A stern reminder to the Ethiopian Federal government

Tigrai Online, Ethiopian News, July 14, 2016

The criminal acts in the town of gonder is shameful and it will have dire consiqunces.

We would like to remind the Ethiopian Federal government it has the responsibility of all its citizens no matter where they are. What we saw in Gonder this week is a massive failure by the federal and state security forces to detatcte and stop criminals before they caused so much damage to people and businesses.

The day the patience of the people of Tigrai runs out, they will take matters into their own hands and things will turn really ugly. That is what our enemies are wishing and salivating for. The terrorist groups have infiltrated the government from top to bottom and agitating people to take criminal actions. The despicable criminal acts in Gonder are not about democracy, it is not about identity, and it is not about justice, instead it is about greed for power. If it was about a question of identity, why burn hotels, buses and other businesses? Is this what our enemies promised us when they said “we will give Ethiopians 100 years assignment of civil war” aren’t they laughing at us from their maulers when they see us reduced to this kind of primitive state? What if these acts happened to the Amhara people in other states, where will Ethiopia go then?

Time and again we have seen catastrophic failures by the Ethiopian federal government to guarantee the safety and security of civilians from internal and external danger. In many occasions terrorist elements supported by Ethiopia’s arch enemies try to manipulate normal minor problems in our society. Groups like Gim-7 motivated by personal gain will do what their masters order them to do including tearing apart the country if they can.

The most dangerous trend in these situations is the blame game by the Eritrean regime and Gim-7. To achieve their evil goals Ethiopian enemies are blaming one ethnic group or one political party for all the ills they think there is in the country and in their lives. Any dispute between the federal government and any other entity be it a group of people or political party is turned in to ethnic or religious conflict by Gim-7. When complex social problems are reduced into simplistic form they are given simplistic answers in this case blame everything on one ethnic group and that has dire consequences.

Ethiopia’s social, ethnic, and religious conflicts are not created 25 years ago or hundred years ago. We have had these problems for hundreds of years since the formation of modern Ethiopia. None of the previous governments tried to address these issues in a democratic and peaceful way until EPRDF came to power. There has never been a unity of people in Ethiopia. Living in a city in friendship and good neighborliness does not constitute UNITY of people. Some people say we have never seen any ethnic hatred before TPLF/EPRDF. Not true, there was plenty of it. The reason it was not in the surface for all to see is the dominant ethnic group suppressed any opposition to the dirty system they have established.

The ethnic group who was on power used many tactics including intimidation of the public, elimination of leaders, ridicule of other cultures, languages and religion, theft of history, misappropriation of cultural heritage, ethnic cleansing, expansion, and self aggrandizing. After many years of suppression they created an atmosphere of normality, but under all that façade a huge turmoil was brewing. Whenever the people revolted like in the first Woyane in Tigrai it was violently quashed.

Minority groups like Somali, Benishangul, Afar, Tigrai, and larger populations like the Oromo were made to feel as second class citizens in their own country. And let’s not forget why the people in Eritrea finally decided to split from the rotten system in Ethiopia. Years and years of mistreatment by the central government created resentment in many parts of the country. Active resistance in Tigrai, Eritrea, Somali, Oromo, Gojam, and Afar can be mentioned as an example of trying to change the system in the previous regimes.

Now we have groups that are resentful to the current government some based on legitimate grievances, but others because they were beneficiaries of the old system and they want it back. The later groups are working with Ethiopian enemies to overthrow the EPRDF government. This banda groups are targeting the people of Tigrai as the number one enemy. Supported by the Eritrean regime and the Arab countries, they think if they defeated the people of Tigrai, they will come back to the helm of power in Ethiopia. That is the reason we have seen dreadful actions against the people of Tigrai.

The people of Tigrai have been more than patient despite the continuous organized abuse. People are waiting for the federal government to do its job effectively. There has been many instances where businesses owned by Tigraians have been targeted and the people threatened in Addis Ababa, Ambo, Bahirdar, Oromia, Gambela, and Bejamdri regions.

The latest events in the city of Gonder are similar to previous accidents. If the federal government didn’t take immediate action to guarantee the safety and security of all citizens, it might find itself in a much bigger problem and the federation might be in a grave danger.

The people of Tigrai are capable of defending themselves from any hostile force including the federal government itself. The people of Tigrai didn’t need any help from anyone when they launched the biggest revolt in the history of Ethiopia in 1935 and librated the capital city of Tigrai, Mekelle. The people of Tigrai created the TPLF, the TPLF didn’t create the people of Tigrai. The TPLF is a 40 years old organization, but the Tigrai civilization is thousands of years old. Whether the TPLF is weak or strong is irrelevant to the existence of Tigrai and its people because no matter what the Tigrai people existed and thrived despite all the odds.

If some people think the TPLF or the people of Tigrai are weak it would be a deadly mistaken assumption with a horrible consequences. The people of Tigrai are stronger than ever and will defend themselves at any cost. The federal government, the Amhara State government and the Tigrai government should renounce clearly what happened in Gonder this week.

The federal government needs to wake up and control the country. Where were the security forces when the terror groups were organizing in the middle of the city? EPRDF needs to cleanse itself from the internal enemy. The unity of the country and the safety of the Ethiopian people should be the utmost priority of the government. Stop playing house and be a strong government. Any issues should be dealt with democratically, justly and with an absolute transparency. Once a decision is made, it has to be enforced with the full force of the law no Ifs and no Buts.

If the federal government has made a decision which part of Ethiopia should be in what state, it should be enforced without any exception. If some people in Wolkayit don’t want to live in the State of Tigrai, they should move to wherever they feel comfortable not the other way around.