The Meltdown of Law and Order in Tigray

[By Bereket Kiros and Teum Mezgebo]

It is our hope that we can and should examine the fears and dangers and the counterarguments in a fact-based, realistic, rational, and constructive manner. Confidently, we have nothing to fear about any questions being raised, no matter how dreadful and unpleasant the possible or even probable realities may sound or be. We urge all Tegaru to demand the rule of law, justice, accountability, democracy, and good governance for our people, who are suffering excruciatingly at the hands of corrupt and criminal groups. We, all Tegaru, should focus on the fundamental issues affecting our people and draw up a strategy and a road map to save them. We should not waste valuable time showing our allegiance and loyalty to a party that has failed for the last 30 years. After all, it is about the fate of our country and its people. We must look at the conflicts and criminal violence inside Tigray territories and beyond our borders as primary concerns, and then we should put together action plans to deal with them. We should not wait for someone to do them for us.

Tyrants arise because of a lack of consistent standards and deterrents, while innocent lives are further victimised when the supposed vendors of democracy in the diaspora embrace, support, and reinforce the crimes of the tyrants. The current TPLF politicians who are in power and those in opposition parties do not seem to realise that they lack legitimacy, the most important attribute of being in power. The failed TPLF’s “Revolutionary Democracy” ideology and disorganised opposition parties’ internal conflicts will not bring about legitimacy. Legitimacy deals with the psychology of being accepted by the people as a party and leader.

The TPLF leadership must now choose between endless violence and living in amity or peace in a democratic Tigray. Given the crisis in Tigray leadership, the hour calls for new visionary and courageous leaders who recognise that their people’s future security and prosperity still rest on the only viable options: freedom, liberty, democracy, and good governance.

Source: Tigray TV, https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZvnhzyP-fTw&e

We are writing to convey our deep concern with the recent erosion of freedom of speech and human rights abuses in Tigray. Over the last few months, the communist guard of TPLF authorities has increasingly engaged in a pattern of intimidation against opposition parties. On September 7, 2023, the way the police deployed and acted towards demonstrators in Mekelle who were exercising their democratic rights, where many were beaten brutally and taken to prison, must be condemned, and perpetrators must be held accountable. With this spate of arrests of politicians and journalists and the return to using the usual smear campaign against the peaceful demonstrators and free press, Tigray risks a reversion to its undemocratic past. Press freedom is a hallmark of democracy, and journalists and citizens must be allowed to demonstrate and report the news in the public interest without intimidation, harassment, harm or imprisonment. The continuing severity of these crises and their repercussions will depend on whether the Tigray Interim Regional Administration (TIRA) assumes a realistic posture that commits to upholding the rule of law and democratic principles and finding equitable solutions in the interest of Tigray.

መግለጺ ኣቶ ጌታቸው ረዳ ኣብ እዋናዊ ጉዳያት። pic.twitter.com/bmB8vDOCWY

— Yonas Nigussie (@Yonigussie) September 6, 2023

Source: Yonas Nugusie Twitter https://twitter.com/yonigussie/status/1699519533944307881?s=46&t=tUkyqQPhvthROZkj0xxtUQ

The genocidal war in Tigray will be remembered as perhaps the most horrific humanitarian disaster in modern history. Tigray became the battleground to control resources and power. As a result, over 600,000 people are dead, millions are starving, over 120,000 women and girls are raped, over 2 million people are displaced, and many children are infected with diseases, all while Tigray remains in ruins. Sadly, these developments coupled with a crisis of leadership may well worsen before a visionary new generation of leaders can rise and try in earnest to resolve many of these conflicts humanely, passionately, and equitably to ensure their durability in the interests of the Tigrayan people.

Open discussions and dialogues are very important, and the Tigrai situation demands that. Tigray needs visionary political leadership that can devise a coherent strategy and a road map in the interests of Tigray to heal our wounds and give us hope by rejecting those who insert wedges of disharmony and animosity to tear us apart. It is not the time for Tegaru to tear at each other. In the last 30 years, TPLF has stagnated within narrow wells of conformity and hardly ever allowed sound thinking to seep in, which would have helped us move away from the doldrums of political ideology. TPLF never truly internalised individual freedom and liberty, good governance, and democratic principles. We are coming to another crossroads in the turbulent history of Tigray. TPLF and its treasonous system are heading into a catastrophic distraction of their own making and political obliviousness.

In anticipation of that eventuality, all kinds of political groups and individuals are trying to get the best possible political leverage by placing themselves in the thickest skirmish for popularity, forgetting the needs of the people. We see all forms of manoeuvres by all these groups, some sophisticated but most repetitious and clumsy, to pursue their power and personal interests. As pointed out earlier, with such dismal records, public platforms would be organised for new ideas, and the TIRA should have a road map as a minimum expectation so that the diaspora and the people of Tigray could utilise public platforms to share ideas and the road map as a tool of navigation and expectation of what is needed to be done to deploy effective and meaningful political strategy to bring about peace, security, justice, accountability, democracy, good governance, liberty, and self-determination.

Unfortunately, the records of TPLF and TIRA is very clear: no road map and no creative solutions were presented to the people of Tigray. Instead, we had ideology without content, ambition without discipline, and rampant corruption that led to the humanitarian aid suspension. The people of Tigray are being abandoned and humiliated by the inept, visionless, and corrupt leadership in the eyes of the world for violent crimes, humanitarian aid diversion, and human rights abuses.

Former TDF fighter Tedros G. Belay brutally beaten by Tigray Police. The video shows evidently Tigray police brutality and human rights abuses against peaceful protestors in Mekele on 07-09-2023

Source: Hailu Kebede Twitter https://x.com/hailukebede_/status/1700910251782832350?s=61&t=lB6sltXMzHEdUqNz6oWgAw

Source: Hailu Kebede Twitter, https://x.com/hailukebede_/status/1700776935574347867?s=61&t=lB6sltXMzHEdUqNz6oWgAw

The TPLF has signed the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) that is exposing the people to extinction with the systematic genocide still in action by the regimes of Ethiopia and Eritrea and their allies, the Amhara Forces. The TPLF has betrayed the people of Tigray by abdicating its oath to the genocidaire Abiy Ahmed. The TPLF leadership did not listen to the concerned diaspora and intellectual voices about the peace agreement. Instead, the TPLF went ahead alone to decide the fate of Tigray and returned with harmful CoHA.

The people of Tigray trusted the TPLF, believing it would defend them through thick and thin, but the TPLF undermined the trust of the people by stating it was elected illegally and handed over the rights of its people to the genocidal regime of the Abiy government. To this effect, the people continue to suffer excruciatingly at the hands of Amhara and Eritrean forces while the TPLF and TIRA ideally watch from a distance. To add insult to injury, Getachew Reda said, “We will not fight to regain the occupied territories.” He seemed to have made up his mind about giving up Western and Raya to the Amhara expansionists and Zalambasa, Badme, Rama, and Irob to the regime of Eritrea.

They are not only the IPDs who are suffering; the people of Tigray in the occupied territories, liberated villages, towns, and cities have also experienced gross human rights violations, murder, rapes, and sexual violence. Surprisingly, the TPLF and TIRA are silent on violent crimes, the outcome of the food aid diversion investigation, and the gross human rights abuses by the TPLF cadres. Instead, the TPLF, police, and TIRA are working in tandem to intimidate and silence eyewitnesses to cover up or dilute justice for the victims of violent crimes.

Source: Tigray TV, Tigray Interim Regional Administration (TIRA) reporting on its investigation findings of corruption and humanitarian aid theft.

Remaining silent is not an option and it enables undemocratic, inept, visionless, and corrupt leadership that can’t be bothered to do its duties and unaccountable. The TPLF and TIRA leadership seem to come out of their hiding den when the diaspora posts criticism of them. The TIRA and TPLF leadership has been muted not to maintain the rule of law, and the cycle of silence without taking measures to stabilise law and order seems to be the primary tool for the leadership to evade accountability. If Tigray is led in this way, there will be zero chance for freedom, liberty democracy and good governance to be realised by the people of Tigray. The people of Tigray and the diaspora are not struggling to strengthen a tyrant rule, but they are paying the ultimate sacrifices to rebuild a new democratic It is clear now that the people of Tigray must make the uncompromising choice of survival over keeping the tyrant TPLF and dysfunctional TIRA leadership.

Amnesty International reported on September 4, 2023, that the “Eritrean Defence Forces committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, extrajudicially executed civilians, and sexually enslaved women for months after the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA). The TIRA has not yet publicly stated a coherent strategy for dealing with Amhara forces and the Eritrean government’s atrocity crimes in the occupied Tigray Territories. Surprisingly, TIRA President Getachew Reda has briefly said in his press statement on September 6, 2023: “We didn’t successfully agree with the Amhara government about Raya and Western Tigray. We would solve the problems peacefully if we could. Otherwise, it is the federal government’s job to resolve the issues with Eritrea.” Learning from the TIRA President’s press briefing statements, there is nothing the TIRA can do to protect our people from the brutal atrocities committed by Eritrean and Amhara forces. TPLF and TIRA have transferred the security of Tigrayan people to the federal government of Ethiopia. As evidently seen, the Ethiopian government is using the CoHA as a weapon of war. 1) The Tigray siege is not fully lifted yet. 2) Many Tegaru are still languishing in prison. 3) Ten months have passed since the peace agreement; Tigray territories are still occupied by the Amhara and Eritrean forces. 4) Systematic crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing continue unabated.

Conversely, Abiy Ahmed is playing his card with his devious treachery and lies; he is patiently waiting for the people of Tigray to be wiped out of famine without firing a bullet. He is not also implementing the CoHA by placing obstacles against the peace agreement, hoping that a revolt will implode out of frustration against the TPLF and TIRA. On the other hand, Abiy is using the CoHA as another weapon of war to slowly exterminate the people of Tigray by inducing starvation, infectious diseases, and malnutrition to totally subdue Tigray. The leadership is unable to see the ruthlessness of Abiy Ahmed’s devious tactics to prolong the suffering of the people by executing the communist Mao strategy of “draining the sea to kill the fish”.

We, all Tegaru, must understand the TPLF leadership’s main weaknesses.

First, the leadership is always fearful of new ideas, as it does not have the capacity to win the argument in a roundtable discussion. Instead, the leadership employs repression, blackmail, and human rights abuses to prevent new ideas from being raised in the first place by creating a network within the party structure.

Second, the TPLF leadership is apprehensive of democracy. Instead, it uses a systematic way of blackmailing, scapegoating, and deliberately misleading the people of Tigray by fabricating lies to suppress the truth and silence its opponents from exposing its undemocratic, corrupt network, and bad governance.

Third, the TPLF leadership has been lacking the ability to form a united front with opposition parties in the best interests of the Tigrayan people during the genocidal war, particularly before, during, and after the CoHA and the formation of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration (TIRA).

Fourth, the TPLF leadership is obsessed with power and personal interests. Since 1993, the interests of the people have not been prioritised. We witnessed this when CoHA was signed and the TPLF leadership wasted 4 months behind closed doors in a power struggle at the time of the Genocidal War and when millions of people were suffering due to shortages of food, ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial killings, rapes, and sexual violence by Amhara and Eritrean forces.

Fifth, the party and government officials were involved in the humanitarian aid diversion for their personal use. This is not the first time; TPLF was involved in food aid and money during the 1984–85 famine as well. The party seems to have a track record of humanitarian aid diversion intended for the hungry and displaced Tigraian people. This act of cruelty was beyond belief when thousands were dying of hunger and a lack of medical care. With no shame, the leadership has humiliated Tigray in the eyes of the world. We have already lost up to 1 million people; over 120,000 women and young girls were raped; over 2.2 million were displaced internally; over 75,000 fled to Sudan; and many people are still perishing daily due to starvation, malnutrition, displacement, and extrajudicial killings since the Pretoria peace agreement.

The irony is that the TIRA leadership and TPLF showed their utter disregard and contempt for fundamental human rights. They have never learned from their past mistakes, and they never will. It was a heartbreaking, shameful, unjust, and brutal scene in Mekele against the peaceful demonstrators. Astonishingly, President Getachew Reed admitted that there are private prisons run by individual shadowy groups. It is shocking to hear about his complacency; he was aware of these illegal prisons but he has not taken no actions yet. The TIRA President seems to wake up as usual when violence gets out of control.

Criminals have been terrorising, killing, mugging, and sexually assaulting women in towns and cities, particularly in Mekele, since the Tigray government returned to power in June 2021. If TIRA could deploy a huge number of police to brutally beat up peaceful demonstrators, a question must be asked: why have the huge numbers of police not been deployed to maintain the rule of law in towns and cities before then while people have been murdered and mugged in broad daylight?

The diaspora must demand in unison the resignations of those involved in the brutal human rights abuses. The people of Tigray have been humiliated again at the hands of their visionless leaders. Human rights abuses may have unintended consequences for the reconstruction of Tigray. No democratic country will support the reconstruction of Tigray after seeing these brutal human rights abuses. Bringing those involved in brutal human rights abuses to justice can repair the damage done to Tigray values in the eyes of democratic countries that are willing to support the reconstruction of Tigray.

Tigray leaders are ideally sitting, hoping Abiy Ahmed will remove the invading forces. Ten months have gone by, and the invading Amhara and Eritrean forces are still killing, raping, and displacing our people with impunity in the occupied territories of Western Tigray, Southern Tigray, North-West Tigray, and Eastern Tigray. Unless we, Tegaru, take the ultimate decision to save our people, no one will save the Tigrayan people. We have seen that the statements of great powers, “We are concerned” and “We are gravely concerned,” have not saved the people of Tigray. For the diaspora and elites, there is no point in crying out after the situation escalates beyond redemption. We all will also be responsible for the suffering of the Tigrayan people if we enable, support, or choose to remain silent while the TPLF and TIRA leadership continue to silently watch the people die of hunger, be displaced and massacred, and have women and young girls raped by Amhara and Eritrean forces in the occupied territories.

The outcomes will not be the worst for the people of Tigray if the TPLF is removed from power, as it is the primary obstacle to everything. Once the TPLF is forced out of power, the foundations for freedom, liberty, genuine democracy, good governance, and self-determination will accelerate at the fastest speed, and the people of Tigray will breathe freedom and sense democracy and good governance. Tigraru’s new ideas and innovations will flourish as freedom drives free thought and innovative competition. These commitments must be on our minds to save and free our people from the slavery of the rotten, backward, and dictatorial TPLF’s “Revolutionary Democracy” ideology.

The loss of TPLF should not be seen as a loss for Tigray. It should be seen as the resurrection of the Tigray to its former glory, the Aksumite era. With TDF on the side of the people, Tigray will define its pride as a free and vibrant county. We have already witnessed the great assets of TDF patriotism beyond imagination. Tigray has many able and visionary leaders who can make Tigray a great nation and work for the best interests of their people. We have to bring them to the front of the power corridors. We must not fail our people in their dark times.

All Tegaru must wake up to demand justice and accountability for the people of Tigray again, as we have done against the genocidal Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Amhara forces, by leaving our personal interests and political views to the side. The TPLF’s maladministration is becoming a matter of life or death for the people of Tigray. We, the diaspora and elites, must challenge the TPLF leadership openly for its failure of accountability and moral responsibilities. Criticising the humanitarian donors but remaining silent on the TPLF’s maladministration, food aid theft, and diversion is basically a wrong and wicked act of betrayal to the people of Tigray. Taking food from the hungry people’s mouths for personal use by cadres and government officials is the worst criminal act ever committed against the people of Tigray. The diaspora and elites must recognise that the TPLF leadership will not change. The TPLF will carry on its rigid and repressive communist political system.

If the diaspora and elites can’t see the fault lines of the TPLF and TIAR, the people of Tigray’s hope for survival will be nil. Unless the diaspora and elites stand with the people of Tigray by rejecting the inept, immoral, and corrupt TPLF leadership, many Tigraians will parish, immigrate, or abandon their homes for safe-haven countries. The weak may face slow suffering from starvation, infectious diseases, and gross human rights abuses at the hands of the genocidaires.

Recognising the TPLF’s undemocratic political system and its leadership’s utter incompetence and corrupt network within the party structure requires courage to end human rights violations and bring about genuine liberal democracy, freedom, liberty, and good governance in Tigray as basic and fundamental rights for the people of Tigray. We must dig deep into our collective consciousness for our unique Tigrawi/Tigraweti patriotism, start with that promise, and see where it takes our quest for freedom and justice.

Therefore, We call upon all Tegaru to stop their loyalty and support to the treasonous and corrupt TPLF leadership and join the liberation movement of free thinking for the sake of our Tigray and its people to demand the resignation of the TPLF leadership. The corrupt and incompetence TPLF leadership change is the only way out for the people of Tigray to save the Tigrayan race from extermination. For this to happen, the Tigraian elites must unite to devise a strategy and form a new visionary leadership that can lead the people of Tigray out of this genocidal war. Tegaru must capture the sentiment of Jimmy Cliff’s fundamental principle into a reggae beat: “I would rather be a free man in my grave than live as a puppet or a slave.”