Gedu Andargachew publically acknowledged his unworthiness for public office

By Berhane Kahsay
Tigrai Online, updated feb. 4, 2018

This is shameful! there is no single statement to acknowledge what happened to the Tigraians in Woldya, Qobbo, and Merssa. No one can cover the truth.

Listening to Gedu’s brief statement on Amahara television was a manifestation of what has lately been transpiring in some parts of Ethiopia. Wild mobs in Woldia and Kobo went on the rampage razing businesses and properties owned by Tigrians who lived in these stretches for generations. The establishments that were turned into ashes were built through sheer hard work stretching many decades.    

Instead of unequivocally denouncing the criminals, Gedu went on to justify the anarchy by blaming ANDM for lack of leadership, and yet, the regional leader is still in power after admitting his utter incompetence. In his TV statement, there was no mention of the premeditated violence perpetrated against Tigrians which was patently in contravention of their constitutional rights to live and work in any part of the country with the full protection of the law.

In Gonder and its environs similar offences were also committed but the regional government led by Gedu has so far failed to bring a single felon to justice. In Woldia the criminals that were placed behind bars were set-free on the instructions of the regional President, and this illegal intervention encouraged hooligan elements in Kobo to kill and demolish privately owned properties and businesses with complete latitude. In the initial stages, Gedu assembled zealots to enhance his status within ANDM and EPRDF but now it appears that he has lost control of the monsters he created with outside assistance. Of course there are fellow compatriots with genuine grievances but it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.       

No doubt Gedu has an issue with the Tigrian people but what is mind boggling is the failure of the TPLF to defend the people it represents. In equal measures the federal government is culpable for failing to halt the serious and grievous attacks on Tigrians in Amhara and Oromia regions as required by the constitution.

But what is interesting is that the riots in Amhara administration have mostly been in Gonder and to a lesser extent in Bahir Dar. Wollo by contrast was calm until the recent upheaval in Woldia and Kobo. Why now and what was the real purpose?  During the mayhem in these areas, there were indicators suggestive of a sinister strategy that was possibly conceived by the extremists in the Diaspora in collaboration with their operatives in ANDM.

The grand plot was to cut-off the main road linking Tigrai with the mainland and beyond, and prevent the free movement of vehicles including essential import and export consignments. Intended outcome of this manoeuvre, they hoped, was to bring the Tigrian people to their knees and in the process eliminate the TPLF. The fanatic’s callous and calculated step is consistent with what was broadcasted on ESAT ’’ drain the water to kill the fish.’’

Similar schemes were also employed during the Derg regime, but the indomitable Tigrians never buckled as a result of the colossal hardship they were placed under including the denial of international food assistance at the time of the worst famine that afflicted the region. Despite the enormous adversities, the valour and industrious people succeeded in routing the largest and well equipped army in sub-Sahara Africa in just 17 years.

The history of Tigrai is replete with resounding victories against domestic and foreign enemies and no doubt our present adversaries will certainly face the same fate. Ethnic based violence is abhorrent and the federal government is duty bound to swiftly act when it occurs in addition to protecting the constitutional order which is routinely jeopardised by elements intent on reverting the country to the old unitary mode of governance.

Equal responsibilities also rest on the shoulders of the TPLF to vociferously defend the people it represents when their wellbeing is gravely threatened. As the OPDO fought tenaciously to have Merara Gudina released, the TPLF must also endeavour to ensure the safety of its constituents living in Amhara and Oromia regions in line with the constitution. It is to be recalled that Merara was arrested for conniving with a proscribed terror group in violation of the constitution; but when the constitutional rights of Tigrians residing outside their region were infringed, the federal government failed to promptly move and bring those responsible to face the full force of the law.  

Since 2015, Tigrians domiciling in some parts of Amahra region have been killed and their businesses estimated to run into millions of birr were destroyed. Still Gedu is at the helm and never held to account for his serious failures that could possibly have led to inter-ethnic discords. In fact, the diminutive figure is openly conniving to re-align the EPRDF in his brand of politics and decrease further the significance of the TPLF that transformed Ethiopia into Africa’s economic success story after defeating a fascist regime that was formidably armed.

If appropriate measures were taken in 2015, there would have been no need to talk about similar ethnic based brutalities in 2018. In this day and age, to assault and dehumanize a fellow citizen because of his origin is a clear pointer of barbarism that must be stopped before it gets out of control as it did in Rwanda.