1 8221 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. 20910 www.moreshwegenie.org
Date: November 20, 2014
No.: MW-0036-2014
To:
United Nations Security Council
Security Council Report
One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
885 Second Avenue at 48th Street, 21st Floor
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: 212-759-9429
Fax: 212-759-4038
Email: contact@securitycouncilreport.org
From:
Moresh Wegenie Amara Organization (MWAO)
Silver Spring, Maryland, 20901
USA
Subject: Reference ‘SEMG S/2014/727’, 13 October 20141
1. Moresh Wegenie Amara Organization (MWAO) is a nonprofit civic organization, established to be
the voice for the voiceless people of the Amara ethnic group in Ethiopia. The Amara are one of the
81 ethnic groups in Ethiopia, and account for about 35 percent of the total population of the
country. MWAO has been registered in September 2012 as a 501( c ) entity in the State of
Maryland, USA. The Organization operates throughout the world, and has branch offices in Europe,
Australia and Canada. This letter is written to file a formal complaint regarding the report ‘SEMG
S/2014/727’ dated 13 October 2014. I would like to bring to your attention specifically to the
content and implications of the text stated on page 31, paragraph 78, which states “Ginbot Sebat is
a banned opposition group formed in 2005 by Amhara political elites committed to regime
change in Ethiopia through armed struggle.” We are utterly baffled by the motive behind this
false information and data contained in the SEMG report, which, we believe, has led to a wrong
conclusion about the grave situation the Amaras are in Ethiopia. MWAO would like to take this
opportunity to request the Committee and the UN Security Council to expunge this misleading
reference to Amaras from its official records.
1
Eritrea report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea submitted in accordance with resolution 2111
(2013), S/2014/727.
MORESH WEGENIE AMARA ORGANIZATION
ሞረሽ ወገኔ የዐማራ ድርጅት
8221 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. 20910
Tel: (202) 230 - 9423 Fax: www.moreshwegenie.org2 8221 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. 20910 www.moreshwegenie.org
2. The ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), or by its popular name Woyane, has clearly
stated in its program that “… the Amara and imperialism are two of the staunch enemies of the
people of Tigray.” (TPLF Program, 1976 (1968 E.C.), page 18). Throughout TPLF’s history of
existence, 17 years as a rebel group in the bushes and 23 years on power, it has committed
innumerable atrocities of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Amaras. Their crimes against
the Amaras are comparable to the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germans against the Jewish
people. On the other hand, findings of the report and the conclusion drawn from it regarding the
formation and leadership composition of G-7 is utterly false, harmful to the Amaras and, hence,
undermines the credibility and integrity of the Committee and the Council. Furthermore, the report
provides additional fodder to the TPLF that finds the Amaras inimical to its ethnic-minority
absolute dominance of the political, economic, and social system since 1991. We are appalled,
saddened and deeply worried by this report and the implication it will have on the Amara people.
Thus, we believe, it is an unnecessary infringement by the Security Council Sanctions Committee,
and the Security Council, on the God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of
the Amara people.
3. The Popular Front for Justice and Democracy (PFDJ), formerly known as the Eritrean People
Liberation Front (EPLF), is, from its inception, an anti-Ethiopia and anti-Amara organization. It is a
well known fact that the PFDJ is one of the major actors for dismembering Ethiopia into Eritrea and
the current kilil (Bantustan) Ethiopia in May 1991. In fact when PFDJ (EPLF) and TPLF made
public their plan to disintegrate Ethiopia at the July 1991 Conference held in Addis Ababa, the only
participant at the Conference who unequivocally opposed that historic error was the late leader of
the Amara people, Professor Asrat Woldeyes. Hence, we believe that the Security Council has
enough knowledge and evidence about the PFDJ, which is an arch historical enemy of the people of
Ethiopia, and the prime mover and shaker for many of the conflicts in the Horn of Africa.
4. Ginbot 7 has officially declared to the UN Security Council on 27 October 2014 that it is not
established and run by Amara elites (Memorandum to the UN Security Council, dated October 28,
2014 http://www.ginbot7.org/2014/10/28/7473/).
5. Based on the information we have about the Executive Committee of Ginbot 7, there is no single
Amara amongst them. For instance Dr. Berhanu Nega, the Chairman, is Gurage, Vice-Chairman
Abebe Bogale is Oromo, Secretary Muluneh Eyoel is Kembata, Public Relations Officer Ephrem
Madebo is Kembata, and IT Officer Dr. Tadesse Biru is Gurage.
6. Presently, there are about 89 political organizations in Ethiopia. Most of these organizations have
been created to give the TPLF ethnic-minority Bantustan Ethiopia the appearance of a 'democratic
country.' However, the majority of these political organizations are ‘liberation fronts’ for their
respective ethnic groups, which are staunch supporters of the TPLF. They all consider the Amara
people as their enemies and as such they work towards the annihilation of the Amara people. This is
the political reality in Ethiopia. We find it absolutely stunning that such an eminent body would
base its findings and conclusions on information that is not vetted and that does not involve any
individual Amaras or Amara leaning organization within Ethiopia or outside. We have no doubt 3 8221 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. 20910 www.moreshwegenie.org
that the false information was supplied to the Committee by the Ethiopian government and by AntiAmara
individuals and groups. It is uncalled for on the part of the UN Security Council SEMG to
declare “Ginbot Sebat is a banned opposition group formed in 2005 by Amhara political elites
committed to regime change in Ethiopia through armed struggle.” Such unfounded statement
will give a green light to the TPLF and its cohorts to their campaign of ethnic cleansing and
genocide against the Amara people.
7. It is an open secret that the TPLF incriminates anyone who opposes its rule. TPLF achieved this by
introducing two notorious laws: the “Anti-Terrorism,” and “Charities and Societies” Proclamations
of 2009. The people incarcerated by the TPLF come from all walks of life, and include journalists,
human rights advocates, members and leaders of opposition political organizations. The common
wanton charges filed on these people in TPLF’s kangaroo courts are: “terrorist, chauvinist and
Naftegna Amara, anti-peace, anti-development, supporter of old regimes, narrow-nationalist,
etcetera.” Permit me to remind the Committee and the Council that, the UN Human Rights
Council’s most recent review and assessment issued in September of this year, exposes publicly the
continued abuses of human rights and the incarceration of journalists, bloggers and opposition party
leaders and members by the TPLF. This fact reveals the level of inhumanity of the TPLF that
should be abhorrent to the United Nations Security Council. Sadly enough, we witness similar
accusations of the TPLF against its opponents as the bulk of the content in the SEMG report.
Therefore, we urge the Security Council to re-examine the content and validity of this report
critically before reaching any further conclusions.
8. The SEMG report has given no attention at all to the plight of the Amaras under TPLF rule. During
the last 23 years, the Amaras have been subjected to genocide and systematic ethnic cleansing at the
hands of the TPLF and its cohorts. To date, about 5,000,000 Amaras have been systematically
eliminated by the TPLF. Millions have also been subjected to ethnic cleansing. In a rare show of
transparency, the Director of the Central Statistical Agency, Ms. Samia Zekaria of the TPLF
government, has publicly admitted in front of the TPLF’s rubber stamp Parliament that during the
period 1996 – 2007, about 2,500,000 Amaras have been systematically eliminated (Please refer this
link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndSzSPskwAw). Ms. Zekaria presented this fact based on
the findings of the 2007 Population and Housing Census conducted in Ethiopia. As a direct
consequence of this finding, the TPLF parliament has reduced the annual budget allocation to the
Amara regional state, which further complicates the very survival of the Amara people.
9. Since coming to power, the TPLF has unlawfully incorporated parts of North Gondar and North
Wollo districts of the Amara regional state into Tigray region. The total number of counties which
have been taken over from North Gondar are five: Welkait, Tsegede, Tselemt, Setit and TachArmachiho.
Raya and Qobo district of North Wollo, with all its counties, has also been taken over
by TPLF and incorporated to Tigray region. Once the TPLF took control of these districts, it has
carried out systematic genocide and ethnic cleansing on the indigenous Amara people, who lived
there for generations. At present 95 percent of the residents in these parts of former Amara land are 4 8221 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. 20910 www.moreshwegenie.org
members of the Tigre ethnic group. (A partial list of persecuted people of the Amara in these
districts are cited in Annex 2).
10. Hundreds of thousands of Amaras, who used to live in Oromia (Harerghe, Arsi, Welega, Illubabor,
Bale and Shewa), Southern Nations & Nationalities, Benshangul-Gumuz, and Gambela regional
states have been hunted like wild animals and summarily persecuted, simply because of they are
Amaras.
11. In order to create ‘Amara-free’ regions in Ethiopia, the TPLF has been carrying out ethnic
cleansing of the Amaras in Somali, Oromia, Harari, Southern Nations & Nationalities, BenshangulGumuz,
Gambela, Tigray, and parts of the Amara regional states. In this process about 500,000
Amaras have been systematically displaced from their ancestral land, devoid of all their possessions
and livelihoods.
12. The highest number of refugees that come from Ethiopia are Amaras. In the USA alone, the
Amaras constitute about 60 percent of Ethiopian immigrants. This fact has been corroborated by the
former ambassador of the TPLF to the USA, in a letter dispatched from the Embassy to the cabinet
office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ref: Was/209/98 dated 24 November 2005. In
fact this gives more evidence on how much the Amaras are marginalized in their own country of
their basic human, political and economic rights.
13. In 1993 the TPLF introduced a directive which put civil servants who served for 20 years and are of the age of 45 on a forced retirement. The main purpose of that directive was to summarily fire all
Amaras from key posts in the civil service, university professors, military, security, diplomatic
mission, custom’s and transport sectors of the government. As a result, the current state-structure in
Ethiopia is dominated completely by members of the TPLF. Even the very people who rule over the
Amara regional state are members of other ethnic groups. In this regard leaders of the Amara
Nation Democratic Movement (ANDM), which rules the Amara regional state, are Bereket Simon
(Eritrean), Hilawe Yosef (Tigre), Tadesse Kassa (Tigre-Agew), Tefera Walwa (Gimira-Sidama),
and Kassa TekleBerhan (Tigre-Agew). This act of the TPLF reminds us two of the dark chapters in
human history. During the Nazi era, occupied people in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and etcetera were
ruled by Nazi Germans who speak the local languages. Also after the WWII, the Soviets installed a
Russian who speaks Romanian to rule over Romania. This has been the practice under the TPLF
Bantustan Ethiopia to subjugate the Amaras.
14. The TPLF is the sole authority on land ownership in Ethiopia. Nonetheless, the TPLF claims that it follows a policy of “free capitalist economy.” The reason why the TPLF kept land ownership under
its tight grip, while it claims to follow ‘white capitalism’ is straightforward and simple. According
to Mr. Herman Cohen, former Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the US State Department,
describes the late TPLF leader Mr. Meles Zenawi and his organization’s policy on private land
ownership as follows: “… that was not good, because the Amaras will come and take over and
these people … buy all the land and these people return to be serfs like they were under the
Emperor ….” (Please listen to minutes 29 – 30, https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=w0nnV3S0UTw).5 8221 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD. 20910 www.moreshwegenie.org
15. We, members of MWAO, believe that the UN Security Council will not turn deaf ears to the plight of the Amara people. At least this is not expected from the most respected and powerful organ of the UN in the 21st Century. In fact, “chauvinist Amara”, supporter of old regimes”, and “terrorist”
are some of the hate-mongering accusations of the TPLF Orwellian government against the Amara
people. To our understanding, the UN Security Council is a highly responsible organ of the UN,
which upholds the principle of fairness for all humanity. We believe the Security Council is a
global vanguard that protects the weak from bullying by the powerful; promotes peace, freedom,
cooperation, understanding and equality amongst all citizens of the world. By doing so, we believe
the Council has achieved a relative peace throughout the world, taking into consideration the two
recent destructive wars of the 20th Century. Therefore, MWAO believes that the Council is the
anchor for world peace. However, some of the contents in the SEMG report regarding the Amaras
contradict the reputation and global acceptance of the Security Council.
16. The argument by the SEMG that, by extension and inference, “Amhra elities” would associate
themselves with President Afewerki’s government is equally baseless. As the report notes,
“Eritrean support to the TPDM is more sustained and organized than its support for other
Ethiopian armed groups. The TPDM had become the most important Ethiopian opposition
group inside Eritrea and it had a dual function as an Ethiopian armed opposition group and a
protector of the Afewerki’s regime … fighters are from the same ethnic group as Afewerki’s.”
(vii and viii)
17. In light of the foregoing evidence and arguments, I would like to urge the Committee and the
Council to retract its reference concerning the role of “Amara elities” in the formation and
management of Ginbot 7.
Many thanks in advance for your kind consideration of this request on behalf of the Amara people.
Sincerely,
Tekle Yeshaw
Chairman, Moresh Wegenie Amara Organization
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