Tigrianisation?

By T, Staffer of De Birhan Media

31-3-2012

The past few weeks, hundreds and thousands of Ethiopians have been forcefully evicted/deported from their own country. Over 90% of the evictees belong to the Amhara ethnic group. According to news reports so far, over 78,000 people, including children, women, and the elderly have been evicted after everything they owned has been confiscated. The displaced sought refuge in churches in Addis but were forced out. Finally, according to Engineer Hailu Shawel, Chairman of All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP), the party “reached them and rescued them”. Currently, of the thousands, mainly from the Amhara ethnic group, evicted from Bench Maji Zone of Gura Farda Wereda, Southern part of Ethiopia, have been sleeping in the premises of the AEUP Addis Abeba office. This has angered most Ethiopians the world over and particularly, prompted those from the Amhara ethnic group to establish an ethnic party that "saves the Amahra". The Ethiopian Review website called it “ethnic cleansing campaign against the Amhara ethnic group”. Few are arguning that Amharas are being victims of “Bantustanization and Sowetoisation”. The regional president of Southern Ethiopia, Shiferaw Shigute in an interview with a pro- government Forum said today that there have been no forced evictions and those who are living in AEUP’s premises are the AEUP’s members. He also said those who moved out of the area were “illegal residents who were not legalised farmers but involved in resell of land”. However, Engineer Hailu of AEUP said last night “there is no single person from the displaced who is a member of our Party as we have no branch office in the Region.”  History and literature have it that the founders of the current ruling party TPLF/EPRDF saw the Amahra ethnic group as a threat and enemy of their ethnic group (Tigre) - ethnic nepotism.  The atrocities perpetrated against the members of the Amahra ethnic group in the past 20 years have been  beyond and above other one can bear. One simple case, which continues to cause uproar amongst Amahras  is the last national population census of 2007 that saw a decrease of Amhara people by around two million from the previous count. Where did the two million Amharas disappear in a couple of years?

The current Ethiopian regime applies ethnic politics: ethnic federalism. Ethnic federalism had created various levels of tension in the past 20 years. Ethnic groups were promoted to identify themselves with their ethnic group than their national. One of the major designers and promoters of these ethnic identifications has been the ruling party, Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). TPLF has been promoting Tigreanisation both inside and outside of the country. Tigray Region is the northernmost of the nine ethnic regions (kililoch) of Ethiopia containing the homeland of the Tigray people of an estimated total population of 4,314,456 people (2007). This is the home region of the ruling party and founders of Ethiopian ethnicisation. Coupled with the repressive and unruly behaviour of the members and kins of the TPLF and promotion of ethnic identification created a narrow ‘ethnicism’ that I would call Tigreanisation. Tigreanisation can be exhibited in various forms. It can be the dominance of the elite members of the ethnic group in the social, economic, political and cultural life of the population. It can also be the discrimination of other ethnic groups by those who affiliate themselves with this ethnic group and party. It is also the promotion of ethnic identity  separate from the national. Ethiopians have had a history of mutual and tolerant coexistence appreciating their difference and promoting their unity. Tigreans/members and supporters of TPLF have been the trailblazers to go against the existing unitary and non-ethnic based nationhood. Since holding power in 1991, TPLFite Tigreans all over Ethiopia began celebrating their own parties, holidays, programs, cultural events, political meetings and days in general, for and by Tigreans only. In their celebrations and community events they invited, wined and dined with people of their own community. Tigray State flags were held always and above the Ethiopian flag.   In a similar manner, this trend has been copycatted by Tigreans/members and supporters of TPLF in the Diaspora. They have been organising similar ethnic events exclusively for Tigreans. The aim being promotion of Tigrean cohesion, nationalism and development of the Tigray regional state.  According to the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC) report “...When introduced and mobilised, religion, ethnicity and culture provide a system of beliefs and practices that can unite adherents in a community, alter their perception of others and encourage them to take collective action in the name of their group”. This is Tigreanisation.While members of the other ethnic groups of Ethiopia continue to peruse their celebrations, programs and events under the cause and banner of Ethiopia and Ethiopianisation, members and supporters of TPLF/Tigreans do it under Tigray and Tigreanisation. Some of the following graphic evidences that I collected through time corroborate my premises. Looking at them one may wonder if Tigray has become an independent nation that it reached such a level awkaward self-seculsion and ethnic nationalism.

x-mas party in DC

Celebrate Shire's Fundraising Night in London 

on New Year's Eve

 Boston, Tigrai Community Fundraising Event

TMAA DALLAS X-Mass Party

Fund Raising Night in Swiss Neuchâtel

New Year party in Denver with Aden Gegresilasse and Birhane Kidane

 New Year's Eve party in Seatle with Wedi Kokeb

TDA-NA DC Chapter is Hosting a Fund Raising Event in Washington DC

TDA Fundraising, Help a child to drink clean water

New Year party in Las Vegas with Birhane Haile and Birhane Kidane

The pictures and captions under them tell for themselves. The posters have been posted on various pro TPLF websites in the Diaspora. All  events had taken place throughout the years 2010/11. No need for explanation. Had I taken the time to explain each and one of the graphics, it would have cost me pages, hence you read them yourselves. However, all of them are extreme showcase of ethnic nationalism/ politics and radicalism. No other Ethiopian ethnic community in the Diaspora organises similar programs, events, and celebrations as the Tigrean community. Tigreans also have their own discussion forum named Tigray/Geza Tegaru and the like. The medium of discussion in these forum is also Tigrean only. On the other hand, majority of Ethiopian chat rooms and discussion forum bear the name Ethiopia/Ethiopian and their medium of discussion is Amharic, the national language. Tigreanisation is not growing but ripe and bearing its ''toxic fruits''. These are tips of the iceberg, had I gone into the political, economic, diplomatic, military and other sectors, the radicalism would have been worse.  Attendance of the events had always mainly been by Tigreans and few Eritreans. Such forms of exclusionism and marginalisation have been practiced/exhibited against Ethiopians at home and abroad in the political and economic arena as well. The promotion and hype of ethnic identification had reached its “golden days” and grdadually began to recess during the 2005 election. The ruling party was threatened by opposition parties that played the opposite card: a non-ethnic based federalism that appreciated togetherness and downplayed ethnic identification. The young political analyst Jawar Mohammed in his recent article beautifully analysed this shift of the ruling party’s divide and rule and ethnonationalistic  politics.   

Following the resurrection of the Ethiopian right during the 2005 election, the regime has been shifting further in an attempt to be the loudest to proclaim the mantra of Ethiopian nationalism. The propaganda of ‘renaissance’ that was launched during the ‘millennium’ extravaganza has been stepped up with recent hysteria over Abbay Dam. Therefore, the old slogan of transforming and building a new Ethiopia is replaced with reviving and reclaiming the glorious past.

The ruling party has been forced to wean off its ethnic based political nationalism and addiction gradually and façade it with “Ethiopianism”.  Though, in actuality the persecution of some ethnic groups and the ethnic pride of the elites of the ruling party continued.  The extrajudicial and arbitrary behaviours of the majority of the members of the TPLF/Tigrean ethnic group in Ethiopia frustrate the mass and are nauseating. Finding a political and economic institution that is not run and infested by members of this one ethnic group becomes easier said than done. Is not this worrying trend that was constructed from the narrow ethnic politics of TPLF worth being called Tigreanisation? Ethiopians in 2005 have publically portrayed it that they abhor ethnic nationalism/identity politics. Ethnicity and propagation of ethnonationalist politics in Ethiopia and abroad is straining othe ther politically, economically and culturally marginalised ethnic groups. Loosening it is crucial; GSDRC recommends programme types that could be used to discourage identity-based violence:

• Improved law and order, police and justice systems and better access to them by excluded groups;
• Working with media and advocacy organisations to overcome prejudice and build public support for non-violent conflict resolution;
• Anti-corruption measures and policies to prevent the spread of organised crime;
• Support for human rights programmes targeting all social groups;
• Additional research addressing the issue of how conceptualisations of gender identities (both masculinities and femininities) contribute to violence and how domestic and community level violence are linked to armed conflict is needed. These issues are crucial to the ability of leaders to attract sufficient fighting forces to enable them to carry out armed conflicts.
• Inclusive recruitment of military, police, security and judicial institutions to ensure they are more representative of excluded groups; and
• Active discouraging of the tendency to manipulate identities to establish political control or demonise “disloyal” and marginalised groups.

Some of the above recommendations might work in the context of Ethiopia while the rest don’t. A political u-turn might be the sole way. In any case, it necessitates research, gut from Ethiopian scholars to write about the issue with valiantly. Sensitivity is when one attempts to prevent a chaos than pass it over saying it is a “thin-skinned” issue and bewail subsequently.  

Let's say once again "Humanity before Ethnicity"@@@