Would Kimant card be a game changer in Gonder for the regime in power?
borkena, Ethiopian News
August 17,2017
Source : Google Map
Gonder has been a challenging place for the regime in power. At the core of resistance against the regime in power is the status of Wolqaite – a district that used to be part of Gonder for many centuries before it was incorporated as part of Tigray region when Tigray People’s Liberation Front took government power in Ethiopia in 1991.
Wolqaite is purely an identity question. Hundreds have been killed by government security forces since last year alone but the question is not going away. The region is still tense even after deployment defense force in the region.
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Now government intends to break up Gonder region by splitting it to three more regions, perhaps a different attempt to get away with Wolqaite region.
Today, government affiliated media reported that Election board is organizing plebiscite in 12 local administrative zones, Kebele, where Amhara and Kimant people live.
Timeline for the plebiscite is already fixed but not disclosed, perhaps deliberate move to avoid an even more intense protest in the region. From the report from Fana Broadcasting, up to twenty-five thousand people will take part in the plebiscite.
The vote is meant to determine whether Kimant will remain part and parcel of Amara or it will divide and have its own administration.
Erstwhile, no significant distinction existed between Amara and Kimant.
In a remark, Gedu Andargachew, president of Amara Regional State, made sometime last year, “splitting Amara and Kimant people is as difficult as dividing a single person into two and expect the person to continue to have a life.” He even added that “attempt to divide Kimant and Amara is devilish.”
The Federal government, however, make it sound as if the decision came after Amara regional state cabinet members decided to do so. But critics question who imposed the agenda to divide Amara and kimant.
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