STOP AMHARA GENOCIDE IN ETHIOPIA

MESSAGE TO ALL HUMAN RACE

BY: NATHAN BELAY ABTEW (ANTHROPOLOGIST AND
FREELANCE RESEARCHER)

OCTOBER 2020

Detailed Statement

The Amhara society is one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia.

According to the Encyclopedia of Ethiopia, the term Amhara
signifies someone who is pleasing, agreeable and gracious. An
Anthropologist, Donald Levine in his prominent book entitled:
“Wax and Gold” published in 1972, argued that the Amhara
people are the proud Abyssinians who have cultural blending with
ancient Semitic and Cushitic communities of Africa.

Amharic language is one of the remarkable references for Amhara

society in Africa. This Semitic language family (Amharic) has its
own alphabet named “fidel” which is related to ancient Sabaean
alphabet. Spoken by millions of other Ethiopians as a second
language, Amharic helped the country to preserve one interwoven
national unity and Ethiopian identity for thousands of years.
The Amhara people by large are Orthodox Tewahido Christian
followers. Next to Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Catholicism and
different protestant religions are also exercised.
In the political history of Ethiopia, the Amhara society has
remarkable place. From antiquity up to Emperor Haile Selassie,
different kings emerged from Amhara race. These rulers led the
country without interference of the western world. They gave us
our own unmixed and unique Ethiopian identity. Among the many
respected emperors and kings of Ethiopia, Emperor Menelik II is
the symbol of liberty for all black people in the world. This fire
man massacred the Italian colonial military power at the Battle of
Adowa in 1896, and history recorded that event as the first
crushing defeat of a European power by black forces during the
colonial era.
In the history of building modern Ethiopia, the Amhara people
contributed their significant part. Thanks to the Ethiopian
Orthodox church, different scholars and thinkers were emerged in
Ethiopia. When Ethiopian scholars were writing their history using
their own writing tools and alphabet, most of the today’s
developed world had no idea about writing.
Judicial procedures, different policies and programs including
diplomatic charters were designed by the antic Ethiopian Orthodox
church. Teaching books, schools and different levels of education
were predesigned by the church before modern Education came in
Ethiopia.
However, the year 1991 was a turning point for Ethiopian history.
In 1991, extremely racist and anti-Amhara military group came
from the northern part of the country (today’s Tigray region). The
name of this military mafia group is Tigriean People’s Liberation
Front (TPLF). At the beginning, this mafia group had no plan to
rule the country, rather their objective was to divide Tigray region
from Ethiopia and to form an independent Tekeze republic. When
they arrived in central Ethiopia, TPLF has changed its idea and
they preferred to rule the country because they were attracted by
the natural resources of central Ethiopia. For more than 27 years,
TPLF lead the country, and they have collected almost all
resources of the country.
While staying in power, TPLF formed their political puppets in all
parts of the country. They have designed national hatred policy
against Amhara society, and they have preached all over the
country. For the past thirty years, this policy was included in the
academics, and all the new generation grew up with Amhara
phobia.
As a result, since 1991 up to now, thousands of innocent Amhara
lives are getting massacred. Especially, in Oromia, Somali and
Benishangul Gumuz regions, very organized ethnic cleansings
were done against orthodox Christian Amhara society. Thousands
of innocent men and women were slaughtered; some were raped or
castrated.

The 2018 Political reform and Clear Declaration of Amhara

genocide

After twenty-seven years xenophobic leadership system, TPLF’s

cadres lost their seat in the federal government and they fled to
Tigray region. Since then, the so-called reformist leader, Abiye
Ahmad Ali came to power. Abiye Ahmed is from Oromo society
in which TPLF has worked much on this society regarding Amhara
hatred.
When the Oromo centred politics started in 2018, clear genocide
movements have been declared against Christian Amhara
communities in the country. The first genocide after the 2018
political reform took place in Somali region where hundreds were
killed; priests and monks were burned in the church and thousands
were displaced. The second genocide was done in Oromia region
by the virtual call of an Oromo Muslim extremist and activist
named Jawar Mohammed. During this ethnic cleansing, more than
hundred innocent Amhara souls were massacred. The third
genocide was done in Shashemene, Zeway, Bale Robe and Arsi
Negele areas of Oromia region. This genocide was planned,
financed and executed by different stakeholders among whom
Oromo extremists, Tigrayan People Liberation Front (TPLF),
Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the government itself were
active participants. The fourth Amhara genocide is the one which
is in progress at Benishangul Gumuz region. This genocide is
typically planned by Oromia regional state in collaboration with
TPLF and Oromo Liberation Front.

Why the Genocide Against Amhara is Needed?

The clear objective of the current Oromo-centered federal

government is to build greater Oromia which is free from Amhara
society. The Novel prise winner prime minister, Abiye Ahmed Ali
is playing symbolic role by pretending as if he is working for
national unity. For the international society, it is told that the prime
minister is working hard for human rights and deepening of
democracy in the country. This strategy of Abiye Ahmed not only
convinced the international society but also it created non-
responsive dormant Amhara leaders in the country. Knowing that
thousands are dying inhumanly, many Amhara leaders, activists
and human right specialists are keeping quiet.
However, the long-term objective of Abiye Ahemed’s government
is disclosed by Mr. Shimeles Abdissa (Oromia region president) in
his clearly stated public speeches. Shimeles Abdissa is
implementing all what he said in public. Here, it would be useful
to refer his speeches and compare them with what is going on
currently against the Amhara society. In 2019, when the Oromo
society was celebrating Erecha (the Oromo traditional religious
practice) in Addis Ababa, Shimeles Abdissa addressed the
following speech: “we [the current Oromo politicians], broke the
backbone of Naftagna”. The term Nafitagna refers the Amhara
society in which currently, it is highly manipulated by politicians
and activists who are working against the Amhara. The same year,
during regional political meeting, the same president of Oromia
region said: “we are working to eradicate the Amharic language
and the Amhara”. He added: “in Benishangul and Addis Ababa,
we are working to bring demographic change which means to
replace the Amhara society by the Oromos”.
Therefore, the following reasons could be summarized for the
reasons why the current Amhara genocide is needed:
• To build Amhara free greater Oromia and to dismantle Ethiopia
• To realise the already preached Amhara hatred by TPLF
• To avenge the false history perpetrated against the Amahra
society
• To eradicate the Amhara race from the country and to build
Amhara free independent states
Why the Amhara lost their courage and get Vulnerable?
For the last three decades, much has been done to break the unity
and bold Amhara identity. Once, the former prime minister, Meles
Zenawi said: “we broke the Amhara backbone and its courage.
Now, we let its shoulder only for dance”. This political conspiracy
has been done in order that the Amhara could be shameful,
suppressed and non-resistant society in the country.
The ethnic based federalism made the Amhara people to be
alienated from all forms of participation. in order to achieve the
TPLF’s policies and programs, corrupted and mindless Amhara
leaders were recruited as puppet leaders of the Amhara people.
Among these, Addisu Leggesse, the former Amhara regional state
president could be mentioned. This mindless leader made ethnic
cleansing in Wolkaite and Raya areas of Amhara people in which
these areas are taken from Amhara region and they are
incorporated under Tigray.
In order to bring demographic change, very dangerous sterility
medications were given for Amhara female students starting from
their teenage. As a result, millions of Amhara women became
childless. Much has been done to eradicate the Amhara race from
Ethiopia.
All these suppressions and psychological destabilisation broke the
Amhara unity and its courage. This made the people to be
vulnerable for any form of group attacks. For instance, currently,
there are mass killings against Amhara people almost everywhere
in the country. However, the Amhara are not responding because
they are not organized at all, and this will cost million Amhara
lives in the near future.
The other hindering factor is the current Amhara leaders have no
courage to build strong regional government. The Amhara regional
government has failed under irresponsible and mindless puppets
who only want to advocate Oromo centered politics of Abiye
Ahmed. For them, building strong and organized Amhara society
will make them lose their political position. Most of the Amhara
leaders are uneducated, and they are out of cardinal virtues of the
human race. For them, leadership is power. Staying in power
concerns them much more than working for their people. As a
result, many Amhara activists believe that the Amhara leaders
should take the lions share of accountability for the crime
commuted against Amhara people for the last thirty years.

Strategies of Amhara Genocide

1. Public Denial
Denial of recognition the Amhara genocide is one technique of the
Ethiopian government using as a policy. In all conflicts and public
strikes, the Amhara are the only ethnic groups who are targeted for
ethnic cleansing. However, in order to cover this genocide, the
government is giving different names. For instance, the genocide
committed in Oromia region for more than two times in these two
years, the government always say it is just simple conflict as if it
didn’t target against the Amhara people.
The genocide still continued in Benishabgul Gumuz region and
many Amhara are dying inhumanly. Pregnant mothers are
chopped, their stomachs are opened, and their infants left on the
ground; children and mothers got slaughtered. This is done by
identifying specific society, having lists of names and even by
designing how and when they should kill them. The government
officials are assisting the assassinators by giving detail information
and road map for the ethnic cleansing. The military are watching
the event as a spectator.

2. Taking Advantage of the Amhara’s interest on National Unity

It is known that most of the Amhara people have Ethiopian

mentality and national unity. Following the coming of Abiye
Ahmed Ali to power, the Amhara people were very happy since he
used to address public speeches about national unity and strong
feeling for Ethiopia. These speeches of the Prime minister make
the Amhara people dormant and non-responsive for the current
genocide hoping that tomorrow, better day will come. The Amhara
are very wise people that they prefer national unity even at the cost
of their lives.
However, it is very important to analyse in which school of
thought the prime minister grew up. On the one hand, Abiye
Ahmed Ali grew up by studying and practicing the political
philosophy of “patriotic democracy” under the supervision of
TPLF cadres. He was successful in his political appointments
during the TPLF regime by accomplishing the policies and
programs of anti-Amhara forces for the last twenty years. On the
other hand, he used to work as a double agent for Oromo
Liberation Front when EPRDF was getting divided. He came to
power through the help of team Lemma, former Oromia region
president in which these two shared the same ideology: Oromo
first. This is to mean that even if the prime minister is advocating
national unity, his clear objective is to build grater Oromia. This
plan is clearly mentioned by the public speeches of Mr. Shimelis
Abdissa, the current president of Oromia regional state. By
performing horrific ethnic cleansing, the Oromo leaders want to
build greater Oromia which overtakes Benishangul Gumuz, Addis
Ababa and Dire Dawa.

Why the Ongoing mass killing against the Amhara is Genocide?

1. The attacks are premeditated, planned. Trainings were/are given
to accomplish the mission. Besides, killers have lists of victims by
taking their full address and identity cards from kebele officials.
2. Many government officials are ignoring their roles as if it is not
their duty to safeguard people’s lives, and some others are helping
the attackers by financing and providing transportation service
3. Hate speech and incitements of violence against the Amhara has
been propagated by media outlets and activists. On the contrary,
those who are fighting for human rights like the famous journalist
and politician Iskindir Nega are imprisoned. Dimtse Woyane and
Oromia Media Network are the prominent medias who are
propagating hate speech against Amhara
4. Blasphemy and horrific ways killings are circulated through
social media in order to build fear and strong feeling of insecurity
among the Amhara society. For instance, killers open the stomach
of pregnant mother. Decapitating children, chopping different
organs, burning the dead body, crucifying upside down, giving the
body for hyaena, playing games on the human body by piercing
and throwing arrows; raping small kids in front of their mothers,
slaughtering fathers in front of their wives and children, etc. are
some of the horrific killing styles which are happening against the
Amhara.