Abiy Ahmed’s Vilification of Amharas & Amhara Regional Force
Mesfin Arega
“Amhara nationalism is dangerous for Ethiopia” (Abiy Ahmed)
”Failed coup in #Ethiopia’s Amhara state was an attempt by ethnic nationalists to restore Amhara hegemony over all of Ethiopia that existed for several centuries prior to 1991. That dream is now permanently dead.” (Herman Cohen)
“The numerous tribes who inhabit the Ethiopian state are being forcibly kept from European colonialism by Abyssinian rulers whose aim is to act as champions of all black people so as to attack and destroy Western culture“ (Roman Prochaska, Abyssinia: The Powder Barrel, Vienna, 1935)
Ever since he became prime minister Ethiopia with decisive support from Amhara politicians, the double-tongued Abiy Ahmed has been waging a constant vilification campaign against the Amhara regional force and, by extension, against the Amhara people in general, while at the same time professing to be a champion of Amhara’s just cause for redress of their persecution under the ethno-centric TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) regime of Meles Zenawi.
First, in a secretly recorded video, he bafflingly said Amhara nationalism is a threat to Ethiopia, even though this is the very nationalism which insured the very survival of Ethiopia by marshalling all of the country around it, enabling the country to crushingly defeat European colonialists at Adwa, paving the way for decolonization of the entire continent of Africa, in addition to being the very foundation of black pride and black nationalism for blacks all over the world.
Then, he brazenly claimed that Amhara region’s infrastructure is the worst in Ethiopia not because of TPLF’s deliberately anti-Amhara policy, but because the region spends its funds on its regional force, though this regional force is only a few thousand strong (commissioned in only one batch), whereas his own regional state of Oromia has already spent hundreds of millions (if not billions) in US dollars to arm and train (in more than thirty batches) a regional force which is at least ten times bigger than the Amhara regional force. Barely a week after this brazen claim of Abiy Ahmed, the entire top echelon of Amhara region’s political and military leadership was wiped out in an operation which lasted a mere couple of hours, under highly suspicious circumstances in which Abiy Ahmed himself is the prime suspect. Immediately following this operation, the Amhara-hater Herman Cohen (the former United States assistant secretary of state for African affairs who is suspected to be a proponent of Roman Prochaska’s anti-Amhara agenda) rushed to his twitter page to proudly declare “Amhara hegemony … is now permanently dead”.
Then, on March 22 (2021), the Oromo wing of the Prosperity Party which is led by none other than Abiy Ahmed himself, raised the vilification Amhara to the highest level by issuing a communique accusing the Amhara regional force and, by extension, the entire Amhara population of ethnic cleansing inside, of all places, the Amhara region itself. The next day, that accusation was repeated verbatim inside Abiy Ahmed’s rubber-stamp parliament and broadcast live for the entire country.
The Amhara are the most integrated of all Ethiopian people, and the Amhara regional force is the most diverse of all forces in the country, as diverse as Ethiopia itself, more so than the Oromo dominated National Defense Force of Ethiopia, whose commander in chief (Abiy Ahmed), chief of staff (Berhanu Jula), defense minister (Kena Yadeta), and Airforce commander (Yilma Merdasa) are all Oromo. Of all people of Ethiopia, the Amhara are the last to be accused of tribalism, and of all regional forces of Ethiopia, the Amhara regional force is the last to be suspected of ethnic cleansing. Tribalism is foreign to Amhara psyche. On the contrary, Amhara’s major weakness is not being tribalist enough, which made them vulnerable in a sea of tribalists lead, first by TPLF, and now by OLF which, thanks to Abiy Ahmed, was brought from its exile in Eritrea, fully armed.
Before Abiy Ahmed came to power, the Amhara people have been subjected to a well-documented three decades of systematic and brutal ethnic cleansing (including raping and forced sterilization) by the tribalist government of Meles Zenawi, whose TPLF manifesto openly declares the Amhara people as its one and only mortal enemy. The full extent of TPLF’s persecution of the Amhara is nowhere more apparent than in Welkait and Raya regions where hundreds of thousands of Amharas were massacred and uprooted so as to settle TPLF rebels. The effect on the demographics of these regions was so dramatic that, even after TPLF which forcibly incorporated this Amhara regions into Tigray is gone for good, Tigray nationalists continue to claim them to be parts of “western and southern Tigray” basing their claim on population majority.
The advent of Abiy Ahmed not only continued the grave persecution and displacement of the Amhara by the tribalist liberation fronts of Oromo and Tigre, but also made it much worse. In the last three years alone, thousands (if not tens of thousands) of Amharas were viciously slaughtered, and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) were chased out of Oromia, Abiy Ahmed’s own regional state. And the perpetrator of these crimes was none other than OLF (aka ONEG SHENE) which feeds on Oromia regional force, Abiy Ahmed’s own regional force.
Hence, the question is why would Abiy Ahmed who (as the prime minister of Ethiopia) is directly and indirectly responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Amharas in the last three years of his reign, turn around and accuse Amharas of ethnically cleansing the Oromo, his own tribe. Why does he want to play victim?
Since Abiy Ahmed sat at the helm of power in Ethiopia, all the measures he took (his policies, appointments, priorities etc.) decidedly prove that he is the undeclared chief (the LUBA) of Oromuma, the stated goal of OLF to establish an Oromo empire covering most, if not all, of present-day Ethiopia as well as parts of neighboring Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan.
However, Abiy Ahmed can realize his dream of laying the foundation of his Oromo empire on the grave of present-day Ethiopia only if he can defeat and dismantle TPLF on one hand, and the Amhara regional force on the other hand. The anti-Ethiopia TPLF has been, and will no doubt continue to be Abiy Ahmed’s ally in dismantling Ethiopia, but it will sure be an arche foe when the time comes to share the spoils. Therefore, as per Abiy Ahmed’s plan, TPLF will be kept as an allay till Ethiopia is brought to the edge of a precipice, and then will immediately be dismantled when Ethiopia is just about to tumble down to its demise.
On the other hand, Abi Ahmed knows full well that, so long as the Amhara regional force is commanded by a well-respected and highly capable commander like the martyred General Asaminew Tsige, Abiy Ahmed’s Oromuma force (which includes Oromia regional force, OLF force, and most of the so called Ethiopian defense force) stands no chance of winning a skirmish let alone a battle or war against the Amhara regional force. This will be more so if Welkait and Raya are reincorporated to their rightful Amhara region, making the Amhara region the most powerful of all regions of Ethiopia in virtually all aspects, be it population or natural resources. Thus, if Abiy Ahmed’s dream is to be realized, Wolkait and Raya should never be allowed to rejoin the Amhara region, and the Amhara regional force should be utterly demolished in due time and in the most convenient way.
However, the Amhara regional force can be crushed only after it is used to crush TPLF. This is because no matter how strong Abiy Ahmed’s Oromuma force is, it has zero chance against a TPLF force a fraction of its size. Ato Seye Abraha (a senior TPLF military commander who had an insider knowledge of OLF) once famously said OLF is “not worth a dime”. This was not meant to be derogatory but to emphasize that, apart from viciously slaughtering unarmed, defenseless civilians (in particular, children, women and the elderly), the OLF force is an inherently dysfunctional force which has no combat capability or bravery worthy of mention. In its entire history which spans more than half a century, except for surprise attacks on defenseless small towns and rural areas, the OLF has never ever won a single engagement even with a lightly armed adversary. Abiy Ahmed can’t expect it to fare any better, just because it is now armed to the teeth.
In a span of just three years, the devious Abiy Ahmed brought Ethiopia on the verge of total disintegration, making anything and everything in Ethiopia of Oromo, by Oromo, for Oromo, a spectacle popularly known as KEGNA politics. This, in turn, means it is about time to get rid of TPLF, which has been an indispensable ally of Abiy Ahmed’s KEGNA politics up to this point.
On November 04 (2020), the TPLF, most probably goaded by the deceitful Abiy Ahmed himself, attacked the northern command and viciously murdered its Amhara officers, in its bid to recontrol the whole of Ethiopia, starting from the Amhara region. However, through enormous sacrifice, the Amhara regional force first defended and then counter-attacked to dismantle TPLF, thereby saving Abiy Ahmed’s regime from total collapse. Nevertheless, Abiy Ahmed saw the victorious Amhara regional force not as a force to be grateful for, but as his next and last threat. For Abi Ahmed, now that the Amhara regional force has been used to crush TPLF, its mission is accomplished and, therefore, it itself should be crushed so as to clear the path for Oromuma.
However, the Amhara regional force, though poorly armed, is a formidable force that can easily handle any Oromuma force Abiy Ahmed can muster, however strong that Oromuma force may be. The only way Abiy Ahmed can dismantle this regional force is by colluding with western powers under the pretext of genocide.
Abiy Ahmed knows full well that there are many people of power in the west who share Roman Prochaska’s deep hatred for Amharas, and who would be more than happy to use hearsay to bomb the Amharas out of existence, just because, as Prochaska correctly stated, Amharas happen to be proud “champions of all black people” who “forcibly kept” European colonialism at bay, and for whom an European is just another human being, no more no less. This, and only this, is the overriding reason why Abiy Ahmed would use his rubber-stamp parliament to falsely accuse the Amhara regional force of ethnic cleansing. The venue was deliberately chosen to give the accusation semblance of legality and, more importantly, to make sure that the accusation is clearly and loudly heard by the self-appointed western hunters of war criminal in non-western countries (especially the Americans, the British, and the French).
Email; Mesfin Arega
mesfin.arega@gmail.com