By: Ermias Mengesha
The U.S. Government is supporting militant groups who plan to overthrow the democratically elected Government of Ethiopia. These groups include the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Shene Oromo Liberation Front (Shene-OLF), and others organized and supported by TPLF. On November 5, 2021, nine representatives of these groups held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., where they announced their plans to “dismantle the Ethiopian Government.” Despite being from rebel groups who initiated a civil war and have committed atrocious massacres in the country, their press conference was streamed live on U.S.-based media. The U.S. Government has failed to condemn them.
Ethiopia is the only African country that has never been colonized. It is an ancient country of black people revered both in the Bible and the Holy Quran. Ethiopia has been a symbol of freedom from slavery to colonialism and the civil rights movement for black people inspiring black folks and historical figures including Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, W.E. Dubois, Nelson Mandela, and other black civil rights activists in the United States and around the globe.
The current conflict in Ethiopia started on November 3, 2020, when the TPLF massacred members of the National Defense Force stationed in the Tigray region and took their heavy weaponry to overthrow the Federal Government by force. In response, the Ethiopian Government started a law enforcement operation to hold the TPLF leaders accountable. As soon as the law enforcement operation commenced, US-based media, the likes, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, AP, etc., amplified the fabricated noise of TPLF supporters who claimed there was genocide occurring in Tigray. While all parties have perpetrated human rights violations, including the TPLF against the Amhara ethnic group in Maikadra and other places, the U.S. media portrayed only Tigray as a victim and cast the TPLF as freedom fighters.
The U.S. supported the TPLF to take power in 1991 and rule Ethiopia for 27 years. The TPLF created satellite political parties from Amhara, Oromo, and Southern Regions and formed the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to camouflage its power. During those 27 years, the TPLF divided Ethiopians into ethnic enclaves and cultivated ethnic-based conflict as a divide and rule tactic. Although the TPLF represented only 6% of the Ethiopian population, it created an elite class that dominated politics, business, the military, and the entire country. They jailed and exiled opposition politicians. After mass unrest and popular protest in 2018, the TPLF appointed Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned, and Abiy Ahmed of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (not to be confused with the Shene-OLF) became leader of the EPRDF.
Currently, through the support of the Biden Administration, the TPLF is fighting to remove Abiy’s democratically elected government by force. To support this effort, the U.S. government took punitive measures that weakened Ethiopia’s position. It removed Ethiopia from the list of countries that have preferential trading agreements with the U.S. through AGOA. It sent several missions to Ethiopia to pressure the government to accept the terms of the TPLF. It also used repeated United Nations Security Council meetings for similar outcomes. The U.S. imposed an arms embargo to deny the federal government access to weapons. It also imposed further sanctions that target key officials. These measures have nothing to do with advancing democracy or protecting human rights. In fact, the UN-led investigation into the war showed that there was no genocide or use of rape or starvation as a weapon of war in Tigray. The U.S. media used these allegations to discredit the Ethiopian government and support rebel fighters who are pushing beyond Tigray and are invading and committing massacres in the Amhara region, where Ethiopia’s poorest and most vulnerable people reside.
The Biden Administration is spending taxpayers’ money on supporting rebels to overthrow the democratically elected government of Ethiopia. If these efforts succeed, they will lead to the dismantling of Ethiopia and further bloodshed, including the genocide of vulnerable ethnic groups. The risk of genocide is imminent, as the TPLF, the Shene-OLF, and their allies have openly stated that they plan to target the Amhara people, whom they consider to be supporters of the government.
Act now! Write to your local congressperson and demand that they support the democratically elected Government of Ethiopia rather than the TPLF rebels. Currently, the war is being fought in the Amhara and Afar regions, not in Tigray, but the U.S. media continuously frames it as a war on Tigray. Demand that the media accurately report the conflict and offer balanced perspectives that include marginalized groups suffering from the invasion, looting, and sexual abuse by TPLF forces. Stand for a United Ethiopia, one that embraces and protects ALL ethnic groups and speak up against the TPLF and Shene-OLF mission of ethnic cleansing. United, Ethiopia defeated colonization and maintained its heritage. Divided, a great ancient black civilization will fall.
