By Comchambaw Gebrehana
The recent FANO operation across the Amhara region in Ethiopia has attracted the attention of many inside and outside the country. Even international media, like Algezira, Washington Post, and others, reported the operation’s effectiveness against the country’s full-fledged military. Yes, FANO carries the spirit of true freedom and justice, and it has galvanized support from every walk of life in the Amhara region even beyond in a short period. This has scared the country’s enemies, those within its borders and beyond. In this piece, we reflect on the different perspectives and views of the people about this FANO operation from the vantage point of our analysis.
Freedom-loving Ethiopians, in General. First, this FANO operation has resurrected hope among the people who want to see a fair, united, and stable country. It has ignited the spirit of resistance against the ethnic-based apartheid system. Literally, all those ethnic groups who are beyond the borders of the Amhara region, are all waiting to join it. They feel at least somebody is there to deliver them from the present monster that uses the system to swallow them while they are alive. The momentum is built to increase more since it is within the people. It seems no power under the sky can stop it. It feels like it was destined to be like that. In short, hope is ignited, Period.
The Ethnic-Based System. Second, this FANO operation scares ethnic-based forces who are also still in power. Remember, Ethiopia is under EPRDF 2, where Oromo PP dominates, and TPLF is used to run EPRDF 1. The prime minister is confused; the so-called military leader is mesmerized by how they were coordinated, and the military hierarchies, together with their soldiers, are overwhelmed and demoralized by the intensity and effectiveness of the operation against them. To make things worse, most people, if not all, were with the FANO forces. The military, in general, felt defeated. It was very hard to bring back a sense of control across the region. To do that, they had to decide to do the worst operation: to use tanks, zoo-23, and other heavy machine guns against the civilians. They did that in Gondar, Bahir Dar, Debrebirhan, and Shewa Robit. Which by itself is a pure dictionary definition of Crime against humanity.
In connection to, ethnic-based politicians and their followers, especially TPLF, OLF, Oromo PP, and others, they see the operation in a mixed way. On the one hand, the ultra-ethnonationalism followers want the Amhara to rise and take their region to be separated from the rest of the country. That is, for the Amhara to give up Ethiopia and build the Amhara nation. That will help those ultra-ethno nationalists to launch their dream of having Oromo, Tigray, and so on. On the other hand, those who want to use ethnic-based politics as a means to divide and conquer the country, for example, the Abiy-led government (EPDRF2) and the former TPLF-led government (EPRDF 1), see the FANO movement as an existential problem for them. The rise of FANO to resurrect true Ethiopianism will destroy their divide-and-rule scheme. The current government, as its predecessor, follows a mafia-style leadership. There are groups of people with networks who grabbed the state. They have controlled core things in the country. Even though they claim they are ethnic-based, TPLF and PP do not care for the Tigray and Oromo people, respectively.
It is vital to understand the division among ethnic-based political followers. Sometimes, they seem like they are on the same page and try to act together, but at other times they go against each other. TPLFites, who like to see a separate Tigray, want the FANO to clash with the government so that they can realize their dream. That means Wolkait and Raya will be easy to take away from the Amhara region. At the same time, the main TPLFites who gamble to lead the country by dominating everything in Ethiopia want FANO to be crushed so that they become relevant again for their masters. Otherwise, their usefulness to their masters will reduce to nothing. Simultaneously, the Abiy-led PP party wants the FANO to disappear so that he can do whatever he wants in the nation as a king. In contrast, his Oromo nationalist friends want Fano to take their land (a very small region) and leave Oromia alone, including Addis Ababa and the rest of the country.
The prime minister and his gangs. The Prime minister and his network are the third group that reacted in dismay to this FANO operation. His main support was from the Amhara region during his first three years of leadership. Now that is gone forever. His and his colleagues like Shimelis Abdisa’s confusing and convincing strategy left themselves with HUGE CONFUSION AND DISMAY. Now they are no longer sleeping in their houses but in different locations, including hotels, since they are scared of their shadow. To their dismay, the Oromia and TPLF security have worked together since the Pretoria agreement. The TPLF security network across the country is stronger than the PP and the Oromia one. Things have become complex and mixed. One of these forces can harm the prime minister away at any time. Since TPLF have a grievance and they will take their revenge on him, as well as the ultra-Oromo nationalists can take their revenge on him. In addition, Fano is now equipped with recent weapons, thanks to the recent military operation. The government planned to disarm them; instead, FANO amassed a lot of artillery, guns, and ammunition. So, FANO is a nightmare for him. Even before the FANO operation was launched, his status was the lowest in the country and on the international stage. He is exposed as a joke. What comes out of his mouth shows how shallow and twisted he is. Nothing was working for him—the economy of the country, diplomacy, and so on. On top of that, the FANO operation showed that his government was built on sand, not rocks. As his party in the Amhara region is gone in a few days, the central government is shaking from its foundation. It is only a matter of days! So, he is the major loser! That is why he is committing war crimes against civilians in Bahir Dar, Debrebirhan, Shewa Robit, Gondar, and other places. When you lose all hope, you act with desperation. That is what we see on the streets of Addis Ababa, Nazareth, Gondar, Bahir Dar and so on.
The Ethiopian Nation Enemies. As the world is now in the second cold war between the East and West, Africa is one of the active proxy war places, and Ethiopia is one of the target places for that. The Western nations are working to weaken the influence of China and Russia on African nations. And Ethiopia is one of the main entrances to the continent. One of the best strategies is to divide Ethiopia into five or more countries and weaken it. That is why the ambassadors of the UK, EU, USA, Germany, and so on travel to regional cities like Mekele and others as if they are visiting different nations. It seems they are working and looking for the country to disintegrate. Now, FANO has come to control the Amhara region. That should be their good news. Then Amhara will come out as a nation controlled by FANO. Who knows, they may be behind all these forces. We can only know when the MI6 or CIA report becomes official to the public after half a century like they reported their involvement in overthrowing the Derg regime. That could also be the main reason why they boosted FANO’s image as a victor in the last operation across their media: Al Jazeera, Washington Post, etc. In addition, other Ethiopian historical enemies could also work toward the disintegration of the country. They continue to support this and that group non-stop. They have been helping TPLFites in the daylight, and others are helping the Oromo nationalists. Some may try to assist FANO, too, since it makes their plan happen so quickly.
Even what the government forces have been doing in the last few days in Gondar, Lalibela, and other places, they are trying to destroy the historical places. These are vital to the country’s tourism industry. We have seen this kind of destruction across the middle east during the ISIS fight with Western forces. Who knows, the top militaries in Ethiopia might be advised by the same people to do the same. The pattern is the same. To destroy the people’s cultural heritage and economic sources and break up people’s connections and chords across the nation. Remember, the country’s military is suspected of being dominated by one ethnic group. In addition, the top generals are suspected of committing war crimes against humanity during the two-year war with the TPLF. If they are approached with such fearful news, they can do whatever they are asked for. That is why the military has been acting weird recently. Instead of defending the country and the people, it is shelling the civilians and shooting at churches, mosques, and so on in its endeavor to protect a corrupt political group. No country’s military leader does such a thing to solve the politician’s political problem by gunning down its people. As this piece is drafted, the so-called Marshal, by the name of Birhanu Jula, has been ordered to kill civilians in Fnoteselam and Bure using drones. This is a crime against humanity. This low-level thinker and his gang will be responsible for their actions. In short, all the forces that are against each within the country are helped by someone from the outside to weaken and destroy each other, as Yemenis, Syrians, and Libyans did to their countries.
THE GOOD NEWS. As stated from the start, most Ethiopians: the Afar people, the Somali people, The Southern people, the Gambella people, and others, have understood that today is the Amhara people, and tomorrow will be their turn. So they are all preparing to overthrow the criminal government once and for all. They know that the FANO spirit of the Ethiopians, which said no to colonialism, is rising within themselves too. Such a move can overcome today’s division. The latent and hidden force within the Tigreans, Oromo, Amhara, and the rest of the silent majority of Ethiopians can revive again and throw out all the ethnic-oriented politics from the country and build a nation that will be conducive to living in harmony with all the ethnic groups and individuals across the country. They all have started to see the BIGGER picture. That matters!
Editor’s note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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