The West Misunderstood Ethiopia's Conflict. Here's How We Should Move Forward
Tigray, Ethiopia. Creative Commons photo.
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(OPINION) The immediate unilateral ceasefire declaration last month by Ethiopia’s government after eight months of conflict in Tigray has ushered in an opportunity to re-think the conflict. The ceasefire was a prudent choice as the conflict was entering a perpetual cycle of violence.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has used ethnocentric fear and propaganda to create a wall of hostility between Tigray and the rest of Ethiopia and its neighbor to the north, Eritrea.
We live in an age where money and sensationalism decide media worthiness. As a result, Ethiopia’s image has been unfairly disfigured. Martin Kimani, Kenya's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has rightly recognized how misinformation and disinformation have harmed Ethiopia. This is further compounded by undue pressure on the country by the Global North, particularly the U.S. government, which, wittingly or unwittingly, failed to understand the complexities and the evolution of the current crisis.
The Ethiopian federal government felt disheartened by a perceived lack of appreciation for their efforts. In a conflict where violent guerrilla fighters in Tigray find a safe haven amongst civilians, playing a double role as victims when attacked and gladiators when they advance, the path to peace becomes impossible. Things are blurry now, and it is right for the federal government to give the region space to objectively think through the situation and determine next steps.
Where do we go from here?
Confronting Ethiopia’s challenges require understanding its history
The second most populous country in Africa, Ethiopia, with over 112 million, is a mosaic—a nation knit together by over 80 ethnolinguistic people groups, each with its own unique beauty. Tigray is about 6% of this population. Ethiopia’s political landscape has changed much in the last 50 years. Nonetheless, for most of its citizens, these changes echo a cyclical story of injustice, pain, neglect, dictatorship and poverty.
We have witnessed the freedom fighters becoming oppressors. This was a continued pattern in the 27 years of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a reign dominated by TPLF. Freedom House described the EPRDF as one of the most corrupt and authoritarian regimes in the world where opposition parties found it nearly impossible “to operate inside Ethiopia and were subject to prosecution under restrictive antiterrorism” laws and other legislation. The electoral violence and corruption of the 2005 election (and all subsequent elections) assured the TPLF’s continued dominance within EPRDF. According to Statista, from 2005 to 2014 Ethiopia’s Government Integrity was “below the world average for the entire period.” The authoritarian regime was guilty of arbitrary killings, torture and the denial of due legal process for prisoners, as the 2012 U.S. State Department’s Human Rights Report documents.
Ethiopia remained one of the largest recipients of foreign aid in Africa, receiving nearly $3 billion in 2015, despite its appalling record on human rights. The 2017 Democracy Index ranks Ethiopia 129 out of 167 countries on human rights, and describes the regime as one of the most “authoritarian” with a score of 3.42 (out 10). In 2018, just before the transition, Ethiopia’s debt was 60% of its GDP.
The former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn summed it up well:
“I confess, a TPLF-dominated coalition ruled Ethiopia shrewdly for 27 years . . . The TPLF’s leaders are savvy operators who know how susceptible the international community is to such manipulation.”
It is unjust and immoral to deny the historical reality of the TPLF’s responsibility for human suffering in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian people’s rejection of the TPLF climaxed when the House of People’s Representatives unanimously voted to outlaw the TPLF as a terrorist organization. If Ethiopia is recognized as a free and sovereign nation, then the world should listen to its people.
Realizing that the TPLF caused its own downfall
The powers in the Global North, including the media, seem oblivious to the Ethiopian government’s three-year struggle for dialogue and peace prior to the war. Three years ago when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was elected into office, promising major political reforms from within the EPRDF, the government publicly apologized for what it called “state terrorism.” Support for the government surged at that time, both within Ethiopia and among the diaspora.
The TPLF, nonetheless, left its privileged position and refused this opportunity for all coalition parties within the EPRDF to have a second chance at peace. Repeated mediation efforts were rejected. The Ethiopian government exhibited patience amid TPLF’s constant defiance and incitement for war. This caused many in Ethiopia to consider the federal government too weak to lead. The TPLF’s actions, direct and indirect, began to surface behind sporadic episodes of ethnic-based violence in various parts of the nation.
These tensions led to the massacre along ethnic lines of the federal troops in Tigray on 4th November 2020, a fact the U.S. Senate recognized for the first time two weeks ago. From the beginning, the TPLF claimed responsibility that they fired first. Even after the ceasefire, the TPLF vowed to continue to fight all the way to the Amhara region and Eritrea, rejecting Ethiopia’s ceasefire declaration as a “joke.”
It is puzzling, to say the least, that many reports criticizing the Ethiopian government ignored the events preceding the war. These critics are either unbelievably misguided or intentionally blinded by self-interest.
The New York Times, for example, reported that “Tigrayans are being driven from their homes in a war begun by Ethiopia.” CNN, citing the U.N., reported, just weeks after the Amhara’s violent massacre by the TPLF in Mai-Kadra that “30,000 refugees have fled to neighboring Sudan.” As recently as July 5, the Financial Times quoted a senior TPLF official saying there are up to 30,000 troops stationed in Sudan “waiting to join the fight.”
An Ethiopian funeral procession. Creative Commons photo.
If it is indeed true, that such an army disguised as refugees exists in Sudan, this is a terrible and profound concern. It is well past the time for the Global North to re-examine its sources of information, including the false narrative that the conflict was about erasing Tigrayans in an ethnic cleansing.
Rejecting selective and Preferential ‘Justice’
War is ugly. That is the bitter reality of Ethiopia’s last half-century. The war, sadly, has caused the death and displacement of many innocent civilians. War has increased human suffering in Ethiopia and worsened the country’s poverty. Like all other wars, this war has had confirmed human rights violations, war crimes, rapes and looting. The heart of Ethiopia grieves.
It is a sad reality that barbaric and sadistic soldiers exist in any war. The U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya are obvious examples. These and other countries such as Syria and Yemen have yet to recover from the aftermath.
We need to condemn these abominable acts with the strongest possible terms. Ethiopia has repeatedly done that. The Ethiopian government, the U.N. Human Rights Commission and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission have launched an active, tripartite inquiry to bring perpetrators to justice. In fact, Ethiopia has already begun trying and convicting soldiers who have committed crimes against civilians in Tigray. As of June 17, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has also joined the inquiry. The international media has failed to adequately cover these developments.
The desire to discover the truth and to condemn human rights violations—if driven by true humanity and compassion—calls for a comprehensive and impartial assessment. There are many clear examples, such as the Nov. 9–10, 2020 ethnic cleansing and mass murder of the Amhara people in Maikadra. The media and the Global North powers remained passive in light of overwhelming evidence. At this very moment, the U.N High Commissioner for Refugees has expressed a deep concern that there are credible and corroborated reports of the TPLF’s “reprisal attacks, abductions, arrests, and violence meted out against Eritrean refugees for their perceived affiliation.” In addition, there are disturbing reports that the TPLF is taking an act of revenge on ethnic Tigrayans who are branded as “collaborators of the government”.
We should not be selective in our outrage, our demand for an investigation, and our calls for compassion and help. The suffering of all Ethiopians deserves equal attention.
There should be appreciation and support for Ethiopia’s efforts
As early as March, Ethiopia itself provided 70% of the relief supply to Tigrayans (reaching out to 4.5 million people in the first round and 5.2 million in the second and third respectively), despite its struggles. It has spent nearly 13 times the annual budget allocated to Tigray. The federal government has made meeting humanitarian need in Tigray a priority, despite the fact that, by a USAID estimate, 8 million people are requiring emergency food assistance elsewhere in the country. These efforts have not been recognized and appreciated.
The TPLF assassinated newly appointed leaders (22, as of May 26, 2021, according to the Associated Press) using guerilla tactics. The TPLF expanded the conflict and destroyed infrastructure, hindering emergency food assistance, exacerbating the suffering of Tigray.
Yet, the Western media portrays Ethiopia as violent, accusing it of using hunger and chemical weapons against its own people in Tigray. Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Commissioner, made a statement that the ceasefire “is a siege, and starvation is used as a weapon of war." One can easily read Lenarčič, a Slovenian diplomat, and see his bias toward the separatist ideas of the TPLF.
In his July 6 statement, Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, demanded that neither the internal nor external borders of Ethiopia should be changed “in contravention of the constitution.” This is a reference to Wolkait, a place in Amhara which was forcefully incorporated into Western Tigray by a resettlement program prior to the current Ethiopia’s Constitution, written in 1994, the TPLF being the chief architect. It is also a known fact that the TPLF deliberately suppressed the ongoing task of the Administrative Boundaries and Identity Issues Commission, established to resolve conflicts arose from a regionalization that favored Tigray.
Blinken’s statement bluntly undermines Ethiopia’s sovereignty. In so doing, he has set a dangerous precedent that could lead to further bloodshed in the country. Despite the ceasefire, the TPLF has continued the fight, invading the Amhara and Afar regions. What makes this violent advance heartbreaking is to see children enlisted against the Geneva Conventions. This clearly indicates the irreformable and violent nature of the TPLF. In blind partiality, the U.S. made a statement that it “strongly condemn(s) any retaliatory attacks.”
Ethiopia had hoped the ceasefire would give an opportunity for the Biden administration to re-examine its stance. One has to question whether the US’ policy and its silence is providing a drive for the TPLF’s renewed military deployment.
The U.S. needs to let Ethiopia’s democracy develop on its own path
Ethiopia’s current path to democracy is radical and remarkable, young as it is. It has a long way to go. Recently, Ethiopia held a fair and transparent election, but it was pre-judged and de-legitimatized by the U.S. and the E.U. Observers for the African Union, a body of members from 55 African nations, testified:
“The pre-election and Election Day processes were conducted in an orderly, peaceful and credible manner . . . The Mission, therefore, commends all Ethiopians for the demonstrated commitment to the democratic development of the country.”
The U.S. and the E.U never recognized this statement, patronizing not only Ethiopia but all of Africa.
It is bewildering that Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Biden’s ambassador to the U.N. who is an African American woman, has failed to recall her own country’s path of democracy—a country that struggles to heal from racial inequality and political division even today. It took 143 years from the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery for American democracy to elect a Black president. In 2019, 78% of Black Americans and 45% of the nation said the country hasn’t gone far enough in giving Black Americans equal rights. The recent U.S. election was violent and divisive and the country is yet to recover. The judgments on Ethiopia is at best hypocrisy and at worst blind geopolitical self-interest.
Ethiopia needs partners in peace-building
The current ceasefire is an opportunity both locally and globally to have an honest dialogue and make progress toward forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and healing. Successive regimes—the monarchy, the Marxist Military takeover and the TPLF-dominated EPRDF—each contributed positive and negative reforms.
We need to recognize that within the political life of the TPLF there were genuine politicians who labored for the peace of Ethiopia in general and Tigray in particular. There were members who were marginalized, persecuted, arrested, forced into exile and mysteriously killed for their critical views and calls for justice. There are also credible Tigrayan voices outside of the TPLF.
Equally undeniable is the fact that Tigray had enjoyed relative peace and prosperity during the TPLF majority rule of the EPRDF. Naturally, this created a feeling and expectation of privilege in Tigray while the rest of the regions felt marginalized and even rejected. Nonetheless, Tigray’s fundamental needs have not been adequately addressed, even during the reign of TPLF, causing approximately 1.8 million people to permanently depend on aid. In fact, the elites of the TPLF have exploited the region’s continued need for assistance. Tigray is as much a victim as a beneficiary.
TPLF’s early manifesto (1976), though eventually abandoned, had a vision of an independent republic. That ambition to create a Tigrayan nation remains today in the subconscious of the TPLF and feeds resentment against the Amhara people in Ethiopia. There is a need for honest conversation, to unmask this ethnocentric narrative and heal wounds between these two great people: Tigray and Amhara.
As painful as it is, it is in the best interests of Tigray to engage in an honest and open dialogue with the people of Eritrea and talk through past historical animosity, bitterness and mistrust. These two great peoples are intertwined in culture, language and heritage. One has to keep in mind the historical evolution that caused an inevitable drift between these two brother nations, resulting, in more than 100,000 lives lost (1998-2000) war.
As we move forward, the people of Tigray must come to terms with the TPLF’s oppressive and violent side. Elites within the TPLF are trying to resuscitate their harsh ethnocentric dominance in Ethiopia’s political arena and this is perpetuating the conflict. Denying these realities and having a national dialogue are mutually exclusive. I think it is time for Tigray, especially the intelligentsia, to form a coalition of interim leaders who represent diverse voices, including from the faith communities, and engage in an honest and intelligible dialogue with the rest of the nation and Eritrea.
In Conclusion
Let me conclude by reiterating two things: One, the international community must re-examine its reading of the conflict in Ethiopia toward a more objective, humane, balanced view. Two, Ethiopia needs the nations of the Global North to be non-patronizing partners in peacebuilding as the country moves toward constructive national dialogue.
This requires them to respect Ethiopia’s sovereign integrity. Undue pressure and partiality only worsen human suffering in the country. A stronger, united, stable, and democratic Ethiopia is vital for the peace of the Horn of Africa. This peace process begins with recognizing and appreciating Ethiopia’s election outcome. In a rare move, if the current ruling party wins, it has promised to appoint leaders from the opposition parties proportional to their vote, which is remarkable and commendable.
More than ever, Ethiopians everywhere need to come together in unity. We must choose to see each other through our common shared heritage and values. The narrow keyhole of one’s own ethnic identity is too small to behold all of Ethiopia's wider beauty and honor. Ethnocentric otherness is deeply dividing us. We need to make a choice to redirect the country’s legacy of bitterness, fear of domination, mistrust and political violence.
Girma Bekele, PhD, is a consultant in Christian Mission Studies and Visiting Professor of Missional Leadership in Postmodern World Tyndale University College & Seminary, Toronto as well as Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis.