May 30, 2024

Re: Letter to Ambassador Masinga

Dear Ambassador Masinga,

We express our sincere gratitude to the United States of America and your commitment to helping to bring about peace in Ethiopia.  We value your unwavering support and call for dialogue in your speech at the American Gibi Centre in Addis. We commend your candor and forthrightness in giving your views on each group involved in the conflict and we appreciate your genuine concerns.  

As our families live in the Amhara region we follow developments very closely and we believe that parts of your statement may stem from misinformation. Let us quote “To those fighting in Amhara, to those that call themselves the Fano, please know that your rejection of dialogue does not serve you well. As in other parts of Ethiopia, it is innocent civilians who are suffering as a result of the continued fighting in battles. Many in Amhara are passionate that their cause is just – if so, you should make those arguments through dialogue and not violence.”

As concerned Ethiopians for the safety of our families, the devastation the war is causing,  the unrest, and the lawlessness the country is going through, we follow the turmoil on a daily basis. We have never heard of any attempt by the government to end the conflict through dialogue or its intention to engage all major players of the country to bring sustainable peace and stability that we have been calling for. So far there has been no invitation or statement made by the government for dialogue that Fano has rejected.  What we have heard is that the Prime Minister was asked why he should not consider dialogue and peaceful resolution to the war in Amhara in a meeting with religious leaders as recently as a few weeks ago. He put it in no uncertain terms “Light has nothing to do with darkness” paraphrasing the bible. In his recent visit to Nekemte, he made a hate speech against Amhara portraying them as a persecutor of Oromo. 

As you are aware Amharas have been a victim of mass murders, displacement, and gross human rights violations in Oromia and other regions since the ascent of Abiy to power. It has been reported as a silent genocide by independent Western media for the international community paid very little attention despite the loss of tens of thousands of innocent lives and millions of internally displaced people. As you said in your speech, widespread arbitrary detention, using rape as a weapon of war and gross human rights violations that lead to the suffering of millions of people have become a norm practiced by the government and its troops in the Amhara as well as Oromia regions now and in Tigray during the two years conflict. 

The Prime Minister, in his speech, called for Oromos “to reconcile, unite and fight those who have subjugated us for 100 years” imitating the false narrative Oromo extremists use to incite violence against the Amhara, calling for more bloodshed and create more rift in already fractured societies

Furthermore, we believe that you are aware of the fact that a significant section of the society who could play vital roles in any dialogue such as Amhara intellectuals, journalists, and prominent politicians are languishing in prison and torture centers. Even ordinary Amhara civilians are being rounded up and put in mass detention sites. We can also be sure that you know of the Koree Negeenya, a killing squad set up and directed by the Prime Minister that assassinates prominent politicians. We have also heard the regime’s reaction to your speech and we are disappointed that it is not open to your idea of dialogue. 

As the Fano resistance started from the grassroots level, as local defence units, we are following their gradual development to unite and come under one umbrella withstanding the massive military campaign against them. We hope that they will unite and elect their leaders who will be able to clarify their position regarding peace negotiations. As this issue is close to our hearts and as we follow it in detail, we hear a lot of information on social media.  We do not doubt that the negative propaganda that is aimed at portraying Fano as barbaric and anti-west is the work of the government itself to discredit them. 

Mr Ambassador, whilst we are behind you in calling for dialogue to end this needless conflict, we feel that your assertion that Fano rejects dialogue is unfair. We have no direct contact with the Fano fighters but not only do we relate to their cause and reasons for rising up against the brutal regime that is aiming to silence the Amhara voices and deny their rights to exist as an ethnic group in Ethiopia but also their core values. As repeatedly said, Fano is fighting a regime that threatens the very existence of Amhara as a people. We, like you, believe that dialogue is the best way forward to stop this unnecessary bloodshed that is splitting our brothers and sisters in two camps, causing immense human suffering, and destroying the fledgling economy for no other reason than to keep the dysfunctional regime that keeps driving the country into more turmoil and causing chaos in the Horn of Africa in power for as long as possible.  We very much hope that your Government and you will be relentless in your efforts to press the government to take steps to protect ordinary civilians, respect human rights, stop its brutality against defenceless civilians and open its doors for all-inclusive dialogue and resolve conflicts through peaceful means and bring about sustainable peace and stability in all parts of the country. 

Dear Ambassador, we urge you to reconsider your statement on Fano and engage with all parties in the conflict in a fair and impartial manner.

Yours sincerely,

Federation of Amhara Association in Europe