Open Letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee

May 6, 2021

The Norwegian Nobel Committee
Henrik Ibsens gate 51 0255 Oslo
E-mail: postmaster@nobel.no

Dear Excellencies:

Subject: Request to Strip Abiy Ahmed Ali of the Nobel Peace Prize

I am writing to respectfully request the Norwegian Nobel Committee to strip Abiy Ahmed Ali of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for the genocide and crimes against humanity that have been committed against Ethiopians in different parts of Ethiopia on his watch.

Ethiopia has turned into a living hell for millions of Ethiopians since Abiy Ahmed ascended to power three years ago. Thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women, elderlies, and men have been persecuted, kidnapped, brutally massacred, mutilated, dragged, and dumped into mass graves in different parts of the country merely because of their ethnic identities (Amharas, Guraghes, Gamos, Wolaytas, Gedos, etc.) and/or their affiliation to the Orthodox Christian Religion. Furthermore, millions have been evicted from their ancestral lands, cities, towns, and villages and their churches, cities, towns, and properties have been burnt to the ground owing to their identities and/or religious affiliations.

Such barbaric atrocities, mayhem, and destruction have mainly been committed by:

1. The so-called Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a terrorist ethno-nationalist organization that is allegedly supported financially, materially, logistically, etc. by the Oromia Regional Government headed by Shimeles Abdissa, Vice President of the Oromia Region and a close ally of Abiy Ahmed Ali, as well as some members of the Oromia Prosperity Party, which Abiy Ahmed Ali leads. It is worth noting here that Abiy Ahmed Ali proudly declared in a public gathering about a year ago saying that, when he worked as one of the top officials of the Ethiopian National Security Agency (ENSA) during the defunct Tigrai People Liberation Front (TPLF) regime, he covertly worked with and shared national security information with OLF. Furthermore, soon after he ascended to the highest office in the land he allowed this terrorist group to return to Ethiopia from neighboring Eritrea, where it was based, without disarming them under an obscure deal with the group. Ever since its return to Ethiopia, this heavily armed group has been raiding banks and plundering national treasure, arming itself, as well as committing genocides and crimes against humanity in various parts of the country, particularly in the Oromia Region.

2. Extremist ethnic elements in the Beninshangul Gumuz Region that are allegedly supported financially, materially, logistically, etc. by Ashadli Hussein, President of the region and his government; and

3. Remnants of the defunct Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), an ethnic based party that ruled Ethiopia for 27 years with an iron fist, constitutionalized an ethnic based politics of division and hate, and divided the federal structure along ethnic lines that has resulted in the current chaos and destruction.

The said genocide and crimes against humanity have taken place in different parts of the country over the past three years including, in Horo Guduru. Gura Ferda, Gedo, Shashemene, Metekel, Ataye, Kara Kore, Mai Kadra, Burayu, Legetafo, Jimma, Amarro, Dire Dawa, Harar, Axum, etc.

While these genocides and crimes against humanity need to be investigated by an independent international body, such as the United Nations, to hold those responsible to account, Abiy Ahmed Ali must be held to account due to “acts or omissions” since these barbaric acts are real and taking place day in day out to this day in a nation of 110 million people that he leads as a Prime Minister.

As it is well known, the primary responsibility of any government is to provide peace and security to its people. However, Abiy Ahmed Ali has been unwilling and unable to fulfil this basic responsibility of his government. Furthermore, during all these genocides and crimes against humanity, Abiy Ahmed Ali has been unwilling to acknowledge the occurrence of these crimes of historic proportions, much less to condemn the perpetrators and express his condolences to the victims and their families. On the contrary, Abiy Ahmed Ali has preferred to play the game of blaming the victims as if nothing happened.

As an example, after the OLF terrorists committed genocide in Ataye and Kara Kore (these are towns close to the Capital Addis Ababa) that resulted in a large massacre of Amharas, eviction of an estimated 250,000 innocent civilians, and complete destruction of the said towns only four weeks ago, millions of Ethiopians in different cities and towns across the Amhara region went to the street for three consecutive days and protested and condemned the genocide, demanded those terrorists and their accomplices be held accountable, and asked Abiy Ahmed be brought to justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC). In response, Abi Ahmed Ali who was meeting with his faithful opportunist cadre of Election Board officials callously claimed in front of a television camera that the protests were futile cries with no effect on his government. He did not acknowledge the occurrence of the genocide, nor did he express any sympathy to the victims and their families.

It is to be noted here that an effort by Diaspora Ethiopians is currently underway to bring those responsible for the genocides and crimes against humanity that have been committed in different parts of Ethiopia to justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC) (1).

It is known all too well that efforts that were made a few years ago by some who stood for justice asking the Nobel Committee to strip Aung San Suki, State Counsellor of Myanmar, of her Nobel Peace Prize for the genocide committed against the minority Muslim Rohingya were in vain since the Committee was not in favor of taking such a measure as there is “no provision” in its Statutes to strip a Nobel Prize once awarded(2).

Furthermore, the Nobel Committee’s Website on its Frequently Asked Questions page in reply to the question “Is it possible to revoke a Nobel Prize?” states, “Neither Alfred Nobel’s will, nor the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation mention any such possibility. None of the prize awarding committees in Stockholm and Oslo has ever considered to revoke a prize once awarded.” (3)

However, I would like to respectfully make the following points to the Committee:

1. Even though revocation is not mentioned in Nobel’s will or provided in the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation, it is my humble opinion that the Nobel Committee will do a great service to humankind if it considers amending the Statutes to allow it to strip a Nobel Peace Prize of an awardee who is responsible for crimes such as genocide and/or crimes against humanity through “acts or omissions”. One can presume that genocide and/or crimes against humanity are antithetical to Alfred Nobel’s ideals.

2. It would be nightmarish for any member of the Nobel Committee to see a headline in a news media that reads something like, “A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARDEE IS CONVICTED OF GENOCIDE!’, or “A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARDEE IS FOUND GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY!”, should any awardee be found guilty of such a heinous crime.

3. Stripping a Nobel Peace Prize of an awardee who is responsible for genocide and/or crimes against humanity through “acts or omissions” would provide a measure of justice and a degree of consolation to the victims and their families. Those children, women, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters who lost their loved ones and are bewildered about what is going on around them would know and be most grateful that although justice is trampled on by a dictator in their own country, organizations such as the Norwegian Nobel Committee have been watching their sufferings and can give them some measure of justice and consolation.

4. Adding a provision to the Foundation’s Statutes mandating the Committee with the ability to strip such a prestigious “Peace” prize against an awardee who through “acts or omissions” is responsible for genocides and crimes against humanity could serve to an extent as a deterrent for such crimes.

Abiy Ahmed Ali has failed the Ethiopian people by not meeting his fundamental responsibility of giving them peace and security. Instead, he has chosen the game of blaming the victims, threatening millions who took to the street and protested the atrocities being committed against them and celebrating his third anniversary of ascendancy to power at a five-star hotel and inaugurating parks and newly constructed buildings, all amidst the said genocides and crimes against humanity.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee will hopefully heed this call, that is made on behalf of the thousands of Ethiopians who have been massacred and the millions who have been evicted from their ancestral lands and made homeless in a country of their own, simply because of their ethnic identities and/or religion.

Respectfully,

Feleke Alemu
An ordinary Ethiopian

1. https://otage.org/
2. https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/29/asia/aung-san-suu-kyi-nobel-prize-intl
3. https://www.nobelprize.org/frequently-asked-questions/