Establishment of National Movement of Amhara and its danger for Ethiopia

Tigrai Online, June 11, 2018

National Movement of Amhara established in the city of Bahir Dar Amhara state, Ethiopia

The current TPLF and the Tigrai state government are doing everything they can to weaken Tigrai nationalism and muzzle the people for the sake of federalism and “Ethiopiawinet”.  Meanwhile, Gedu and his Ginbot-7 cohorts are revamping Amhara extremist nationalist groups in Amhara regional state.

This week a hostile group called National Movement of Amhara was officially established in the city of Bahir Dar, the capital of Amhara state. Thanks to the new Abiy administration those who spilled our people’s blood in our homeland Tigrai in the 1970s and 80s, but were defeated by TPLf are reorganizing in an open forum. These extremist groups never stopped their poisonous propaganda against the Tigrai people in particular and the majority Ethiopian people in general.

The National Movement of Amhara is a militant aggressive group which is openly threatening the Ethiopian federal system and the Ethiopian constitutional order. In addition to threatening the government, this movement is showing extreme hostility towards the Tigrai people. The National Movement of Amhara’s expansionist plan includes forcefully seizing land which includes more than have of Tigrai state,  one hundred percent of Afar and Benishangul-Gumuz states, sixty percent of Oromia state and one third of Eritrea including the Eritrean port of Assab.

At the founding Convention the head of the movement Dr. Desalegn Chane reiterated that all Amharas in the world should join the movement to defend Amhara. He added there are one million Amharas behind the movement to give their lives for the movements cause. The National Movement of Amhara didn’t materialize out of the blue in 2018. The movement has been in existence under many names and different forms for many years. It is not far fetched to assume the ruling party in Amhara state, the Amhara National Democratic Movement – ANDM, at least Gedu’s group are part and parcel of this group. It is not supersizing to see Amhara extremist groups to gather together and establish an organization, they have done it many times before, what is alarming is our reaction to the groups. The average Tigrawai and the TPLF dismiss this warning signs as meaningless, but if TPLF paid attention 27 yeas ago it wouldn't be where it is today.

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We the people of Tigrai shouldn’t delegate defending our very existence as a people to one organization including the TPLF. We need to be aware what is going on around us and around our state. Tigrai should be ready for all eventualities. The government of Tigrai should start recruiting volunteer fighters to beef up the local militias for additional defense force. What is left of the TPLF should learn from its mistakes and start focusing in defending Tigrai and its people. TPLF should start denying the reality facing Ethiopia and start telling the people of Tigrai what dangers are developing and what options they have instead of telling them they have only one option. All Tigrai civic organizations, business communities, and other political groups should start reorganizing just like the time of armed struggle.

The federal government needs to act right away on groups like the National Movement of Amhara before it is too late or before other ethnic groups start doing the same thing. If the federal government didn’t terminate trends like this immediately the Abiy government would be fighting to remain in Finfine (Addis Ababa) just like the Assad regime in Syria.

If there are Amharas who wanted to live in peace and harmony with the rest of Ethiopians without trying to dominate others or grab their land, this is the time to act and reject groups like the National Movement of Amhara. If the Amhara people did not stop this madness now, Amharas will be fighting multi pronged war with five ethnic groups in addition to Eritrea and Tigrai. At the end of the day the Amhara people will be the victims of their own reckless adventure. .