Ethiopia: The Agony Of Tribal Nationalism – OpEd

In whatever form it manifests, be it distaste for foreigners, refugees and asylum seekers, nationalistic economic policy or flag-waving patriotism, tribal nationalism is a cancer on the world, Violent, ugly and often deadly, it creates and reinforces division, resulting in one war after another throughout history.

Ethiopia is a land rich in ethnic diversity: about 70 tribal groups live in this ancient country, All with their own cultures, traditions and dialects. Tolerance, understanding and cooperation are necessary in such a liberal scenario.

Since 2018, when the repressive, TPLF-dominated EPRD regime was toppled and the current government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office, Ethiopia as a unified stable nation has been divided between tribal nationalists of one sect or the other. Has been a victim of attack. After forcing the militants of the US-backed Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to disarm, the threat facing the country now comes from extremists from the Oromo region: the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF); its armed wing the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA); Keiro Oromo Youth Organization; sympathetic/coercive forces within the Oromo Regional Authority (ORA); radical elements within the district militia, the Oromo Special Force (OSF); and many suspicious, separatist elements within the federal government itself.

This ruthless alliance is focused on eliminating the Amhara people from the Oromo region, reducing the overall Amhara population, and forcing the creation of an Oromo republic. They are engaged in a deadly campaign of destruction, threatening to tear the country to pieces, a project that can be undertaken by anyone Definition Qualifies as genocide.

Death, Displacement and Partition

An important date in the Amhara people’s campaign to cleanse the Oromo evil The 14–16 September 2018 massacre came five months after PM Ahmed became prime minister and invited exiled political groups to return to Ethiopia. Encouraged by the return of the OLF, a group of Oromo thugs (including radicalized youth), under the banner of ‘Abe Torabi’ (of the weak), attacked Amhara people, property and businesses, killing, mainstream media reported, 23 People . Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, have died since then; Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced – in the country with the largest number of displaced persons in Africa.

United Nations guess It should be around 5.5 million, but when many of those scattered are not living in organized UNHCR refugee camps but in temporary shelters, abandoned buildings or simply on the land, exact figures are nearly impossible to tally. Suffice to say, vast numbers of men, women and children living simple, often gruesome lives in rural/semi-rural Ethiopia are destitute, traumatized and fearful as a result of OLF/K terrorist actions. OLA and affiliated gangs, or TPLF.

Ethnic cleansing (a deeply regressive, inflammatory term, like ‘genocide’) forms the cornerstone of a coordinated Oromo strategy aimed at igniting social unrest and institutional destabilization in which power is usurped, or consolidated. For this, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) was attacked by Oromo nationalists on 22 January.

Three Orthodox bishops unilaterally announced the creation of the “Holy Synod of Oromia”; Arguing that their decision was motivated by the EOTC’s failure to offer religious services in Aboriginal languages. This is a hollow justification: EOTC priests regularly preach in regional languages ​​and have always done so. To the dismay of many, the government in the form of PM Abiy appeared to be supporting the ‘rebel bishop’. The Amhara Association of America (AAA), an Ethiopian NGO based in the US, is one of a growing number who believe that the government was party to the action. In a statement, they condemned “in the strongest terms the ongoing persecution of religious leaders by the Abiy Ahmed regime and its attempt to split the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC).”

This attack on the most trusted national institution had nothing to do with the Church, but is part of a political campaign to divide people on ethnic lines and control the population by infiltrating the EOTC, which is costing lives to millions. is the cornerstone of Ethiopian. The ‘rebel bishop’ was swiftly excommunicated by the Tewahedo Church, and hundreds of thousands of people across the country united in solidarity with the EOTC.

aggression and hatred

At the violent center of Oromo nationalism sits the OLF, regarded (incorrectly) as a legitimate political party, and the OLA, officially labeled as terrorist, after returning to Ethiopia in 2018. OLF and OLA are two wings of a single entity united by a single ideology of aggression and hatred. as their primary goal, spelling Available at the OLF website: “To lead the national liberation struggle of the Oromo people against Abyssinian colonial rule [a ‘struggle’ that would not exist save for the OLF]… to exercise the inalienable right of the Oromo people to national self-determination to end a century of oppression and exploitation. They talk a lot about the ‘Empire State of Ethiopia’ (which they appear to associate with the Amhara people), ‘divide and rule’ and the policies of the ‘oppressed people’.

Under the former TPLF-dominated EPRDF government, a brutally repressive dictatorship, the Oromo people, like many others, brutally persecuted and tortured – see Amnesty International reports, The anger (widespread among Ethiopians) towards the TPLF, then, is understandable. But far from attacking them, the OLF stood with the TPLF during its two-year war (2020–2022) against the Ethiopian state, and is now primarily (but not exclusively) ethnically against the Amhara people. Driven is torturing.

It is citizens, not members of an ‘evil empire’, who are being killed and terrorised, their livestock slaughtered and homes destroyed: AAA Estimate In January alone “over 5,885 homes [in Sheger City on the outskirts of Addis Ababa] that belonged to non-Oromo owners (mostly ethnic Amhars) were demolished, resulting in thousands of displaced Amhars. “demolition [which are ongoing] The attacks were carried out by a task force of the Shegar City Administration (Oromia Regional State) with the support of the Oromia Special Forces (OSF), the Oromia Police and the local KURO (ultranationalist Oromo youth). Oromia Region Security Force [OSF] They were also involved in various abuses against residents, including arbitrary arrests and physical injuries. Targeted actions, killings, destruction of property and false arrests are carried out with complete impunity.

Where is the federal government, a government that made so many promises when it took office in 2018? Where it should be protecting the Amhara community, arresting those responsible for the killings and dismantling terrorist groups, it appears to be largely impotent or worse, as a growing number of Ethiopians believe.,There is collusion. The regional authority, ORA, is implacably implicated, and this body is answerable to the federal government headed by Ahmed.

Thus, criticism and skepticism of the government, especially Prime Minister Ahmed, has been on the rise; From allegations of direct involvement in Oromo nationalists’ plans to criminal neglect; political weakness among powerful Oromo voices (in the ORA and within the governing party); or total incapacitation.

accusations and mistrust that have been compounded in recent weeks by a series of repressive measures. In addition to the attempted church coup, the regime has arbitrarily detained Ethiopians. reporters/Media Personnel, Suspendedmedia outlets, clamped down At protests, arrested protesters and limited access to social media; Celebrations for Adwa (the victory over the Italians in the Battle of Ethiopia) were cut short Adva 1 March 1896), a national moment of collective pride; and arrested anyone wearing a T-shirt bearing the image of Menelik II, who was on the throne at the time of the war.

These restrictive acts are reminiscent of the repressive TPLF-led regime (in power for 27 years), when human rights were completely ignored and fear was widespread. Some dictatorships are born in tyranny, others work in the dark one oppressive act at a time, until one day paranoia sets in.,

black spot of hypocrisy

The first duty of the government is to protect the public. The Amhara people, persecuted for generations, are being killed by terrorist gangs and radical Oromo groups including the OSF, and the Ahmed government has completely failed to protect them. More than that, by their inaction they are allowing killings and destruction to continue day after day, week after week – giving ethno-nationalists the green light for their barbarism.

Such criminal apathy by the government actually amounts to collusion, and throws the spotlight of suspicion directly on the PM. He does not visit IDCs to talk to victims or launch investigations to establish what happened, fails to offer federal support, reparations and, importantly, justice,

A recent incident illustrates the Ahmaud regime’s prevalent attitude towards the killings and suffering of Amhara people: in the first week of February, Ola attacked Amhara residents in an Internal Displacement Camp (IDC) in the town of Anno in East Volga. AAA reports that 41 people were killed and 12 were injured by the terrorists. PM was in Europe at the same time seizure The heads of state in Italy and France, where they were filmed smiling happily as they sat in luxury, chatted. No mention was made in press statements or interviews about the killings that took place in his absence, or about the ongoing ethnic slaughter. Why not? Putting civilians at risk and catching the perpetrators of mass murders should be an absolute priority for him and his government.

One word that is regularly applied to Ahmed is egotistical – is he more concerned with his international image than the lives of his fellow Ethiopians? Like many such ‘leaders’, he undoubtedly focused on his ‘legacy’. Well, unless he acts swiftly and resolutely to account for the mass killings in the Oromo, a dark stain of duplicity, and potential genocide, will run over any such will.

The Ethiopian government is not alone in ignoring and thus facilitating the killing of the Amhara people. From what I can see, there has not been a single statement of concern, condemnation or support from the ‘international community’ ie the US and its allies. All of whom, following the US lead, were quick to level one false accusation after another against the Ahmed government at a time when the country was under attack from the US-backed TPLF. Now, while criticism and skepticism are needed and external (diplomatic) involvement is appropriate to an extent, there is in fact no immediate need for peeping from any government, prime minister or president.

And barely a by-line in the corporate media, certainly nothing at the loudest voices in the world, the BBC and CNN. Following the lead of the US State Department, both organizations continually spread propaganda and lies about the Ethiopian government during the TPLF-initiated war. The approach of Western governments (and the media) to foreign affairs is largely determined by American foreign policy, which is rooted in arrogance and paranoia, and is currently obsessed with Russia and China.

The US administration, EU, UK etc., are certainly not concerned about the killing of thousands of Amhara people. Unless of course it results in total destabilization of Ethiopia and renders itself open to US intervention. Until then, the situation seems to be, let the killings continue, after all the poor black Africans are the only victims of tribal hatred.

neglected by the Ethiopian government, Ethiopia’s neighbors, global powers and the African Union (where, at the recent AU summit, while talking ‘About finding African solutions to African problems, Ahmed shamefully failed to mention the plight/problem of the Amhara), which has been deafeningly silent, at least in public, to arm the gunmen; encourages Yobs to smash and burn houses; There is no value to the lives of the men women and children who are being attacked, and thus provides license to terrorists to continue. Stand up, stand up who knows about this horror in our midst and demand that the Ethiopian government act to stop the genocide.