The Many Faces Of Abiy Ahmed Prime Minister Of Ethiopia And Nobel Peace Laureate – OpEd

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Introduction

  • The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground. —Sir Winston Churchill
  • All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time [italics mine].This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership. —John Kenneth Galbraith

In the summer of 2018, only a few months after Abiy Ahmed had been swept into power, I began to have a gut feeling that something was not quite right with a leader widely considered as Africa’s brightest hope for the future.

At the time, you had to be mad to doubt Abiy Ahmed. In a nation tired of authoritarian rule, here was a prime minister pushing democratic reforms on a daily basis. He was Africa’s youngest leader, no minor detail in a continent mismanaged by aging political dinosaurs like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Paul Biya of Cameroon or Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, to name but a few. To be sure, Ethiopians adored him –or so it seemed. Global media praised him –of course they did. 

One word said it all: Abiymania. It was a perfect description for a celebrity African leader who seemed to be making all the right noises. Political prisoners were freed by the thousands and prominent exiles were welcomed back with open arms. Even local media and journalists were told to do as they pleased –the days of harassment were over. Corruption, he promised, would be a thing of the past and those who had benefitted from it would pay for their sins. And then came the cherry on the cake: a sudden peace deal with Eritrea, a country that had been in a state of semi-war with Ethiopia for as long as anyone could remember. For the gesture, Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

Who could possibly have second thoughts about such a leader? Well, quite a few Ethiopians, in fact. A first moment of cringe was the publication of his book Medemer, loosely translated as ‘striving together’ and publicised ad nauseam by the government and its loyal media broadcasters. The book is not a masterpiece on power and society, but more of a pseudo-philosophical best-seller along the lines of ‘Who Ate My Cheese?’ and ‘7 Morning Routines of Successful People’. Abiy Ahmed claimed it would resolve Ethiopia’s political divisions, but to many it read like Gaddafi’s bizarre Third Universal Theory and other such megalomaniac amusements: in short, it offers bit of everything and lots of nothing.

While Abiy Ahmed’s early accomplishments were undeniable, concerns were voiced about the power behind the scenes: autographs and photo-ops aside, Abiy Ahmed had stamped out a ruling elite that had spent 30 years perfecting their ethnic-based dictatorship –one of Africa’s most ruthless and capable. Could they honestly be expected to back down without a last fight? Equally worrying were Abiy Ahmed’s impossible promises, which were destined to become broken promises and eventually stir social anger. Sure enough, by the time he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize the country at large was falling apart. It started with the odd massacre here and a spate of killings there, but nothing was done about it, even though it was clear that these were not isolated tragedies but part of a carefully orchestrated campaign of political agitation. The blowback of Abiy Ahmed’s broken promises had begun and thousands of Ethiopians were destined to die in gruesome ways for it. 

And all along, we got to see Abiy Ahmed non-stop. It is worth stressing this because for Ethiopians it represented a colossal change from the sombre attitude of this predecessors, notably Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. For almost 25 years, citizens never really got to see their leader: they were lucky to get a few moments of him on television, usually with a serious face and an equally serious message –essentially, ‘I know what has to be done so shut up and listen’. Meles Zenawi was praised for his sharp mind, not his kind empathy, and those who disagreed with him paid for it dearly. Abiy Ahmed, in this sense, represented a breath of fresh air. His smiling face was everywhere and he was fluent on social media. Although it seemed Ethiopia’s millions of young citizens could not get enough of him, the shadow to his shining light was impossible to ignore. In less than two years, Ethiopians witnessed his near-perfect political performance –Abiy the Actor– and had been bombarded with his acts of preaching –Abiy the Pastor. But his popularity was eroding, not least of all because of his unwillingness to tackle the weekly mass-killings that were bringing the country to its knees. With the honeymoon period over, the prime minister vowed to defend his power with more than style and good words. The time had come for Ethiopians to meet Abiy the Prince –and he would have made Macchiavelli very proud indeed.  

For a leader to carry out his good intentions he must first keep himself in power. This is where things get ugly: survival on the throne is littered with moral dilemmas and once an ethical principle is broken for the sake of the ‘greater good’, it can easily run downhill all the way. Abiy Ahmed decided to test this theory with predictable results. Facing stiff opposition from the fallen elites, and having betrayed millions of young Oromos with his impossible promises, it would seem that a dozen murdered civilians could be ignored in order to keep up with the illusion that Ethiopia was thriving under his wise rule. As the mass killings intensified across the country, the thousands of casualties could just as easily be brushed aside. He had enough problems on his table and grieving families were not about to get on his way.

From the very beginning of his time in office, it was clear that Abiy Ahmed was not in full control. Various attempts were made on his life and mutinous soldiers even marched to his palace gates. Regional army commanders tried to overthrow him. Faced with such dangers, he chose to spin publicity stunts to make himself ‘untouchable’ in the eyes of the international community. And it worked: good luck trying to oust a Nobel Peace Prize with a coup d’Etat. Ordinary Ethiopians understood this strategy, but they were at a loss as to why he chose to actively ignore the mass murder of thousands of citizens whose only ‘crime’ was to be born with the ‘wrong’ ethnic label. International observers have been warning that a culture of genocide preparation has taken hold in large parts of the country and Genocide Watch even states, unequivocally, that a genocide is already being undertaken. The prime minister’s answer? Nothing. A deafening silence.

Part of this denial is due to Abiy Ahmed’s awkward friendships. Some of his closest aides, such as his right-hand man Shimelis Abdissa, have indulged in ethnic hate speech with gusto. In the current context, the ‘wrong ethnic label’ means that you live in Oromia but are not Oromo, or that you live in Tigray and are not Tigrayan, or that you live in Benishangul-Gumuz and are not part of an ‘indigenous’ group. In Oromia region, militias have been terrorizing anyone who is not Oromo with the code-word ‘Neftegna’, or settler, and gruesome death awaits those who are singled out. The figures are staggering: hundreds are killed in a sudden raids on villages, stabbed and disembowelled, teased and humiliated by their killers. Their gruesome exploits are captured on film, the benefits of the mobile phone era. The similarities with Rwanda are too glaring to ignore: the language in use, the killing patterns, even the crude weapons.

None of this matters in the mental realm of Abiy Ahmed. In late 2020, as yet another mass-killing was reported in which hundreds of men, women and children were locked in a school hall and machine-gunned to death, Abiy Ahmed decided to dress up as a police officer in the streets of Addis Ababa and surprise unexpected drivers, who were then given his personal well-wishes for the Christmas holiday. It was another cute publicity stunt, made all the more disgusting by the fact that he said not a word about the massacre. As Ethiopia descends into hell, one is forced to wonder whether his political acting is part of a sophisticated strategy of genocide denial or simply the result of inept and weak political leadership. There is no easy answer. It is difficult to imagine that Abiy Ahmed’s smile hides an inner monster; it is even more implausible to consider than such an incompetent politician would succeed in getting himself in power in the cut-throat world of Ethiopian politics. Perhaps Abiy Ahmed is a bit of everything, with each side of his multiple personas blissfully unaware of the others.

The Prime Minister appears to possess two or more identities with their own respective moods, behaviours and experiences. Abiy the Actor is kinder than Abiy the Preacher, and neither can match the ruthlessness of Abiy the Prince. No sooner are Ethiopians lectured on the virtues of responsible democratic rule – the Preacher at his finest– than they hear from their own Prime Minister that he was, in fact, ‘chosen’ to lead the country at a young age, when his mother prophesied that he would rise to become the 7th King of Ethiopia –Abiy the Actor. The prisons are full once again of political prisoners, ordinary students who have voiced the wrong thoughts are simply gunned down by government forces –Abiy the Prince.

Ethiopia at a crossroads

The fate of millions of Ethiopians is currently in the hands of ethnic-fascist mobs who have an ambivalent relationship with the government. In this, they resemble Rwanda’s Interahamwe militias in the build-up to the final genocide in April 1994, who had close links with government officials but were also vehemently opposed to its supposedly ‘moderate’ policies with regards to the country’s Tutsi minority. In the context of Ethiopia, the Qeerroo militias had once sided with Abiy Ahmed in his drive for power, caught in his many promises of an Oromo wonderland in which there were no more ‘settlers’ milking the land. It was a textbook case of genocide propaganda from the very beginning, but Abiy Ahmed was happy to embrace it: these ethnic-fascists were, after all, his core constituency, and in the months of Abiymania he went out of the way to praise them and their leadership. Once these radicals understood that their Prime Minister had no intention on delivering on his promises, they responded by violently denouncing him as a traitor to the Oromo. They would have happily killed him for it, but since this was logistically difficult, they steered their anger towards innocent civilians. Thousands of so-called Neftegnas have been butchered: that is to say, non-Oromo civilians living in Oromia Regional State. 

What is now most alarming is not the corruption and misuse of the nation’s resources by toxic leaders but the atrocity crimes against civilians. The last major attack occurred last week in the Amhara region, Ataye, Kara Kore Kemissie, and Showa Robit – with large numbers of causalities and displacements. Towns are destroyed. The attacks were conducted by the Oromo Liberation Front and assisted by Oromia state security and paramilitary forces. In this regard, the government has failed in its most fundamental duty to protect the safety of citizens. Ethiopians of Amhara ethnicity residing outside the Amhara region are systematically labelled as outsiders who deserve retribution attacks. The hatred has become so normalized that Amharas are now being attacked in their own region by Oromo militias. The chant of ‘Down with Neftegna’ is not only the buzzword of these radicals, but an unequivocal statement in its objective to target ‘Neftegna’ people living in Oromia and Benishangul regions. Scores of online videos show protesters and their political organizers going the extra mile and actually chanting violent threats to innocent civilians. Impunity is a great source of encouragement for the perpetrators – and who can blame them? Nobody has been brought to justice over any of these mass killings of Amharas -or ‘Neftegnas’ in the parlance of their killers. In short, the life of an Amhara citizen in Ethiopia is considered worthless in Abiy’s regime.(1) 

 Abiy the Preacher

The Prime Minister belongs to a Protestant church known as the Prosperity Gospel Church or Mulu Wongel (Full Gospel) Believers Movement. Abiy Ahmed loves preaching and enjoys his role as the nation’s new pastor. He certainly knows how to talk the talk, but Ethiopians are yet to see their Prime Minister act on the basic principles of pastoral conduct by comforting the families of those who have been brutally slaughtered by ethnic-fascists. In fact, Abiy Ahmed actively avoids mentioning the massacres and to this end he engages in all sorts of language contortions: when hundreds of innocent civilians are stabbed and clubbed to death because of their ‘Neftegna’ label, these are referred only in passing as inter-communal conflicts.  

Amhara citizens are not the only target, but ‘their religion’ too. Abiy Ahmed has a bone to pick with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In this, he is taking the lead from his predecessors of the TPLF regime that ruled Ethiopia from the early 1990s until Abiy’s rise to power. The Orthodox Church represents everything these politicians despise: the idea of an organized faith that encourages mutual understanding and a sense of Ethiopian commonality. If your power is based on dividing people along ethnic lines, and promoting the interests of some at the expense of others, it follows that such a religious institution is a threat. 

René Lefort (2020) wrote that ‘the PM’s faith dictates his political vision and actions. A few among the Ethiopian interviewees believe that he brazenly exploits this faith to reinforce his legitimacy. They agree with a diaspora analyst who argues that “Abiy has deliberately crafted a deceptive ethos as a persuasive tool” (2). It is probably justified, therefore, to suggest that it is no accident that he chose the name Prosperity Party for the non-ethnic structure he created on the ruins of the former ruling coalition—made up of representatives from the four most powerful regions—which held power for 27 years. The credo of the Prosperity Gospel is that the stronger the belief, the more God will reward the believer with financial blessings. Wealth is a gift from the Almighty to those who deserve it. (3) According to Lefort (2020), there is therefore no contradiction between the strict morality of believers and Abiy’s practice of attracting supporters with gifts and positions. 

An article titled Pentecostalism in Ethiopia (The Economist) (4) mentions thatAbiy Ahmed is a devout Pentecostal, as was his immediate predecessor Hailemariam Desalegn. Abiy Ahmed’s closest ally, Lemma Megersa, who is a former president of Oromia Regional State is a board member of the Assemblies of God. Most high-ranking members of Abiy Ahmed’s political party are followers of Pastor Gemechis Desta, a Pentecostal preacher. The effects of this are easy to see, as the article in The Economist makes clear: Abiy’s politics are rooted in neither established structures, historical precedent, nor institutions: “Because the truth is with us, no one will stop us… Because we work holding on to the truth, the God of Ethiopia will assist us”. (5) Abiy Ahmed openly states that he believes himself chosen by God to save Ethiopia, and that provided that his policies are divinely-guided, he will eventually emerge victorious. “Many of his sermon-like speeches about love and forgiveness invoke God. Moreover, many of his followers see him as being on a divine mission. He seems to agree, having said that as a child his mother prophesied his rise”. 

For the subjugated people of the Amhara ethnicity, on the other hand, the vision of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed can be seen as an attempt to annihilate their ethnic group and create an Oromo dominated nation. 

The use of the governance structure to eliminate Amharas was one of the key strategies in the architecture of amhara genocide. The Oromia regional state, Sidamo zone, Benshangul Gumuz regional state are good examples. Especially in Oromia region, the president of the region, Shimelis Abdissa, has clearly stated in many occasions in public and in conferences that the ultimate goal of the Oromos is to cripple amharas and disenfranchise and eliminate them.(6)

The Political faces of Abiy Ahmed

Abiy Ahmed’s political ambitions are difficult to understand, not least of all because his rhetoric falls short of practice. In a country in which millions of people live in fear of being butchered in yet another weekly round of mass-killings, he prefers to open new parks and plants trees. None of these are policies, but simple photo-ops of the sort Hollywood celebrities indulge in. The Prime Minister, in this sense, seems to live in parallel world of fiction. 

There is also very little accountability in his administration. Accountability is an elusive concept, but understanding where it originates can help citizens find ways to hold governments accountable. In the narrowest sense, accountability refers to the obligation to give an account of one’s action to particular individuals, groups, or organizations.  This does not happen in Abiy Ahmed’s regime, where government forces are complicit in mass-killings and nothing is said about it. When asked about these atrocities, he brushes off the question with a chillingly indifferent answer: “I am not a militia or police who has control over the activities of district or village level activities”. 

Abiy Ahmed’s initial popularity can be characterized as a ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ in which the majority of the Ethiopian population is a ‘hostage’. Their irrational attachment to their abuser is perplexing: many do not want to believe that they are being deceived by his political personas. In a recent article, Ethiopia weeps again, James Jeffrey (26 November) 2020 wrote:

Critics have …… accused his approach to politics as being PR-motivated, superficial and detached from the reality of an Ethiopia that is socially conservative to the core. His style of government has also been accused of lacking transparency, while at the same time repressing media and repeating the authoritarian ways of previous Ethiopian governments. This has included the ongoing implementation of a controversial Anti-Terrorism Proclamation to stifle dissent and gag journalists, including by imprisoning them. (8)

During the Prime minister’s visit to the US, right after coming to power, CNN journalist Jenni Marsh (August 29, 2018)  reported —Why Ethiopians believe their new prime minister is a prophet: Young, democratic and preaching peace, he’s the leader the country has been waiting for. But can Abiy Ahmed live up to the hype?Perhaps the biggest concern is that “Abiymania,” and the faith it confers, will blind Ethiopians to the potential flaws of their leader, and weaken the democratic process. Natasha Ezrow, a professor in the department of government at Essex University in England, says: “We should be cautious of leaders who emerge and appear to be a messiah for everybody.” Ethiopia, she adds, has “no institutions for democracy” and is “used to a strong man.” Unless Abiy implements significant checks on his own power, then it will be hard to avoid a dictatorship, she says.(9)

That was almost three years ago. That warning showed that either the actor’s side of the Prime Minister or the buzz of “Abiymania” has transformed him. There are some aspects in his personality that can have devastating consequences for the peaceful co-existence of the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural people of Ethiopia. 

The Rwandan path to hell

Speaking of ignored warnings, the Rwandan genocide was a well-planned ethnic cleansing and massacre of 800,000 Tutsis and “moderate” Hutus in Rwanda. The genocide, which began on April 6, 1994, was orchestrated by Hutus, who not only attacked the Tutsis, but also any of their fellow Hutu who protected them. The genocide had been in the works since at least 1992, when the Belgian ambassador to Rwanda warned that the Hutus were preparing for an ethnic cleansing. Another Belgian, Professor Filip Reyntjens, also appeared before the Belgian senate and warned that the Hutus were operating death squads. He even mentioned one of their leaders as Rwandan Army Colonel Theoneste Bagasora, who would later command the genocide. In January 1994, the commander of UN troops in Rwanda, General Romeo Dallaire from Belgium, also sent a fax, now known as the “genocide fax,” to the UN, warning that the Hutus had plans to wipe out the Tutsis. He requested more troops and permission to attack a Hutu arms cache. The UN turned down his requests and instead told him to inform the Rwandan government, which was filled with the same people planning the genocide. That same month, Dallaire seized an arms cache, which was placed in custody of United Nations and Rwandan troops—the same Rwandan troops who were training the rebels who perpetrated the genocide.(10) 

What is happening now in Ethiopia has exact similarity with the ignored warning of the Rwandan genocide. A genocide is really happening right now in Ethiopia. People are crying out for help. The only thing they want is to live. They are crying out for justice not pretentious and Actorial rhetoric. But the government who is supposed to keep them safe is sponsoring this genocide.(11) Since PM Abiy Ahmed came to power, there is a widespread genocide and Amharas and other non Oromo groups like Guraghes, Gamos and other peoples have become targets by the Oromo fanatics in the Oromia region.

Borkena (April 17, 2021) (12) reported that radical ethnic Oromo nationalists unleashed an organized attack for four days in a row in North Shoa and Kemissie regions – central Ethiopia. The Federal government has not yet remarked about the alarming situation in central Ethiopia. For Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, it was business as usual. He is just acting as if nothing has happened, Actorial face! He was rather making headlines with the inaugural ceremony of a new building that is said to be designated as the headquarters of the intelligence department. (13)

Conversations on social media tend to link the Organized attack in the name of Oromo Liberation Front (OLF -Shane) as something that is rather orchestrated by anti-Ethiopia forces within the government structure. The areas that came under renewed attack are within the Amahra regions of Ethiopia, and many see the attacks as part of an ongoing Amhara Genocide. There have been a series of massacres in Oromo regions of Ethiopia targeting ethnic Amhara. Amhara genocide does seem to be a reality than ever before but the reaction from the government is almost non-existent.(14)

*About the author: Girma Berhanu, Department of Education and Special Education (Professor), University of Gothenburg

Notes:

  1.  The Oromo nationalists came up with fabricating and reducing history by falsifying it and distorting it for propaganda purposes. They claimed they are the first human beings on earth and in Ethiopia, while they were not originally present in the horn of Africa region. They came and occupied Ethiopian provinces through mass genocides in the 16th century following the invasion of Ahmed Gragn. In the OLF rhetoric the Amharas are “culture-destroying race” and should be destroyed ultimately. According to the speeches of fanatic Oromo and Tigrian leaders , such as Ezkiel Gabissa, Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Shimelis Abdissa and Meles Zenawi , the Amharas should be eliminated through a war of annihilation in which one side would triumph and the other would be utterly destroyed. According to these Oromo fanatics, Oromos health and prosperity would be restored and become even greater through the victorious struggle against the Amharas. With final victory Oromia as a nation would be powerful, its rule uncontested, its domination feared. As a people, Oromos would be productive and prosperous, with freely flowing water, freshly flowering plants, and smiling people. Everyone would be joined in a racially homogeneous grouping, with healthy members and the elderly well cared for. (https://www.geeskaafrika.com/ethiopia-amhara-genocide-and-ethnic-cleansing/amp/
  2. https://www.theafricareport.com/56718/abiy-ahmeds-aim-to-pentecostalize-ethiopian-politics/?fbclid=IwAR2lzZZf0-KDh02g1e-5yFtQ_eYnINoZ54p2-wbfJgekxcqcIO9wcijvauc
  3.  Op.cit.
  4. https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/11/24/god-wants-ethiopians-to-prosper
  5. https://www.theafricareport.com/56718/abiy-ahmeds-aim-to-pentecostalize-ethiopian-politics/?fbclid=IwAR2lzZZf0-KDh02g1e-5yFtQ_eYnINoZ54p2-wbfJgekxcqcIO9wcijvauc
  6. https://www.geeskaafrika.com/ethiopia-amhara-genocide-and-ethnic-cleansing/amp/
  7.  Source URL (retrieved on 04/19/2018 – 13:37): http://blogs.worldbank.org/governance/how-make-sense-government-accountability
  8. https://thecritic.co.uk/ethiopia-weeps-again/
  9. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/26/world/abiymania-ethiopia-prime-minister-abiy-ahmed/index.html
  10. https://listverse.com/2016/05/12/10-ignored-warnings-that-turned-deadly/
  11. https://www.stopamharagenocide.com/
  12. https://borkena.com/2021/04/17/amhara-genocide-ataye-oromo-radical-forces-launch-attack/
  13. https://borkena.com/2021/04/29/prime-minister-who-makes-a-fetish-of-an-election/
  14. https://borkena.com/2021/04/17/amhara-genocide-ataye-oromo-radical-forces-launch-attack/

Girma Berhanu

Girma Berhanu, Department of Education and Special Education (Professor), University of Gothenburg

20 thoughts on “The Many Faces Of Abiy Ahmed Prime Minister Of Ethiopia And Nobel Peace Laureate – OpEd

  • May 23, 2021 at 1:16 am
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    I am surprised at how you never even mentioned the attrocities committed by Abiy troops in Tigray. Are you only speaking for Amharas? BTW, I am not a Tigre, as a matter of fact, I am not even Ethiopian, but an African who is your next door neighbor.

    Reply
    • May 23, 2021 at 11:19 pm
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      prove you are not an Ethiopian. or prove you have no connection with Tigray. I am an Ethiopian. My bloodline shows that i am from Oromo, Amhara, Gurage, and Tigre. I mean you are still focused on Tigray. though it is not right what happened there we should be looking for solutions instead of fighting for something u can’t even be sure of. one says something the other says something else. I mean it is ur word against Abiys….but we should also worry about the Amhara, the Oromo, and so on being massacred everywhere not just Tigray.

      Reply
    • February 12, 2023 at 4:03 pm
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      True, if you really know the core of Ethiopian political forces, there could be war crimes in Tigray between warring parties, though much of them were fabricated propaganda by TPLF. However, the atrocities documented in this article against the Amhara people were principally against the non-warring innocent civilians at times orchestrated by local and regional administrators that enjoy impunity from the Federal government.

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    • November 12, 2023 at 3:50 pm
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      Ask the same questions for Tigrians.

      Reply
  • May 23, 2021 at 7:03 am
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    Thanks. It was accurate and to the point; but did not suggest way out.

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  • May 23, 2021 at 1:17 pm
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    This is just rubbish, typical of extremist Amhara elites. The days of Amhara emperors have gone for good. You must learn how to live with others in equality.

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  • May 23, 2021 at 2:43 pm
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    Dallaire is Canadian, not Belgian.

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  • May 23, 2021 at 4:42 pm
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    No mention of the atrocities committed in Tigray! Not even a single sentence. 4.5 million people in Tigray urgently need food assistance, 2,2 are displaced, thousands of women are raped, and there is a wanton killing of the young and destruction of property. None of that matters to the author. Yes, Abiy is a grand actor who is less interested in protecting his people and much more interested in staying in power. In the process, Abiy has become across-the-national-spectrum offender. I am truly surprised that the author (it seems almost by design) ignored the humanitarian crisis in Tigray.

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  • May 23, 2021 at 8:01 pm
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    The Prime Minister belongs to a Protestant church known as the Prosperity Gospel Church or Mulu Wongel (Full Gospel) Believers Movement …. completely wrong .. don’t run to write do research … shame on you.

    Reply
  • May 23, 2021 at 9:23 pm
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    This is the most comprehensive, fact-based and well thought out essay I have read on the dire situation in Ethiopia. I just want to thank you for being our voice. Please keep up the good work. History will remember you and reward you. With heartfelt admiration.
    Elizabeth

    Reply
  • May 23, 2021 at 10:19 pm
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    It is a good observation to see the begining of the pros and cons to be exhibited in near future.
    To conclude who is realy Abey is, i think, let us wait for the upcoming election and see what a real and a rapid change he may does.

    Reply
  • May 24, 2021 at 1:00 pm
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    When I saw that the writer has an Ethiopian name, possible of Tigrayan Origin, then I knew it was an opposition Opinion. Perhaps paid for by TPLF

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    • May 25, 2021 at 12:23 am
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      And when I read the comment by @Ethio May 24 1:00 pm I see that you could not read the piece at all.

      Reply
  • May 26, 2021 at 3:49 pm
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    False accuse! We know chemical weapon as a victim not as a perpetrator like USA. Ethiopian government even didn’t fired on TPLF officials who attacked the national defence force while they were using civilians to hide them. The government did all its best to push them out of the cities tactically to avoid civilian causalities. For your information TPLF officials had been firing couple of rockets towards civilians in Bahirdar (the capital of Amhara regional state) and Asmera (the capital of a sovereign state Eritrea). Why don’t you incorporate the information from #TPLF soliders, as young as 13-16 years of age, who are not ready for war physically, mentally as well as emotionally, who have never been away from their home and simply forced by empty preach of TPLF. These innocent Ethiopian can explain you that they don’t have an idea about how, whom and why they are fighting. They can brief you TPLF’s demonic strategies over its own people. They were forced to wear the national defence force uniforms, to kill and through in to cliffs, killing and robing shops, raping underage girls etc. Actually TPLF have been doing all this crime on the rest of regions in the country for until it was withdrawn, just to say that it was common and familiar.

    To bring Americans to the current status it costed more than 700,000 innocent lives in their civil war. What Ethiopia was doing this day is nothing but simply an operation to enforce the rule of law.

    How many of you know that the current government of Ethiopia repeatedly and tirelessly tried to fix it up early. Even though, we have a lot of painful memories the government tolerated that damn much asking for coalition and reconciliation. The corrupted #TPLF Officials totally refused to work together and attacked the very base of our nation defence force. They attacked at midnight while soldiers are slept with their ill trained local guardians and killed many and burned their bodies. This ill trained local gunned men immorally launched ethnic cleansing in #Maicadra on Amhara villagers and killed thousands of innocent civilians.

    To be rational in your decision just track the family tree of #TPLF officials. They are claiming that they are fighting for #Tigraway, funny they were on the throne for the for over 27years, but the people of Tigray still suffering from pure drinking water, over 4million Tigraway’ had been supported by Sefetnet program, over 2million under extreme poverty, still children are learning in tree shades. On the other hand, children of TPLF officials rides a 6 n 7 million birr, expensive cars, learning in high class American Universities, bought very expensive houses in america and other countries abroad, building multistorey buildings.

    Amazingly still they are calling and forcing Tigraway teenager and youths through mercenaries to stand by their side and fight the government back.

    It is well known that every media institutions is a business organization, but also a voice for voiceless. Don’t forget your profession ethics, where is the balance, where is the credibility of your data, where is your stand for humanity, justice?

    TO THE MEDIAS THAT ARE OVERWHELMED BY WESTERN IDEOLOGY, please thousands of Rohingas are in a very critical condition needs your attention, the right of Black Americans and Asians should be secured with new policy frameworks, criticize the bombing of civilians in Pakistan, there are cases in Mali which seems severe, stop preaching conspiracies all over the world, please live on to the teaching of heavenly father, God you are mentioning in all your speeches.

    THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM ETHIOPIA, THE ONLY COUNTRY DEFENDED COLONIALISM AND NEVER ATTEMPTED TO COLONIZE OTHERS. IT IS QUITE TRUE THAT BEING A COLONY AND COLONIZER RESULT IN SOME DISTORTIONS. THEREFORE IT IS BETTER TO VALUE ETHIOPIA, AS A NATION WITH A SPECIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL MAKEUP!!

    Reply
  • January 28, 2022 at 9:21 am
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    Some of the points raised are true, such as Abiy refraining from saying anything about the massacres in Oromiya region against particularly Amharas (whom they label as netegna thanks to their tplf teachers). He has immense pressure behind his back from his Oromuma detractors. In the end, the wealthy Oromiya suppressing the already pauperized Amhara is the GOAL. The compromises tolerated so far has only emboldened Oromuma that their dream is possible. It is time to think of alternatives for Amharas rather than direly sticking to the Ethiopian Nation straightjacket.

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  • January 6, 2023 at 12:40 am
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    This is an authentic review of the PM’s short time track record. His most atrocious manuevers, such as assassination of prominent Amhara Leaders at Bahirdar, the betrayal on Amhara region during the repeated invasion by TPLF, and his conviction not to amend the constitution can be added.
    Thank you for this enlightening contribution, Prof. Girma!

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  • January 7, 2023 at 4:59 pm
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    OLF SHENE is delibrately formed by Abey and his oromo groups lust Amharra and Tigre could take his power. Shene is a reserve army to protect the rigime untii then it is committing ethnic cleansing targeting The Am
    harrasn

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  • February 12, 2023 at 4:11 pm
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    Thank you for your beautiful article with a logically and chronologically connected flow of ideas. However, I suggest it is good to indicate the deadlock faced by Ethiopianist political forces as opposed to the contradicting ethnic nationalist views as well as the way out from this deadlock. It is also worth including the latest accounts of atrocities and political setbacks in the political manipulations against religious organizations particularly of the EOTC.

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  • November 12, 2023 at 4:06 pm
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    Thank you, Prof. Girrma.
    Please keep up the good work.

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