By A. Alemyehu
Abiy Ahmed’s campaign to single-out and liquidate the Amhara Region’s Special Forces has already caused heavy toll on civilians. Abate Mesfin, grandson of famed Ethiopian Patirot, Dej. Abbere Yimam, was machinegunned down at his home while tending to his wife and his new born baby. While Dej Abere Yimam was a celebrated anti-fascist warrior, found of Merawi town and governor of Gojam, Abat’s father, Mesfin Abbere was an able administrator and governor of Bahr Dar. A businessman who runs a bakery, the young Abate Mesfin was neither a special force police nor a member of any political party.
The gruesome murder of Abate Mesfin took place three days ago in Merawi town, Amhara Region. Parliamentarian Dr. Desalegn expressed his sorrow over the death of his close friend, Abate, who he described as a very gentle person with no political affiliation.
The excuse of the campaign to dissolve the Amhara Regional Special Force seems to be a cover-up for a campaign to rid the Amhara not only of a defensive structure but also of any potential leaders. The fact that the two Special Forces that have represented real threat to the Amhara, the Tigray and Oromo Special Forces, have not been disarmed whereas the Amhara Special Force is being liquidated has caused fear and protest across the Amhara region. The killing of civilians like Abate Mesfin, confirms the suspicion amongst the people that the attack on the Amhara Special Force is a ploy to carry-out the ongoing Amhara genocide on a larger scale unimpeded. While Amhara genocide has been perpetrated at will against Amhara people leaving outside the so-called Amhara region, there is credible fear that removal of the regional force will now allow the perpetrators to bring the genocide to the very backyard of the Amhara.
Abiy Ahmed, who is swimming in the blood of the innocent, does not seem to be drowning yet.
May the God of Ethiopia bring justice to this man and his bloody regime before the blood of more innocent people gets spilled.
What are Special Forces in the Ethiopian context?
Special Forces are believed by some to be extra-constitutional Para-military units that are organized by a regional decree. However, others have agreed that the constitution allows for the establishment for such a regional defense/police force. Each Ethno-linguistically divided administrative region of Ethiopia possesses such a Regional Special Force.
How these Regional Forces came to be established has to do with the desire of the British to Balkanize Ethiopia. Towards such a sinister goal, the British used the Al-Shabab threat as a cover up to advise Meles Zenawi to establish such a force for the Somali Region. The interest of the British to cause a break-up of Ethiopia and subsequently absorb various fragments into their colony, neo-colonial unit or sphere of influence had never been a secret. Thus, the British trained and funded a Special Force for the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Of course, as expected, in a competitive ethnic-apartheid political system, all regions quickly established their own Special Force. Tigray was pre-eminent in this regard.
Pro-unity Ethiopians called for the dismantling of these special forces to preclude them from eventually dismantling the nation. To no avail.
The problem of special forces became very dangerous following the rise of Abiy Ahmed to power through an illegal insurrection. Abiy came to power from the Oromo People’s Democratic Party as part of a US bid to kick out the pro-Chines ruling oligarchy of the TPLF. Abiy then quickly raised the caliber of the Oromiya Special Forces to a level in par with the country’s National Defense Forces. The Tigray region also did the same. Abiy and co-conspirator Oromo Radicals also organized several irregular forces, like the Shene, that terrorize Oromia and carry-out ethnic cleansing and genocidal attacks against Amhara and Orthodox residents.
Following a two year war between Abiy Ahmed and his former bosses who have retreated to Tigray, a peace deal was signed under US auspices and pressure in Pretoria. The Pretoria Peace deal demanded that the Tigray Regional Force was to disarm. That treaty was, however, abrogated by Aiby and the TPLF and no real disarmament took place. In fact, the TPLF is carrying out recruitments and trainings as we speak.
The Oromo Regional Special force has carried out repeated attacks against all neighboring people. In particular, the Oromo Regional Special Force (according to admissions by OLA spokesman Oda Terbi on VOA) has carried out joint operations with OLA to attack, plunder and displace Amhara farmers in Oromia.
Even as revealing speeches by government authorities indicate that the Oromo Special Forces are not slated for dissolution or disarmament, a 200,000 strong army is being marched on the Amhara region by Abiy Ahmed. Special commandos have been airlifted to Bahr Dar. The pretext is to quash the Amhara protest against the selective and unilateral dismantling of the Amhara Regional Special Force. The Sudanese army, as if on cue from Abiy Ahmed, has invaded Ethiopian territory in the western Amhara region. TPLF units have also attacked Northern Amhara on both the Welkait and Rayya fronts. On other fronts, the majority of the invading Abiy Ahmed force is ethnic Oromo and a large number are directly from the Oromiya Regional Special Forces, donning the uniform of the National Defense Forces. Tellingly, of sixty Mekelakeya (Ethiopian National Defense Forces) captured by Amhara Fanno in a recent fighting, forty-eight were Oromo (48/60 = 80%).
When Tigrayan troops recently attacked Amhara villages, the posted National Defense Force (Mekelakeya) refused to engage them. However, when the local Amhara militia defended the village and captured the Tigrayan combatants, General Abrham Muse, head of the Mekelakeya unit, demanded that the captured Tigrayan terrorists be released.
Herein lies the plight of the Amhara people. To the North and South are inimical and belligerent Special Forces. To the west is an invading foreign army. The central government is dominated by Radical Oromo who have failed to protect the Amhara against a five-year long campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Radical Oromo also control all government apparatuses, intelligence and military structures. The avowed goal of Radical Oromo is to rid Ethiopia of the Amhara people and their cultural influence.
Confidence in agreeing for the Special Forces to be dissolved would require that the National Defense Forces be reformed to rid them of Radical Oromo domination. Additionally, all regional Special Forces would have to be dissolved simultaneously, and not selectively. The pretext that Radical Oromo such as
Abiy Ahmed use to keep the Oromia Special Force by saying it has to be retained to meet the challenge from the Oromo Liberation Army is a sick joke, at best. Oromia Special Force, over the last 5 years, has shown that it is neither willing nor able to stop the terror of the OLA against civilians.
Selectively dissolving the Amhara Special Force, while dominating the National Defense Force ethnically and leaving belligerent Special Forces intact could not be a pro-unity measure as Abiy Ahmed is falsely claiming. It could only be a move to totally crush a defenseless Amhara population to pave the way for a unilateral dispensation of their livelihoods and resources.
The protest of the Amhara people against Abiy Ahmed’s ploy to render them defenseless in the face of the genocide declared against them should be supported by all rational and humane citizens of our world.
Abiy and Shene are the same. Abiy is the one who trained and armed these gangsters. Abiy wants them to grab Afar land to incorporate into his dream country Greater Oromia. In fact, it is Abiy’s plan to grab lands using force and threats from all Oromia neighbors and incorporate them into Greater Oromia. This insatiable hunger for land, money, power, and resources will suck Abiy and his cronies into a bottomless hole.