*By Malkamuu Jaatee, September 2016
The Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) regime is colonial tyranny established in Ethiopia by foreign aids. It shares similar political characteristics with both classical and modern system of colonisations. The multitudes of crimes against humanity that the regime has been committing to loot natural resources of Ethiopia are among several indicators of exploitation and injustice. For example, more than 1000 civilians have been killed by the regime in last 10 months (November 2015 to September 2016), while Oromo and Amhara peoples are peacefully protesting against land grabbing.
The regime accustomed to kill unarmed civilians since it has formally colonized Ethiopia on May 28, 1991 with technical, financial, and diplomatic aids of its sponsors. The number of innocent civilians killed by the regime, between 1991 and 2016, was at least 56000 (fifty six thousands) based on conservative estimation using data of extra judicial killing available in archives of local human right organizations (Jaatee and ASO, 2016). The regime is caring out crimes against humanity to sustain its military monopoly and economic empires to protect its colonial system for the next decades. The loss of tens of thousands of innocent lives would have never been happened if the peoples of Ethiopia had rights to choice their government.
The TPLF regime has replaced the military regime in 1991 after 17 years of armed struggle. Sponsors of the regime considered it as “one of the governments exercising democracy in Africa”. Thus, they are excusing crimes committed on the innocent peoples of Ethiopia to give time for development of democracy during quarter of a century. However, the transformation of young democracy towards maturation is measured by governance quality that includes respect to human rights, rule of law, regulatory institutes, accountability, control of corruption, political stability, social justice, and economic prosperity.
Because the regime is neither legally/traditionally elected nor politically representing the peoples of Ethiopia, none of the parameters of democratic governance have been realized during 25 years of tyranny. The natural characteristics of a government from a people for a people are demonstrated by: how it is elected, monitored, and replaced; its capacity to formulate and implement sound policies; protecting citizens, and respecting the institutions that govern economic and social interactions in order to achieve sustainable development.
The ability of the regime to deliver legitimate governance system in Ethiopia is under question from the very beginning, because it excluded systematically independent political organization like the Oromo Liberation Front (the political organization born out of century old struggle of the Oromo people for freedom) from participating in election process of June 1992. The regime has adopted revolutionary democracy as a doctrine to dictate its politics. Its pseudo democracy is sponsored by foreign financial aids in billions of dollars through investment in military, technical, and diplomatic sectors to sustain modern system of colonization.
External aids are playing crucial roles for growth and expansion of the regime to control and exploit Ethiopia. Thus, the aid resources were the pillars to expand and support organizational structures and size of the rebellion armies (URD, 2002). Financial, material, and technical supports of the international donor communities were channelled through networks of the TPLF to areas under its control to support both military and emergency programs during 1974 – 1991 (Mulataa, 2010). After 1991, the regime has established and expanded fake non-governmental organizations and companies using its especial bureaucratic services, preferential access to investments, confiscation of public assets, and direct involvement in several business sectors in violations of civil and commercial codes of conduct (Mulataa, 2010). It has illegally accumulated excessive wealth and it has invested in protection of political power for unlimited periods of time, while the majority of the peoples of Ethiopia are suffering from recurrent famines and absolute poverty. In addition, the regime has received at least a sum of US $ 50 billion financial aid between year 1991 and 2015, however the most wretched poverty and destruction of livelihood are characterizing the socio-economic development of the country.
The colonial system of governance in Ethiopia is directly reflected via human right violations, exploitation, inciting interethnic conflicts, corruption, land grabbing, expansion of poverty, insecurity, etc. These instruments are designed by the regime to elongate the era of tyranny and to protect interest of its friends. The regime also formulated non-credible and illegitimate laws (the 3P) called Anti-terrorism, Charities and Societies, and Mass Media Proclamations to safeguard monopolistic ownership of military and economic powers via institutionalization of crimes against humanity to justify injustice. However, manipulation of politics of sovereign authority and terrorism will never stop liberation struggle of the oppressed peoples of Ethiopia until democratic (Gada) revolution achieves freedom, peace, justice, dignity, and prosperity.
Why the sponsors of the TPLF regime give deaf ear and blind eye to the reports of human right violations recorded by credible organizations like amnesty international, human rights watch, Oromia support group, human rights league of the Horn of Africa, etc? It is beyond the scope of this piece of article to describe the reasons. It will be written by historians to establish awareness of sovereignty and territorial integrity in minds of political leaders of Ethiopia in particular and Africa in general.
The peoples of Ethiopia have no alternatives except fighting the evil political system with any means possible to retake their country, land, and resources. Therefore, the people of ancient Kush known by their ethnic codes like Agawu, Afar, Amahara, Beneshangul, Gurage, Gambela, Hadiya, Kambata, Oromo, Sidama, Somale, and etc must continue the process of reunification with the spirit of humanity to successfully avert the evil activities of the messengers of political devil in order to liberate their country, Ethiopia (Kush land), from exploitation, injustice, and terrorism perpetrated by modern system of colonization.
“For I Yahweh love justice; I hate robbery and injustice; I will faithfully reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them (Isaiah 61:8, Holman Christian Standard Bible).”
References
- Jaatee M. and Anywaa Survival Organization (ASO), 2016. Land Grabbing and Violations of Human Rights in Ethiopia. http://genocidewatch.net/2016/02/01/land-grabbing-in-ethiopia/ Accessed from the website on 07. 09. 2016.
- Mulataa. Z., 2010. Political nongovernmental organizations and governmental companies in Ethiopia. Political roles of local NGOs & governmental companies under the ownership of TPLF/EPRDF regime. Accessed from the website on 07. 09. 2016. http://www.oromoliberationfront.org/news/2010/Fake_NGO_of_the_TPLF_(gullaala_xummuraa)[1].pdf
- Unpublished Running Document (URD), 2002. Ethiopian non-governmental business: companies controlled by or associated with EPRDF-member organizations (4th update of a running documentary).
