Ethiopia: Ethiopia: The EHRC and Amnesty says the same thing [on the Axum massacre]

This piece is written because the Ethiopian government and others went out quickly to dismiss the evidence and the reporting of the Amnesty International Report, which was published in end of February 2021. While now, the same state actors are addressing and not questioning the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRC). This is very ironic and is the reason why I will show the similarities and differences.

Amnesty first reports:

Between 19 and 29 November 2020, Eritrean troops operating in the Ethiopian city of Axum, Tigray, committed a series of human rights and humanitarian law violations, including killing hundreds of civilians. Over an approximately 24-hour period on 28-29 November, Eritrean soldiers deliberately shot civilians on the street and carried out systematic house-to-house searches, extrajudicially executing men and boys. The massacre was carried out in retaliation for an earlier attack by a small number of local militiamen, joined by local residents armed with sticks and stones” (Amnesty, February 2021).

EHRC states:

Information collected during this preliminary investigation confirm that during the two days of November 28 and November 29, grave violations of human rights were committed and that in Aksum, over one hundred residents including visitors from other parts of the country who came to mark the annual Aksum Tsion celebration and internally displaced persons from other parts of Tigray, were killed by Eritrean soldiers” (EHRC, March 2021).

Just by these statements alone. We can see that Amnesty International wasn’t wrong or had the wrong witnesses. As the state own authority is saying the same thing. They are claiming the human rights violations by Eritrean soldiers in Axum during November 2020 last year. These two things are showing the ones speaking ill of Amnesty should reconsider stance. Especially, if they are accepting the Preliminary Report of EHRC.

About the November 28th November Amnesty wrote this:

From about 3 to 4 pm, lines of Eritrean trucks and tanks reportedly entered the city from the east. Their numbers bolstered by the new arrivals, Eritrean soldiers went on a rampage, shooting at civilian men and youths who were out on the streets attempting to flee in panic. The killing, which one witness said began around 4 pm, was carried out on a large scale and continued until the evening” (Amnesty, February 2021).

EHRC report says this:

On November 25, members of ENDF were seen to be leaving Aksum and on November 26, residents said they could not see any “soldiers moving around the city”. On November 27, however, “a large number of Eritrean soldiers began coming into Aksum”. “They took up posts in three different locations of the city: ‘Maye Kuho’; ‘Samuna Fabrika’ and ‘Tsele’a’. On November 28, 2020, we started hearing heavy gun fire all around the city.”” (EHRC, March 2021).

Here we see again that the reports are saying similar things. The stories are fitting together. So, the ones who dismissed the Amnesty report was insincere. As both the EHRC and Amnesty is saying the same thing went down.

We know the EHRC is working in favour of the state. The EHRC will downplay and also undermine the total damage done by the state authorities and its allies. However, the Amnesty has its interests too. Still, it is interesting how similar the stories are and how they can co-exist together.

When you read the two reports. The stories could be mended together and explain further what happened. Both reports are blaming Eritrean forces in Axum and they were using vile force on civilians. Therefore, they are the ones responsible for the massacre occurring there in November 2020.

The ones that went after Amnesty and called it “fake news”. Have to go out and held accountable. As the state authority EHRC is validating the same things. They are both claiming the same things and showing similar results. When that is happening. The Amnesty clearly didn’t make things up, but reported factual evidence on the ground. EHRC is doing the same, but are not as direct as Amnesty. As Amnesty is there to defend civilians and their rights. While the EHRC is there to do its duty and mandate in concern with orders of Addis Ababa. This is why the EHRC report isn’t as horrific and straightforward in comparison to Amnesty. However, that is because of their role and their mandate is vastly different.

We can clearly see that the massacre went down. That innocent lives was taken. The Eritrean forces violated the rules of war. The accounts mentioned in the reports is devastating and shows a sinister side. The war in Tigray is clearly more bloody than the authorities and the state wants out. They are clearly aiming at civilians and destroying society. That is the clear message in the reports and reflects the actions made by the ones in-charge of Law Enforcement Operation. They have to be held to account and answer for the injustice served in Tigray. Not only what happened on those days in Axum, but all across the State of Tigray. Peace.

Ethiopia: Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy Association (OLLAA) – OLLAA Calls on PM Abiy to Investigate Wollo Massacres (24.03.2021)

Ethiopia: The Office of the United Nations High Commissiioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to conduct a joint investigation with a view to a credible accountability process (25.03.2021)

Opinion: Abiy burned Asmara’s narrative in Tigray

Yesterday in the House of Federation or the Parliament in Addis Ababa, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali was addressing several of topics for the lawmakers. During this national address or speech. He spoke about the Tigray Region and others involvement, which he has not revealed before.

Clearly the Prime Minister have been pressured to say this or seen the need to speak about the involvement of Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) in the Operation Law Enforcement in Tigray. However, now there is an official explanation now for their entering there. Before, it has been dismissed and the authorities have claimed it not to be true. Though reports has stated otherwise.

Eritrea Letter:

The reason for the lack of evidence regarding the presence of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia is not for the lack of effort by media organisations like yours, but because of the simple fact that there are no Eritrean troops in the region” (Yared Tesfaye letter to Chief Executive of Channel4, Alex Mahon – Embassy of the State of Eritrea, United Kingdom – 22.03.2021).

As we saw two days ago, the Eritrean Authorities did like they normally did. They said there was no troops, no soldiers or any presence of Eritrean forces within Tigray or in Ethiopia in general. However, the fact that has been called “false” is now proven by the allies, the Ethiopian Prime Minister himself. He said it loud and clear yesterday.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali to the Parliament:

However, after the Eritrean army crossed the border and was operating in Ethiopia, any damage it did to our people was unacceptable” (…) “We don’t accept it because it is the Eritrean army, and we would not accept it if it were our soldiers. The military campaign was against our clearly targeted enemies, not against the people. We have discussed this four or five times with the Eritrean government” (…) “Eritrea told us it had national security issues and as a result had seized areas on the border” (…) “The Eritrean government has severely condemned alleged abuses and has said it will take measures against any of its soldiers accused of such” (Abiy, 23.03.2021).

If there ever was an ally. He would have at least played along or said the same. Now, Addis Ababa is giving another memo than Asmara.

President Isaias Afwerki should be alarmed by this. Now the whole downplaying and acting innocent cannot work anymore. That because the Ethiopian government are now throwing them under the bus. This after the Eritrean have fought the battles of the Ethiopians. Yes, the TPLF might be joint enemies. However, there is still much more at stake for Abiy than Afwerki.

Afwerki and Eritrea is already sanctioned and seen as a pariah-state. Abiy on the other hand was a Noble Peace Prize Winner and Reformer. He has so much more to loose and his already loosing it all. Because, he thought he could quickly win the battle of Tigray and be crowned supreme King. Nevertheless, the Ethiopian-Eritrean Operation has done more harm than good.

This is why yesterday really says a lot. When both parties have been willing to lie about this for months. What else are they willing to hide or not tell? When they are speaking with a double tongue for so long… what is the next revelation they will reveal?

Reports was saying this for so long, but until yesterday was it said by anyone in power. Abiy have now released the cat out of the bag. It is now official. The Prime Minister and President is co-operating and they should play with open cards. But… that we know will never happened. Because, they don’t want the world to know the truth. Peace.

Ethiopia: Oromo Political Prisoners Defence Team – Jawar Mohammed Pleads Not Guilty: Full Statement He Delivered in Court (22.03.2021)

Your Honours,
I, Jawar Siraj Mohammed, plead not guilty. But before I offer my views on the specific accusations against me, I would like to make two general observations of central significance to me and my colleagues. We believe the accusation against us is politically motivated and that our arrest, detention, and trial were driven by two main political objectives.
First, the government fabricated the charges against me and other leading members of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) to prevent us from running in the forthcoming election. Because the ruling party knows that it has very little chance of winning seats against us in the Oromia regional state, it decided to pre-emptively remove us from the political space by concocting a trumped-up charge that has nothing to do with me and my colleagues. That is why we are here today.
Second, we see this trial as a trial of the collective aspiration of the Oromo people and our ongoing struggle for political emancipation and self-governance. The nature of the charges chosen by the prosecution and the narrative that accompanies those charges demonstrate that the case is not simply against us, the defendants named in this case, in our individual capacity. This is a charge deliberately put together by the government to defame, belittle, delegitimize, and denigrate the struggle of the Oromo people.
Having said that, I want to comment briefly on the specific charges against me and some issues raised the state prosecution. In summary, the charges against me include (1) ordering attacks against Orthodox Christian clergies, (2) inciting violence among nations and nationalities, specifically against ethnic Amharas, and (3) conspiring to overthrow the government through force.
Your Honours, these accusations are not only false and wholly untrue, but they also contradict my world views, background and track record as an activist.
First, I am a product of a marriage between a Muslim father and a Christian mother. My father, Siraj Mohammed Tufa Jillo, is a Muslim Arsi Oromo. My mother, Fantu/Shemsi Tola Buli Bune, is a Christian Tulema Oromo. I married to Arfase Gemeda, a protestant Christian whose parents are from Borena and Mecha Oromo. Arfase has been a tenacious and unfailing defender of the Oromo people who has been on the Oromo political scene long before me.We have a son who we named Oromo.
In addition to being a product of a marriage between a Muslim father and a Christian woman, I also work with people of diverse religious backgrounds. I could not have the kind of irrational and bigoted religious animus against Christians when I grew up in a religiously diverse household and working with people of diverse religious background or fighting for a religious diverse community. But the reality is that this accusation is false and inconsistent with my background and track record. For me, religious equality, tolerance, and peaceful co-existence are not just important principles that I uphold in my public and private life but also an integral part of my lived experience. For me, respect for diversity and plurality is a way of life, not some facile gesture I talk about because it is politically convenient.
I find this accusation ludicrous and so wildly outlandish. I will leave the ultimate judgement to the court, but I want the honourable court to know that these accusations were not new and they were part and parcel of a broader campaign against the Qeerroo movement and the Oromo quest for self-determination. This campaign has been ongoing for decades but intensified in recent years. As an individual who played a key role in this movement over the last decade, I have been targeted by a well-coordinated and financed campaign by the government and its supporters. A key part of this campaign is to vilify and demonise me by conjuring an image of a violent and radical Muslim. What makes the current situation different is that these same allegations are being levelled against me at an official level camouflaged as a question of law and justice. I want to make it clear that this accusation, which draws on deep-rooted Oromophobic and Islamophobic tropes, is deliberately manufactured by those on power to construct an alternative image of a violent Muslim fanatic to advance their goals of delegitimizing my cause and disparage the struggle of the Oromo people.
I was also accused of inciting ethnic violence, particularly against the Amhara. Again, this is simply not true. Everyone who has followed my political career over the years knows that this allegation is completely untrue and contrary to the political strategy I have pursued and the alliances I have managed to build. I do not deny the fact that I have spoken out in defence of diversity, plurality, and multi-ethnic federalism in Ethiopia, and that my vocal defence of these values has angered those who do not like the idea of diverse communities existing side by side in peace and harmony. I never believed that the interest of any society would be advanced by attacking any other society for any reason whatsoever.
Let me offer a few examples to support my point here:
(1) During the struggle against the EPRDF regime, I and my fellow activists were able to develop an inclusive and accommodating strategy that is focused on putting pressure on the ruling elites than targeting civilians living in Oromia. We collaborated with activists with Amhara nationalist movement. We enabled and provided support for the OPDO and ANDM to work together to facilitate a smooth and orderly transition. I have played an important role in the formation and implementation of the cooperation between the two nations, known as Oromara. We prevented horizontal communal conflict that targets minority ethnic groups who lived in Oromia, and we showed that our struggle was with the oppressive government regime instead of individuals belonging to one or another ethnic group. No Tigrayan was targeted in Oromia.
(2) On my return to Ethiopia in August 2018, I travelled to Bahir Dar, the Amhara regional capital, to explore fostering collaborative and constructive relationships with representatives and elites of the region. I advised the youth to push for a peaceful and democratic transition by resolving the historical and contemporary divisions between the Amhara and Oromo political communities through dialogue. During my stay in Bahir Dar and after I returned to Finfine, I met with senior officials and tried to create a forum for political scholars to continue negotiations between the two nations. Although the allegation against me is that I exposed the Amhara people to attack, I did the opposite. My accusers today are well aware that I have long been trying to bring the Oromo and Amhara people together for a peaceful and prosperous future.
(3) The border clashes between Oromia and Somalia a few years ago is another evidence demonstrating my commitment to bring together communities and resolve disputes by peaceful means. After returning to Ethiopia, I worked hard to bring peace between the two nations and renew the solidarity between them. I invited tribal leaders from both sides of the border for dialogue. I travelled to the area and countries around the world where influential figures from these communities were located such as Kenya, Minneapolis, Djibouti, and Dubai, where I worked with others to bring people together in a spirit of solidarity and reconciliation. These efforts have helped foster a more peaceful co-existence between the two communities.
(4) I have also travelled to Harar to help resolve the dispute between the Harar city administration and the rural residents of the Harar region. I met with Harari and Oromo elders and religious leaders and discussed with regional and neighbouring zone leaders, to find a peaceful and timely resolution to the crisis. Similarly, I have played a vital role in the process of bringing peace to Dire Dawa city where I worked tirelessly with the city administration and local elders to create an environment of understanding to solve the issues.
(5) Nearly two years ago, a large-scale ethnic conflict broke out in Western Oromia. Leading to the collapse of the government structure and leaving the local population vulnerable and without protection. Bekele Gerba, the second accused in this case, and I went to the area to find an amicable resolution to the problem. And through dialogue and stabilization, we have been able to reunite the people who were cut off from the rest of the country, reopen closed government institutions, and restore social and economic ties. After the visit, we have returned back to Finfinnee and reported the grievances we had heard from the public in the form of a report to the federal government officials and military leaders. Also, we have proposed a solution and begged the concerned bodies to address the matter immediately. But our pleas have been ignored, and the situation in the area has now escalated.
Honourable court, I spent my entire political life – my time, knowledge, and energy – to bring people together and make peace. Contrary to the allegation, I strived for equality and justice rooted in mutual respect and co-operation.
The third and final allegation against me is that I armed Oromo youth to overthrow the government by unconstitutional means. This is entirely false and concocted by the authorities to give substance to the image of a violent Muslim Oromo nationalist the administration tried to depict to scare its supporters. In my political career, I never advocated armed struggle as a means of political struggle. I am known for advocating for peaceful change. I also practised what I preached in public. This is known by the majority of Ethiopians, including my accusers. I believed and continue to believe that peaceful resistance is a more resilient and safe method to bring about a positive and democratic change in societies.
My fierce support and defence of peaceful resistance were based on extensive research into various resistance movements from the anti-colonial periods to the present. I have gained theoretical and practical knowledge studying at world-leading academic institutions such as Stanford, Oxford, and Columbia Universities and their scholars who have done extensive research in the field. I travelled from India to Serbia to work in think tanks and develop my understanding of non-violent resistance methods and the conditions for a successful peaceful resistance in a country like Ethiopia. I had the opportunity to serve as a consultant and analyst for organisations working on the causes, and consequences of the Arab Spring.
We were able to peacefully change the dictatorial system in our country within a short period because we pursued a strategy that took account of Ethiopia’s past and present as well as the various actors operating within the political space.
Given what we have achieved through a peaceful means in 2018, Your Honour, there was no reason for me or my comrades to change our strategy. Indeed, after I decided to get involved in formal politics, I decided to join the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), which participated in peaceful struggle for the last two decades despite conditions that rendered a peaceful struggle impossible.
After I returned to Ethiopia, I spent considerable time trying to find a way to get Ethiopia beyond a culture in which political power is gained and secured through the gun. I urged the government to implement the DDR (Disarm Demobilize Reintegrate) program as organizations that were struggling to achieve their political goals through armed struggle returned to the country. Your Honour, another notable moment is two years ago when as a result of the large-scale conflict and the collapse of government structures in Western Oromia made the entire population extremely vulnerable. The second defendant, Bekele Gerba, and I, along with the Abba Gadaas, Haadha Siinqees, and Oromo scholars, were able to accept the mission of both sides and travel to the conflict zone to resolve the conflict. Although the attempt to bring lasting peace has failed due to the failure of the government to implement the DDR, we made a concerted effort to resolve the differences between the warring factions and to end the vicious cycle of war in our country.
In conclusion, Your Honour, this case is not about accountability or justice. This case is not about legality or rule of law. We are not charged because we committed a criminal offence. We were arrested and detained because the ruling party felt that it could not win an election in Oromia if my party is allowed to participate in a free, competitive and fair election as mandated by the constitution. As I stated at the outset, this case is also goes beyond me and my party. This case is designed to squash the dignity of the Oromo people and besmirch the Oromo national struggle for self-determination. Since the beginning of Emperor Haile Selassie’s rule, the Oromo have been the victim of systematic economic exploitation and political oppression. Subsequent Ethiopian governments did the same. They humiliated the Oromo people and denigrated the Oromo national struggle. The case against us and other Oromo leaders bear the hallmarks of such an attack against the Oromo aspiration.
It is important to note that it was the Oromo people who lost the precious voice of freedom, artist Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, on 29 June 2020. It was the Oromo people who were accused of killing their icon and imprisoned in thousands. It was the Oromo who were subjected to an unprecedented propaganda campaign by the government and its supporters, accusing our tolerant community of massacring minorities that lived among us for nearly a century where the reality is that the overwhelming majority of those killed in the violence were Oromos. Contrary to the toxic propaganda by callous forces who unashamedly used the violence to galvanise support for their campaign of dismantling multinational federalism, most of those who lost their lives were killed by government forces.
Therefore, Your Honour, the case before this court is an extension of these political campaigns against the Oromo cause and those of us advocating to advance this cause. We are being tried for acts of incitement only because the ruling party wants to seize power without a democratic challenge and impose its ideology on the Ethiopian people without any real option. As events over the last few months have demonstrated, it is now clear what lies behind these charges and our unjust detention and why such an approach is leading our country down a dangerous path.
Lastly, Your Honour, I am not before this court because I committed a criminal offence. I am here because I stood for and vigorously defended the cause of my people. I am a political prisoner standing trial because I unapologetically fought to advance the wishes and aspirations of my people, which the authorities found threatening.
Jawar Siraj Mohammed
March 22, 2021
Finfinnee, Oromia, Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Global Scholars of Tigrai Scholars (GSTS) letter to Permanent Representatives of US to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield – A Call for the Security Council to Reverse the Decision of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to Conduct a Joint Investigation with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (23.03.2021)

Ethiopia: Statement on Gender-Based Violance in Tigray region of Ethiopia (22.03.2021)

Ethiopia: Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) – OLF statement on current terror and havoc caused by the deployment of Amhara Militia to the Oromia Regional State (22.03.2021)

We have been receiving reports from credible sources that the Amhara Militias and special forces have launched an armed attack on civilians in the Amhara Regional State, Oromia Special Administrative Zone in districts such as Atayi, Afrata, Jiille and other several places. Also, today, March 21, 2021, the Amhara Regional Government has released a press statement admitting that they have deployed the Militias in different parts of the Oromia Regional State under the pretext of restoring peace and the rule of law in the Region. The question is why the Amhara Militias needed to be deployed in Oromia Regional State to restore peace and order while the Oromia Regional State has its own security forces to do so, provided that there was security threat, in the first place, in those districts? It is customary for the Ethiopian Government to use such excuses to justify their unconstitutional actions, and this one is no different.

Several unverified social media postings originating from Atayi, Afrata, Jiillee and other several places show burning smokes, suggesting that the Militias might have launched a large-scale attack on civilians likely caused civilian causalities. OLF calls for an immediate end to such senseless attacks on civilians and their properties, and these deployed Militias must pull out from those districts. As we have already witnessed in Tigray and Benishangul Gumuz Regional States, the Amhara Militias have crossed Regional boundaries and attack civilians. Such self-importance is a recipe for triggering a clash between Nations along ethnic lines. And therefore, the Federal Government, however it is weak, must stop the Amhara Militias from terrorizing citizens and interfering in their daily life.

The Oromo Liberation Front has also learned that the Amhara Regional State has deployed a large number of Militias in various parts of the Oromia Regional State. Creditable sources are reporting that these Militias are deployed in:
• West Welloga in districts like Gidami, Gaba Arbi, Mugi, and other districts.
• East Welloga in districts such as Guttin, Haro Limmu, Hagamsa, and Amuru.
• West Showa in districts like Gindeberet and Jaldu.
• North Showa in Darraa area.

Not knowing the motives behind this deployment, the residents in those locals and surrounding districts are living in fear and anxiety. It is also important to note that the Amhara Militias and special forces that have massacred the Gumuz and attack Oromia citizens in Benishangul Gumuz Regional state and Tigray people in Tigray Regional State. They are reported for killing innocent civilians whom they think don’t belong to their ethnic group, raping women, burning down homes and properties, destroying farmers’ harvest, etc.

Knowing the Amhara Militias from their previous actions, the deployment of these forces in large quantities is causing stresses and security threats to residents in the locality. Even the Amhara Militias are becoming a challenge for the Regional States to handle them as well. Therefore, it is crucial to bring such a terrifying acts of the Amhara Regional State Militias to an end before getting out of control and aggravating a civil war among Nations in Ethiopia.

In conclusion, the OLF requests the Federal authorities to immediately withdraw the Amhara Militias deployed in a different part of Oromia and safeguard innocent civilians from such a terrifying Amhara Militias. We would also like to call upon the international community to be vigilant about the Amhara Militias’ actions and the potential consequences on civilians in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa’s security.

Victory to the Masses
Oromo Liberation Front
Finfinnee
March 22, 2021

Ethiopian Diaspora for Research and Education Advancement through Parternship (ED-REAP): ED-REAP calls for an Immediate Restoration of Peace and Stopping of Atrocities to the People of Tigray in Ethiopia (20.03.2021)

Ethiopia: Global Society of Tigrai Scholars (GSTS) letter to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guteres – Subject: A Call for Action Regarding the UNDP’s Note to Your Excellency on the War in Tigray (11.03.2021)