From the Seaport to Deceiving the Public: Where does Ethiopian Awareness stand?

by Abdul Qadir Haji Ibrahim Hamdan

Part 1 (taken from shabait.com)

In a striking and dangerous development, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed intensified his aggressive rhetoric, emphasizing what he described as his country’s “right” to have access to the Red Sea, even if it requires the use of military force. His statements were not mere empty words, but coincided with a clear display of military power. He appeared alongside his chief of staff to announce that the Ethiopian army possesses advanced weapons and modern technologies, a message whose implications are clear. On the ground, military movements were observed in the region bordering the port of Assab. The situation is escalating and unfolding publicly, in a scenario that threatens to transform ambitions into confrontation. These statements and actions bring back old questions and renew the concerns I personally experienced during my visit to Ethiopia in early 2019, when some aspects of this geopolitical project seemed to be taking shape in secret.

The bitterness of Haile Selassie and the Derg’s rule, filled with tragedies and horrific massacres that amounted to genocide against the Eritrean people, was impossible to forget, making the idea of ​​me visiting Ethiopia after Eritrea’s independence in 1991 unthinkable. With the outbreak of a new war between the two countries (1998-2000), the idea of ​​the visit faded. However, with the end of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s rule and the rise of a new leadership, I began to consider visiting Ethiopia to witness its complex reality firsthand.

I visited Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, and Awasa, and got to know the Ethiopian people from a different perspective. In Addis Ababa, I visited important sites, including Meskel Square (formerly Revolution Square), from whose platform Mengistu delivered his fiery speeches, and the Red Terror Museum, which documented the atrocities of Mengistu’s regime. There, I participated in a guided tour that provided details about the events of that time.

During his speech, the guide referred to a mass execution of 64 people without trial, including ministers and officials from Emperor Haile Selassie’s era. He mentioned several names, but deliberately omitted General Aman Andom, the leader of the coup against the emperor, who was killed at the same time. I reminded him of this, but he seemed uncomfortable with my observation and continued his speech without comment.

At one of the stops on the tour, an attendee (a Westerner of African descent) inquired about the veracity of the claim that Haile Selassie had sought refuge in the United Kingdom at some point. The guide denied this completely, and I don’t know if it was out of ignorance, or perhaps it was a desire to erase the reality of the five-year Italian occupation, and perhaps it was his eagerness to reinforce the prevailing idea that Ethiopia had never been subjected to Western colonialism and that its history extends back 3,000 years! I intervened and said calmly: “My dear, in 1935, Haile Selassie was forced to leave his country after the Italian invasion, and he went to the United Kingdom, then returned in 1941 after Italy’s defeat in World War II, with the support of the British.”

I noticed then that the guide’s pupils were dilated, and he gave me a searching look before asking, “Which country are you from?” I simply replied, “I’m from Eritrea.” He sighed briefly, then said, “Okay, let’s continue.” The conversation was entirely in English.

At the end of the tour, we stopped in front of displays of weapons, from Kalashnikov rifles and pistols to various torture instruments, which were used to instill terror in people during Mengistu’s regime. The guide began describing the communist regime in the harshest terms, before concluding his talk by addressing the audience, pointing to me, and saying:
«By the way, Eritreans were the ones who brought communism to Ethiopia!»
I understood his tone, so I smiled at him gratefully and didn’t comment. Then I left the place, saying goodbye to those who had accompanied me on that tour.

In Addis Ababa, I noticed that many large properties and hotels were owned by people of Tigrayan origin, perhaps due to the empowerment policies promoted by the Tigrayan group at the time. However, with the change in the political situation, the Tigrayans began selling their properties and transferring their money to their home region. I was disturbed to see the colonial-era map that includes Eritrea painted with the colors of the Ethiopian flag in some public places in Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar, while in official institutions, the new map without Eritrea was displayed.

I also noticed a heavy security presence in front of service and commercial centers, perhaps as a precaution against any incitement to violence and unrest by sleeper cells of the remaining Tigray forces after the bombings of June 23, 2018, which targeted a political rally of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa.

During my visit to Bahir Dar, I observed significant political and cultural activity among the Amhara ethnic group, who appeared to harbor hostile feelings towards the Tigrayans. The atmosphere was tense, foreshadowing future conflicts, which indeed later materialized. This is Ethiopia, where the flames of conflict never truly die down, but rather reignite with every political change.

What historical, political, and geographical factors have contributed to Ethiopia becoming a hotbed of armed conflicts and recurring famines throughout history? Ethiopia, with its natural resources, abundant water resources and vast agricultural lands, large livestock population and natural wealth, historical sites and promising tourism industry, in addition to its huge human resources, was supposed to be the breadbasket of the Horn of Africa and compete with Rwanda for the title of the Switzerland of Africa. However, the reality is that Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in Africa. Its history, marred by violence, wars, and conflicts, and the repeated famines that have struck it, in addition to its complex internal structure, have exacerbated its recurring crises.

Ethiopia, which consists of 12 ethnic regions and comprises more than 80 ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Oromo, followed by the Amhara, who make up 32% and 28% respectively, then the Tigray and Somali with approximately 6.2% each, and then the rest of the smaller ethnic groups with even smaller percentages.

The adoption of a policy of political dominance and the prevalence of expansionist ideology, which have become two intertwined characteristics of all the leaders who have held power in Ethiopia throughout its recent and modern history, have remained among the most important reasons for fueling local and regional conflicts. The intensity of the raging flames of the conflict has become controlled by the winds of political instability, internal conflicts, and external interventions, making Ethiopia a source of instability at both the local and regional levels.

On the political front, the country experienced conflicts between feudal kingdoms after the decline of the Kingdom of Axum. Emperor Yekuno Amlak (who claimed to be a descendant of the Solomonic dynasty) founded the Amhara Empire in 1270 AD, and his successors ruled until the reign of Emperor Lebna Dengel. Ethiopia waged wars against the Adal Sultanate, which were resisted by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim (Ahmad Gragn), with Ottoman support. He nearly reached the capital of the empire before being killed in 1543 by an alliance of the Ethiopian Emperor Gelawdewos and the Portuguese.

Portugal’s intervention came in response to an appeal made by Emperor Dawit II, also known as Lebna Dengel, to King Manuel I of Portugal in the early 16th century, requesting support and assistance. In that letter, Lebna Dengel stated, “There is no possibility of reaching European fleets and requesting naval support… because our country is landlocked, with no coastline or access to the sea.”

Towards the end of the 18th century, Ethiopia entered an era of decentralization, during which warlords vied for power. Tewodros II reunified the empire but became embroiled in a conflict with the British, which led to his suicide at the Battle of Magdala in 1868. He was succeeded by Yohannes IV, who fought against the Egyptians and the Mahdists and was killed by the Mahdists in 1889 at Metemma. Menelik II, on the other hand, expanded Ethiopia to its current borders and founded Addis Ababa.

The situation in Eritrea was different. The Eritrean highlands, which were known as “Medri Bahri” and had their administrative center in Debarwa (17th-19th centuries), as well as the Red Sea coasts, which were under Turkish and Egyptian control (16th-19th centuries), were relatively stable and far removed from the conflicts of the Amhara and Tigrayan feudal lords.

However, from time to time, the region was subjected to invasions by feudal lords from Tigray and Amhara, who crossed the Mereb River (in present-day Eritrea) for the purpose of looting and imposing tributes, but they faced continuous resistance from the rulers of the Eritrean plateau and the western and eastern lowlands.

During the reign of Emperor Yohannes IV, Ras Alula perpetrated deliberate killings that amounted to genocide against the Nara-Kunama and Saho communities in Eritrea.

With the decline of Turkish-Egyptian rule over Eritrea and the arrival of the Italian colonizers, who began by acquiring a small piece of land in Assab in 1869, and whose influence expanded until, on January 1, 1890, King Umberto I of Italy declared the establishment of the colony of Eritrea as a unified political entity, a stage that heralded the birth of a nation – the Eritrean people (1).

In the modern era, after the death of Empress Zewditu, Tafari Makonnen was officially crowned on November 2, 1930, and adopted the imperial title Haile Selassie. He was later overthrown on September 12, 1974, by the military council (the Derg) led by General Aman Andom. Following the latter’s assassination, Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam rose to power and ruled Ethiopia, but his regime collapsed in 1991 after the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition forces seized power with the support and participation of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front.

Despite hopes for a new era of governance, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) dominated power for nearly 27 years, marginalizing other groups. The border war with Eritrea (1998-2000) further impacted their rule, and tensions in the region resurfaced, preventing Ethiopia from achieving political stability and perpetuating a cycle of conflict and violence.

In Oromia, the Qeerroo movement, a youth-led social movement, played a significant role in the political changes that paved the way for the rise of Abiy Ahmed, an Oromo, to power in 2018. Abiy implemented reformist measures, most notably making peace with Eritrea, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. However, after losing power, the Tigray forces attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian army stationed in Tigray in 2020, igniting a devastating war that claimed the lives of more than a million people. The United States intervened to end the conflict with the Pretoria Agreement.

Abiy Ahmed, emboldened by his victory over the Tigrayans following the war he waged against them in 2020, delivered a speech in 2022 in which he stated that the Oromo people had not received a fair share in the political and economic spheres despite being the largest ethnic group in the country. This speech was a turning point that revealed the Oromo’s intentions to also claim their share and role in governing Ethiopia.

The Amhara, driven by their deeply rooted belief that they alone have the right to rule Ethiopia, participated in the war against the Tigrayans, but felt betrayed after being excluded from the agreement, and therefore rebelled.

Other ethnic groups remain marginalized, exploited only as tools in the struggle of the powerful for power and wealth, without genuine representation in the development process or political decision-making.

Source: (1) The Italian Occupation of Eritrea – Zemheret Yohannes, p. 59

To be continued in Part Two… (The failure of sustainable development in Ethiopia as a result of the dominance of the war economy at the expense of the well-being of the people)