Statement from the Federation of Amhara Associations in Europe
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Category Archives: Human right, War on Amhara
Abiy Ahmed is not committed to eradicate poverty, but the poor!!
Sent to :German Government - Federal Chancellery
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Sent to :German Parliament Deutscher Bundestag Service
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Sent to :Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Sent to :Human Rights Monitoring Organizations
November 11, 2024
Re : Abiy Ahmed is not committed to eradicate poverty, but the poor!!
Your Excellency,
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz,
It has come to our attention that your government has reached a funding agreement with the Ethiopian regime worth the sum of €30 million.
In Ethiopia, the ethnic based federalism that has been enforced on Ethiopian people by the TPLF without any public debate for over 3 decades has been eroding inter ethnic coexistence and thereby resulting in civil wars.
The investment sectors previously controlled by the TPLF regime have enriched the Tigray elites. The systematic unfair misappropriation and misuse of funds compounded by corruption and favouritism resulted in popular uprisings that topped the regime. The current Oromo affiliated regime is not just repeating the same blunder but exacerbating the already existing inter ethnic tensions. Genocide and ethnic cleansing of one of the biggest ethnic groups, the Amharas, who are known for opposing the ethnic based political system is intensified. Just like TPLF, Abiy Ahmed is depriving other regions the fair share of the federal budget and in the cases of Amhara region not only the well known systematic economic and political marginalisation but a complete blockade of the region and a military campaign to silence the anti ethnic based federalism is going on. Abiy Ahmed is misusing any funds it can access to fund the state sponsored genocidal war against the Amhara region and benefit the Oromo government officials rather than developing the country’s economy and alleviating poverty.
In many parts of cities including the capital, thousands of homes have been destroyed by the government without providing the inhabitants with alternative accommodation or compensation for their properties. Whilst the poor are driven out of their homes, their houses erased to the ground and made homeless, Abiy Ahmed is building an opulent palace worth 10 billion US dollars.
Ethiopia has been gripped in civil wars for the fourth consecutive years destroying public infrastructure in Tigray and Amhara region, resulting in loss of millions of lives and displacement of millions of people. In Tigray alone during the war that lasted for two years, the destruction is estimated to have reached 26 billion US dollars and no official estimate has been released about the destruction in the ongoing civil war in the Amhara region. Without peace and security, neither foreign nor domestic investment is feasible. The Lack of investment is exacerbated by the blatant and widespread corruption. Nepotism and cronyism are the whole mark of the current regime in Ethiopia.
The ongoing genocidal war declared by Abiy Ahmed against the Amhara people has destroyed most of the education, health and religious institutions in the region, using drones and heavy artillery. Those that are spared of such attacks have been turned into military camps and the entire education sector has been disrupted, preventing an estimated 7 million children from attending school. Any consideration of loans or aid to the regime should take these facts into account.
We bring these clear facts to the attention of donors to press the Ethiopian regime to stop its deliberate destruction of public infrastructure including education, health and religious institutions as well as its indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, its collective punishment of innocent people, its use of hunger, rape and destruction of properties as instruments of war against its own people.
Even in the relatively peaceful part of the rest of the country lawlessness, abduction of people for ransom, a complete breakdown of law and order characterises Ethiopia and the government has lost control. Ethiopia is literally edging towards a complete collapse and we worry that it is on the road to a failed state. Any support to the Ethiopian regime is not just a sign of complacency but an offer of a lifeline to the decaying regime.
We call for a stance with the Ethiopian people and for the sake of peace and stability not only in Ethiopia but also in the Horn of Africa by pressing the Ethiopian regime to stop its genocidal war in the Amhara region and seek a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Any development aid or funds that are made available to the Ethiopian regime should be earmarked for specific projects, their spending monitored and verified that they deliver the intended results.
Yours sincerely,
Federation of Amhara Association in Europe
Open letter to the President of the United Arab Emirates
Sent to :Prime Minister's Office, UAE (2)
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Sent to :UAE Embassy or Consulate
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Sent to :Human Rights Monitoring Organizations
Sent to :Media Organisations
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
The GuardianAl Jazeera
Associated Press (AP)
Deutsche Welle (DW)
France 24
RT (Russia Today)
October 31, 2024
Re : Open letter to the President of the United Arab Emirates
Your highness E Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates,
We write to you with profound sadness and disappointment regarding your involvement in the ongoing internal conflict in Ethiopia. It has been a well known fact that the UAE continues to be the primary supplier of funds, weapons and drones to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is utilizing them in his brutal military campaign against the Amhara people in Ethiopia.
Previously, Abiy Ahmed waged a devastating war in Tigray, resulting in the loss of countless innocent lives, including women, children and the elderly. His army, equipped with your drones; targeted innocent civilians, public infrastructure and private properties with impunity. The indiscriminate attack against ordinary citizens and killings of innocent civilians has, once again, become the hallmark of the current campaign in the Amhara region of Ethiopia as it had been in Tigray, sadly with weapons and drones supplied by your government. The indiscriminate attacks and killings have included children, women, the elderly returning from church and mosque services, and individuals simply going about their daily routine in the Amhara region and beyond.
The World Food Programme has announced that 9.4 million people across the Tigray, Afar, and Amhara regions require food assistance due to the impacts of the conflicts. Under your leadership the government of the UAE, which is providing drones and heavy weaponry worth millions of dollars and supplying funds to the Ethiopian regime has not shown any interest in assisting those who found themselves as casualties of the military campaign and are suffering in the last and in the current conflict.
We are writing to you, your highness, as distressed individuals from the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Our families, friends, and relatives are suffering and we believe that your support and direct involvement in the ongoing conflict are threatening the very survival and existence of our people.
At this critical moment in our history, our people are facing the full force of the military might of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is receiving your direct support. As a result of this conflict, countless children are being killed either directly or as a consequence of malnutrition, hunger, and preventable diseases, all because of their ethnicity.
Schools have been destroyed by drones supplied by your country, leaving children unable to receive education. Pregnant women, the sick, and vulnerable groups cannot access health facilities due to the destruction of medical facilities. The economy of the Amhara region is devastated and millions of people are losing their livelihoods and lives.
It is at this catastrophic time that we are turning to you and bringing this suffering to your attention. We take this opportunity to urge you, as a responsible leader of the UAE, to be a friend to the Ethiopian people and to reconsider your position in this matter. We are under no illusion that you are well informed that the Amhara freedom fighters are getting stronger and stronger by the day and shaking up Abiy Ahmed’s regime. Abiy Ahmed is losing his moral standing as well as his military campaign. He is fighting the civil war only to extend his grip on power. We implore you to cease the supply of funds and arms that are used to kill and maim women, children, and the elderly. While Abiy and his generals bear the primary responsibility for these atrocities, we believe that your intervention can make a significant difference in protecting innocent lives in Ethiopia. We are confident that your highness will agree that it would not be prudent for you to have blood on your hands by continuing the supply of armaments and funds to the dying regime of Abiy Ahmed and jeopardizing the cordial relationship between the people of Ethiopia and the UAE.
We, very kindly, request your urgent attention to this matter and we hope that you will consider our plea for the sake of humanity and the well-being of the Amhara people who are suffering and battling for their very survival as an ethnic group in Ethiopia. Your stance at the right side of history and our people will shape the future of brotherly relations between Ethiopia and your kingdom and country.
Yours sincerely,
Federation of Amhara Association in Europe