Statement from National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) on H.R. 6600

Statement on “H.R. 6600 — 117th Congress: Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace, and Democracy Act” and “S. 3199 — 117th Congress: Ethiopia Peace and Stabilization Act of 2022”

NaMA Calls on all Ethiopians, the Ethiopian Diaspora and Friends of Ethiopia to stand in unison against H.R. 6600 and S. 3199 Bills and Work together for the Rejection of the Bills

 

The National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) has been actively following up the initiation and developments of the two Bills at the US House and Senate, namely; “H.R. 6600 — 117th Congress: Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace, and Democracy Act” and “S. 3 199 — 117th Congress: Ethiopia Peace and Stabilization Act of 2022” in the House and Senate of the United States of America, respectively. NaMA has been carefully and attentively studying the motives and contents of the Bills; and, their possible consequences if passed into law.

 

NaMA values and cherishes the century old historic friendship and diplomacy our country has had with the United States of America. Our party is committed to play its part to strengthen and promote our country’s bilateral relationship with the United States of America, as well as to enhance the people to people relationship which our sisterly countries have enjoyed for long. NaMA understands and shares the concern the Sponsors and Co-sponsors of the Bills have had regarding the current state of affairs of our country Ethiopia, and extends its gratitude for their commitment to support the stability, peace and democracy of our country. It is also NaMA’s firm stand that authorities in the Federal and Regional Governments, insurgent groups as well as any other actors involved in human rights violations must be held accountable.

 

However, NaMA, having carefully looked into the contents of both Bills, found H.R. 6600 and S. 3199 perplexing and sarcastically antagonizing the name they bear. The Bills, if passed into law, would unleash turmoil, anarchy and ultimately autocracy rather than promoting stability, peace and democracy in Ethiopia. Moreover, the Bills would cause an economic stagnation and recession for which only the ordinary people of Ethiopia would bear its costs. NaMA believes any good intention to broker peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia must also ensure that it doesn’t pave the road to hell, and must differentiate between the People of Ethiopia, the State and the People in Power. The proposed Bills failed to demarcate a boundary between the ordinary Ethiopian people, the Ethiopian State and the People in Power in the incumbent government.

 

Compromising the proud history of Ethiopia and undermining the independence of one of the longest surviving independent states on earth, the proposed Bills have clearly designed a plan to micromanage the internal affairs of a sovereign state and put Ethiopia effectively under trusteeship of a few Aid Agencies such as USAID of the United States of America. The Bills proposed would seriously hamper the historic relationship both countries have sustained for long, undermines the democratization process, and exacerbates the current security quagmire our country is in. NaMA believes the proposed Bills are being prescribed for a wrong diagnosis of a political malaise Ethiopia is currently experiencing. There are innumerable number of legitimate and valid reasons to oppose the passing into law of the Bills, a few of them are the following.  

 

1. An Equal Footing of the Ethiopian State with the Terrorist TPLF

 

NaMA is concerned about the equal footing of the Ethiopian state with TPLF, a terrorist organization listed in the Global Terrorism Database as far back as 1976 and designated as such by a parliamentary resolution adopted on 01 May 2021 by the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The current security quagmire we have found ourselves is a consequence of decades old policies introduced and implemented by the very party which also unprovokedly attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and waged a premeditated war on the people and government of Ethiopia, in the mid night of November 3, 2020. Both Bills overlooked the raison d’être of the conflict, absolved decades old atrocious crimes expansionist and terrorist TPLF have had committed on the people of Ethiopia in general, and on the Amhara people in particular and failed to appreciate the existential threat TPLF posed on the Ethiopian body politic.

 

TPLF is a terrorist organization of which leaders publicly and unashamedly sworn a solemn oath to dismantle the Ethiopian state going down to the hell. A peaceful, democratic and unified Ethiopia which the Bills envisioned is unattainable goal without characterizing, designating and treating TPLF the way it is i.e., none other than a terrorist organization. The sponsors of the Bills and its co-sponsors shouldn’t make TPLF synonymous with the people of Tigray. The narrative spearheaded by TPLF and echoed by its supporters doesn’t fit well with the voices of ordinary Tigrayans living in Tigray as exposed by the recently published empirical research, by Professor Ann Fitz-Gerald, titled as “The Frontline Voices: Tigrayans Speak on the Realities of Life under an Insurgency Regime”. The first empirical research in its kind concerning the conflict in the Northern Ethiopia disproved and ridiculed the narration, which portrayed TPLF as a legitimate representative of the people of Tigray.    

 

The findings of the empirical research established the grassroots Tigrayans’ opinion on the ongoing conflict in Northern Ethiopia is that there could be no peace in Tigray as long as the TPLF existed. Hence, the predicaments the people of Tigray currently find itself is chiefly caused by TPLF itself which took a hostage and demand a ransom, in the name of humanitarian aid, on the very people it claims it represents to fulfill its narrow interests. NaMA believes the better way to help the people of Tigray is to neutralize the hostage takers. Consequently, NaMA calls the Sponsors and Co-sponsors of the Bills to diagnose the current political malaise properly, drop the Bills, and play their part constructively.

 

2. It is the Ordinary Ethiopian People on the receiving end of the sanctions, Not the People in Power

 

NaMA believes the proposed economic sanctions embedded in the Bills dearly cost neither the People in Power nor the insurgent TPLF, and will only levy a hefty price on the ordinary people of Ethiopia. The proposed Bills require withholding bilateral economic cooperation the United States of America has with Ethiopia and curtail the provision of loans and the multilateral economic cooperation in which the United States of America has a stake. In a scenario where development partners of Ethiopia such as World Bank Group (WBG), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the African Development Bank (AfDB) withhold financing facilities, it would be too difficult to finance essential agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilizers let alone financing basic infrastructure development projects that fulfill the development aspirations of the Ethiopian people.

 

The proposed economic sanctions listed in the Bills would spiral inflation and result in scarcity of basic commodities on top of taking hostage the development aspirations of the Ethiopian people. The result would be inflating the number of people who need aid, more starvation and exacerbate the current humanitarian crises which the Bills ironically promised to prevent. As often times witnessed in different instances around the world, governments, people in power and political entities are least affected subjects of enforced sanctions and it is the ordinary people who found themselves on the receiving end of such measures. Hence, NaMA calls on the Sponsors and Co-sponsors of the Bills to reconsider the consequences of their proposals and withdraw the Bills under deliberation.

 

3. Window Dressing Accountability for the Gross Human Rights Violations

 

To the dismay of some groups/ activists who naively supported the initiative believing the Bills would address all atrocious crimes being committed in all corners of the country, Section 10(a) of S. 3199 made it clear that atrocious crimes being committed in other parts of the country except in Tigray are not the business of the Bill and the Bill only authorizes the President of the United States of America to provide technical and diplomatic support including support for activities related to evidence preservation and information sharing to promote accountability for gross human rights violations that took place in the 6 months preceding the outbreak of the civil conflict and have taken place in the course of the civil conflict. Same is the texts of H.R. 6600 and the intentions of its Sponsors, except adding a phrase “other conflicts in Ethiopia” as a tool of appeasement for groups who expressed support to the bills, with not even a single mention of TPLF’s official allies, OLF-Shene and Gumuz militias, in the entire texts of the Bills.

 

NaMA believes the gross human rights violations committed in all corners of our country are not isolated incidents, but are highly interwoven with terrorist TPLF and are extensions of atrocious crimes committed under TPLF’s brutal reign which engineered state sponsored genocide against the Amhara People as recently revealed in Wolkait by the researchers of University of Gondar. NaMA opposes the selective and piecemeal approach taken by the Sponsors of the Bills. It’s NaMA’s firm stand that atrocity determination and any intervention to ensure accountability for gross human rights violations should cover not just the Northern part of the country and violations that have taken place in the course of the conflict as provided in the Bills but also the active-recurrent-decades-old systemic gross human rights violations which are undergoing against the people of Amhara and the time-frame since TPLF was in charge of the central government of Ethiopia, if the interventions are meant to support a genuine peace and reconciliation effort.

 

Moreover, our Party believes the proposed interventions to tackle gross Human Rights violations failed to recognize the sovereignty of Ethiopia and would undermine building domestic institutional capacities, which the Bills promised to support. Even though NaMA recognizes the recurrent gross human rights violations that are going on in all corners of the country, is always vocal against the ongoing atrocious crimes and is also committed to play its part to hold accountable all perpetrators of human rights violations, We, at the National Movement of Amhara, believe that Ethiopia is not a failed state despite facing multiple challenges and our proud history necessitates the preservation of our country’s independence.

 

Most importantly, our Party believes that the underlying causes for the ongoing recurrent gross human rights violations are structural and systemic embedded in the constitutional order and the archaic administrative arrangements masterminded and put in place by TPLF. Hence, the solution is from within and no alien intervention will redeem systemic failures we have faced. Any effort to tackle gross Human Rights violations and bring about peace and reconciliation in our country by international actors shouldn’t replace the sovereign powers of the Ethiopian state and its institutions.

 

Therefore, NaMA opposes window dressing accountability for gross human rights violations, reject the piecemeal and selective approach spearheaded by the Sponsors of the Bills, and disapprove the determination and designation of atrocities, genocide and war crimes by foreign institutions as proposed by the Bills. We, at NaMA, urge the Sponsors and Co-sponsors of the Bills to abort the proposed Bills, support the ongoing joint investigation by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). NaMA demands the joint investigation to expand its scope in timeline as well as geographic reach and add to its mandate to investigate the brutal reign of TPLF in the center, the interwoven relationship of atrocious crimes being committed in all parts of the country, and investigate the active-recurrent-decades-old Crimes against Humanity, Ethnic Cleansing and the Crime of Genocide committed on the people of Amhara.

 

4. Disarming the Ethiopian State and Incapacitating the Ethiopian Diaspora

 

Section 8(a) of S. 3199 requires the United States Government to immediately suspend all security assistance being provided to the Government of Ethiopia. Section 11 of S. 3199 and Section 9 of H.R. 6600 also require scrutinizing the sale or transfer of arms or weapons our country may acquire or procure from its peer sovereign states, including the procurement of strategic weapons such as drones and aircrafts. It’s crystal clear that such clauses don’t affect insurgent groups such as TPLF, since their supply of arms and weapons are usually carried out through underground deals but effectively limit the Ethiopian state capability to access arms and weapons. As any other sovereign state, Ethiopia has friends and foes near and afar. Disarming the Ethiopian state under the guise of peace and reconciliation will only make the country vulnerable to its sworn enemies and risk its survival.

 

Section 11 of S. 3199 also requires scrutinizing the full extent involvement of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the military activities of their country either through on the ground fighting or support operations, financial or logistical support from abroad effectively putting on hold the vibrant Ethiopian Diaspora out of service in times of need by their country. We all know what the No More Movement has accomplished in defense of our country when the entire establishment of the Mainstream Media (MSM) has thrown its weight behind the disinformation and misinformation campaign spearheaded by the Global Network of TPLF and risked the disintegration of our country. With the passing of the Bills into law, the Ethiopian Diaspora will be incapacitated, the diaspora Movements will be limited and Ethiopian Diaspora could never be able to extend their helping hands when their country badly needs their support.                

 

The proposed security sanctions embedded in the Bills will disproportionately affect the defense capability of the Ethiopian state, rips off the sovereign power of the state to have monopoly of violence, disarms the defenders of the nation, intimidates the Ethiopian Diaspora and favors the terrorist TPLF and its allies. This is why the entire Global Network home and abroad run by TPLF have tirelessly and desperately worked, financed and campaigned to support the Sponsors of the Bills and to pass the Bills into law as a desperate substitute to achieve a political goal, which TPLF failed to materialize through violence and war. Hence, NaMA opposes the Bills, calls on the Sponsors and Cosponsors of the Bills not to fall on the tricks of a Global Network run by TPLF and its paid lobbyists, and work for a strong and unified Ethiopia.                  

 

Hence, the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA):

 

• Calls on the Sponsors and Co-sponsors of the Bills, particularly on Senator Robert “Bob” Menendez and Congressman Tom Malinowski, in the Senate and House of the United States of America to reconsider their position and withdraw their sponsorship of the Bills they initiated;

 

• Calls on the House and Senate of the United States of America congress to reject “H.R. 6600 — 117th Congress: Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace, and Democracy Act” and “S. 3199 — 117th Congress: Ethiopia Peace and Stabilization Act of 2022”, respectively and kill the Bills at their respective floors;

 

• Calls on all Ethiopians home and abroad, the Ethiopian Diaspora and friends of Ethiopia in the United States Government as well as around the world to stand in unison against Bills, H.R. 6600 and S. 3199, and work for their elimination;

 

• Calls on the Federal Government of Ethiopia to exert its maximum effort to fight and kill the Bills; 

 

• Calls on the Sponsors and Co-sponsors of the Bills to support the ongoing joint investigation by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR);

 

• Calls on the joint investigation of the EHRC and the United Nations OHCHR to expand its scope in timeline as well as geographic reach; and, add to its mandate to investigate the brutal reign of TPLF in the center, the interwoven relationship of atrocious crimes being committed in all parts of the country, and investigate the active-recurrent-decades-old Crimes against Humanity, Ethnic Cleansing and the Crime of Genocide committed on the people of Amhara.

 

 National Movement of Amhara (NaMA)

Addis Ababa, Shewa, Ethiopia

4 May 2022

Cyber attacks targeting the Renaissance Dam failed.

 The administration said that cyber attacks targeting the Renaissance Dam and financial institutions have failed.

Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Information Network Security Administration says cyber attacks targeting Renaissance Dam and major financial institutions have failed.

Information Network Security Administration Director General Shumete Gizaw (Dr.) said the organization, which is supported by countries that do not want peace and development, has launched a cyber war called "Black Pyramid War" to disrupt the construction of the Renaissance Dam.

However, those who conspired to destroy it said that their dream had come true.

He also said that an attempt was made to disrupt the Renaissance Dam by attacking 37,000 computers used by financial institutions.

He said the attacks had been stopped by the Information Security Administration without any harm.

He said cyber-attacks are expected to intensify once the Renaissance Dam starts generating power.

He said the company is working closely with the construction and control of the Renaissance Dam to implement strong cyber security.

Regarding the dam, he said the cyber environment will be closely monitored, from manufacturing to construction materials.

He said cyber-attacks on the Renaissance Dam had so far been unsuccessful, adding that similar attacks were still being carried out on financial institutions.

Like energy companies, financial institutions are also a target for cyber-attacks, he said.

They say it is important to anticipate, plan and implement measures to prevent cyber-attacks.

He said the cyber-attacks on financial institutions could have serious consequences if they were to break into.

He urged the financial institutions to make the necessary arrangements to protect themselves from such attacks.

• A LARGE NUMBER OF MASS GRAVES HAVE BEEN FOUND WHERE THE AMHARAS WERE MASSACRED

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The strategic importance of Wolkait!

 The strategic importance of Wolkait! by Amdemariam Ezra

 The strategic importance of Wolkait!

To provide the reader with a basic understanding of this analysis, the area we call 'Wolkait' includes Tegede and Setit Humera.

As Amhara, our first priority is to reclaim our lost identity; Our people who have been victims of genocide just because they are from Amhara are free from the direct threat of extinction, their Amhara identity has been revitalized, their damaged psyche has been repaired, their Amhara administration's independence has been realized, and we have demanded justice and compensation for thirty years. In this article, we will look at the strategic importance of the environment.

We will examine the evidence that this is a matter of protecting Ethiopia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

• STATEMENT ON THE JOINT REPORTS OF THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

We will take a closer look at Wolkait as a regional political hub and the core of our national security.

We are the guards of Tekeze. Have a good read!

The geo-political significance of Wolkait is crucial for Ethiopia's dominance in the region. For the people of Amhara, it is all about. It is too late to understand this. "Wolkait is for the people of Amhara," he said. It is of great national and regional significance and is a source of pride and pride for the people of Amhara. Therefore, the removal of Wolkait from Amhara is detrimental to both Ethiopia and the people of Amhara. It opens the door for the Thanganians to establish their Dedebit nightmare "Greater Tigray". That is why the Tigrayans see Wolkait as a death knell.

The TPLF will have another chance to weaken Ethiopia and Amhara by regaining control of Wolkait and its environs!

TNG controls Wolkait, strengthens ties with Sudan By creating unlimited and self-directed external connections; He uses it to fulfill his dream of becoming a nation. His treason shows that he wants to seize Ethiopian land from Humera to Benishangul Gumuz in collaboration with the Sudanese military. In addition, with the help of their weapons, they are attacking Ethiopia, the central government and the Amhara National Regional State. T-TPLF forces use anti-Ethiopian propaganda on an equal footing with the Egyptian media because they have a common ground to destroy Ethiopia.

If the TNGs succeed in this process, they will realize the formation of the "Great Tragy" by including the land that they have shown on their Benishangul-Gumz region and on their imagination map. The Sudanese military, on the other hand, will easily take over "Allen" land from Ethiopia with an uncertain historical background and legal framework. This is their wish. They have shown us their willingness to do so and their proximity and public support. At the moment, these are just a few of the foreign powers that are trying to influence the TPLF. In particular, they need a gateway to Tigray to provide weapons and logistics. This door is Wolkait.

The Rayana area is second to none because it is not as important and convenient for the legislature and the foreign powers that want to establish the "Banana Republic". As a result, Egypt's pro-Western powers are determined to violate the principle of prioritizing Wolkait over Raya. This (Wolkait Amhara) '' [a people] to govern itself; He was deprived of his basic rights to be educated in his mother tongue, to be appointed to a hearing in his native language, and to receive religious services. They are engaged in anti-democracy and anti-sovereignty campaigns. If they succeed in doing so, they will use weapons and other necessary military logistics into Tigray, creating a weakened Ethiopia and maintaining their regional supremacy.

Read more: The man (part two) is an amazing story

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Throughout the process, the Ethiopian government has been able to eliminate those who say they are not "obedient to us" through the TPLF. Otherwise, they will try to make it weak. In order to achieve this nefarious goal, they have taken Wolkait as an important strategic agenda to bring Wolkait into the hands of the anti-Ethiopian forces.

In light of our current politics, Wolkait is a place to be seen as a beacon for Ethiopia and Ethiopians!

As attempted to lift, The accusations of foreign powers seeking to create a puppet government are not based on history or reality; In terms of temporal interest and the strategic importance of geo-politics. That is why they consider Wolkait very important. Although these foreign powers have not lost sight of the fact that Wolkait is a historical part of Begemder, the territory of Amhara; Against the Ethiopian government At the same time, they are trying to exert as much influence as possible on the government and people of the Amhara region. Unless these parties re-examine their foreign policy and do not want to adapt to the current situation (although it may not be far-fetched) in the long run, they may seem to be pushing for Wolkait to surrender to the anti-Ethiopian force. While it is clear that aiding and abetting terrorism is a major factor in supporting terrorism, it is clear that its role is destructive to the region.

The Ethiopian government and people: To keep Wolkait out of their hands, To supervise the zone and to enforce it to the legitimate Amhara National Regional State; They have more reason and interest than anyone else. For betraying Ethiopia and betraying our defense forces; It also means handing over Wolkait to the TPLF, which has made it clear that it wants to establish a "Greater Tigray." It is as dangerous as a fire on Ethiopia's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Moreover, it is tantamount to betraying a country.

The TPLF, which is working with Ethiopia's enemies to prevent the completion of the Renaissance Dam project, which is built on the common property of the Ethiopian Nationalities and Nationalities, has gained a geographical advantage of moving freely to a neighboring country. Therefore, we call on all Ethiopian nationalities who do not compromise on territorial integrity and sovereignty in Ethiopia to stand by the people of Amhara. In our current and future politics, the Wolkait issue is related to Ethiopia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Another issue we consider to be Wolkait's case is: Wolkait is another option for Ethiopia because of its geographical location. This means that the port of Mtswa is located 400 km from Humera. It meets the needs of the export market for a wide range of market needs and capabilities in northwestern Ethiopia. This port option will strengthen our overall relationship with Eritrea; It gives us more opportunities to maintain our common peace and security.

On the other hand, Wolkait and its environs, which were under the apartheid regime of TNG, will be the next largest source of employment opportunities for young people from all over Ethiopia. The Tigrean language is no longer a source of wealth, as has been the case for the past thirty years. As a result, Wolkait and its environs will be the source of our common prosperity in a spirit of brotherhood, and will be Ethiopia's developmental corridor.

The fact that there are young job seekers coming from all over the country to collect the vast range of sesame, cotton, sorghum, wild gum, etc. produced in the area indicates that Wolkait and its environs are for all Ethiopians, not just one area / Amhara. Therefore, every Ethiopian should take Wolkait's case seriously.

If the TPLF regains Wolkait by any means, it will disintegrate Ethiopia and form the "Greater Tigray". Wolkait should be their common red line, as the Ethiopian nation and nationalities are unwilling to deal with the common national security threat.

The guards of Tekeze

Wall From Tekeze Politics to Red Sea Geo-Politics

• A LARGE NUMBER OF MASS GRAVES HAVE BEEN FOUND WHERE THE AMHARAS WERE MASSACRED

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Statement on the Joint Reports of the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch

 Statement on the Joint Reports of the Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) on allegations of Human Rights Violations in Wolkait “Western Tigray”

“Accuse the other Side of that which you are Guilty” – the quote that perfectly portrays the modus operandi of terrorist TPLF.

Statement on the Joint Reports of the Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch From National Movement of Amhara

Having a firm stand on the respect and protection of human rights, the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) read thoroughly the joint “Investigation” reports of Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), released on April 06, 2022. Though NaMA supports and respects any genuine fact finding missions for the protection and respect of human rights by any party including AI and HRW, NaMA strongly condemns any sinister and concerted effort to weaponize allegations of human rights violations and to intentionally help a war effort waged by a notorious terrorist organization such as TPLF.

The report released by the twin human rights organizations is severely short of universally recognized standards of investigations in its data collection methods, presentation of facts, analysis, findings, conclusions and recommendations. It is an “investigation” entirely relied on hearsay, with no relevant documentation, lacks material evidence and is full of unverified wild statements that would have been rectified had there been a little good will and diligence.

In a nutshell, it is an arbitrary ruling than an “investigation” report that acquits and awards the aggressor while it blames the victims, jeopardizing decades’ long struggle for the restoration of identity and a quest for survival of Wolkait Amharas. It is directed towards enabling the aggressor, suppressing the victims and a substitute to achieve a political goal which TPLF failed to materialize through violence and war. Given the deficits of the report, it is possible to write hundreds of pages refuting and exposing countless and sever deficits of the report. However, this statement focuses on prima facie deficits of the report as a manifestation of the substantive flaws of the “investigation”.

1. The Joint Report takes a position on Wolkait (Wolkait, Tsegede and Humera Zone) and awards Wolkait to TPLF’s Greater Tigray project

Even though the report stated that the twin organizations didn’t take a position on the dispute between the warring parties or which group or authorities should control a territory, it failed to manifest its neutrality and impartiality from the outset. The expression used in the title of the report is “Western Tigray” betraying the millennia old names of the territory i.e., Wolkait. Except the last three decades where the TPLF forcefully annexed Wolkait naming the territory as “Western Tigray”, nowhere in the history of Wolkait that the territory was associated with Tigray and Tigrayans in name and in practice. Hence, the joint report took a stand in favor of expansionist TPLF’s war efforts by addressing Wolkait with an expression designated by the aggressor and jeopardized decades’ old identity restoration struggle and survival quest of the Wolkait Amharas.

2. A Misleading Premise and a Misinforming Background

The joint report provided a misleading premise of the report and misinforming background of the “investigation”. The Report premised on a false account of the incorporation of Wolkait into Tigray as if Wolkait was incorporated following the formation and decision of a Boundary Commission in 1992 by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia. There was never been a Boundary Commission created and went functional in 1992 and thereafter till the downfall of TPLF. The fictitious statement was intentionally inserted in a deliberate attempt to legitimatize the annexation of Wolkait. The only act that formed the boundary of regional governments was Proclamation No 7/1992 a Proclamation that provides for the Establishment of National/Regional Self Governments signed by none other than Meles Zenawi, the then Chief priest of TPLF.

Proclamation No 7/1992 established no Boundary Commission and to the dismay of expansionist TPLF it didn’t list and incorporate Wolkait and Wolkait Amharas as an integral part of Tigray while it lists Tigray, Saho and Kunama as constituents of Region One, Tigray [Article 3 of the Proclamation]. Article 4 of the Proclamation introduced criteria for the Delimitations of National Self-Governments’ Borders. In all the three accounts of the criteria set by the proclamation, Wolkait Amharas can’t be incorporated into Tigray and none of the criteria allowed Tigray to legitimately claim Wolkait, let alone incorporating it in to its territory. Consequently, even the Proclamation enacted by TPLF itself failed to justify and legitimize the forceful annexation of Wolkait into Tigray. This is a material fact which the “Investigation” report skipped and invented a fictitious “Boundary Commission Decision” as a background in a desperate attempt to legitimize a forceful annexation and to provide an artificial “Disputed Territory” narration.

TPLF forcefully annexed Wolkait and incorporated it into its Greater Tigray project with no legal and institutional backup long before the adoption of the Transitional Charter, the enactment of Proclamation No 7/1992 to provide for the Establishment of National/Regional Self Governments which also failed to legitimize the annexation and with no formation of a Boundary Commission. This is why the National Movement of Amhara strongly argues that the question of Wolkait has nothing to do with law and legality. It was annexed through violence and force, and thus when the force is removed Wolkait remains Amhara and an Amhara territory. Therefore, the joint report’s futile attempt to provide a legitimate excuse for the annexation of Wolkait by framing a misleading premise and inventing a misinforming background is objectionable and needs to be rectified if AI and HRW care for their good will and reputation.

3. Fabricating Numbers and Manufacturing Evidence

The allegation of the report is “Crimes against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing”. In order to make the case presentable and convincing the authors of the report had to have enough number of people being evicted from Wolkait. Accordingly, the joint report opened its summary asserting that hundreds of thousands of Tigrayans living in Wolkait “Western Tigray” were displaced. The report, referring to the Tigrayan Interim Administration, asserted that 723,000 Tigrayans were displaced into Tigray and, quoting the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 51,207 Tigrayans were displaced in to Eastern Sudan. According to the report, a total number of 774,207 ethnic Tigrayans were displaced from Wolkait “Western Tigray”. Had the AI and HRW joint investigation purpose was fact finding and redressing alleged wrong doings, they would have easily made fact checking and get to the bottom of the truth before they publish a bogus report of which content one could easily refute and ridicule.

It is a matter of simple mathematics that in order to expel 774,207 ethnic Tigrayans from Wolkait “Western Tigray”, the total number of ethnic Tigrayans residing in Wolkait before the war erupts must be more than or at least equal to the number of expelled ethnic Tigrayans. For any prudent investigator, it is a proper procedure to make a little research on the subject of the investigation and cross-check the allegations before it announces its findings. Total number of residents, including all ethnicities, in Wolkait before the war erupts was very well known and available in the official websites of the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency as well as in the websites of the United Nations Agencies including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. However, the joint “investigation” report didn’t bother to follow simple procedure and make a simple fact-checking.

Let’s present the data regarding total number of residents in Wolkait before TPLF attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and waged war on the people of Ethiopia in the mid night of November 3, 2020. Total number of residents in Wolkait “Western Tigray Zone” was 410,662 as per the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency’s Population Projection Values of 2014. In 2017, the total number of the population was projected to be 434,879 by the Agency. The Agency reported that the total number of residents of “Western Tigray” in 2019 was 451,541. The data and reports of the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency regarding the total number of residents in Wolkait “Western Tigray” are consistent. These population projection values were made based on Population and Housing Census conducted at the time when TPLF was in charge of the Federal Government and firmly controls the National Census. Consistent with the official data, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also reported that the total number of residents in Wolkait “Western Tigray” before the war erupts was 467,890.

Please pay attention, these numbers represent all ethnicities in Wolkait not just Tigrayans only. However, the joint “investigation” unashamedly asserted that 774,207 ethnic Tigrayans were evicted from Wolkait “Western Tigray”, a number that almost doubles the total number of residents in Wolkait. Even though all these data were available online a click away at their computers, the authors of the joint “investigation” willfully and consciously skipped them and published a fabricated, unsubstantiated and unsupported data in order to qualify the bogus criminal charges of “Crimes against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing” they pressed against the victims of the TPLF’s war of aggression i.e., the Amhara people and its leading personalities. If the authors of the report fail to cross-check facts that are publicly and openly available a click away at their computers, how on earth they are able to verify and cross-check information gathered from a remote telephone interviews administered to 427 informants? The answer is the obvious. They didn’t, they don’t and they can’t.

Since the forceful annexation of Wolkait, the expansionist TPLF practiced various criminal tactics namely; physical and numerical genocide of Wolkait Amharas, killing and expelling Wolkait Amharas en masse as well as settling as many Tigrayans as possible and exaggerating the number of Tigrayans settled in Wolkait. As a result, close to 60,000 Wolkait Amharas were killed and disappeared as revealed by the findings of University of Gondar researchers who conducted their research for more than a year by physically being there and engaging the very victims at the very places and sites the crimes were committed, not a remote phone interview. Alongside the physical genocide, TPLF administered numerical genocide whereby TPLF counted Wolkait Amharas as Tigrayans in denial of their existence. Those hundreds of thousands of Wolkait Amharas subjected to the numerical genocide are the overwhelming majority of Wolkait residents; currently, well and alive living in hard won freedom in today’s Wolkait. Additionally, TPLF in a desperate attempt to change the demography settled more than thirty thousand demobilized TPLF fighters and thousands of Tigrayan refugees it brought from Sudan.

Though TPLF desperately tried to change the Wolkait demography through settlement of Tigrayans, the more important tactic it employed was inflating and exaggerating the number of Tigrayans it settled. It repetitively claimed through formal and informal channels that it had settled close to a million Tigrayans in Wolkait convincing unsuspecting people left and right. TPLF deployed this tactic with a goal to settle as many Tigrayans as possible under the guise of internally displaced people and to reclaim Wolkait. It is this fake number, propagated for long by TPLF, which the joint “investigation” bought and reported as evicted Tigrayans, not actual Wolkait residents.

Having reported a non-existing and fictitious number that incriminates victims and serves the interests of the aggressor, AI and HRW failed the cause they professed to uphold and defend. The National Movement of Amhara calls on both organizations to withdraw their “Investigation” report, cancel their findings and recommendations.

4. Only Wolkait “Western Tigray”

The scope of the investigation is one of the many indicators that demonstrate the bias and partiality of the “investigation”. The timeline the report covers is from early November 2020 up to December 2021. In this timeline, the war was fought in several territories including most parts of Amhara Region and Afar Region where TPLF committed atrocious crimes killing thousands of unarmed civilians. In addition, TPLF used rape as a weapon of war in multiple places such as Chena, Kobo and Afar’s Kalikuma on the people of Amhara and Afar amounting Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes as established by the findings of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. In fact, in much of this timeline, no military conflict happened in Wolkait “West Tigray” except in the first few weeks of early November 2020, where TPLF-led militias and Samri Group committed massacre of more than 1,600 ethnic Amharas in MaiKadra before they left behind Wolkait. However, the joint report skipped all other places that, if investigated, would have exposed TPLF and its atrocious crimes. For this and other countless reasons, the joint report proved itself selective and partial.

5. “Accuse the other Side of that which you are Guilty”

The findings of the “investigation” are “Crimes against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing” of which standard of proof is usually a standard of “beyond reasonable doubt” in order to ensure accurate, impartial and non-arbitrary findings. However, the evidences presented in the “investigation” report were well below possible standard of evidence that any genuine fact finding mission could never rely on to justify an allegation of “Crimes against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing”. The entire “investigation” report seemed to revolve around an aphorism “the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” in a desperate attempt to establish a case of “Crimes against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing” at any cost.

The authors of the report stated that they conducted 427 remote telephone interviews between March 2021 and March 2022. As per the report, the respondents of the interviews were only ethnic Tigrayans and all other ethnicities are excluded. There is no wrong to make ethnic Tigrayans respondents of the “investigation”. However, to administer the whole lot of 427 remotely administered interviews exclusively to ethnic Tigrayans for alleged crimes committed in a territory where other ethnicities reside and where ethnic Amharas constitute the overwhelming majority is a self-evident compromise on the integrity, fairness and credibility of the investigation process. Add to that the subjects of the “investigation” are ethnic Amhara leaders who championed the Wolkait Amhara Identity Movement and helped to topple down TPLF.

Moreover, it was established in the report that TPLF settled its thirty thousand demobilized fighters in Wolkait. It’s these former TPLF fighters who fled to Sudan and Tigray, not ordinary Tigrayans, who are the respondents of the interview and become the basis for the findings of the “investigation” report. Most importantly, it is a public knowledge that TPLF-led militias and members of Samri Group who committed the Maikadra massacre of well above 1,600 ethnic Amharas fled to Sudan, took refuge and live in refugee camps found in Sudan. These are the very people who happened to be informants and respondents of the fact finding mission of the joint investigation team sent to the refugee camp in Sudan. This is where the quote “Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty” comes into picture. These are the “strongest” evidences the “investigation” presented in the report and the rest is event reconstruction animations. This is why NaMA believes the joint investigation report used the lowest possible standard of evidence; and, its conclusions are unsupported, its findings are cynical and its recommendations are unjustified.

6. Disarm Amharas and Reverse the Gains Won by the Wolkait Amhara Identity Movement

The recommendations forwarded by the joint “investigation” report are as partial and biased as its fact presentation, analysis and findings. Even though the “Investigation” report didn’t deny the Maikadra massacre of ethnic Amharas albeit with lesser number of victims, no accountability on any Tigrayan person nor a single leader of TPLF was recommended despite the Maikadra massacre was directly monitored and directed by the terrorist TPLF, of which accounts are well documented; as opposed to, the phony evidence comprised of a remotely administered phone interviews and event reconstruction animations which the joint investigation found adequate to prosecute Colonel Demeke Zewudu & Co. To the surprise of impartial observers, the joint report called for the demobilization and disarmament of Fano Amhara militias who are acting in self-defense; but not TPLF, a designated terrorist organization in action displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, actively fighting as we speak now and committing heinous crimes in Amhara and Afar regions and terrorizing the entire Horn of Africa.

Most objectionably, the joint report recommended deployment of an AU-led international peace keeping force in Wolkait as if Wolkait is a contested international territory between sovereign countries with a goal to reverse the gains won by decades’ long struggle for the restoration of identity and a quest for survival of Wolkait Amharas. The report didn’t stop there; it went as far away as to require the prosecution of the leaders of the Wolkait Amhara Identity Movement including Colonel Demeke Zewudu a well decorated veteran of a UN peace keeping forces, an established pacifist and peace preaching leader between various ethnicities including the Amharas and Tigrayans. NaMA found the recommendations cynical, denounces the recommendations in the strongest terms and calls on AI and HRW to pullback their report and to withdraw their findings and recommendations.

In conclusion, the National Movement of Amhara once again expresses its sincere commitment to support any genuine fact finding mission for the protection and respect of human rights by any party including AI and HRW. However, NaMA strongly condemns any apparent, sinister and concerted effort to weaponize allegations of human rights violations. As we have said in the opening remarks of our statement, it is possible to write hundreds of pages refuting and exposing countless deficits of the joint “Investigation” report. What we presented in this statement is only the tip of the iceberg.

In general, NaMA found the joint “Investigation” report severely short of universally recognized standards of investigations in its data collection methods, presentation of facts, analysis, findings, conclusions and recommendations. The report is directed towards enabling the aggressor, suppressing the victims and a substitute to achieve a political goal which TPLF failed to materialize through violence and war. The report jeopardized decades’ long struggle for the restoration of identity, a hardly won freedom and a quest for survival of Wolkait Amharas. For all reasons, facts and material data we presented in this statement, NaMA asserts the joint investigation report used the lowest possible standard of evidence; and, its conclusions are unsupported, its findings are unsubstantiated and its recommendations are cynical & unjustified.

Hence, the National Movement of Amhara:

• Calls on the Federal Government of Ethiopia to denounce the “Investigation” report and officially reject its findings and recommendations;

• Calls on Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to withdraw their “Investigation” report released on the 6th April 2022, and use a universally recognized standard of investigation in their future fact finding missions’ data collection methods, presentation of facts, analysis, findings, conclusions and recommendations;

• Calls on the African Union not to recognize the report as valid and reject its findings and recommendations;

• Urges the United States of America State Department and the European Union not to recognize the “Investigation” report as worthy, discard its findings and recommendations;

• Calls on the United States of America Senate and Congress not to base any of its decisions on the findings and recommendations of the joint “investigation” report as worthy, discard its findings and recommendations.

• Calls on the joint investigation of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to expand their scope; and, investigate Crimes against Humanity, Ethnic Cleansing and the Crime of Genocide against the people of Wolkait Amharas in the thirty plus years where TPLF forcefully annexed and ruled over the territory;

• Calls on the Amhara Regional Government and the Federal Government of Ethiopia to provide full support to the Interim Administration of Wolkait (Wolkait, Tsegede and Humera Zone), restore all basic services to Wolkait and fully legitimize the Interim Administration; and

• Calls on all Ethiopians to stand guard over Wolkait and Wolkait Amharas in defense of a looming danger coming from the terrorist and vassal TPLF, the nation’s Achilles heel, which would consume the entire nation if allowed to materialize.

National Movement of Amhara (NaMA)

Addis Ababa, Shewa, Ethiopia

April 16, 2022

Statement from Amhara National Movement (NAMA)

 Statement from Amhara National Movement (NAMA)

Amhara National Movement (NAMA)

When the key to solving internal problems is not enough, it is enough to be blamed by the Amhara people and the Amhara political forces.

It is known that the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) issued a statement on April 11, 2022 regarding the current situation in our country. It is commendable that OFCO has issued a statement recognizing the current state of peace, stability and the high cost of living in our country. It is commendable that OFCO has called for a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict between the OLF and the security forces in the Oromia region, and that the Amhara National Movement fully supports it. He also shares the Father's call for a solution to the current and costly living challenge to all Ethiopians.

The party said in a statement: Horo Gudru Welega; North Shoa: West Shoa and East Shoa Zones; We have learned from our members and the local community that they are conducting a coordinated campaign of war and land grabbing, ”he said in a statement. The Amhara National Movement condemns attacks, harassment and conflict by any force, armed or armed, in any region, zone or kebele. Our movement does not believe that any differences can be resolved by force or force. If there is a person from any region, with the support of any party, who is attacking the area and the people, he will do his utmost to stop and prevent the attack.

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However, he strongly condemns the ongoing political infighting between the various Oromo political forces in the Oromia region and the way in which the Amhara people and Amhara political forces are being exploited. The East Wolga cited by OFCO in the statement; Horo Gudru Welega; North Shoa: West Shoa and East Shoa zones are known to be the scene of frequent massacres and displacements of innocent Amharas; It is well known that OLF-Shen is active and that the militants control most of the area. Amhara will only be held responsible for the unrest in these areas if it is said, "OLF-Shene is Amhara, and the militants are Amhara farmers." We hope that OFCO does not prosecute OLF-Shen and the militants in Amhara.

In addition to the ongoing insecurity in the Oromia region, there are more than enough indications that OLF-Shene militants have continued to target civilians and public infrastructure in several areas of Benishangul-Gumuz, Sidama, SNNPR, and Amhara. In spite of this, OFCO is saddened by the statement that militants from the Amhara region have invaded areas controlled by OLF-Shene, in an attempt to alleviate the bloody conflict between the Oromia Regional State and OLF-Shenye and the political tensions between various Oromo political forces. . Our movement believes that Father OFCO and similar political forces have a key role to play in maintaining peace and unity in our country. He expects the political parties they promote to promote lasting peace and interests beyond temporary political gain.

The political theory that "unity can be achieved by fabricating and creating a common enemy" has failed decades of experience and, as a result, has proved beyond the reach of the Oromo people that it is not good for the unity of our people and our country. He called on the Ethiopian government to refrain from engaging in such activities. There is no political force that can serve as an example of a terrorist power that can not guarantee lasting peace and prosperity for the so-called "ours" while pursuing a policy that harms the so-called "people" of the so-called "them". We all need to understand that working for the peace and benefit of the "them" is for the benefit of the "ours" people.

The cause of the insecurity and instability in all parts of the country is not hidden from any patriotic Ethiopian. It is not possible to achieve lasting peace and prosperity for the people of any region as long as the system and governance structure designed to disintegrate our country, Ethiopia, to further the narrow political interests of a group and continue to disintegrate Ethiopia. The Amhara National Movement (NAMAM) can narrow the gap between the Oromo political forces and all Ethiopian political forces. NAMA believes in creation. Therefore, NAMA would like to take this opportunity to announce that he is ready to work closely with any of the political parties that formally form a party, including Father OFCO.

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Addis Ababa, Shoa, Ethiopia.

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