Abiy Ahmed Must Be Held Accountable for Crimes Against Humanity

[Deeq A.]

The Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed might be contemplating his political future following the ignominious defeat of Ethiopian Defence Forces at the hands of Tigray Defence Forces.

In a speech Abiy has pointed out several factors that resulted in the withdrawal of Ethiopia government forces from Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray. His government was not able to mobilise a large number of militias to join the war against Tigrayans. The war his government has prosecuted was premised on demonisation of Tigrayans, fanning of ethnic hostility in the hope of clinging to power through a divide and rule strategy. The fact that Tigray Defence Forces have routed invaders should not make the International Community blind to government plans to depopulate Tigray and arm Amhara militias, who committed heinous crimes against fellow citizens whom the Ethiopian government ethnically profiles.

Unprized: Abiy Ahmed will be remembered for tarnishing the image of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Medemer, the Amharic word for synergy, adopted by Abiy and his associates as the template to attain his monarchical goals ( his mother dreamt of him becoming a King of Ethiopia), spotlights what is wrong with the Ethiopian polity. Last year Abiy invited Eritrean troops into Ethiopia to fight alongside Ethiopian Defence Forces against TPLF. Destruction, looting and massacres followed the invasion of Tigray by the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces. Social cohesion is the major casualty of the war against Tigrayans.

Unprized: Abiy Ahmed will be remembered for tarnishing the image of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Just as the Derg regime used Cuban soldiers in the fight against TPLF four decades ago, Abiy sought help from his advisor, Isaias Afwerke, the Eritrean dictator. Africa’s authoritarian leaders should realise that sovereignty will not prove to be a bulwark against accountability for attempted genocide or use of government resources to starve citizens. The destruction of infrastructures in Tigray speaks volumes about what Abiy Ahmed has had in mind had TDF not defeated his poorly trained ethnic militias most of whom are now prisoners of war in Tigray.

The Ethiopian government condones the hatred that organised Amhara propagandists had unleashed against Tigrayans. Even Mengistu Hailemariam, the former Ethiopian leader, did not stoop so low as to make Tigrayans of all ages the target of government oppression. As the British Ambassador at the United Nations Barbara Woodward said “putting the Ethiopian people first” is the priority. Abiy Ahmed may resign or might be overthrown. His legacy will be hard to undo if perpetrators of massacres and looting in Tigray are let go scot-free.

By Adan Essa Hussein

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