Urgent Appeal to the Congregation of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, Including Former Youth Pastor of the Church, Senator Raphael Warnock
Mesfin Arega
Greetings dear congregation of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, including former youth pastor of the church, Senator Raphael Warnock. I am writing this urgent appeal to you because the home country of some of the founders of your church (the seamen of Ethiopia) urgently needs your help. The Ethiopia of Emperor Menelik, Emperor Haile Selassie, and your own Dr. Melaku Beyan is about to be torn to pieces by US-sponsored, anti-Amhara ethnic apartheid system introduced in 1991 by TPLF (Tigre Peoples Liberation Front) and aggressively continued by the current prime minister (the Oromo nationalist Abiy Ahmed) since he assumed power in 2018. Just as the congregation of the 1930’s played a significant role to save Ethiopia from an external enemy (Mussolini) supported by colonialists in the US government, I appeal to you to do the same to save Ethiopia from internal enemies supported by neo-colonialists within the State Department. The time to help is now, before it is too late. The trio of TPLF, Abiy Ahmed, and Mr. Blinken are aggressively working in unison to make Ethiopia history and, if they get their way, Ethiopia may be no more even before President Biden’s first term is over. I will explain in detail why and how, starting from Amhara, and what tribalist “liberation fronts” like TPLF and OLF (Oromo Liberation front) portray as “Amhara Ethiopia”, even though practically all of its leaders as well as its high government and military officials were partially, if not totally, non-Amhara.
Amharas are the most integrated of all Ethiopian nationalities. They are ethnic-blind to a fault which makes them vulnerable in a sea of Amhara-hating tribalist “liberation fronts” like TPLF and OLF. The social fabric of Ethiopia is woven by Amharas who (unlike other ethnicities of Ethiopia) identify themselves first and foremost as Ethiopians. Amhara nationalism (epitomized by Emperor Menelik) is another name for Ethiopian nationalism. It is this nationalism which insured the very survival of Ethiopia by marshalling all of the country around it, enabled the country to crushingly defeat European colonialists at Adwa, paved the way for decolonization of the entire continent of Africa, initiated pan-Africanism, and laid the very foundation of black pride and black nationalism for blacks all over the world.
Unlike other ethnicities of Ethiopia, the one and only flag Amharas hold near and dear is the green-yellow-red flag, adopted by many African countries after liberation from European colonialism. Amhara’s are always proud of Ethiopia (irrespective of what others think of her), and religiously adhere to Ethiopianism (“the sociopolitical movement to unify all people of African heritage into one global community”). For Amharas, the country of Lucy, of the river Ghion (Abay) encircling Eden (Gojam) [Genesis, 2:13], of the Book of Enoch (the basis for Old and New testament), and of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church which predates the Roman Catholic Church must be unique among all countries of the world, and some of her hardships may be what her uniqueness entails. Above all, Amharas are proud Africans who would not lightly take any slight from any European any where. There is no more proof of this than your own church which was founded by Ethiopian merchant seamen who refused to worship in segregated churches.
No wonder many European white nationalists see Amharas as the greatest threat to white supremacism. Chief among them was the Nazi Baron Roman Prochazka who was posted as Austrian consul in Addis Ababa until his expulsion in 1934 for conspiring with anti-Ethiopia tribalists. Prochazka published a small book in Vienna in 1935 (the year of Italian invasion) under the title “Abyssinia: The Powder Barrel”. The book was a warning to white supremacists that Emperor Haile Selassie, in “close co-operation with Japan”, was waging a “life and death struggle with the white race, the consequences of which are incalculable.” Worried by the pan-African nature of Emperor Haile Selassie’s struggle, Prochazka wrote “the targets are the colonial powers in Africa without exception.” Indignant that Ethiopians saw him no more or no less than just another person from Europe, he wrote
“It is hardly possible to imagine a more unhappy situation of a white man than to have to live under the oppression of an Abyssinian grandee. The prevalence of this contemptuous invective is characteristic of the mentality and attitude of the natives who imagine themselves to be infinitely superior to the white race.” (Roman Prochaska, Abyssinia: The Powder Barrel, Vienna, 1935)
However, his most important view which is widely espoused by anti-Amhara white supremacists, and which explains why he was expelled from Ethiopia is the following.
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)
Thus, according to Prochazka, westerners should attack and destroy Abyssinian ruled (translation, “Amhara ruled”) Ethiopia, lest its leaders unify “all black people so as to attack and destroy Western culture.” Moreover, according to Prochazka, westerners should champion “the numerous tribes who inhabit the Ethiopian state”, so that these tribes will freely choose to be colonized by Europeans. This is Prochazka’s agenda and those who promote it are Prochazkites. In the 1930’s, Prochazkites were colonialists championing Oromo and Tigre warlords who rebelled against the Ethiopian government, and now they are neo-colonialists supporting “liberation fronts” like TPLF and OLF.
A large number of media in the US and UK (in particular CNN, BBC, and AP) are well known to be highly biased towards all “liberation fronts” in Ethiopia, especially towards TPLF. Whether the East-African desks of these media are headed by prochazkites, one cannot be sure. However, their one-sided, propaganda-like coverage of the current Tigray crisis leaves a lot of question to be answered.
Likewise, a large number of politicians and statesmen in the US and UK are well known to be overt prochazkites. One of them is Mr. Herman Cohen who was the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under George H. W. Bush (1989 – 1993). Mr. Cohen’s true feelings for Amhara and what he considers “Amhara Ethiopia” was clearly expressed by his twit right after Amhara region leaders where assassinated in Bahr Dar on June 22, 2019.
”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, Twitter, June 24, 2019)
Notice the similarity between Mr. Cohen’s tweet and Mr. Prochazka’s statements. Prochazka wrote about the numerous tribes of Ethiopia “being forcibly kept from European colonialism by Abyssinian rulers”, while Cohen twitted about “Amhara hegemony over all of Ethiopia.” This is the same Herman Cohen who essentially imposed the anti-Ethiopia TPLF on Ethiopians in 1991. He did so by playing a deceitful role in the “London Peace Talks” where he convinced the Ethiopian military command to declare ceasefire “for the sake of peace” while urging TPLF rebels to fight with all their might to enter the capital (Addis Ababa) and control it as fast as possible.
Then, there is Ms. Suzan Rice who served as the US Ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama and is now serving as the director of the US Domestic Policy Council under President Biden. Ms. Rice is an enigma, at least with regard to Ethiopia and Ethiopians. I would not dare call our well-educated African American sister a Prochazkite (one who hates the “Amhara Ethiopia” meaning, the anti-colonialist, black nationalist Ethiopia). However, knowingly or unknowingly, Ms. Rice’s words and actions are so in-line with Prochazka’s agenda that he would have been very proud of her. Ms. Rice was so close to the late TPLF leader (Meles Zenawi) to the extent that many Ethiopians suspect there may be more to their close relationship than meets the eye. She is on the record saying Meles Zenawi’s sham election of 2015 (where he won 100% of parliamentary seats) “100% democratic”, while laughing her heart out to express her 100% satisfaction with the result of the election, calling those who dispute it “idiots”.
For all intents and purposes, Meles Zenawi was the Hitler of TPLF (Tigray People Liberation Front) whereas the 1976 TPLF manifesto was the mein kampf of Meles Zenawi, his lebensraum being the huge, fertile lands in the Amhara provinces of Gonder and Wello. Meles Zenawi’s shutzstaffel (SS) was the notorious federal police known as Agazi. All of these are clearly evident by the measures Meles Zenawi started to take immediately after he usurped power in 1991.
- He effectively doubled the size of what used to be called Tigray Province by annexing a huge, fertile land from Gonder Province (known as Wokait), and another huge, fertile land from Wello Province (known as Raya), and renamed these annexed lands “Western Tigray” and “Southern Tigray”.
- He assembled ultra-tribalists from TPLF and OLF to craft an anti-Amhara “constitution” without Amhara participation, even though Amharas are by far the largest majority in Ethiopia. (That Oromos are the majority in Ethiopia is a pure lie fabricated by Oromo nationalists and their Tigre advocates, and propagated by their anti-Amhara western sympathizers.)
- His Bantustan constitution divides Ethiopia into language-based ethnic regions (called Kilils) which solely belong to one and only one ethnicity of the Kilil. For example, the “Tigray Kilil” belongs entirely to Tigrayans, even though (thanks to annexation of Amhara lands) millions of Amharas live in the Kilil. Likewise, the “Oromia Kilil” (which also annexed a huge, fertile land called Dera from the Amhara province of Shewa) belongs only to Oromos, even though Amharas are by far the largest majority in virtually all big (by Ethiopian standard) cities and towns of the Kilil (such as Debre Zeit, Nazret, Assela, Shashemene, and Zeway). Worst of all is the “Benshangul-Gumuz Kilil” which was formed by renaming one-half of the Amhara province of Gojam, and then constitutionally labelling Gojam Amharas “settlers” in their own ancestral land.
- He started to implement the 1976 TPLF manifesto word by word immediately after he assumed power in 1991. According to this fascistic manifesto, “Amharas are the mortal enemy of Tigrayans” responsible for most (if not all) Tigrayan problems, and, therefore, Tigrayans should make them as irrelevant as possible by weakening them as much as possible, preferably by a sort of “final solution”. From 1991 till its downfall in 2018, TPLF has been actively engaged in a well-documented three decades of systematic and brutal ethnic cleansing (including rape and forced sterilization) of Amhara. There are no better proofs for the scope and severity of Amhara’s persecution under TPLF than Wolkait and Raya, which were ethnically cleansed to settle TPLF fighters so much so that (even after TPLF is gone for good) Tigrayan nationalists continue to claim them as “Western Tigray” and “Southern Tigray”, basing their claim on TPLF engineered demography.
- His own government openly admitted that it could not account for the loss of 2.5 million Amharas in its 2007 census. Since TPLF is well known for unashamedly over-reporting or under-reporting data as its sees fit, the actual loss in Amhara population is believed to be double the admitted loss (about five million) which more than the entire population of Tigray proper. However, even the admitted loss of 2.5 million Amharas would make the genocide of Amhara by TPLF the worst genocide the world has ever seen, next only to the holocaust, definitely much worse than the Rwandan genocide. No wonder why the TPLF flag is as painful to Amharas as the swastika is to Jews.
- He knows Amhara history well enough to realize that TPLF cannot put them down indefinitely, no matter how much support it gets from the west. Therefore, he insisted on including an article (called article 39) which would make it very easy for TPLF to establish a separate country (“the Republic of Greater Tigray”) when the time comes it can no longer dominate Ethiopia. If the present conflict in Tigray started when TPLF attacked the Northern Command (I cannot be sure of this because neither TPLF nor Abiy Ahmed are trust worthy), then TPLF would do so, only if it was about to declare Tigray Republic unilaterally based on Article 39 and, in case Abiy Ahmed does not obey the Article, saw the need to degrade Ethiopia’s potential military response significantly. If this was indeed the case, it would be the irony of ironies. Article 39 which TPLF crafted to enable it secede easily, instead lead to its military downfall! Amharas have an apt saying for this, “Sera leseriw, eshoh latariw” (The chickens come home to roost.)
The silent genocide of millions of Amharas by TPLF over a period of nearly three decades (1991 – 2018) was possible only because it had overt and covert support of western governments. In particular, the US and UK poured billions after billions into TPLF’s bottomless coffers in the name of “development assistance”, most of which was laundered back to the US and UK (and part of this laundered money is now used to wage relentless propaganda campaign against Amhara and “Amhara Ethiopia”). While Meles Zenawi was silently cleansing Amharas from the annexed Amhara lands, President Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair were hailing him as the prime exponent of “Africa’s new generation of leaders” the west can “do business” with. When Mele’s Zenawi’s notorious Agazi (the equivalent of Hitler’s SS) openly murdered more than two hundred Addis Ababa protestors (mostly Amharas) following the highly disputed May 2005 election, the US State department blamed the massacre on “lumpen” protestors and, thanking Meles Zenawi for quickly putting the protest under control, funneled additional millions for “additional training” of Mele’s Zenawi’s SS.
The west did its best to prolong Meles Zenawi’s reign for as much as possible so that it can continue to “do business” with him for as long as possible. However, nature took its course, Meles died of natural cause in 2012, ruled Ethiopia from his grave for six more years (2012 – 2018) in the name of Mr. Hilemariam Desalegn, and then TPLF was pushed off the seat of power in Arat Kilo (Addis Ababa), thanks to Amharas’ continual opposition and occasional revolt against degradation, marginalization, and persecution by TPLF. Then, the Oromo Abiy Ahmed became prime minister, after the Amhara region leader (Mr. Demeke Mekonnen) who was vice prime minister and, therefore, more deserving of the prime minister position willingly stepped aside by what seemed to be a gentlemen’s agreement. Unlike other ethnicities of Ethiopia, Amharas never, ever care about the ethnicities of their leaders as long as they are patriotic.
Obviously, Meles Zenawi was very unpatriotic. TPLF considered Ethiopia to be only 100 years old, forbade the qualifier Ethiopian from identity cards, and forced even multiethnic Ethiopians to choose only one of the ethnicities it recognizes. TPLF has been disparaging the name Ethiopia so much so that Amharas were longing that someone in a position of power say something good about the Ethiopia they love, even a as a lip service. The shrewd Abiy Ahmed fully knew this Achilles’ hill of Amharas and exploited it to the fullest extent, so much so that some Amharas regarded him as the messiah Ethiopia and Ethiopians have been longing for (for nearly three decades). In the first few months of Abiy Ahmed’s tenure, his Amhara support was almost unanimous whereas his Oromo opposition was very significant, mainly because Oromo nationalists (whose motto is “Ethiopia out of Oromia”) absolutely hate to hear anything positive about Ethiopia.
However, to their great dismay, Amharas soon realized that Abiy Ahmed is an OLF wolf in Ethiopia’s clothing, that he has been faking his love for Ethiopia only to gain their (Amharas) complete trust and unwavering support (without which he wouldn’t be able to solidify his premiership), and that his lofty words about Ethiopia are mere covers for his wicked deeds against Ethiopia. His Oromo-centered actions leave them (Amharas) with no doubt that he is the undeclared chief of Oromuma. Oromuma is the stated goal of OLF (Oromo Liberation Front) to build an exclusive geda-based Oromo empire covering most of present-day Ethiopia as well as parts of neighboring Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan. And geda is the hierarchical military system used by 15th century Oromo nomadic warriors to expand throughout most of what is presently known as Oromia by exterminating or forcibly assimilating natives, in pretty much the same way Mongol nomadic warriors expanded over Eurasia.
Once Amharas began to see Abiy Ahmed, not through his words, but through his deeds, their overwhelming support for him decreased exponentially and is now negligible. As far as Amhara are concerned, Abiy Ahmed’s government turns out to be identical to Meles Zenawi’s government with one and only one difference. Mele Zenawi’s government was dominated by his own TPLF, whereas Abiy Ahmed’s government is dominated by his own OLF masquerading (as Mele’s Zenawi once said) as OPDO (Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization). In particular, just like Mele Zenawi, Abiy Ahmed regards the anti-Amhara constitution of Ethiopia as a sacred document, and publicly said “he would not amend it for the sake of Amhara”, even though Amharas (who are purposely undercounted by millions) officially constitute more than one-third of the Ethiopian population.
Unfortunately for Amhara, OLF which dominates Abiy Ahmed’s government is the “Boko Haram” of Ethiopia, much more barbaric and much more extreme than TPLF. As a result, Abiy Ahmed not only continued the plight of Amhara but also made it much worse. In the last three years alone (since he became prime minister in April 2018), 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 the military wing of OLF (locally known as oneg shene) which feeds on Oromia regional force, Abiy Ahmed’s own regional force. Outside Oromia, OLF is actively cooperating with Gumuz rebels to ethnically cleanse Amharas from Benshangul-Gumuz region. The cooperation has been so effective that the Amharas who were by far the biggest majority of the Benshangul-Gumuz region are now reduced to minority in just a couple of years.
As a prime minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed is at least indirectly responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Amharas in the last three years of his reign. Hence, the big question is the following. Why would Abiy Ahmed who is responsible for ethnic cleansing of Amharas turn around and collude with Mr. Blinken to accuse Amharas of ethnic cleansing not only in Tigray region but also inside Amhara region itself? It should be noted that, before Mr. Blinken demanded the “immediate withdrawal” of Amhara Regional Force from “Tigray”, it was Abiy Ahmed who used OLF parliamentarians to accuse Amhara regional force for atrocities committed inside an OLF controlled autonomous zone of Amhara region, and to request that the Amhara regional force in the zone be replaced by the Oromo-dominated Federal Defense Force.
Abiy Ahmed joined “Oromo freedom” fighters at an early age when he would hardly know what Oromo oppression means. He grew up feeding on TPLF’s anti-Amhara narrative, and was trusted by TPLF so much so that he became head of the all-important INSA (Information Network Security Agency) with the rank of a colonel. While he was the head of INSA (Ethiopia’s equivalent of FBI) he published (under a pseudonym) a small Machiavelli-esque book titled “Erekab Ena Menber” (“Stirrup and Throne”). This book clearly shows Abiy Ahmed’s extreme lust for power and his willingness to satisfy it by any means necessary, his golden rule for dealing with opponents being to “make sure your opponents are utterly crushed so that they never ever bother you again”.
When Amhara opposition began to shake the TPLF government, Abiy Ahmed (who has admitted on public television that he had been preparing himself for the Prime Minister position for a long time) saw an opportunity to seize power with Amhara help, pretending to be an ardent Ethiopianist, knowing full well that Ethiopianism is the best music to Amhara ears. Won only by his pro-Ethiopia eloquence (without questioning his sincerity and, more importantly, without bothering about his past with TPLF), Amharas revered him even more than they revered Emperor Menelik, and wished him thousand-year reign.
However, as he began to execute his Oromo nationalistic plans, his deeds began to diverge more and more from his words, and, in less than two years, they became diametrically opposite. Then, Amharas who hailed him as Ethiopia’s savior started to see him as the greatest enemy to Ethiopia and Ethiopianism since the infamous marauder Ahmed Gran (1506 – 1543). However, by this time Abiy Ahmed has already consolidated his power – he has won Nobel Peace Prize, powerful Amhara region leaders have been assassinated, TPLF has been cornered in Tigray, the Amhara regional force is practically disbanded, and the Oromia regional force has commissioned more than 30 batches making it as strong (if not stronger than) the federal defense force. Hence, Abiy Ahmed has no need to hide his Oromo nationalism behind Ethiopianism. Therefore, in reply to Oromo extremists who question his Oromo nationalism only because his mother is rumored to be an Amhara, he appeared on television (Oromo Broadcasting Network) and proudly said “no one is giving or taking away my Oromuma”, Oromuma being the total and complete domination of Ethiopia by Oromo.
However, Abiy Ahmed can implement his Oromuma plan of building an Oromo empire over the ruins of Ethiopia only if he makes the Amhara region too week to frustrate his plan. The Amhara region is a microcosm of Ethiopia containing, unlike all other regions of Ethiopia, autonomous and semi-autonomous zones within it. Strong Amhara region is necessary (if not sufficient) for strong Ethiopia. If Welkait and Raya zones (called by TPLF “western and southern Tigray” after annexation) are allowed to rejoin their rightful Amhara region, the region will be the most powerful of all regions of Ethiopia in virtually all aspects (be it population or natural resources), rendering Abiy Ahmed’s Oromuma dream of Oromizing Ethiopia forever irredeemable.
Likewise, 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 Federal Defense Force, whose commander in chief (Abiy Ahmed), chief of staff (Berhanu Jula), defense minister (Kena Yadeta), and Airforce commander (Yilma Merdasa) are all Oromo. Being the most multi-ethnic, the Amhara regional force is the least to be suspected of ethnic cleansing. As such, this regional force is the last line of defense to save Ethiopia from any anti-Ethiopia Oromuma force be it Oromia Regional Force or Oneg Shene (the military wing of OLF).
The recent fighting in “Western Tigray” whereby the Amhara regional force essentially buried TPLF militarily near its birthplace (the infamous dedebit where the anti-Amhara TPLF manifesto was concocted) has clearly shown one important fact. The Amhara regional force, though poorly armed, is a formidable force adept in the Ethiopian rectangular art of war (composed of Fitawrari, Kegnazmach, Grazmach, and Degen) which was effectively used to crush all invaders from time immemorial be them Ottomans or Italians. Therefore, the only way Abiy Ahmed can destroy the Amhara regional force is by persuading the United States to bomb it out of existence under the pretext of ethnic cleansing.
However, with the likes of the pro-TPLF (and, therefore, anti-Amhara) Suzan Rice pulling the strings in the State Department, does the US need persuading to destroy the Amhara regional force? The answer is a big NO, if one goes by the twits and statements of Mr. Blinken.
- “The United States is gravely concerned by reports of atrocities in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. We strongly condemn the killings, forced removals, sexual violence, and other violations of human rights. The international community must work together to prevent further atrocities” (@SecBlinken, Feb 27, 2021)
- “There are many credible reports of armed forces in Tigray committing acts of violence against civilians, including gender-based violence and other human rights abuses and atrocities. The conduct of the Eritrean Defense Forces and Amhara regional forces have been particularly egregious …We equally urge the Government of Ethiopia to withdraw Amhara regional forces from the Tigray region and ensure that effective control of western Tigray is returned to the Transitional Government of Tigray. ” (Press Statement, Anthony J. Blinken, May 15, 2021)
- “Today, I am announcing a visa restriction policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act on the issuance of visas for any current or former Ethiopian or Eritrean government officials, members of the security forces, or other individuals—to include Amhara regional and irregular forces and members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)—responsible for, or complicit in, undermining resolution of the crisis in Tigray” (Press Statement, Anthony J. Blinken, May 23, 2021)
Mr. Blinken seems to be selective in his “grave concern” for atrocities in Ethiopia. Yes, there are many reports of atrocities in Tigray. However, most of these reports are unsubstantiated reports based on hearsay, using dubious testimonials (some by “actors” residing in Boston). And most of the reporters (especially those of CNN, AP) are well known to be TPLF leaning biased reporters. Moreover, there are those who partly blame the war-like situation in Tigray for the humanitarian crisis in Tigray (although this author is not one of them). After all, was it not the United States which familiarized the term “collateral damage” to the rest of the world?
On the other hand, since Abiy Ahmed came to power, the Amhara of Ethiopia have been subjected to well-documented, video-supported horrifying ethnic cleansing crimes in Oromia, and Benshangul-Gumuz regions of Ethiopia. However, Mr. Blinken has kept mum about these documented atrocities on Amharas, and his visa restriction applies only to those “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining resolution of the crisis in Tigray.” Though he was “gravely concerned by reports of atrocities in Ethiopia’s Tigray region”, he didn’t bother to express his concern about the proven massacres in Oromia, and Benshangul-Gumuz regions (Burayu, Shashemene, Zewai, Wellega, and Metekel) where throats were slashed, breasts were cut, wombs were torn open, skulls were shattered, limbs were hacked, children were burned alive, elderly were buried alive, and corpses were left for hyenas. Though “ the conduct of the Eritrean Defense Forces and Amhara regional forces have been particularly egregious” for him, he was not even bothered by the conduct of OLF forces who completely wiped out two big towns in Amhara region close to the birth place of Emperor Menelik. Though he included Amhara “irregular forces” (known as fanos) in his visa restriction without providing his reasons, he purposely left out Tigray “irregular forces” (known as samri) who are accused of slaughtering thousands in Maikadra ( “Western Tigray”).
Granted that American response to crisis is often knee-jerk, that American politicians speeches are usually impromptu, that American statesmen expertise in international politics is mostly superficial, and that Mr. Blinken is new to the job, one would expect him to be thoroughly briefed about the situation in Ethiopia before issuing any serious statement about the country. In particular, he is expected to know that what Tigrayan nationalist call “Western Tigray” was part of the Amhara province of Gonder (known as Welkait and Humera) annexed by TPLF in 1991. He should also know about the TPLF engineered demographic change in “Western Tigray” where the Amharas were by far the largest majority before annexation. If he is not, all he needs do is send one of his employees to take sidewalk surveys in Columbus (Ohio) where thousands of Amharas chased by TPLF out of “Western Tigray” currently live.
- Why does Mr. Blinken demand the “immediate withdrawal” of Amhara regional forces from the so called “Western Tigray”?
- Why does he want the so called “Transitional Government of Tigray” take “effective control” of “Western Tigray”, when he knows for sure that this “Transitional Government of Tigray” is nothing but TPLF by another name?
- Why only “Western Tigray”? Why not Raya (or what Tigrayan nationalists call “Southern Tigray”), since this region was also recently reincorporated into its rightful Amhara region by the enormous sacrifice of the Amhara regional force?
- Why are Oromo nationalists demanding “effective control” of “Southern Tigray”, using the crisis they themselves created in this part of Amhara region as a pretext?
- Doesn’t Mr. Blinken know that the very first thing TPLF did when it took power in 1991 was to take huge and fertile Amhara lands from Gojam, Wello, and Shewa, and incorporate them into Tigray, Oromia, and Benshangul-Gumuz regions so as to make Amharas as irrelevant as possible by weakening them as much as possible?
- Haven’t Mr. Blinken heard that Tigre and Oromo extremists have started boldly and loudly saying “There is no ethnicity called Amhara”? Isn’t this a precursor to cleanse Amhara altogether? Shouldn’t such extremists be held accountable?
- Doesn’t Mr. Blinken realize that his visa restriction on “members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)” for “undermining resolution of the crisis in Tigray” is at best contradictory, since he blamed the crisis only on the “ the conduct of the Eritrean Defense Forces and Amhara regional forces”? Did he include TPLF in the visa restriction only to appear fair and balanced? After all, aren’t most of the TPLF leaders dead, too old to travel, or already in the US? Even though Mr. Blinken’s visa restriction is immaterial by itself, its implication matters a lot. Therefore, who exactly is the target for the restriction?
If, according to Mr. Blinken, only Eritrean Defense Forces and Amhara Regional Forces are responsible for the crisis in Tigray, what exactly was his reason for imposing visa restrictions on members of TPLF? When he demanded the “immediate withdrawal” Amhara regional forces from “Tigray region”, he implicitly accused the Amhara Regional Force for the reported atrocities in the region. However, on what ground he decided to restrict visas for TPLF members, he didn’t say. And this seems to be on purpose. His reason could not be the systematic ethnic cleansing of Amharas by TPLF which admitted the loss of 2.5 million Amharas in its 2007 census. If this was the reason, the proper measure would not be visa restrictions on TPLF members, but total ban on anything and everything TPLF, akin to outlawing Nazis and Nazi symbols. Though comparing sufferings is reprehensible, the reported and most likely exaggerated plight of Tigrayans in the last few months pales in comparison to the actual, well documented plight of Amharas under TPLF for nearly three decades.
If the “reported atrocities” in “Tigray region” are independently confirmed to be true, the first and foremost suspect should be TPLF itself, and not the Amhara regional force which, by the way, has never forayed into Tigray proper. After all, TPLF is well known for orchestrating the mass murder of Tigrayans and then blaming it on Amharas to gain as much Tigrayan support as possible. A case in point is the Hawzen (Eastern Tigray) massacre (June 22, 1988) in which TPLF conspired with its members inside Ethiopian Airforce to indiscriminately bomb Tigrayan civilians in an open market, while it was closely and clearly recording the massacre from all angles. Then, the clearly recorded horrifying scene was widely shown without any qualm to swell the rank and file of TPLF.
Ethiopians who know TPLF well enough, would not be surprised if the relatives of Dr. Tedros Adhanom (the current director general of the World Health Organization) were murdered by his own TPLF for the sole purpose of making him cry in public so as to garner worldwide sympathy. They would also not be surprised if Dr. Adhanom, being a TPLF leader, is lying when he said he does not know the whereabouts of his relatives in Tigray, lying and bravado being the hallmark of TPLF.
Mr. Blinken’s visa restriction could not also be due to the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Amharas in Oromia region and Benshangul-Gumuz region in the last three years, after Abiy Ahmed assumed power in 2018. If it was, the first and foremost in the restriction list would be Abiy Ahmed himself, followed by his Oromo nationalist advisors such as Lencho Leta and Lencho Bati, as well as Oromia region president Shimeles Abdissa, and Benshangul-Gumuz region president Ashadli Hassan. After all, as the prime minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed is at least indirectly responsible for all crimes committed under his watch.
Non-Oromo members of Abiy Ahmed’s Oromo-dominated government have openly admitted that un-named Oromo officials of the government were complicit in (if not directly responsible for) atrocities committed in Oromia region, and that the perpetrators of these crimes seem to coordinate with the Oromia Regional Force as well as with the Oromo-dominated Federal Defense Force. Thus, if Mr. Blinken was concerned about atrocities in the whole of Ethiopia, and not only in “in Ethiopia’s Tigray region”, he should have sufficient “report” to say “the conduct of Oromia Regional Force and Federal Defense Force have been particularly egregious”. That he didn’t say so leads us to the following big questions.
Of all Ethiopian forces (regional as well as federal) involved in the Tigray conflict, why is the Amhara regional force singled out for accusation of atrocities? Since the operation in Tigray is lead by the federal defense force, and since the Amhara regional force is only one of the many junior partners in the operation (including Somali and Afar regional forces), why is the US state department laser focused only on the Amhara regional force? Why do both TPLF and Mr. Blinken take utmost care not to blame the Oromo-dominated federal defense force even for a single one of the alleged crimes on Tigrayans? Why is the Oromia regional force (by far the largest regional force in the country) never mentioned in connection with the Tigray conflict? These questions, in turn, lead us to the most important question in this article.
What is the role of Abiy Ahmed in Mr. Blinken’s Ethiopia-related twits, statements, and visa restrictions?
Mr. Blinken (who said nothing about Sudan’s effective annexation of Amhara land) may have his own American-interest related reasons for requesting the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia, even though this would be a crystal-clear interference in the internal affairs of sovereign Ethiopia. However, he would not dare “urge the Government of Ethiopia to withdraw Amhara regional forces from the Tigray region and ensure that effective control of western Tigray is returned to the Transitional Government of Tigray”, unless Abiy Ahmed himself asked him to urge. Mr. Blinken himself has said that he has had several discussions with Abiy Ahmed before issuing the “urge” (translation, “demand”). No diplomat worth his salt would be so undiplomatic to tell another country (let alone a friendly country) where to deploy its forces, and who should control what, unless in complete agreement with the leader of that country.
If so, why would Abiy Ahmed want Amhara regional force to withdraw from “Western Tigray” and to transfer “Western Tigray” back to TPLF?
For the Oromo nationalist Abiy Ahmed, TPLF is an indispensable ally in dismantling Ethiopia, but an arche foe when the time comes to share the spoils of dismantled Ethiopia. Therefore, on the one hand he wants to limit TPLF’s power so that it does not pose any meaningful threat to his upcoming Oromo empire, but on the other hand he wants TPLF to be strong enough to grab Amharas’ full attention. In so far as it makes Amhara region week, he supports TPLF’s annexation of Amhara land, just like he implicitly supports Sudan’s annexation of Amhara land by keeping silent about it. However, if TPLF annexes both “Western Tigray” and “Southern Tigray”, it will be too strong for Abiy Ahmed and his future Oromo empire.
Therefore, for Abiy Ahmed, the best of all possible scenarios is “Western Tigray” for the soon to be created Tigray Republic, and “Southern Tigray” for the soon to be born Oromo Empire so that, together with Sudan, these three anti-Amhara countries will completely encircle the severely weakened Amhara region, making it the Armenia of East Africa. In the meantime, Abiy Ahmed will try to prolong the conflict in Tigray for as long as possible so as to make the enmity of Amhara and Tigre as permanent as possible (to preclude any attempt at rapprochement and reconciliation as well as to massacre as many young Amharas as possible using them as cannon fodders.)
All of the above lead to one and only one conclusion: TPLF, Abiy Ahmed, and Mr. Blinken are acting in concert to dissolve Ethiopia by dissipating Amhara, in exactly the same way Mussolini tried to dissolve Ethiopia by collaborating with anti-Amhara tribalists (such as Aba Jiffar of Oromo, and Haile Selassie Gugsa of Tigre). If the concerted action of these anti-Amhara trio is allowed to continue at the present rate, Ethiopia will be no more in a few years time.
This, then, is my urgent appeal to the congregation of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Just as the congregation of the 1930’s readily joined the 1930’s Abyssinians in their fight for the survival of Abyssinia and came out victorious, please join us in our fight for the survival of Ethiopia so that we come out victorious. As we are forever indebted to the congregation of the 1930’s, we will also be indebted to you if you help us now in whatever way you can. In particular, your help will be crucial in our fight against the anti-Amhara diplomatic army of the State Department lead by Ms. Suzan Rice. We would like you to use whatever means available to you to let President Biden know that not only Tigray but the whole Ethiopia is in humanitarian crisis, that this crisis is created by TPLF and Abiy Ahmed, that the Amharas are but the main victims of the crisis, and that the anti-Amhara elements within his administration are out to dissolve Ethiopia using the Tigray crisis as a pretext. We think you would do a great service to President Biden (who wouldn’t have been elected without overwhelming black support) if you advise him not to tarnish his name forever by being known as the US president who not only saw but played an active role in the dissolution of the spiritual homeland of blacks all over the world – Ethiopia: one of the most if not the most ancient countries of the world.
Sincerely yours
Mesfin Arega