Prolonged War and its impacts
March 31st, 2024
Re: Prolonged War and its impacts
The Ethiopian rainy season where much of the farming activities take place is approaching. We are deeply troubled by the prolonged conflict in the Amhara region, which has disrupted agricultural activities and exacerbated food insecurity since access to fertilisers and seeds was denied to the Amhara farmers at the beginning of last farming season followed by a state of emergency declared in August 2023 in a region that is particularly susceptible to climate-related disasters. The lack of international attention to this crisis, possibly overshadowed by other global conflicts, is alarming. The potential for a widespread famine is looming , affecting millions of Amharas in the region and as a major agricultural producer in the country, potentially causing food insecurity and destabilising not only Ethiopia but also the broader Horn of Africa.
The Ethiopian government carries on its ongoing conflict within the Amhara region, with no signs of ending the state of emergency that was used to severely restrict fundamental human rights and lead to the imprisonment of thousands of ethnic Amharas nationwide. Under the pretext of combating the Fano Resistance Forces, the regime’s military invaded the Amhara region, with its forces targeting innocent civilians, including women and children. Tragically, numerous lives have been lost due to indiscriminate drone strikes, heavy artillery shells against civilian targets, extrajudicial killings and executions by government troops.
The regime’s brutality extended to the deliberate destruction of crops, farms, and homes, exacerbating an already dire situation.
As a result of its brutality and unduly draconian suppression, the regime’s Army is resented by ordinary civilians in the region and made the population to be sympathetic to the law-abiding Fanos who are known to respect fundamental human rights, protect public and even government infrastructure as well as banks. In a stark contrast to the regime army’s lawlessness, disregard for human dignity, brute force and atrocities, the high moral value demonstrated by the Fano, is making them to be embraced as a liberating force.
This unfortunately, has repeatedly been followed by retaliatory executions, mass arrests and destruction of property by the regime’s army.
We ask your organisation to recognise the gravity of the situation and mobilise efforts to prevent the looming famine and preventable disaster in the Amhara region that will affect millions of people.
Your organisation could :
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Advocate for lifting of the state of emergency.
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Apply pressure on the government forces to withdraw from the region and find peaceful and political solutions to the conflict.
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Urge the government to allow ordinary farmers to have access to fertilisers and seeds
Time is of the essence, as missing this farming season again to produce crops is a choice between life and death for many Amhara farmers, and urgent action is needed to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe that is set to unfold before us.
Yours sincerely,
Federation of Amhara Association in Europe
የአቋም መግለጫ
31/03/2024
የአቋም መግለጫ
የዐማራ ሕዝብ ከዛሬ ሰላሳ ሁለት ዓመት አንስቶ እየተፈራረቁ ባሉ ዘረኛ አገዛዞች በጠላትነት ተፈርጆ እና በዝግጅቱ ባልተሳተፈበት፤ ምንም በማያዉቀዉና በማያምንበት ዐማራ አግላይ ሕገመንግሥት አማካኝነት ራሱን በነፃነት የማስተዳደር መብቱ ተነፍጎ በሞግዚት አስተዳደር የሚገዛ ሕዝብ መሆኑ ይታወቃል። ይህ በመሆኑም ዐማራዉ በአገሩ እንደ ሌላ ዜጋ የሚታይበትና በየትኛዉም የኢትዮጵያ ክፍል የመንቀሳቀስ ፤ የመኖር እና ሃብት ንብረት የማፍራት መብት የሌለዉ እና በመንግስታዊ መዋቅር ህልዉናዉ አደጋ ላይ የወደቀበት በመሆኑ ዐማራዉ ራሱን ከመጥፋት ለመታደግ የመጨረሻ አማራጭ የሆነዉን ስር ነቀል የስርዓት ለዉጥ ለማምጣት የህልዉና ትግል እያደረገ ይገኛል።
የህልዉና ትግል እያደረገ ያለዉ የዐማራ ፋኖ የሚያደርገዉ ተጋድሎ ፍትኃዊ በመሆኑ ጠላቶቻችን ከአስራ አምስት እስከ ሃምሳ ዓመታት ባደረጉት ትግል ያላሳኩትን በአጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ እያስመዘገበ ያለው ድል ዓለምን ያስደነቀ ሆኗል። በተለይም ከፖለቲካና ወታደራዊ አደረጃጀቱ አንጻር ሲታይ የትጥቅ ትግሉ የደረሰበት ፈጣን የእድገት ደረጃ የላቀ እንደሆነ እሙን ቢሆንም ተገደን የገባንበትን የህልውና ትግል እንደ አንድ ሰው ኾነን በመናበብና በመደጋገፍ ትግሉን በአሸናፊነት ከመደምደም ዉጭ አማራጭ የለንም።
ይህን የህልዉና ትግል ለመደገፍ በዉጭ አገር (ዲያስፖራ) የሚገኘው የዐማራ ተወላጅ እስከ አሁን የሚያደርገው የገንዘብ እና የቁሳቁስ ድጋፍ ተጠያቂነት ባላቸዉ የዐማራ ማኅበራት አማካኝነት በመሆኑ ከምንጊዜዉም በላይ ውጤታማ መሆኑ ይታወቃል። ነገር ግን ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ የተለያዩ የፋኖ አደረጃጀቶች ክፍለሃገርን እና ከዚያም ወረድ ሲል የሚንቀሳቀሱበትን አካባቢ መሰረት በማድረግ የአካባቢዉን ግለሰቦች በኮሚቴ መልክ በማዋቀር የገንዘብ እርዳታ ለማሰባሰብ እየተሰራ ይገኛል። ለዚህም መነሻዉ በዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃ አንድ ወጥ የዐማራ ተወካይ ባለመኖሩ እና እርዳታዉ በተፈለገዉ ወቅት እንዲገኝ ከሚል ከቅንነት የመነጨ መሆኑን መረዳት ይቻላል። በአገር ውስጥም ሆነ ከአገር ውጭ የሚካሄዱ ዘርፈ ብዙ ሴራዎች ከመኖራቸዉ በተጨማሪ ይህ አካሄድ በዘላቂነት የሚቀጥል ከሆነ በህልዉና ትግሉ ላይ አሉታዊ ተፅዕኖ እንዳያመጣ እና እየተመዘገበ ያለዉ አመርቂ ድል እንዳይቀለበስ በአዉሮጳ የዐማራ ማኅበራት ፌደሬሽን ለመላዉ የዐማራ ፋኖ በሚከተሉት ጉዳዮች ላይ ትኩረትና ጥንቃቄ እንዲያደርግ ምክረ ሀሳቦች ያቀርባል።
የማይቆራረጥና ሁሉንም ያማከለ ድጋፍ ለማግኘት ፣ የህልውና ትግሉን ድል ለማፋጠን እና አስተማማኝ ለማድረግ በየአካባቢዉ የተጀመረዉን የእዝ ምስረታ በማጠናከር አንድ የተማከለ አመራር ያለዉ የፋኖ አደረጃጀት ምስረታ በአስቸኳይ እንዲፈፀም አደራ እንላለን።
አንድ ወጥ አደረጃጀት ለማምጣት ጊዜ ቢወስድም በአካባቢና በክፍለሀገር ደረጃ ግለሰቦችን በመወከል የገንዘብ እርዳታ ለማሰባሰብ የሚደረገዉ አካሄድ በዐማራው ላይ ብዥታ ከመፍጠሩም በተጨማሪ አካባቢያዊ ክፍፍል እየፈጠረና የለጋሹንም ፍላጎት እየቀነሰዉ ስለሆነ ይህ አካሄድ እርምት እንዲወስድበት አደራ እንላለን።
በዉጭ አገር አንድ ዓለም አቀፍ የዐማራ ማኅበራት ጥምረት እስኪመሰረት ድረስ የእርዳታ ማሰባሰብ ተግባርና ኃላፊነት የዐማራ ማኅበራትን አሰባስበዉ በያዙ የዐማራ ፌደሬሽኖች አማካኝነት እንዲሆን በጋራ በመመካከር ኃላፊነቱን ብትሰጡ አሁን ያለዉን ችግር ይቀርፋል ብለን እናምናለን።
በዉጭ አገር (ዲያስፖራ) ያለዉ ዐማራ በግልም ኾነ በተደራጀ መልክ የሚያበረክተው አስተዋፆ ለህልዉና ትግሉ ያለዉ ጠቀሜታ ከፍተኛ ነዉ። ነገር ግን የሚደረገው ድጋፍ ፍትሓዊ ክፍፍልና ተደራሽነት ከሌለው ከጥቅሙ ጉዳቱ አመዝኖ ክፍፍል እንዳይፈጠር የገንዘብ አሰባሰቡም ሆነ አላላክ ከአካባቢና ከጎጥ የጸዳ መሆን ይገባዋል። ይህንንም ለማስቀረት መላዉ የዐማራ ፋኖ አቋም እንዲይዝበት እንጠይቃለን።
የህልዉና ትግል በሚደረግበት የትግል ሜዳ ላይ የሚደረጉ የሜዲያ አቀራረቦች ጥንቃቄ የተሞላባቸዉና የተመረጡ ከመኾናቸዉ በተጨማሪ ለዚህ ስራ በተመደቡ የፋኖ ተወካዮች ብቻ መሆን ይገባቸዋል። በተጨማሪም የጠላት አጋር ሜዲያዎችን በመለየት አላስፈላጊ ግንኙነቶችን ከማድረግ እንድትቆጠቡ አደራ እንላለን።
ድል ለፋኖ!!!
ድል ለዐማራ ሕዝብ!!!
በአዉሮጳ የዐማራ ማኅበራት ፌደሬሽን
Extrajudicial executions in Amhara region, Ethiopia
Re: Extrajudicial executions in Amhara region, Ethiopia1
In Ethiopia the state of emergency continues to encourage perpetrators of crimes to commit heinous atrocities with impunity. In the absence of credible justice and accountability serious abuses have become a daily routine. The gravity of these transgressions constitutes crimes against humanity under international law. It is time to end this widespread lack of justice and accountability throughout the country.
Over the past six months, the country-wide state of emergency has given the government extensive powers to arrest suspects without a court warrant, impose curfews, prevent freedom of movement, and ban public assemblies or associations.
Since the state of emergency was declared in August 2023, the Ethiopian media have reported mass arrests in Addis-Ababa, the country’s capital, and in the Amhara region. On 6 February 2024, before the House of People’s Representatives, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed confirmed that thousands of people had been detained. The Amhara opposition has been silenced. Its parliamentarians have had their right to immunity violated by being imprisoned.
Serious human rights that could amount to war crimes under violations of international humanitarian law may constitute war crimes under international law. Extrajudicial executions2 are also violations of the right to life protected by international human rights law, and this is becoming a systematic reality in the Amhara region; innocent Amhara civilians are being subjected to institutional barbarism :
According to eyewitnesses and family members, the victims were shot at close range.
Two months after the first clashes in Bahir-Dar, on 10th October 2023, fighting broke out again in other parts of the city, mainly in the Seba-Tamit neighbourhood.
On 9 February 2024, Amnesty International sent its preliminary conclusions to the Ministry of Justice. At the time we are writing, the organisation has yet to receive a response.
We urge that the perpetrators of the crimes committed be held accountable.
We urge that the international community take immediate steps to ensure that an independent inquiry is conducted into the human rights situation in Ethiopia.
We also urge that a process is established to follow up on the findings of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE).
Yours sincerely,
Federation of Amhara Association in Europe
The Internet blockade in Amhara region, Ethiopia
Re: The Internet blockade in Amhara region, Ethiopia
It is becoming apparent that criminal acts of the Abiy Ahmed’s regime are coming out to the attention of some credible international media outlets. Voices are being raised (both from inside the country and abroad) loud and clear calling for independent investigation. Local and international media should be granted access to the Amhara region in order to investigate, document and report human rights violations committed under the state of emergency. Since the state of emergency imposed on 02 August 2023 (and extended on February 2, 2024), Abiy Ahmed’s forces have been operating with total impunity and audacity with no regard to their national or international obligation.
In its statement of August 14, 2023, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission underscored “the actual and potential impact of the conflict and measures that should be taken by state security forces on the human rights situation, particularly on civilians, urged for a peaceful resolution of the crisis and immediate measures to be implemented to protect civilians. EHRC also continues monitoring the human rights impact of the State of Emergency (SoE) by engaging with the SoE Command Post, the SoE Inquiry Board, and relevant government bodies as well as other relevant government security actors with a great deal of difficulty“
Already, 220 days have passed since the Ethiopian authorities cut Internet access off in the Amhara region. This act of control of online space in an attempt to manipulate narratives has deprived millions of people of access to vital communication channels during an active conflict and restricted any footage or reports of gross human rights violations from coming out of the region.
At a time when millions of people are suffering due to the needless conflict , causing an imaginable crisis and suffering the worst of its kind in the country’s history, communities are cut off from the rest of the country and prevented not just from freedom of movement, trading and business but also communication and information. Thus, they are unable to share their stories or seek any assistance or help. The Ethiopian government must stop using Internet blackouts as a weapon and prioritize the security, needs and rights of its people.
ARTICLE 19 of the UN resolution on human rights on the Internet welcomes the adoption of a resolution on “the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet” at the UN Human Rights Council. The resolution – led by a core group of Brazil, Nigeria, Sweden, Tunisia and the United States, and co-sponsored by 70 countries from all regions – was adopted by a vote with strong support at the Council on 13 July 2021. This is now the fifth in a series of resolutions with the same title, the first of which was adopted in 2012.
We call on the international community to press the Ethiopian authorities to restore access to Internet connection and communications, grant independent media and international organisations immediate access to the Amhara region and conduct an open and transparent investigation of human rights violations committed under the state of emergency.
Yours sincerely,
Federation of Amhara Association in Europe
Few testimonies from : www.accesnow.org :
Anonymous / Date: October 25, 2023 – ongoing /Area: Amhara region / Engineer
“The ongoing internet shutdown has affected diverse aspects of my life:
Emotionally, as I am unable to reach out to family and friends, nor to share my ideas on social media.
Politically, as I can’t express my point of view or opinion to the rest of the world. Moreover, I cannot access or receive any updates regarding what is happening in the world.
Financially. At a time when technology has become an integral part of people’s lives, we are unable to access or provide services, including online shopping or online marketing platforms.”
GK / Date: October 25, 2023 – ongoing / Area: Amhara region
“It has demonstrated that companies like Ethio-Telecom and Safaricom are not run independently, but are instead agents of the ruling party.”
“Firstly, it has confirmed that we live under a tyrannical and unjust administration, exemplified by the fact that it doesn’t abide by any rule of law and changes its nature like a chameleon.
Secondly, it has demonstrated that companies like Ethio-Telecom and Safaricom are not run independently, but are instead agents of the ruling party. Thirdly, the economic, social, and psychological crisis the shutdown has created is far from negligible; it has greatly impacted people whose personal, academic, and professional lives are intertwined with the internet. To some, it is a type of sanction comparable to incarceration. Finally, the shutdown means that several crimes committed by the government, including genocide, remain hidden from the world”
Adugnaw Belay / Date: August 3, 2023 – ongoing /Area: Bahir Dar, Gondar, and Gojjam / Risk manager
“It is incredibly emotionally hard to be disconnected from family members for this long.”
“I am based in Canada, but my sisters live in Bahir Dar, my brother-in-law lives in Gondar, and my extended family members live in different towns in Gojjam. Since the start of the complete shutdown, we’ve been unable to communicate regularly with each other. Instead of using services like WhatsApp, we’re having to use extremely expensive traditional telephone calls to stay in touch at intervals.
Given the bloody war against the civilian population, it has been hard to hear at all from many family members in the Amhara region. Since the conflict started, I haven’t heard anything from my cousin Abeba, who lives in Wollo. It is incredibly emotionally hard to be disconnected from family members for this long. I am also unable to send them remittances, as the region’s banking system has been cut off by the shutdown; a worrying development that could crush economic and financial activities long-term. The shutdown is also affecting the agricultural and farming sector, meaning that my family members working in agriculture need increased support. I am very worried that I won’t be able to meet their demands, if the fighting and internet blockade persist. The government is clearly taking such measures to hide the gruesome civilian massacres and drone bombings, which amount to war crimes.”