Statement of Ethiopians in the Diaspora on the Non-Negotiability of Amhara Ancestral Lands

February 23, 2022

We, the undersigned members of Ethiopian communities and organizations in the Diaspora, express our resolve and determination to oppose any attempt by the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) or certain Western governments and institutions to forfeit parts of the Amhara regions that had illegally and forcibly been annexed by the terrorist organization, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), between 1991 and 2020.

We view any attempt by the GoE to overtly or covertly concede these regions as none other than an integral part of a highly orchestrated gambit by internal actors and foreign entities to undermine the unity and integrity of Ethiopia, and by extension, to weaken the Amhara people.

We maintain that there are no historical, legal or constitutional arguments that can conceivably support the narrative that the ancestral lands of the Amhara region, including the Wolkait Tegede Setit Humera Zone and Raya, should be sacrificial lambs to appease a terrorist organization.

First, there is no historical record to suggest that the vast majority of the people of these areas have ever been under Tigray or have ever identified themselves as any other ethnic group but Amhara.

Second, there is no constitutional basis to hand over these regions to the TPLF, as these areas had forcefully been annexed by the terrorist group in 1991,

several years before the apartheid-style constitution was adopted, contrary to TPLF’s own bogus Transitional Charter of 1991/1992.

Over the last couple of years, we have watched with dismay and consternation as the GoE demonstrated astonishing reluctance to allocate budget to the Wolkait, Tegede Setit Humera Zone and other liberated areas, while spending billions of dollars in the Tigrai region since the beginning of the war. While demonstrating indescribable indifference to the suffering of Amharas, Western governments have intensified their pressure on the people of the region to concede their ancestral lands to a terrorist organization. We hold the firm conviction that any recognition of the illegitimate pre-war borders of the Tigray region would not only be a blatant violation of the rights of the inhabitants of the region, but also an endorsement of a return to the atrocious rule by the TPLF that had resulted in the massacre and subjugation of countless Amharas who lived in the area. In this respect, we categorically and unequivocally decry the advocacy of the Biden administration to restore the territorial status quo as one-sided, prejudiced and unfair.

We, therefore, call upon:

1.All peace-loving Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia to vehemently oppose the ongoing effort to directly or indirectly restore TPLF’s atrocious rule over the people of the liberated areas of the Amhara region.

2.The Government of Ethiopia to desist from its covert and overt activities to pressure the Amhara people to directly or indirectly forfeit these areas to TPLF’s brutal rule.

3.The US and other Western governments and institution to refrain from intervening in the internal affairs of the country and directly or indirectly imposing the tyrannical rule of the TPLF on the vulnerable people of these areas.

1.Adwa Great African Victory Association (AGAVA)

2.All Shewa Ethiopian People Multipurpose International Association

3.Amhara Dimtse Serechit

4.Amhara Wellbeing and Development Organization

5.Communities of Ethiopians in Finland

6.Ethio-Canadian Human Rights Association

7.Ethiopian-American Development Council (EADC)

8.Ethiopian Dialogue Forum (EDF)

9.International Ethiopian Women’s Organization (IEWO)

10.Global Alliance for Justice – The Ethiopian Cause

11.Global Alliance for the Rights of Ethiopians (GARE)

12.Global Amhara Coalition

13.Global Ethiopian Scholars Initiative (GESI)

14.Gonder Hibret for Ethiopian Unity

15.New York/New Jersey Tri-State Hope for Ethiopia, Inc. (H4E)

16.Major Lemma Woldetsadik Memorial Foundation

17.Menelik Hall Foundation

18.Network of Ethiopian Scholars (NES)

19.People To People, Inc. (P2P)

20.Radio Yenesew Ethiopia

21.Selassie Stand Up, Inc.

22.The Ethiopian Broadcast Group

23.Vision Ethiopia (VE)

24.Worldwide Ethiopian Civic Associations Network (WE-CAN

የአማራ ቅርስ ቦታዎችን ለድርድር ማቅርብ ተቀባይነት የሌለው መሆኑን አስመልክቶ በውጭ ከሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያንና ትውልደ-ኢትዮጵያውያን ድርጅቶች የተሰጠ መግለጫ