ethnic Cleansing Campaign' @TouzeSebastien: ❝Since November 2020, the authorities and the #Amhara security forces have been waging a merciless campaign of what you might call ethnic cleansing to try and drive out the #Tigray people out of Western Tigray. They're doing this with the consent and the potential participation of the #Ethiopian Federal forces, to do this they resort to threats, to unlawful homicides, sexual violence, the use arbitrary detentions on a massive scale, as well as pillaging, force transfers and deprivation of Humanitarian Aid.❞ - The United Nations's Committee Against Torture on #WesternTigray 🔗 ---------------------------------------- 6th April 2022 - Amnesty International & @HumanRightsWatch Released Joint Investigations of Ethnic Cleansing in Western #Tigray ❝We Will Erase You from This Land.❞ Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia’s #WesternTigray Zone Full Report: Human Rights Watch 🔗 Full Report: Amnesty International 🔗 Video: HRW 🔗 ---------------------------------------- On 20 March 2023 Department of State Released Atrocity Determination, Secretary Antony Blinken: ❝Members of the #Amhara forces also committed the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer and committed ethnic cleansing in western Tigray.❞ 🔗 #Ethiopia & #Eritrea are guilty of #TigrayGenocide

3rd May - #Tigrayan Civilians Were The Target of a 'Relentless Ethnic Cleansing Campaign' @TouzeSebastien: ❝Since November 2020, the authorities and the #Amhara security forces have been waging a merciless campaign of what you might call ethnic cleansing to try and drive out the #Tigray people out of Western Tigray. They're doing this with the consent and the potential participation of the #Ethiopian Federal forces, to do this they resort to threats, to unlawful homicides, sexual violence, the use arbitrary detentions on a massive scale, as well as pillaging, force transfers and deprivation of Humanitarian Aid.❞ - The United Nations's Committee Against Torture on #WesternTigray 🔗 ---------------------------------------- 6th April 2022 - Amnesty International & @HumanRightsWatch Released Joint Investigations of Ethnic Cleansing in Western #Tigray ❝We Will Erase You from This Land.❞ Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia’s #WesternTigray Zone Full Report: Human Rights Watch 🔗 Full Report: Amnesty International 🔗 Video: HRW 🔗 ---------------------------------------- On 20 March 2023 Department of State Released Atrocity Determination, Secretary Antony Blinken: ❝Members of the #Amhara forces also committed the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer and committed ethnic cleansing in western Tigray.❞ 🔗 #Ethiopia & #Eritrea are guilty of #TigrayGenocide

Tigray Update

23,731 Aufrufe • vor 3 Jahren

#Tigray: Getachew, Tsadkan give stark warnings over region’s future Senior Tigrayan figures Getachew Reda and Lt. Gen. Tsadkan Gebretensae delivered blunt remarks in the political impasse in Tigray region. Getachew suggested those he accused of pushing for fighting to be targeted and struck “selectively”. Tsadkan, meanwhile, described societies in crisis as either erupting in “revolt” or collapsing inward and “imploding.” Their remarks were made during the formation of a new council described as a temporary body aimed at solving the current political crisis in the Tigray Region. The Council was officially established on 17 May in Addis Abeba, with organizers saying it will serve until an inclusive administration is established in the region. Watch

#Tigray: Getachew, Tsadkan give stark warnings over region’s future Senior Tigrayan figures Getachew Reda and Lt. Gen. Tsadkan Gebretensae delivered blunt remarks in the political impasse in Tigray region. Getachew suggested those he accused of pushing for fighting to be targeted and struck “selectively”. Tsadkan, meanwhile, described societies in crisis as either erupting in “revolt” or collapsing inward and “imploding.” Their remarks were made during the formation of a new council described as a temporary body aimed at solving the current political crisis in the Tigray Region. The Council was officially established on 17 May in Addis Abeba, with organizers saying it will serve until an inclusive administration is established in the region. Watch

Addis Standard

16,725 Aufrufe • vor 3 Monaten

"There is no peace to be found from #Prosperity... We cannot secure our sovereignty through peace," #TPLF Chairperson #Debretsion_Gebremichael said during a public forum in #Mekelle on Sunday, where he accused the federal government of failing to implement the #Pretoria Agreement and urged #Tigrayans to "restore our national honor" and prepare to safeguard the region's sovereignty. The remarks came as TPLF executive and central committee members held similar public forums across towns in #Tigray over the weekend.

"There is no peace to be found from #Prosperity... We cannot secure our sovereignty through peace," #TPLF Chairperson #Debretsion_Gebremichael said during a public forum in #Mekelle on Sunday, where he accused the federal government of failing to implement the #Pretoria Agreement and urged #Tigrayans to "restore our national honor" and prepare to safeguard the region's sovereignty. The remarks came as TPLF executive and central committee members held similar public forums across towns in #Tigray over the weekend.

Addis Standard

29,670 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat

4th June - Experts discuss the situation in #Tigray Representatives from the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies and the New Lines Institute hold a news conference in Ottawa to discuss the latter's report on the situation in Tigray. The Genocidal war between #Ethiopian, #Eritrean, #Amhara and other regional forces against the regional #Tigray lasted two years and ended with a ceasefire agreement in November 2022. The conflict is estimated to have killed up to 300,000 civilians and over 400,000 soldiers. The New Lines Institute's report concludes there is reason to believe that all sides in the conflict committed war crimes, and that Ethiopian and allied forces appear to have committed crimes against humanity and acts of #Genocide against Tigrayans. Despite the ceasefire, there are reports of continued atrocities in the Tigray region. Taking part in the news conference are Azeem Ibrahim (New Lines Institute), Kyle Matthews (Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies), Annika Weiss (New Lines Institute), Ali Ehsassi (Liberal MP), John Packer (University of Ottawa) and Makeda Leul (Security and Justice for Tigrayans Canada). cpac 🔗 #Ethiopia & #Eritrea are guilty of #TigrayGenocide

4th June - Experts discuss the situation in #Tigray Representatives from the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies and the New Lines Institute hold a news conference in Ottawa to discuss the latter's report on the situation in Tigray. The Genocidal war between #Ethiopian, #Eritrean, #Amhara and other regional forces against the regional #Tigray lasted two years and ended with a ceasefire agreement in November 2022. The conflict is estimated to have killed up to 300,000 civilians and over 400,000 soldiers. The New Lines Institute's report concludes there is reason to believe that all sides in the conflict committed war crimes, and that Ethiopian and allied forces appear to have committed crimes against humanity and acts of #Genocide against Tigrayans. Despite the ceasefire, there are reports of continued atrocities in the Tigray region. Taking part in the news conference are Azeem Ibrahim (New Lines Institute), Kyle Matthews (Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies), Annika Weiss (New Lines Institute), Ali Ehsassi (Liberal MP), John Packer (University of Ottawa) and Makeda Leul (Security and Justice for Tigrayans Canada). cpac 🔗 #Ethiopia & #Eritrea are guilty of #TigrayGenocide

Tigray Update

10,492 Aufrufe • vor 2 Jahren

The Jar of Needles: Historical Memory, Grievance Politics, and the Amhara Question One of the most revealing aspects of contemporary Ethiopian politics is not simply disagreement over history, but the transmission of historical narratives across generations. In a recent discussion of General Tsadkan’s new book, Abebech Kahasay and Araya Tesfamariam, two Ethiopian journalists of Tigrayan origin, offer an unusually candid critique of what they describe as the TPLF’s enduring political culture. Their argument is not directed at the people of Tigray, but at a political tradition that, in their view, continues to frame war and inherited grievance as central organizing principles. The most striking example is the story of the “jar of needles.” As recounted in the discussion, generations of TPLF leaders were told that during the reign of Emperor Menelik, “አንድ ገንቦ ሙሉ መርፌ ከትግራይ ሕዝብ ተሰብስቦ ወደ ሸዋ ተወስዶ ነበር፣ የትግራይ ሕዝብ ቀዳዳ ልብሱን እንኳን እንዳይሰፋ።” (“An entire jar of needles was collected from the people of Tigray and taken to Shoa so that the people of Tigray could not even mend their torn clothes.”) The journalists go on to state that this same narrative resurfaced during the recent Northern Ethiopian War as propaganda used to mobilize young people, repeating the message: “እዚህ ድረስ ነው ሸዋ የበደለን፣ እዚህ ድረስ ነው አማራ የበደለን።” (“This is how far Shoa has wronged us; this is how far the Amhara have wronged us.”) One of the speakers then asks a haunting question: “ምን ዓይነት በሽታ ነው? … ይህ መርዘኝነት?” (“What kind of disease is this? … This poisonous mentality?”) Whether one accepts or rejects the historical accuracy of this particular story, the discussion is significant because it comes from journalists from Tigray reflecting critically on the political culture of the TPLF itself. It also illustrates a broader challenge for Ethiopia: when historical memory is repeatedly framed through collective grievance and directed toward a single community, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to build trust, shared citizenship, and a peaceful political future. Breaking that cycle requires confronting inherited narratives honestly while refusing to pass them uncritically to the next generation. The timing makes the discussion particularly striking. During the Northern Ethiopian War, Ethiopia’s federal government was led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, while the country’s senior political and security leadership was not drawn from the Amhara community. Yet, according to the journalists’ account, historical grievances continued to be framed primarily in terms of “Shoa” and “Amhara.” This raises an important question: if the conflict was fundamentally between the TPLF leadership and a federal government that many critics describe as being dominated by Oromo political elites and influenced by OLF narratives, why did narratives of collective blame continue to focus on the Amhara? The question becomes even more significant in light of the public testimony of former Ethiopian official #Taye_Dendea, who stated in a recorded interview, before his imprisonment, that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had declared, “I am going to destroy the Amhara.” Similar accounts have since been echoed by other former senior Oromo officials who later left Ethiopia. Readers are, of course, free to examine those interviews, many of which I have previously shared, and reach their own conclusions. In my view, this reflects a deeper political pattern in which the Amhara people continue to serve as the principal historical reference point for accumulated grievances, despite the changing composition of state power. Tragically, the Amhara also paid an enormous human cost during the Northern Ethiopian War bearing the greatest brunt, making this persistent attribution of collective responsibility all the more significant. UN Human Rights Council UN Human Rights Yale Genocide Studies Program

The Jar of Needles: Historical Memory, Grievance Politics, and the Amhara Question One of the most revealing aspects of contemporary Ethiopian politics is not simply disagreement over history, but the transmission of historical narratives across generations. In a recent discussion of General Tsadkan’s new book, Abebech Kahasay and Araya Tesfamariam, two Ethiopian journalists of Tigrayan origin, offer an unusually candid critique of what they describe as the TPLF’s enduring political culture. Their argument is not directed at the people of Tigray, but at a political tradition that, in their view, continues to frame war and inherited grievance as central organizing principles. The most striking example is the story of the “jar of needles.” As recounted in the discussion, generations of TPLF leaders were told that during the reign of Emperor Menelik, “አንድ ገንቦ ሙሉ መርፌ ከትግራይ ሕዝብ ተሰብስቦ ወደ ሸዋ ተወስዶ ነበር፣ የትግራይ ሕዝብ ቀዳዳ ልብሱን እንኳን እንዳይሰፋ።” (“An entire jar of needles was collected from the people of Tigray and taken to Shoa so that the people of Tigray could not even mend their torn clothes.”) The journalists go on to state that this same narrative resurfaced during the recent Northern Ethiopian War as propaganda used to mobilize young people, repeating the message: “እዚህ ድረስ ነው ሸዋ የበደለን፣ እዚህ ድረስ ነው አማራ የበደለን።” (“This is how far Shoa has wronged us; this is how far the Amhara have wronged us.”) One of the speakers then asks a haunting question: “ምን ዓይነት በሽታ ነው? … ይህ መርዘኝነት?” (“What kind of disease is this? … This poisonous mentality?”) Whether one accepts or rejects the historical accuracy of this particular story, the discussion is significant because it comes from journalists from Tigray reflecting critically on the political culture of the TPLF itself. It also illustrates a broader challenge for Ethiopia: when historical memory is repeatedly framed through collective grievance and directed toward a single community, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to build trust, shared citizenship, and a peaceful political future. Breaking that cycle requires confronting inherited narratives honestly while refusing to pass them uncritically to the next generation. The timing makes the discussion particularly striking. During the Northern Ethiopian War, Ethiopia’s federal government was led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, while the country’s senior political and security leadership was not drawn from the Amhara community. Yet, according to the journalists’ account, historical grievances continued to be framed primarily in terms of “Shoa” and “Amhara.” This raises an important question: if the conflict was fundamentally between the TPLF leadership and a federal government that many critics describe as being dominated by Oromo political elites and influenced by OLF narratives, why did narratives of collective blame continue to focus on the Amhara? The question becomes even more significant in light of the public testimony of former Ethiopian official #Taye_Dendea, who stated in a recorded interview, before his imprisonment, that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had declared, “I am going to destroy the Amhara.” Similar accounts have since been echoed by other former senior Oromo officials who later left Ethiopia. Readers are, of course, free to examine those interviews, many of which I have previously shared, and reach their own conclusions. In my view, this reflects a deeper political pattern in which the Amhara people continue to serve as the principal historical reference point for accumulated grievances, despite the changing composition of state power. Tragically, the Amhara also paid an enormous human cost during the Northern Ethiopian War bearing the greatest brunt, making this persistent attribution of collective responsibility all the more significant. UN Human Rights Council UN Human Rights Yale Genocide Studies Program

Dawit

16,121 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten