Tigrai will win against all the odds

By G. Amare
Tigrai Online Dec. 19, 2020

To begin with,  let me share a narrative of an incident that was aired  on Tigrai TV which had caught my attention.  It is a single incident but tells a lot about the intrinsic social values and moral principles of the Tigrai people. On 29 November 2020, the Tigrai forces claimed to have shot down Ethiopia’s fighter aircraft, MiG-23. Tegaru militias and members of the community around the scene saw the pilot descending with a parachute. Once the pilot landed, they dashed toward him. According to the militias on the scene, the pilot was shooting at them until he finally surrendered.

When I listened to what the people who captured the pilot were saying, I couldn’t control my feelings. Readers, please pause and ponder, just for a minute. The pilot was on the air to indiscriminately bombard and kill them (the innocent civilians). You expect these people to be enraged, infuriated, and get engaged themselves in actions of retaliation. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, I heard them comforting the pilot and repeatedly expressing their consoling words in Amharic (Ay’zoh! Ay’zoh! Ay’zoh!...=ኣይዞህ! ኣይዞህ! ኣይዞህ!...). This literally means “be of good cheer”, “do not fear”. They were assuring the pilot not to be frustrated. Please, search for and listen to the video clip.

Imagine this pilot to be a Tigraian, whose fighter aircraft got downed and captured by the individuals of the enemy side.  From what these morally corrupt chauvinists have done thus far, I have no doubt that they would have savagely slaughtered the pilot right on the spot. Forget about a pilot, captured while on mission with an intention to throw bombs on them, these cursed and morally corrupt chauvinists had lynched and stoned many innocent people to death in the past 3 years.

What we are witnessing now, after Ethiopia’s illegitimate PM waged war against the people of Tigrai, is hard to imagine. These morally corrupt chauvinists, piggybacked by the Prosperity Party (PP) and Eritrean Defense Forces, are committing horrendous crimes against humanity. They are indiscriminately, inhumanly and savagely strangulating, starving, killing, and displacing Tegarus. They are looting and confiscating Tegarus’ properties and livestock. They are evildoers, evidently committing premeditated and malice aforethought crimes and physical harms, a felony of  first-degree murders, and sexual abuses, harassments and assaults. The crime they are committing is the first of its kind at global level.  

According to Taye Dendea, Oromia’s prosperity party (PP) top official (in Amharic),  the Amhara chauvinists are already engaged in coercing Tegarus and Oromos residing in the town of Alamata and the surrounding areas of  the southern Tigrai to convert their God given identities to the Amhara identity. They are poisoned with unshameful lies, fake news, and hate politics; and what have you.

The case regarding the captured pilot tells the international community a lot about who the Tigrai people are. It may help the international community to clear the doubt that clouds their mind. What Ethiopia's illegitimate PM and his morally corrupt supporters tell the world constitutes nothing but pure lies,  fabricated dramas, claims of unfounded accusations, and divisive and dehumanizing rhetoric in nature.

Tegarus are not known for barbaric massacres. Their culture and belief don’t allow them to slaughter civilians using machetes. Rather, Tegarus are known for being considerate and respectful to others; as being fighters for equality and justice among every one, irrespective of their religion and identity; and as lovers of peace and freedom. Integrity, resistance, and resilience to sustain difficulties and win their self-willed enemies are the defining characteristics of Tegarus.

No, that is not all. Throughout history, Tegarus are known for their persistent, resolute, patriotic and heroic struggles to secure their unrestricted freedoms. They  have made a series of selfless struggles to defend and maintain their history, value, and for the rule of law and self-administration rights. They always demonstrate selfless and courageous defiance for a cause, guided by principle and ready to pay any necessary sacrifices for what they believe in. Generations of Tegarus come and go but their invincible courage and great fortitude perpetuate from generation to generation.

No, that is not all! The people of Tigrai are not known for making up lies, conspirations and deceptions.  Rather, they are known for confronting their opponents upfront. What they say is what they meant. No superficial behaviours. What they feel inside matches with what they will have to depict on their facial expression and without any ulterior motives. They are known for being pragmatic, objective, and unprejudiced.

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success Achieved.”-Helen Keller.

On the other side, the morally corrupt chauvinists are highly occupied only in committing one crime after another. The worst is, they are unashamedly and overtly using “LIE” as a guiding principle and a weaponry to sow the seeds of hate and warfare against the people of Tigrai and its vanguard political party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). These morally corrupt chauvinists are good for nothing but one. They are skilled experts in hatching conspiracy theories and deceptions. They consistently make up fake and divisive news to confuse their die-hard supporters and the international community, as well.

For the last three decades and up to now, these morally corrupt chauvinists have contributed next to none when it comes to the economic, political and social progress that Ethiopia has made between 1991 and  2018. They have been mainly engaged in blackmailing and  sabotaging TPLF and the people of Tigray. They have been sleepless to covertly, overtly, and recklessly distribute fake news to discredit TPLF’s accomplishments,  bring  chaos and jeopardize the relative peace in Tigray that had existed prior to the war which started on November 4, 2020.  

The sad thing is the international community has opted to be on the wrong side of history. It has allowed fascists and satanic individuals (the illegitimate Ethiopian PM and his mentor, dictator Isaias Afework of Eritrea) to indiscriminately and inhumanly target, profile, harass, displace, imprison, and massacre Tegaru civilians for about six weeks now. They have looted and confiscated anything and everything that Tigrai’s and Tegaru’s hard earned properties and wealth.

Disgracefully and shockingly enough, these morally corrupt chauvinists cheered and danced upon hearing the military takeover of Mekelle city and after weeks of bragging. Mind you, the PP’s military took over Mekelle without any fight because the Tigrai government made a wise decision not to fight in cities and towns to avoid or at least, minimize civilian casualties and damages.

What was their reason for cheering and dancing? Mekelle and its residents were freed from the rule of TPLF. To their thinking, TPLF has been oppressive to the people of Tigrai. If this claim is true, who should you expect to cheer and dance? Tegarus and residents of Mekelle. Surprisingly and inconceivably, however, the people who chanted and danced were non-Tegarus and non-residents of Mekelle who reside in remote places such as Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Gondar…. 

On the contrary, Tegarus have been deeply saddened and shocked by the collaborative action of the Ethiopian and Eritrean defense forces-bombings, killings, lootings, harassments, sexual assaults and destructions. Unforgettably, Tegaru youth have been defending their cities and expressing their strong support to TPLF without fear. Some of them even heroically sacrificed their precious lives in the fight against these looters, invaders, and mercenaries.

Thanks to the EU for  taking significant measures recently. However, generally speaking, the international community gave their deaf ears and blind eyes while these satanic fascists are using massive military operations, air bombardments, drones, and heavy artillery targeting innocent people,  resulting in massacres, and causing massive displacements. The international community failed to proactively act and prevent such human atrocities.

The international community ignored the facts on the ground and gave deaf ears to credible claims that signaled the danger of genocide and crime against humanity. The international community is now crying crocodile tears after millions of Tegarus have been displaced, thousands of civilian Tegarus being brutally and savagely killed and traumatized, houses and infrastructures being destroyed, factories dismantled and looted, crops burned and livestock killed.

Some of the international community even have jumped into extending and expressing their support when the illegitimate PM waged the war using ‘law enforcement operation’ as a pretext. They started to parroting the false claim that the war has been waged to bring peace and order. They also rushed into labeling  the war as ‘a war between the federal government vs a rebellion group in Tigrai.’

 I respectfully demand the international community to correct their categorization and characterization. TPLF is not a rebellion group. Rather, it is a party legally elected and earned popular approval and acceptance by a greater majority of its constituents, the people of Tigrai. Thus, the war is waged against the people of Tigrai.

The other, I am not sure if the definition, scope, and limit of “law enforcement operation’ incorporate the use of massive military operations, air bombardments, drones, and heavy artillery targeting innocent people and with the involvement of foreign countries to fight against once own part of a country.

On the contrary,  the label, ‘rebellion group’ rightly applies to the illegitimate Ethiopian PM’s party, PP, as it is not legally formed and elected with due process to assume power. It is operating without any legal authority and constituency. PP is qualified to earn the label ‘rebellion group’ because it is engaged in violent and organized actions aiming to forcefully dismantle and change Ethiopia’s constitution and the Federal political system. Without question, the illegitimate PM’s move is leading Ethiopia towards a one-man dictatorship. The other scenario is balkanization.

The hope for democratization, however, is gone for good! What may be perplexing to understand is why the west-who claims to be guardians, protectors  and promoters of democracy-encourage, support and tolerate dictators  like the  illegitimate Ethiopian PM, Abiye Ahmed and the dictator president of Eritrea, Isaias Afework, to wage war against democracy and humanity and commit crimes of any kind, seen ever before. All I can say is democracy today is being challenged and stifled  by conflicts of interest. In my opinion, conflict of interest is the number one enemy of democracy  in today’s world.  Otherwise, the people of Tigrai and TPLF did nothing undemocratic or commit crimes  or corruptions of a peculiar nature. Nothing worse compared to what the  illegitimate Ethiopian PM, Abiye Ahmed did: betrayed, sabotaged, and conspired against the interest  his country (?), Ethiopia and Ethiopians with foreign enemies by putting his personal ego and thirst for power first.

If the international community is genuine and serious enough about the matter, they can simply ask the following questions to determine and filter the  truth. They  have to do this for the sake of their own moral integrities, principles, and conscience.

• Why has the illegitimate Ethiopian PM expressed no willingness to the Tigrai government’s repeated demand for an independent investigation of any crimes of any nature and human right violations,  past and present?
• Why is the illegitimate Ethiopian PM unwilling to accept the request for an all-inclusive political dialogue and discussion, made on several occasions  by many of the dominant and competitive political parties in Ethiopia?
• Why has illegitimate Ethiopian PM barred free movement of independent international humanitarian aids, medias and  journalists and disconnected all locally available means of communications (social medias, mass media, and Internet)?

 In my opinion, the illegitimate Ethiopian PM, expressed no interest to accept the demand for an independent investigation, by foreign or domestic entities, because he knows that he is a loser. He knows very well that he will be held accountable for all the political blunders and killings, and be criminalized as a betrayer and a gross human right violator.

There should not be any doubt in the minds of the international community that the illegitimate PM has used the war as a pretext to invade, destabilize, and decimate the people of Tigrai. He is applying and renewing his ancestors’ old maxim: Tigrai and Tegarus  must remain poor and suffer from grave poverty; lead their lives in dreadful conditions; be denied education; and make sure that they would not play any role in Ethiopia’s politics. Such conditions give dictators, like the current illegitimate PM, the chance to rule without any resistance and challenge.

What the international community should understand is the fact that the TPLF led government of Ethiopia initiated and formulated projects and implemented policies tailored to fit the Ethiopian situation. The success stories have been documented, communicated, and praised by different world-class scholars and politicians at national and international levels. Until the illegitimate PM came to power, Ethiopia was on the right track of socioeconomic developments and in the process of democratization and power decentralization. Its image around the world changed. The economy was growing by a two-digit number; income per capita increased; living standard improved; life span increased; child mortality declined. Just to say in short, the outcomes exceeded anyone’s expectation by any standard measures and ranked Ethiopia as one of the progressing countries in the world, changing its agelong bad image: the image of famine and poverty.

Now, all these are becoming the history of the past. Sadly, Ethiopia is sliding back to poverty, famine and war.  Many are expressing their deep concerns that Ethiopia is in a state of free fall downward either to an absolute monarchy or balkanization. The hope for democratization, however, is gone for good.

Tigrai will win against all the odds! Soon Shall Say Never Again! Victory to the People of Tigrai! We honor the fallen heroes and heroines!!