Ethiopia: The Global Society of Tigray Scholars and Professionals (GSTS) letter to United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet (06.04.2021)

Ethiopia: OLF-OLA High Command Statement (05.04.2021)

Opinion: The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is praising Eritrea!

Ethiopia MFA twitter statement: “Ethiopia is grateful to the government & people of Eritrea for neutralizing the attacks of the treasonous TPLF clique by treating our soldiers & standing with us after they were backstabbed by their own colleagues. While the world seems to misunderstand, wittingly or otherwise, Ethiopia’s efforts to enforce law and order in Tigray, we appreciate those, like the people & government of #Eritrea, who understand our context. Ethiopia also lauds the solidarity of the Eritrean diasporas with their Ethiopian counterparts in the recently held rallies in major cities in the West supporting Ethiopia’s determination to fight misinformation & prejudice on critical issues to the country” (Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 05.04.2021).

We are living in 2021 and things not stopping to surprise me. Today is a day where the Tripartite Alliance is in full effect. The alliance between Ethiopia, Amhara and Eritrea is now in full force. As the Eritrean are continuing to defend their actions in Ethiopia by their Shabait website or Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are now praising the Eritrean effort in the Law Enforcement Operation. That is clear by the tweets written and published today on their account there today.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is clearly telling they are thankful and grateful for their actions. The Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) who is using vile force in the Tigray Region. An army that has been looting, raping and even causing horrific massacres an-mass there. We don’t know the full scope of war crimes happening in the region, but what we do know is devastating.

The Eritrean army have caused havoc. Have used all means to silence, stop and assault the region. There has been no tools they are not allowed to use. The Eritrean soldiers have used not only weapons, but inciting fear. They are using all means to go after the TPLF. While the Eritrean state is calling all reports as “bullshit” and saying they are “innocent”. Which cannot be true, when they are allowed to do everything and witnesses is telling what has happened after the fact.

What is evident today is that there is an official axis between Addis Ababa and Asmara. They are now brothers in arms against one enemy. They are beholden to each other and support each other. That is evident by their articles and words. They are sparring for each other and defending each other too.

That is why Shabait have articles dismissing and telling all ills of the TPLF. Because Asmara only did this all in self-defence. However, that is not all true and they we’re pre-planned to happen. The Ethiopian and Eritrean allies had moved troops and ordered it to happen before the 4th November 2021. That has been reported and shown how the troops moved ahead of the launch of the Law Enforcement Operation. Which was meant to be … even before the Northern Command ever was stormed by the Tigray Defence Force (TDF).

We can clearly see the Ethiopian-Eritrean alliance is working in tandem. They are defending each other. Not only with their soldiers, but by their acts too. Their official stances and statements are becoming friendly. That’s because they need each other and they are fighting the same battles.

Abiy and Afwerki is now both warlords. The PM and President is fighting the same war. They are bound by the fate of this war and the reports that comes from it. These two are no aligned and have to co-operate to get their objectives done. That’s why Addis Ababa is sending tokens of appreciation and cheering on for the EDF.

The war in Tigray is clearly showing the lack of heart in the administrations of Asmara and Addis Ababa. When they are praising the rivers of blood and the suffering of one region. Because, they need each other to able to cope with one guerrilla outfit. Peace.

Opinion: Abiy’s Law Enforcement Operation have become a guerrilla war

Currently, the national defence forces and the federal forces are in a major fight on 8 fronts in the north and the west (parts of the country) with the enemies which are anti-farmers, anti-civilians and caused strife among Ethiopians and are paying a sacrifice” – Prime Minister Ahmed Ali Abiy (03.04.2021)

On the 15th November 2020 I wrote about the Law Enforcement Operation that the Prime Minister had opened the “Pandora’s Box”. Which is now revealed all too be true. The ordered operation that was supposed to end at end of November last year. However, we know that this is on-going and a continued warfare in the region. The civil war in Tigray is continuing to this day.

It seems to have no end and that the “conventional” war with the tripartite alliance of forces isn’t able to totally counter the defensive forces. The Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF), Eritrean Defence Force (EDF) and Amhara Paramilitary Group “Fano” doesn’t have it in them to beat the Tigray Defence Force (TDF)

The armed forces of the tripartite alliance is using all means to destroy, annihilate and get rid of its enemies. They have been reported of several of massacres, looting and rape. They are using all means of war. Air-strikes, shelling and other means as well. They have mechanical battalions and tanks on the fields as well. So, they have not speared the conflict any sort of advanced techniques to kill the enemy. However, we are seeing that its not bearing fruits.

The Prime Minister promised a quick operation and ending. They we’re even in the final phases. Nevertheless, it seems like he overplayed his hands and possible amount of success. The Prime Minister have been outsmarted at his own game. He went to war and has since then been stuck in a quagmire. A sort of affair, where more and more atrocities are reported. Where the international community and everyone who follows see the rising numbers of fatalities and hears about the violations of the codes of war. The PM is clearly losing this and he cannot even phantom the counter-attacks of his enemy.

The PM thought the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) wouldn’t use their advantage and know-how of their region? The PM wouldn’t consider the one attacked in their homes and villages wouldn’t use counter-attacking means? He just expected them all just to do a battle-royal on the fields and call-it-a-day. If the PM thought so… he is either blind or stupid.

The TDF is using the means of guerrilla warfare. Which is the most productive means to counter-attack such forces as the tripartite alliance. They are using the knowledge and surroundings to their advantage. They know where to hide and where to possible ambush their enemy. That is what the TDF is doing to the tripartite alliance who is invading their lands. If the PM doesn’t grasp this… he has sent these former allies and former comrades to the bush to combat him.

Now the PM and his tripartite alliance is in the midst of a guerrilla war. They are no longer in a “conventional” war… the alliance of the state has already been known for taking state buildings in towns and cities making them into barracks. Where they are stationing soldiers and using universities, schools and even hospitals as bases in the region.

Clearly, the tripartite alliance is doing its best and trying to figure out ways to combat these insurgencies and sudden attacks from its enemy. Nevertheless, this sort of warfare will not be short-lived. The enemy of the tripartite alliance will mask itself and even become the terrain if needed be. They will blend into the general public and suddenly strike as they see fit. Therefore, the 8 fronts is only in the manner the TDF can practically make the lines of attack weaker. As the tripartite alliance needs to stretch its soldiers and front-lines. They cannot focus on single targets and goals. They have to move the goal-post and not just be in area at the time. That is because the ones they are fighting is local guerrillas, that is born and raised in the region. They are fighting for their homes and rights to rule in their region. This is why they are able and can prolong it in this manner.

Prime Minister should understand this. That the Pandora’s Box that he opened in November 2020. Will be a long saga and be the blood-stain that he never gets clean his hands off. This conflict is the war that will be his legacy and mark his reign. The Law Enforcement Operation is his whole project to own and carry. That he has failed it and haven’t delivered is his fault. He promised a quick-fix, but in the end… The PM will have to manage a long-running forever war with guerrillas. Which will only give up when the invaders are leaving. Peace.

Ethiopia: Global Scholars of Tigrai Scholars (GSTS) letter to Permanent Representatives of US to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield – The Need to Deploy a United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Investigation Commission in Tigray (26.03.2021)

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)