Should Tigrai state government allow Jawar Mohammed to visit Tigrai?

By Reqiq
Tigrai Online, Sept. 27, 2018

I am reading diverse opinions on Face book regarding a rumor on the coming visit of Jawar to Tigray. Having diverse opinions is very good because it is healthy and natural for a community to accommodate diversified point of views.

To mention the diverse opinions; some people say he shouldn't be welcomed in Tigrai; and others say he should. The third group of people says he has a right to visit Tigrai or any part of Ethiopia as a citizen, but not as a hero or dignitary.

For me all the opinions are somehow justifiable. The first; the of Those who are saying Jawar Mohammed shouldn't visit Tigray, their reasoning is that his propaganda has caused a lot of deaths, displacement and distraction of property of innocent Tigreans in Oromia. Jawar Mohammed’s smear campaign on social media was precisely targeting Tigreans and he must be accountable for the damages he caused. I say it is a fair and reasonable opinion.  The question you hve to ask yourself is, what if I was the victim of his smear campaign and my loved ones were gone or I was displaced from my own home in Oromia and I was homeless in Tigray? This issue is very sensitive and touchy subject for many who lost everything in the past few years.

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The second opinion is yes he could visit Tigrai just to have discussions with politicians, activists and academicians. From what I know so far it looks like Jawar Mohammed’s visit to Tigrai has been arranged already. He will be visiting The oldest and most holiest Mosque in Africa, the Al-Negashi Mosque in Wukro Klite-Awlaelo, Tigrai state. Which I would think it will be great for him to visit the historical Mosque and pray there. This opinion is not an opinion of an average person on the street, rather an it is an opinion of a well informed typical politician that knows there are no permanent enemies in politics. If the first opinion is correct which says Jawar’s smear campaign caused harm to the people of Tigray, the second opinion is bad politics. I believe that we should develop a culture making people accountable to what they say and make them responsible to what they did to humanity. Hence, if he caused harm, he should be accountable and apologize in a clear manner to the victims.

The third thinking comes from desperate need of harmony for the nations and nationalities in Ethiopia. I am inclined to support the third and last idea; Jawar has the right to visit Tigray as a citizen or visitor. What Jawar’s poisonous propaganda did against the innocent people of Tigray unforgettable, but as a Tigraian I am willing to forgive just for the sake of better tomorrow.

I do believe that Jawar Mohammed has every right to visit anywhere in the globe let alone Tigrai which is part of his country, but not as a celebrity because the victims of his campaign are still suffering in Tigray.

In conclusion, I do recommend that Jawar should visit the Mosque at Negash to learn the wisdoms of our forefathers and strength his religious convictions. I heard that he had traveled to Mecca, Saudi Arabia for Hajj. I think he is aware about the history Al-Negashi Mosque in Wukro. Al-Nejashi or Emperor Armaha the second Axum, Tigray saved Islam by giving them refuge to two groups of Sahabah, family members and friends of the Prophet who migrated to Tigrai on account of the persecution of the Quraysh kings in the early days of Islam. If Jawar Mohammed visits Tigray especially the Negash Mosque, it will be educational contrary to what he preached against the people of Tigrai and Ethiopia; “Ethiopia/Abyssinia out of Oromia”.

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