It is Time for the United States to Abandon Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia – Part 3

Aklog Birara (Dr)

Part 3 

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Albert Einstein

American policy and decision-makers know well that Abiy Ahmed’s regime has targeted the Amhara population for multipronged attacks. The existential threat faced by Amhara is real. This is the reason millions of Amhara youth are ready to die fighting. This is the reason thousands of Abiy’s soldiers surrender and join Fano with their weapons. Sahlework Zewdie and Taye Dendea took personal risks and critiqued the “barbaric” and blood thirsty government leadership based on their observations of the level of continued atrocities of Amhara and other ethnic groups including Oromo.

It is time for all Ethiopians and the international community to say enough. It is time to say stop the carnage. It is time to say hold Abiy’s Ahmed Ali’s regime accountable for war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of rape, crimes of genocide and, crimes of permanent war (my addition.

Targeted killings of Amhara in Oromia and the current state and government led war against Amhara that has been raging for more than six months decapitates the Amhara population by military means and economic strangulation. By all genocide indicators, this is Rwanda-like.

It is time for the government of the United States to acknowledge and act that Amhara genocide is happening; and that the current atrocities are being committed by the Ethiopian state and government under the watch of Abiy Ahmed. This act alone makes Abiy Ahmed a destabilizer in chief. Fitch just downgraded Ethiopia further to junk territory. You must ask who is at fault?

The international community has an obligation to understand Fano.

The government of the United States whose formal diplomatic relations with Ethiopia spans 120 years owes it to future generations of Ethiopians, and all Black Africans and Americans to defend humanity and human life in Ethiopia today. The U.S. owes it to the world to avert an all-out Rwanda- like genocide of Amhara today. Averting genocide of Amhara will leave an indelible legacy to future generations.

For American decision-makers to keep silent in the face of human atrocities in Ethiopia raises questions in the minds of millions of Black people, including me whether the ethos of democracy and the American human rights principle of the “responsibility to protect” apply to some people but not others.

To demonstrate that America stands firm on the side of victims, it would need to speak up against the use of drones by the Abiy military against innocent civilians today.

The U.S. is aware that Fano does not have foreign weapons suppliers. Abiy Ahmed does. Fano does not command budget from the public purse. Abiy Ahmed does. Fano does not receive foreign assistance, including American aid. Abiy Ahmed does. Fano relies solely on support from the Amhara population and on its ingenuity and creativity. Fano does not destroy social and economic infrastructure. Abiy’s military does. The international media has failed to cover these facts.

Had the Western Press given coverage to Fano—as is the case with the Hamas and Israeli tragedy and the Russia-Ukraine war—-that Fano is fighting against human cruelty, human degradation, and barbarism the outcome will be different. Given media coverage, Americans, I am convinced, will admire Fano’s courage, self-reliant model, and genuine commitment to freedom. Given media coverage of Fano, U.S. policy would have changed by now. I am hopeful this will happen.

As shown in the video at the end of this commentary, the only Western historian, thought leader and influencer who is in the forefront depicting Fano’s authentic vision, mission, determination, and goal is Jeff Pearce. His presentation is consistently credible and truthful. I also appreciate the release of well thought narratives released by Western analysts showing the true face of Abiy Ahmed Ali (illustrative example attached in the final commentary, Part 4).

What does Fano stand for?

Fano stands for justice, the rule of law, unfettered equality of all ethnic groups, gender equality, democracy, sustainable and equitable development. Its dual vision of a) saving Amhara from extinction and b) defending Ethiopia from fragmentation is unassailable. Fano leaders have stated repeatedly that the second objective requires an arduous work of building and strengthening partnership, collaboration, and mobilization of Ethiopians from all ethnic groups who believe in the formation of a post-ethnicity Ethiopia that is just, rule of law based, democratic and prosperous.

To my best knowledge, Fano never claimed that its end game is restoring Amhara hegemony as portrayed by ethnonationalists and by Abiy Ahmed Ali. Rather, Fano is genuinely committed to freedom, justice, equitable treatment of all Ethiopians and to the institutionalization of democracy in Ethiopia.

Good indicators

In this connection, I am pleased to record that the Gambella Peoples’ Democratic Movement (GPDM) declared “one hundred percent support” for Fano. There are indications on the ground that Afar, Gamo, Gurage, Wolayta, Sidama, as well as pro-Ethiopia Oromo, Somali, Tigre support an overhaul of the current ethnic-federal system and the ethnic elite oligarchy that has made life in Ethiopia hellish and unlivable.

I suggest that if Ethiopia held an independent national poll today, most Ethiopians would reject the Abiy ethno-nationalist and “barbaric” regime and support the Fano movement. This is because Fanos’s ultimate objective is the pursuit of justice for all, unfettered equality among all citizens, the rule of law, democracy and fair competition in the marketplace and the like. These virtues are virtues are widely shared.

It is therefore in America’s strategic interest to defend the Amhara cause. The Amhara cause is Ethiopia’s cause. The Amhara cause is Black Africa’s cause. The Amhara cause affects all Ethiopians. This is why I believe Fano represents the future.

Bless his soul, Einstein is right when he said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Abiy Ahmed’s regime is stuck to an ethnicity and language based political system of revolutionary democracy in which “brothers kill brothers.”

Why defending Amhara survival is in U.S. interest.  

I suggest there is a lingering and unfair misperception from the colonial and imperial European past concerning Amhara. The West in general and American policy and decision-makers in particular need to appreciate and understand the symmetry of values and world outlooks embraced by democratic nations and Amhara.

Amhara are peace and freedom loving, hardworking, self-reliant, patriotic, inclusive, tolerant, empathetic, kind-hearted, spiritual, fair minded, law abiding and democratic. I remember when I was a child accompanying my parents to church incidents where a grieved person would simply say “in the name of the law,” and the person targeted or in mind would stand motionless. Respect for the rule of law is a core part of Amhara political culture.

This is why Fano treats those captured, wounded or those who surrender freely to Fano with a high level of respect and decency.

Fano values bode well for Ethiopia’s future.

I urge U.S. policy and decision-makers to consider striking similarities between America’s soft values like commitment to the rule of law and respect for human and civil rights and Amhara norms, values and traditions.

My hope and expectation as an Ethiopian American committed to play a bridging role to strengthen durable relations between Americans and Ethiopians is that American government commitment to human rights and against genocide as well as the advancement of democracy is real and not just rhetorical.

I repeat. The values I highlighted bode well for the future of a diverse, inclusive and rule of law-based Ethiopia. These well-established Amhara values are compatible with democratic societies. So, defending the Amhara cause is in America’s long term strategic and geopolitical interest.

American decision-makers know that Ethiopia will not exist without Amhara. Ethiopian government planned, led and executed terrorist attacks and onslaught against Amhara have far reaching consequences for the entire Horn of Africa. Ethiopia’s neighbors are deeply concerned about the ripple effects of Abiy Ahmed’s war-like and military policies and programs. U.S. government reluctance to condemn attacks of Amhara civilians by Abiy’s army undermines U.S. standing and policy throughout Black Africa.

The Congressional Africa Sub-Committee hearing on November 30 was timely. Congressman James’s superb assessment of the dire human rights situation in Ethiopia, including violence against innocent civilians in the Amhara and Tigray regions heartened me.

It was clear during the hearing that the government of the United States and Congress are deeply concerned about Ethiopia’s peace, stability, and durability as a country. Rhetorically, American decision makers do not want another war.

The fact on the ground is that Ethiopia is at war with itself. Abiy Ahmed and his generals conducted more than one hundred drone attacks, killing, wounding civilians and destroying social, economic and spiritual infrastructure. This is the ugly face of war Sahlework Zewdie echoed. This the ugly face of a what Taye Dendea called “barbaric.” This is the reason I called Abiy Ahmed’s governance Hitleresque.

Sadly, I do not see an end to “barbarism” and the Hitleresque phenomenon in Ethiopia. This week, Chief of Staff of Abiy’s armed forces Field Marshall Berhanu Jula declared that he plans to use drones to kill, maim and destroy Amhara. The general defends his stand saying, “drones are not ornaments.”  Insiders report that Abiy Ahmed received a new shipment of drones from the UAE. Yet, the international community says nothing.

Drones while Ethiopians starve.

The purchase and use of drones is a travesty that generations of Ethiopians must cope with. Ethiopia is one of the seventy-five poorest countries hardest hit by the debt burden. The World Bank’s Chief Economist Indemit Gill told Reuters this. “This is the decade of reckoning. Record debt levels and high interest rates have set many countries on a path to crisis.”

Gill was especially concerned about Ethiopia’s potential default. This is because discussions with bondholders to extend maturity and spread-out repayments of Ethiopia’s US$ 1 billion maturing in December 2024 broke down. Gill said “Ethiopia is like a canary in the coal mine. It is the biggest country that would default. That is an important one. It is one of the five biggest economies in sub-Saharan Africa.”

I also want to flag an important piece released by Globe and Mail on December 8, 2023, critiquing Abiy Ahmed personally and harshly for his lavish Chaka project displacing thousands of Ethiopians and expending huge resources to construct a palace and entertainment center.

The title of the article is “A new palace for Ethiopia’s prime minister brings evictions and dissent in a country beset by hunger and war.” This is sheer madness. Ethiopians, together, must rise and demonstrate their revulsion now.

I shall release the final, Part 4 of 4 shortly. December 15, 2023