International Diplomatic Community Should Stop Enabling Amhara Genocide in Ethiopia
The Amhara Association of America (AAA) is greatly disappointed over the recent joint statement from G7 countries which appears to cover up and downplay the developing situation in the Raya area of Ethiopia which has caused a large-scale humanitarian emergency devastating the indigenous Amhara population. AAA strongly believes this statement will embolden the ruling Oromo Prosperity Party (OPP) regime and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) [Tigray Interim Regional Administration] to continue in their genocidal acts targeting the Amhara population throughout Ethiopia.
The joint statement from G7 countries was issued following the joint invasion by Tigray Region Forces and the Ethiopian National Defense Force of Raya Alamata, Raya Bala, Korem, Ofla and surrounding areas beginning April 15, 2024 which has resulted in grave human rights violations including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, sexual and gender-based violence, largescale displacement and systemic looting and destruction of private and public utilities. According to OCHA flash update #1 issued on April 19th, 2024, over 30,000 residents have been displaced from Raya Alamata and surrounding areas to neighboring towns of Kobo and Sekota. It is important to underscore that residents of these areas were still struggling to recover from the devastating Northern Ethiopia War during which egregious atrocities were committed by the TPLF. Such atrocities also predated the war by decades during which residents suffered under Tigrayan occupation which resembled apartheid-style rule.
AAA strongly believes the lack of direct condemnation and ongoing use of vague language masks an ongoing policy of enabling violence against Amhara civilians throughout Ethiopia. It is particularly concerning that ongoing mention of DDR and resettlement of IDPs in reference to the cessation of hostilities of agreement (COHA), has been used as a cover to besiege the Amhara population leaving millions vulnerable to genocidal massacres, ethnic cleansing and humanitarian crisis. This underscores the failure of COHA to bring lasting peace to Ethiopia, as it was an exclusionary deal sidelining Amharas (a key stakeholder), failed to promote transitional justice and in practice has functioned as a “war pact” between the OPP regime and TPLF.
The joint invasion of Raya is an extension of the genocidal war which has continued throughout Amhara Region over the last year, and the Northern Ethiopia War during which Amhara lands came under multiple genocidal invasions by TPLF, the Oromo Liberation Army, Oromia Region Forces and other armed groups. Unfortunately, instead of resolving the crisis and promoting justice and accountability global leaders have chosen silence and tacit approval of the Abiy regime which in turn has enabled a pattern of impunity which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives. AAA warns of the possibility of expansion of the war in Amhara beyond borders if the current outbreak of violence is not curbed immediately. If this happens, the whole Horn of Africa region could transform into a contiguous conflict zone resulting in unprecedented levels of humanitarian calamity and state fracture with global implications. Therefore, a multi-facetted strategy of swift and direct condemnation of recent aggressions against the Amhara people, targeted sanctions of key government and military leaders implicated in atrocities, and a move towards civilian-led transitional government could foster much needed change at this critical juncture in Ethiopia which could decide the fate of the wider region.
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