Tag: ethiopia tigray conflict

Prof. Kebede says eliminate ethnicity by any and all means to preserve Ethiopia

Dr. Kebede wrote an article in which he called for the “closure” of different ethnic groups in Ethiopia but also said aversions to other ethnic groups are learned and should be unlearned. This aversion is a major feature of the Abiy Ahmed regime in contrast to Dr. Kebede.

The latest writings of an Ethiopian diaspora academic living in USA are getting a lot of attention from Ethiopian government supporters.  Messay Kebede, continues the elitist view that authoritarian means are allowable to reach the goal of Ethiopian nationhood by eliminating non-Amharic ethnicity.  For many years this academic has been a source of building a sense of Amharic elitism under the false pretense of Ethiopian national identity.

Well recognized academic Dr. Messay Kebede wrote yesterday in the Ethiopia Observer that Ethiopia has no choice but to rapidly invade Tigray in light of its “military victory”. He like many of the Amahra elites are opposed to the UN and Western democracy requests for a cease fire but instead want the war to continue mercilessly. 

His writings have changed almost 180 degrees from what he was writing prior to Abiy Ahmed coming to power to what he is writing now in support of Abiy Ahmed.  Now he calls the goal of creating a nonethnic unified Ethiopia as a legitimate excuse for overwhelming force in Tigray and Oromo while saying nothing against genocide. Amazingly his calls for oppressive Ethiopian military action stand in stark contrast to what he stated in previous writings.

Previously in January 2021 he had called for Abiy Ahmed to take down the “Oromo elites” even if he had to use “authoritarian” means as the way to allow an Ethiopian nationhood to emerge from previous ethnic centered politics. He goes further in the recent writing to predict that the Tigray and Oromo will welcome Ethiopia forces as “liberators”. After my 7 years of living in Tigray including experiencing the occupation of Mekelle whilst carrying for hundred of Tigrayan victims of Abiy Ahmed’s directed atrocities I cannot imagine how this could be true. Previously the Tigray suffered for almost 2 decades under the Derg regime without surrender.

In 2016 he celebrated the development of Amharic resistance to the Ethiopia Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front and called for the Oromo to join in that fight. He noted that other Amhara were fearful that joining with Oromo could strengthen the Oromo quest for secession. Interesting he stated at that time however that a government who had to call an army to quell rebellion was weak.

The mobilization of army units to crush a popular rebellion is not a sign of strength; it is the proof that the regime has lost all legitimacy so that it can only govern by force and intimidation. Such a regime is at the mercy of incidents, not to mention the inevitability of internal divisions and even of a coup d’état.

In this same 2016 writing, he called for those wanting change to insure that a new way of ruling is required. In other words those that come after the EPRDF should not rule in the same dominating way. This somewhat echoes the recent comments of former Ethiopian minister Falsin Abdi who resigned her position because she felt Abiy Ahmed was wanting to start a regime based upon Amhara domination. Now Messay Kebede seems to have forgotten his previous words.

This noted academic like many Amhara comes to his opinions based upon the idea that an Amharic defined Ethiopian nationalism is best for Ethiopia which requires the elimination of other ethnic identities. Whereas the Tigray and many Oromo fighting for liberation see ethnic preservation in a coalition is vital to preserving their culture and way of life.

Dr. Kebede has previously received acclaim from many among the Amhara intellectual elites for his writings on the causes and mechanisms of the Ethiopian revolution against the Derg regime in the book, Autopsy of the Ethiopian Revolution. Following the the Ethiopia People’s Revolutionary Front coming to power, Kebede was on the faculty at Addis Ababa University for 15 years. Many Amharic academics clashed with EPRDF policy of recognizing multiple ethnic identities and preserving regional autonomy including Dr. Kebede. After spending 5 months in jail he decided to immigrate to the United States in 1994 where he has been on the faculty at the University of Dayton since 1998.

Filsan Abdi former Ethiopian minister says Abiy Ahmed never wanted peace with Tigray

Former Ethiopian Minister of Women, Children, and Youth gave an interview to the Washington Post to “set the record straight” that Abiy Ahmed never wanted peace but instead was aiming for another “ethnic domination”

The Washington Post interview of the former Ethiopian Minister of Children, Women, and Youth, Filsan Abdi, shows the bravery and honesty of one high ranking official who chose to leave an immoral government at risk to herself and family choosing now to tell the truth about the Ethiopian leader Abiy Ahmed. Now outside the country she feels the need to speak out about why she left Ethiopia.

No one can accuse Filsan Abdi, sometimes identified as Filsan Abdullahi Ahmed, of being a Tigray Peoples Liberation Front sympathizer. She recalls the unfair treatment her family and other Ethiopian Somalis underwent at times under the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front formed by Meles Zenawi. She had hoped that Abiy Ahmed would create a better democratic Ethiopia but instead felt she was being drawn into another “ethnic domination”.

A pious Muslim whose faith teaches peace over war, that war has strict rules of engagement, and that protection of women and children as paramount she notes that what Abiy Ahmed was doing was more about “revenge” and power then justice. Hers was the lone voice in a government based upon deceit that loudly proclaimed that violations against women and civilians had been carried out by Eritrean and Ethiopian forces in Tigray following and investigation carried out by herself and the attorney general. In her recent interview she said the following about Abiy Ahmed’s cruel policies:

“But if we don’t back away from it, we are doomed,”

“One day we will wake up from this nightmare and have to ask ourselves: How will we live with the choices we made?”

The environment of Ethiopia under the current grasp of Abiy Ahmed and his Prosperity Party is of tight control of media and messaging. No dissent is allowed. Any expression of disagreement with official party views or news is considered an act of terrorism subjecting the offender to imprisonment without trial or hearing.

The political mechanism controlling the messages approved by Abiy Ahmed extends beyond the borders of Ethiopia into the internet alliances subsidized by China, Russia, Iran, and other authoritarian states. These alternative news sites, although perhaps they are better called “opinion” sites all claim victim hood suffered Western democracies against Iran, Eritrea, and all of Africa. For them they belief in a nefarious claim that Abiy Ahmed is the necessary hero taking the necessary actions even if grave in nature to free all Africans from this legacy.

The world as well those blindly following Abiy Ahmed’s inhumane policies should listen to this righteous woman who is pleading for a just outcome to the current crisis in Ethiopia which begins by recognizing truth from propaganda.

Ethiopia out of AGOA will benefit West African development

The removal of Ethiopia from the AGOA treaty opens up opportunities for West Africa to develop a textile industry from its high output cotton crops

Claims by Abiy Ahmed supporters of Pan Africanism supporting Ethiopian and Eritrean war efforts forget that Ethiopia’s favored status by the USA may have previously hindered other areas of African development. Now Ethiopia’s loss of participation in the AGOA may bring a new focus and new opportunities for developing West Africa’s large cotton industry which will be included in the AGOA treaty.

West African countries which are greatest producers of cotton on the continent stand to gain greatly from the removal of Ethiopia from the AGOA treaty. The conversion of Ethiopia into an authoritarian state carrying out a genocidal war against the Tigray and Oromo while eliminating free press, civil rights, and right to due process including extrajudicial killing and detention resulted in the appropriate removal of Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act Treaty which requires maintaining civil rights and democracy.

Ethiopia produces little cotton requiring high costs of importing from other regions.  Meanwhile the West African countries of Benin, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso respectively rank sixth, seventh, and eighth in the world in terms of cotton production. Currently only 2% of the local output is used to create textiles which have underdeveloped in West Africa.  The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement goes into effect January 1st which will further facilitate local trade in West Africa.

Currently West Africa spends more in importing finished textiles $2.8 billion than it exports in raw cotton $992 million. The Oxford Business Group reported that the West Africa Competitiveness Programme, created as a partnership between the EU and ECOWAS, estimates that establishing a garment supply chain in the region could boost the industry’s value by as much as 600% which would be many times larger than that seen in Ethiopia. This would involve building capacity along the entire supply chain: spinning cotton into yarn, weaving yarn into fabric, and dyeing, printing and designing finished clothing. Many analysts see over 250,000 jobs be added to sustain a new textile hub in Africa.

 

Ethiopia promise no drone use against civilians may allow lawsuits in USA

Drone strikes against civilians in Southern Tigray from drones sold to Ethiopia by UAE and Turkey are continuing

New revelations that Turkey and UAE forced Ethiopia to sign agreements promising no drone use against civilians provides insight into potential legal action against Ethiopia in the USA.

As a way to cover themselves from later sanctions, litigation from victims, and complaints of blasphemy against Islam sources are now reporting that Turkey and the United Arab Emirates had Ethiopia sign agreements regarding the use of drones purchased.  Apparently this was the message given to United States Horn of Africa Special Representative, Jeffrey Feltman, during his visits to those countries. No doubt these two Muslim countries foresaw potential criticism and legal action arising from these controversial sales and thus covered themselves with this pre-agreement.

These agreements to only proper military use of drones could be key pieces of evidence that Ethiopia not only obtained these weapons but agreed to use them only against military targets and not against civilians. As a member of the United Nations Ethiopia is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other conventions against civilian targeting in war and against genocide which forbids these immoral actions.

There is a law in the United States, the Alien Tort Statue, first passed in 1789 and then extended into the Torture Victim Protection Act in 1991 and signed by President George H.W. Bush, which has been used successfully in cases involving torture, state-sponsored sexual violence, extrajudicial killing, crimes against humanity, war crimes and arbitrary detention. This extension of 1991 gives similar rights to U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike to bring claims for torture and extrajudicial killing committed in foreign countries.

The government of Ethiopia as well as government owned entities like Ethiopian airlines maintain assets in the United States in the banking system, properties, and other financial vehicles. These may be now be at risk of litigation to compensate the tens of thousands of victims in the Ethiopian murder and violation of Tigray, Oromo, and other victims.

Since its founding Islam has called for very strict adherence to rules of war by the Prophet Mohammed and later written by his General Abu Bakr which are often referred to as the Ten Rules for the Muslim Army. Clearly Turkey and UAE where aware of this potential conflict to their avowed religion in selling drones to Ethiopia. Whether these written agreements to Ethiopia would protect them from litigation is open to question?

O people! I charge you with ten rules; learn them well!

Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those that are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy’s flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone.

Ethiopian government says devil resides in all Tigray mothers implying genocide needed

The Ethiopian Press Agency which functions under the Ethiopian House of Representatives gives an inhuman description of Tigray mothers as possessed by Satan

An official Ethiopian government publication now says that Tigray mothers possess the “spirit of the Devil” suggesting they are not human and should be totally eradicated. This is latest indisputable proof of intentional genocide taken together with ongoing bombing of civilians as well as the starvation of millions of innocent women and children in Tigray by the Ethiopian government. 

Thanks to Yaddi Bojia for revealing this latest despicable wicked intent. This war on the Tigray has never been and is not now a “law enforcement operation”. The words of so called Deacon Daniel Kibret, trusted advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, repeated multiple times that the Tigray people and any history of their existence must be eliminated are once again echoed in this latest government declaration. Everyday of inaction to stop this horror costs innocent lives. Abiy Ahmed’s propaganda of dehumanizing his opponents including Tigrayans to justify genocide is plainly demonstrating itself once again.

 

A tribute and prayer for Filsan Abdullahi Ahmed

Filsan Abdullahi Ahmed resigned her position as Minister of Women, Children, and Youth in September 2021 citing personal reasons but it is clear the behavior of the government was not tolerable to her faith.

There are reports that former Ethiopian Minister of Women, Filsan Abdullahi Ahmed, is in Kenya hoping to find peace for Ethiopia. We know her faith in Islam teaches that women and children are to be protected in war. I pray that Allah, the Arabic name for God who formed his covenant with Abraham which also lead to my Christian faith, will watch over his faithful servant. There is always hope for a peaceful solution to the Ethiopian crisis when good people of conscience and faith exist.

Filsan Abdullahi Ahmed was appointed the Minister of Women, Children, and Youth by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in March of 2020. She is an observant Muslim Somali region native from educated parents and education in both Ethiopia and England. Prior to government service she had established her reputation as working with youth and seeking equality for women in government positions.

After the occupation of Mekelle, the Tigray capital, reports came out of many instances of violence against women which caused her to work with the Attorney General in Mekelle in February to investigate these claims. As a result on February 11, 2021 she announced such claims were “true without a doubt”. Ultimately Abiy Ahmed and his followers began a propaganda campaign against the truth leading to Filsan Ahmed’s resignation on September 27, 2021. Apparently now she is exile and fearing reprisal. 

The ongoing Ethiopian war is depriving a generation of education and growth

“As the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region expands, an entire generation of children is facing a disruption to their education that will limit their economic opportunities and could fuel further conflict.”

Abiy Ahmed’s ongoing war on Tigray and Oromo is costing Ethiopian youth throughout Ethiopia a chance for a decent education and to escape poverty. The all out financial burdens of war have created massive inflation and diversion of funds away from education. Instead of going to school teenagers from Northern Ethiopia now just like their Eritrean neighbors to the north under Isaias Afwerki can only look forward to carrying a rifle instead of books.

The effect of war on children includes not only poor physical development from malnutrition but also psychosocial developmental aberration due to constant lack of security for families as noted in past reports to UNESCO.  For example the militarized country of Eritrea with a population of only 4 million or so frequently has more than 300,000 youth not being significantly educated. As a university educator for medical students, neuroscientists, and neurosurgeons in Tigray who was seeing Ethiopia hoping to emerge into a 21st century middle income country which can only be achieved by a strong education system this hope has all but faded.

Following the Derg war and Eritrean wars Ethiopia had gradually made progress in developing education. However, research on the effect of the Eritrean war showed that deprivation of education had severe long term effects on the Ethiopian economy. The percent of national budget had risen to over 4% of government spending under the previous government which was above average for an African country but still many of the poor especially rural women did not progress beyond elementary school.  Now that number has decreased drastically.

Every school in Tigray was destroyed by Eritrean and Ethiopian forces. Several million people including children are now displaced such that tens of thousands of schools are now dysfunctional in Tigray, Amhara, and the Afar regions. The Ethiopian government has shut down the primary and secondary education system supposedly to allow harvesting of crops but the reality is there is no available funding for education now and will not be until the war comes to end. 

Jeffrey Feltman’s high stakes but potential high reward mission

Special Representative to the Horn of Africa is going to UAE, Egypt, and Turkey this week to discuss the Ethiopia Tigray conflict as well as related issues

The complicated issues to be discussed by United States Special Representative Jeffrey Feltman with United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Egypt are as big challenge as one can imagine but the stakes are high for all involved. The discussion will be pointed to finding peace in Northern Ethiopia between Tigray and the Ethiopian government but will also have to include stalemates in water use agreements of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and trying to resurrect the nuclear arms treaty with Iran. While visiting the three named countries discussion involving and perhaps under the radar are also likely to go on with Israel, Eritrea, and  Iran. 

Saudi Arabia and UAE continue to fight a proxy war in Yemen supporting government forces against Iranian backed Houthi insurgents which seems to be stuck in constant famine and civilian death but no resolution. This could be repeated in Ethiopia if no negotiated peace comes.

The United States has maintained targets for negotiation to fruitfully begin including Tigray forces withdrawal to its borders, Eritrea withdrawal from Ethiopia, free flow of food, medicine, and fuel to Tigray and the other regions of Ethiopia. It has asked for a clear and comprehensive investigation of human rights violations including those against women in Tigray and Northern Ethiopia by all parties by an unbiased body.

The United States has considerable power to negotiate as Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Iran would want to escape further sanctions which could be devastating. Egypt and Sudan are at the point of hostility to the point that they are not in a serious discussions with Ethiopia. Offering Iran a chance to re-enter markets may sway its selling of weapons to Ethiopia.  The United Arab Emirates enjoys its sovereignty but its closeness with the United States is more vital then supplying Ethiopia weapons. Being good negotiators they no doubt will want some favorable concessions.

Ethiopia needs to decide if it wants to stay as a favored nation to the United States and Western democracies are move to the China, Russia, Iranian axis. With debts approaching $80 billion and no agreement in sight with China on repayment there is no doubt that many years of austerity lay ahead for Ethiopia even if it wins “victory” soon cutting its future economic development severely. Without negotiation there is a risk of civil instability going on for years with the consequent limited international interest in investing in Ethiopian development.

On the other hand Tigray will have make a promise to stay within its borders in return for guarantees of security from the United States and Western democracies. Tigray needs friends but that comes at the price of forgetting to attempt an overthrow of the Ethiopian federal government. No doubt what to do with Western Tigray will be a major contention.

In the ideal world, the GERD controversy, Sudanese-Ethiopian land dispute, and Tigray war could be tied up with less sanctions for Iran and Eritrea. Not everyone would get all they want but more war could be averted. We can only hope reason will reign over passion for all groups. 

 

The constant gauntlet of fear without hope for the Tigray of Addis Ababa

International authorities estimate thousands of Tigray have been arrested recently in Addis Ababa

This family crisis was told to me a few hours ago. She was born in Addis as were her parents. Had only been to Tigray a few times and did not speak Tigrinya well. She and her husband had gone to Addis Ababa University and been active in the community helping the lest fortunate of all ethnicities for the past few years.  Their three children went to a local elementary school. No involvement in politics at all. They were church going to the local Orthodox church. Their neighborhood was not known to have many Tigray. Many of her neighbors who had previously been friendly and interacting had withdrawn from contact increasingly.

Several weeks ago federal police came and took her husband away and took her bank deposit book informing her that their joint professional office was closed as was her bank account. They searched her phone and erased it. Friends and family have been bringing food but this week the local neighborhood “watch” group told those bringing food to stop lest they would be arrested.

Today they took “Tigist”(not her real name). The authorities just took her and put her in truck with many others. No time to arrange anything. No message to anyone. Her next door neighbor heard the three children all under 7 at home crying. Now her neighbor is wondering if she is next.

Another day of the year of injustice to innocent Tigray of Ethiopia. Nobody knows exactly how many are detained or even where they are. They have no rights of habeas corpus or even to a lawyer. Trying to find out where they are can gets the one asking in detainment just for asking the question. How many is speculated to be at least 40,000 from Addis Ababa and growing everyday.

Ethiopia not invited to Biden Summit on Democracy and will suffer more severe sanctions

Statement on Detentions in Ethiopia from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, UK, and USA

President Biden will hold his “Summit on Democracy” virtually December 9-10 with 110 countries but Ethiopia, Eritrea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Sudan will not be invited. The Biden administration has stated that concurrent with the meeting there will be announcement of wide actions including further sanctions against countries violating human rights and practicing corruption.

The State Department of the United States has stated on numerous occasions that Eritrea should leave its occupation of Ethiopian territory, the Tigray forces should return to their territorial borders, and that Abiy Ahmed should stop imprisonment of Tigrayans. Today a Joint Statement on Detentions in Ethiopia was jointly released by the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Sanctions are likely to be imposed on Ethiopia and Eritrea according to a spokesman for the United States Treasury Department who said “Treasury will take a series of actions to designate individuals who are engaged in malign activities that undermine democracy and democratic institutions around the world including corruption, repression, organized crime, and serious human rights abuse,” to many leaders around the world.