2021 C Street, NW
Dear Mr Blinken:
We, US citizens and permanent residents of Ethiopian descent representing the civil organizations listed hereunder, are deeply concerned about the press statements the Department of State has been issuing regarding the unfolding situation in Ethiopia. As you are no doubt aware, policy pronouncements originating from your office have significant reverberations, implications and consequences even in the remotest corners of the world especially in countries, like Ethiopia, which are in the grip of crises.
The latest Readout from the Office of the Department’s Spokesperson, Mr Ned Price, regarding your telephone call to Prime Minister Abiy calls for, inter alia, the “complete withdrawal of Eritrean and Amhara forces from Tigray” and “an affirmation that neither the internal nor external borders of Ethiopia will be changed by force or in contravention of the constitution.”
Members of the Amhara Special Forces sit on a truck in Alamata, Ethiopia, on December 11, 2020 [Eduardo Soteras/ AFP]
On November 29 of last year, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the end of his administration’s military offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the country’s northern Tigray region. This announcement has since proved premature. Tigray’s conflict, and the consequent humanitarian crisis, continues to this day.
The TPLF, an ethno-nationalist front that dominated Ethiopia’s coalition politics for almost three decades before Abiy’s rise to power, was responsible for the onset of the conflict that is devastating the region.
What Ethiopia needs is less ethno-nationalism, not more Ethiopia
On November 29 last year, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the end of the administration’s military offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the Tigray region. This announcement was premature. The Tigray conflict and the resulting humanitarian crisis continue to this day.
The TPLF, an ethno-nationalist front that dominated Ethiopia’s coalition policy for nearly three decades before Abiy came to power, was responsible for the outbreak of the conflict that is destroying the region.
The conflict began in early November, when the TPLF launched coordinated attacks on the northern command centers of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) across Tigray. In the face of this, the federal government immediately declared a national emergency and launched a widespread counterattack. With the support of militias and police forces from the border regions of Afar and Amhara, ENDF quic
The TPLF, not the Abiy government and its allies, is responsible for the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia.
On November 29 of last year, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the end of his administration’s military offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the country’s northern Tigray region. This announcement has since proved premature. Tigray’s conflict, and the consequent humanitarian crisis, continues to this day.
The TPLF, an ethno-nationalist front that dominated Ethiopia’s coalition politics for almost three decades before Abiy’s rise to power, was responsible for the onset of the conflict that is devastating the region.
E-mail: postmaster@nobel.no
Subject: Request to Strip Abiy Ahmed Ali of the Nobel Peace Prize
I am writing to respectfully request the Norwegian Nobel Committee to strip Abiy Ahmed Ali of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for the genocide and crimes against humanity that have been committed against Ethiopians in different parts of Ethiopia on his watch.
Ethiopia has turned into a living hell for millions of Ethiopians since Abiy Ahmed ascended to power three years ago. Thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women, elderlies, and men have been persecuted, kidnapped, brutally massacred, mutilated, dragged, and dumped into mass graves in different parts of the country merely because of their ethnic identities (Amharas, Guraghes, Gamos, Wolaytas, Gedos, etc.) and/or their affiliation to the Orthodox Christian Religion. Furthermore, millions have been evicted from their ancestral lands, cities, towns, and villages and their churches, cities, towns, and properties have bee