Haile Selassie
On the 10 November 2020 I wrote a letter to the Editor of a leading newspaper in Ghana hoping that it would be published. It was not. My letter was in the following terms:
“Most Ghanaians know of Ethiopia but know very little of it.
A former empire and then a revolutionary communist state, the complexities of its history and politics are byzantine.
It is far away, but at the same time is intimately bound up in the destiny of our continent.
It is no wonder that the OAU was established in its capital Addis Ababa.
A civil war has started in Ethiopia.
If every effort is not made to stop it this country of more than 100 million people may disintegrate into fractious pieces with horrendous consequences for the horn of Africa region and Africa as a whole.
The ostensible purpose of Dr Abiy Ahmed the Prime Minister of the Ethiopian Federal Government in launching his military into the Tigray region is to remove what has been described as the “illegitimate” and “bandit” Tigray Peoples Liberation Movement (TPLF) controlled government there.
This regional government recently conducted peaceful elections.
The Prime Minister, who was selected and not elected, earlier this year postponed indefinitely scheduled elections.
What initially appeared to be a dispute with TPLF is now taking the form of the cleansing of the ethnic Tigray from public bodies in the federation.
Rwanda should be a warning.
The TPLF was the guerrilla movement which although massively outnumbered removed the communist Derg regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam.
It is unlikely that it can be defeated on the battle field.
Whatever be the case this is not the time to debate who is right and who is wrong.
This is a time for peace.
People are dying and infrastructure is being destroyed.
The AU has remained somnolently quiet.
Ghana has an obligation to speak out.
Ethiopia must remain unbound!”
The worst has now happened.
The war which was launched against the Tigray region on the 4 November 2020 by Abiy with the support of Eritrea and the United Arab Emirates and which he characterized as a “law and order” action which would be concluded within a matter of weeks has now spread to engulf parts of the Amhara and Afar regions.
There is a real risk that it may even reach Addis Ababa.
At the moment there is famine in Tigray as a direct result of the war.
Vicious genocidal hatred of Tegaru has been stirred and innocent civilians have lost their lives.
Thousands of combatants have been killed and hundreds of thousands of people in the rural areas displaced.
A country which was economically vibrant is now almost on its knees with millions being spent on armaments to be used to kill other Ethiopians.
There is no sense in it.
There will be no winners.
Despite repeated calls by the Tigray government for peace talks, Abiy has preferred to trust in yet more foreign weaponry and fruitless “final” military offensives.
It is clear from my interactions with my Tegaru relatives and friends that despite all their suffering and pain they are still committed to Ethiopia and wish to remain in it if they are allowed to do so.
Even they appreciate that the rule of TPLF although it brought immense economic and social advancement also had its problems because of its authoritarian nature.
But these are problems which are capable of resolution.
An ancient country need not be destroyed on the altar of hate.
The leadership of the AU has sullied itself and cannot now be an interlocutor.
In any event Abiy has shown scant respect for the organization.
But there is still a very urgent need for responsible African leadership to intervene lest Ethiopia disintegrates.
The Obasanjo mission has proved to be insufficient.
However, it should be possible for a group of African leaders together to travel to Addis to speak to Abiy on a personal and private basis in order to urge him to relent so that peace may be given a chance.
President Akufo-Addo can take the lead to mobilise his colleagues from across Africa for this purpose.
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