The Ethiopian government has the obligation and responsibility to defend the people of Tigrai from Shabiya

By Girmay Abraha
Tigrai Online, August 12, 2015

The Ethiopian government has the obligation and responsibility to defend the people of Tigrai from the Eritrean regime and the other terrorist groups armed by shabiya.

Ethiopia is heavily involved in the day to day military activities in Somalia. The Ethiopian army is fighting and winning against the Al-Shabab group inside Somalia. Ethiopia has been in and out of Somalia for more than 20 years now. The terrorist threat against Ethiopia based in Somalia basically the same. It is contained for the time being, but not eliminated.

The reason, the terrorist threat against Ethiopia is not originating in Somalia, it is originating from Eritrea. The Eritrean government is openly trying to demolish the Ethiopian nation as we know it using different tactics. The tactics vary from openly invading the country and devastating the border communities to arming, training, financing, and transporting armed groups to the heartland.   One of those methods is to use the lawlessness and anti Ethiopia sentiment in Somalia.

Why is the Ethiopian government trying to deal with the symptoms of the Ethiopian insecurity instead of directly dealing with actual problem?

The border states of Tigrai and Afar are in a constant threat of war from Eritrea if not real perceived and that is extremely damaging to the economies of those regions.

Local and foreign investors will not be willing to pour millions of dollars in to an area where the safety and security of their investment is not guaranteed.

It seems the EPRDF government is waiting for another wakeup call like the one we got in 1998 where hundreds of thousands of Tigrai people were uprooted from their homes. Many people including school children were killed and millions of dollars worth of property destroyed.

The United Nations Security Council without any doubt has confirmed Eritrean government is actively trying to destabilize Ethiopia by arming terrorist groups.

There are more than 20 UN reposts concerning Eritrea’s involvement in Ethiopia and Somalia and each of them are carefully researched by the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea. The Security Council has many resolutions condemning Eritrea’s terrorist actions in the region giving Ethiopia and the rest of the Horn of African countries the legal tools they need to action to defend their sovereignty from the aggression of the Eritrean regime.

The following is an opening paragraph by the chairman of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea. “In accordance with paragraph 28 of Security Council resolution 2111 (2013), we have the honor to transmit herewith the report on Eritrea of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea.”

In the 2014 report the Monitoring Group found ample and concrete evidence that Eritrea is working hard to ignite a bloody civil war among the Ethiopian people.

Part of the report says: “However, the Monitoring Group has obtained testimonials and evidence that Eritrea continues to support armed opposition groups from neighboring countries, notably the following in Somalia and Ethiopia:

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)
The Tigray People’s Democratic Movement (TPDM)
Ginbot Sebat

The Monitoring Group has noted differences in scale and pattern of support that Eritrea is providing to the three armed groups named above. The difference will be detailed in the sections below.”

The Monitoring Group’s report is so detailed and very specific, it even names the individual Eritrean government and military people who are directly and indirectly involved with the training and arming of Ethiopian terrorists.

“The Monitoring Group understands that Colonel Fitsum Yishak, also known byhis nickname “Lenin,” directs Ethiopian armed groups. The Group has twice in the past identified Colonel Fitsum for his role in overseeing the training and arming of regional armed groups (S/2011/433and S/2012/545). Colonel Tewelde Habte Negash, who is also known by the aliases “Amanuel Kidane”, “Wedi Kidane”, Colonel “Musa” and Colonel “Hagos,” oversees Somalia-based groups. Both Colonels Fitsum and Negash report directly to Colonel Tesfaldet Habteselasie, who is understood to be in charge of security and the financing of armed groups in the President’s Office.” You can check all the UN reports here - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/751/mongroup.shtml

The Eritrean regime’s destructive effort could not be more clearer than the above paragraph by the Monitoring Group for the Security Council.

We are hundred percent sure the Ethiopian intelligence agencies have more detailed and extensive evidence than the UN one. The question is why the Ethiopian government is hesitating to take action against the brutal one man regime in Eritrea to defend the people.

It is time for the EPRDF government to use its mandate and protect all the Ethiopian people including the people of Tigrai. The Ethiopian government has the obligation and responsibility to defend the Tigrai people or they will be forced to fend for themselves and that would be a dangerous situation for the EPRDF.

EPRDF should not take the Tigrai people and their support for granted