Reflection November, 2021

WAR
DESTRUCTION AND DEATH
PAGE 1 TIGRAY GENOCIDE
THERE IS NO HOLY
WAR.
CRITISIM OF ESKINDER NEGA'S CAREFULLY
DISGUISED SUPPORT OF A GENOCIDAL WAR
A month ago, a well known journalist,
political activist, and founder of Balderas
political party, Eskinder Nega, wrote a
controversial article from jail. As a Tigrayan
directly affected by the ongoing war, I
decided to write my reflection using this
article as a prism for understanding implicit
and carefully disguised support of a war that
has been characterized by atrocities that fit
the definition of genocide.
In this article titled “If there must be war in
Ethiopia...” Eskinder shared his views about the lack
of empathy seen with the war in Ethiopia, the deep
divide and about war. Eskinder’s main message was
summarized well with the last sentence, “If there
must be war, let it be war for peace, for love, a war to
end war.”
REFLECTION
The first thing we note is that Eskinder frames the
war on Tigray as an “internal matter”. This is a key
mischaracterization which reveals that far from
being a disinterested and fair observer the author is
committed to promoting a dishonest perspective on
the war. It has long been established that, including
by the Ethiopian government that Eritrean troops
had extensively taken part in the war, while reliable
sources continue to reveal the extent to which
Somalia troops and technical support from the
United Arab Emirates in the form of drone warfare
have featured in this conflict. Moreover, drone sales
from China, Turkey, UAE, and Iran, and Israel were
reported. The persistent violations to humanitarian
and human rights laws by the Ethiopian and allied
forces have also necessitated the ongoing
diplomatic intervention of the international
community.
PAGE 2 TIGRAY GENOCIDE
A second revealing element in this article is the false
equivalence that it draws between the industrial
scale destruction and ongoing atrocities that have
been inflicted on Tigray and the unfortunate
expansion/eruptions of conflict elsewhere. What is
particularly notable in this regard is that for almost
all of the last year Tigray has been put under a
complete telecommunications blackout, along with
an economic siege and a humanitarian blockade
revealing systematic and state sponsored targeting
of the civilian community. Bodies even show up at
the end of Tekeze river in Sudan, blood soaked top
soil, satellite imagery revealed mass graves, and
smuggled out videos showed acts of complete
impunity in which perpetrators spoke of the human
flesh of their victims in an almost cannibalistic tone.
Another assertion made by Eskinder in the article is
that the rallies, petitions and other forms of
advocacy have been one sided. If, however, the
primary aim is indeed to promote peace and
peacefulness, calls to end the war can not be
perceived as one sided. Similarly, calling for military
actors to abide by international conventions and
humanitarian law or demanding independent
investigations cannot be characterized as a partisan
issue. Indeed if these calls from what Eskinder may
see as pro-Tigray advocacy efforts had been heard,
the current escalation of the war that has spread
and affected more people would likely have not
happened.  abundant tools that can solve
Beyond these details within the article, the overall
message of the article is my main reason for writing
this reflection.
REFLECTION
Eskinder wrote this article from a prison cell away
from the firing guns and the bombs dropping from
the sky. As difficult as it is to imagine those that were
massacred, raped, and disabled can only wish to
have been in a prison cell away from the Ethiopian
Defense Force, Eritrean Defense Force, and Amhara
special forces. History documents countless wars
and one thing that is common to all is the fact that
war brings destruction and the most vulnerable are
the ones severely affected. Even if one is not directly
affected by the war, there are indirect negative
consequences of war on the larger population.
Ethiopia’s economy is being crippled as I write this
because of the war. There has not been any
transparency on the cost of the war and its
economic impact this far, but what we know is that,
away from war, in the capital city Addis Ababa,
families are unable to keep up with the high cost of
living that keeps getting worse due to the war.
In conclusion, there is no holy
war. War brings destruction
and death. The country now
needs calls for peace and
dialogue more than ever. We
are at a time where there are
any differences.
By Saba Mah'derom