Ethiopia’s Politics of Hate By Yonas Araya
Ethiopia’s Politics of Hate
It’s heartbreaking to hear that most Ethiopians’ hate speech directed against the Tigrayans comes mainly from Amhara politicians and activists.
The president of the so-called Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, which always condones or whitewashes crimes on Tigrayans, is an Amhara. An Amhara air force commander ordered the airstrikes on a crowded marketplace in 2021 and many other airstrikes that target civilians, including IDP camps. Additionally, Amhara activists orchestrated the herding of thousands and thousands of Tigrayan civilians into concentration camps; ordered the extra-judicial killing of Tigrayans in many parts of Ethiopia, in concentration camps and prisons, including the execution of POWs, and the burning alive of innocent Tigrayan civilians.
For the record, I am not accusing all Amharas of spreading hatred toward Tigrayans, only exposing the politicians and activists preaching hatred. Ordinary Amharas are as victims of the Amhara politicians as Eritreans are of the totalitarian ruler.
And above all, the man-child, the authoritarian ruler of Ethiopia, whose family background is as dubious as that of the totalitarian ruler of Eritrea, is the prime enabler of all the crimes committed by Amhara politicians and activists.
Still, adding insult to injury, the so-called “peace” committee, which has shown no intention of negotiating peace in good faith, is chaired by Mr. Demeke Mekonen, a person whose hatred for Tigrayans has no boundaries. What’s more, the committee, dominated by Amhara politicians and activists, has demonstrated openly to solely represent the interest of the Amhara region by masquerading itself as the federal government representative.
Again, Mr. Demeke Mekonen openly endorsed the takeover and occupation of Western Tigray by the Amhara region in violation of the Federal Constitution. He made it clear that he does not respect the sanctity of the Federal Constitution. Still, despite that, the man-child, the authoritarian ruler of Ethiopia, handpicked Mr. Demeke as the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Ethiopia (two titles) and, on top of those, the chairperson of the “peace” committee.
One would think individuals who do not respect the sanctity of the Constitution should not hold any high-level government positions. But for the Ethiopian ruler to designate someone with a conflict of interest to chair the negotiation committee is a testimony to his lack of sincere desire and commitment to a peaceful solution.
Again, for all intents and purposes, Mr. Demeke represents the interests of the Amhara region and activists above the nation’s interests. By the way, Mr. Demeke is the person with whom the corrupt and dishonest Mr. Obasanjo and the AU have been telling the Tigrayans to negotiate. Mr. Obasanjo and the AU have the Tigrayan people’s blood in their hands.
It seems most outspoken Amhara politicians and activists believe that Amharas can live in peace only after the Tigrayans are humiliated, subjugated, or, worse, wiped out of the face of this earth. And to me, this tremendous blunder will have terrible consequences for future Amhara children for generations to come.
The second blunder is that they believe that all Eritreans prefer the Amharas to Tigrayans; that all Eritreans love and support the totalitarian ruler of Eritrea; and that the totalitarian ruler of Eritrea will be around for years to come to help them wipe out the Tigrayans.
It appears the few trolls on the Net, the totalitarian ruler’s hired hands, have fooled many Amhara politicians and activists. Hired trolls, most of whom are individuals with identity crises or dubious identities or do not have roots in Eritrea outside of Asmara, or trolls who reached adulthood or grew up during the era of the totalitarian ruler’s rule without a moral, family, or ethical values and guidance.
The Amhara activists fail to see that patriotic Eritreans cannot wait until the totalitarian ruler is gone. Moreover, patriotic Eritreans resent the authoritarian ruler of Ethiopia and the Amhara politicians and activists for prolonging the sufferings of their people by throwing in a life vest to the totalitarian ruler, who had been on the verge of his demise.
Yes, for the time being, the principal threat to Tigray is the totalitarian ruler of Eritrea. In reality, had it not been for the totalitarian ruler’s masterminding and convincing of the man-child and Amhara politicians to invade and conquer Tigray, Tigray and Ethiopia would’ve been at peace now.
Regardless, had the man-child and the Amhara activists not befriended the totalitarian ruler; had they not brushed off the long-sufferings of Eritreans under the totalitarian ruler; and had they made friends with the oppressed Eritrean population instead of with the cruel tyrant, Ethiopia would not have found itself on the verge of disintegration now.
Again, the truth is, despite what his hired trolls tell on the Net, the totalitarian ruler won’t be here for long, and Tigray will be free from the besieging soon. Additionally, with friendly Eritrea in the north, Tigray will undoubtedly recover its historical territories west of the Tekeze River with minimal sacrifice.
Western Tigray: The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes. Western Tigray is an inherent part of Tigray. Proof, almost all the names of the sites in Western Tigray either originate in Tigrigna or are in Tigrigna. Therefore, it defies any logic when anyone believes that the Amharas inhabited the area for centuries yet decided to name them in a language they didn’t understand or even some words they couldn’t correctly pronounce.
On top of that, the Ethiopian federal constitution’s ethnolinguistic-based boundaries of regions make the Western Tigray constitutionally part of the Tigray region because the predominant inhabitants of Western Tigray were Tigrayans. Even the Derg regime’s census confirmed that. But not only that, for centuries, even when and after in 1942, an Amhara king, King Haile Sellassie, made the Western Tigray part of the Gondor/Bege Medir province, Tigrayans remained the predominant inhabitants of that territory.
But sadly, once Tigray becomes free, the problem for the Amhara children will have started, owing to the blunder of Amhara politicians and activists, who are sowing the seeds of hatred toward Tigrayans.
As a result, there is a possibility that the several enemies of the Amhara, which by the way, the Amhara politicians and activists have created with the help of the totalitarian ruler of Eritrea and the man-child, may lay siege to the Amhara region, maybe for generations: Sudan, Tigray, Benishangul-Gumuz, Qemant, Agaw, Oromia, and Afar.
Yes, Afar. In tribal societies like Afar, a few tribal leaders wield tremendous influence over their people. For now, Awel Arba, an influential tribal leader of Afar, is siding with the Amhara politicians, but who knows whose side the next tribal leader will take?
I feel sorry for the future Amhara children, for they may burden themselves with guilt and shame for the crimes they did not commit.
In conclusion, there might come a day when the Amhara communities seek help from their Tigrayan brethren, but when that happens, I am afraid the Tigrayans might not answer the call.
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Yonas Araya
In Solidarity with the People of Tigray !!!!
References:
https://www.state.gov/air-strike-on-village-market-in-tigray/
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/24/ethiopian-airstrike-tigray-market