By Dr. Solomon Abebe, Professor
The first episode of this series established the Signal to Noise Ratio as a scientific framework for understanding the Amhara existential struggle and defined the signal as the disciplined, organized, and truth-based effort to defend Amhara existence through the alignment of Fano, the people, and the reconstruction of Ethiopia as a lawful and just state. This second episode focuses on the opposing force within that framework: noise. Noise is not a peripheral inconvenience, nor is it an accidental byproduct of conflict. In the Amhara context, noise functions as a deliberate weapon. It is produced, structured, and deployed systematically to weaken resistance, fragment unity, and obscure the realities of mass violence and genocide.
In science and engineering, noise refers to any unwanted disturbance that degrades the integrity of a signal. Noise reduces clarity, increases uncertainty, and introduces error into systems that depend on accurate transmission of information. While some noise arises naturally from physical processes, the most dangerous forms are those intentionally introduced to interfere with communication. Political systems engaged in repression and mass violence rely heavily on such engineered noise. They do not depend solely on force. They saturate the informational and psychological environment with confusion so that truth loses coherence and resistance loses direction. Under the Oromummaa driven state structure, noise has become a core instrument of governance rather than an incidental feature of instability.
Noise in the Amhara struggle operates simultaneously at psychological, informational, organizational, and moral levels. It manifests through propaganda that denies or reframes atrocities, through infiltration that corrodes trust from within, and through narratives that redirect attention away from structural violence. These mechanisms reinforce one another and create an environment in which clarity becomes increasingly difficult to sustain. Over time, this environment produces exhaustion rather than engagement. When people are exposed continuously to distortion, contradiction, and emotional manipulation, they begin to doubt not only external information but also their own judgment.
Propaganda constitutes one of the most powerful forms of noise deployed against the Amhara people. Propaganda is not merely false information. It is information deliberately structured to shape perception, normalize violence, and invert moral responsibility. In contemporary Ethiopia, propaganda systematically portrays Amhara self-defense as aggression, recasts victims as instigators, and presents genocidal state actions as law enforcement or national unity measures. Through repetition across state aligned media, diplomatic narratives, and international platforms, propaganda constructs an artificial moral environment in which Amhara suffering is minimized, justified, or rendered invisible. This form of noise does not simply misinform. It reshapes the boundaries of what is perceived as legitimate concern.
Closely linked to propaganda is infiltration, which represents one of the most corrosive forms of noise. In communication systems, interference is most damaging when it enters the signal path itself rather than attacking from the outside. In the Amhara struggle, infiltration occurs when sleeper agents embed themselves within Fano structures, community leadership, civil organizations, and diaspora networks. These actors rarely declare hostile intentions. They adopt the language of unity, pragmatism, or moderation while working to delay decisions, fragment coordination, leak sensitive information, and generate persistent internal disputes. Infiltration noise erodes trust gradually. By the time its effects are visible, collective action has already been weakened.
Another destructive form of noise emerges through opportunistic defection. Prolonged conflict creates conditions in which some individuals learn to extract personal advantage from collective suffering. Such actors present themselves as representatives or leaders of the Amhara struggle while prioritizing personal access to funding, political appointments, or media visibility. Their positions shift according to convenience rather than principle. This behavior introduces instability into the movement by blurring the distinction between leadership and exploitation. As opportunistic voices proliferate, strategic coherence is replaced by performative outrage and inconsistent messaging, further lowering the Signal to Noise Ratio.
Deceptive peace narratives constitute another highly effective form of noise. In scientific terms, this resembles interference that closely mimics the structure of the original signal while carrying an opposing message. Calls for peace, dialogue, and reconciliation are not inherently illegitimate. However, when deployed in the context of ongoing genocide without accountability, justice, or structural reform, they function as noise. They impose false moral equivalence between aggressor and victim and pressure the targeted population to demobilize while the machinery of violence remains intact. In the Amhara context, such narratives have repeatedly been used to weaken resistance, delegitimize self-defense, and preserve the conditions that enable mass killing.
The diaspora constitutes a critical arena in which noise can either be suppressed or amplified. Diaspora communities possess resources, relative safety, and access to international platforms that can significantly strengthen the signal when used responsibly. At the same time, these advantages can magnify noise when misused. Diaspora noise arises when emotional reaction replaces analysis, when unverified claims circulate more rapidly than evidence, and when public disputes overshadow coordinated strategy. Because diaspora narratives often shape international perception, noise in this domain directly undermines advocacy efforts and distorts external understanding of the Amhara struggle.
The cumulative effect of these forms of noise is a sustained reduction in the Signal to Noise Ratio. As noise increases, the signal becomes more difficult to identify, interpret, and trust. Ordinary people begin to question whether any voice is authentic, whether any organization is credible, and whether resistance itself has meaning. This condition of informational fatigue is not accidental. It is a strategic objective of regimes engaged in genocidal projects. A population overwhelmed by noise becomes easier to dominate, manipulate, and ultimately destroy.
The relationship between noise and genocide is therefore fundamental. Genocide does not occur solely through physical violence. It also occurs through normalization, denial, distraction, and fragmentation. Noise enables mass violence by obscuring responsibility, delaying response, and fracturing solidarity. In Ethiopia, sustained atrocities against Amharas have been facilitated by an informational environment saturated with denial, false equivalence, and manufactured complexity. The state does not merely commit violence. It actively engineers narratives that justify, obscure, or rationalize that violence. Noise thus operates as an integral component of the genocidal process rather than as an incidental accompaniment.
Recognizing noise as a weapon has decisive implications for the Amhara struggle. Resistance cannot rely solely on moral outrage or spontaneous mobilization. It must cultivate analytical discipline, institutional coherence, and verification mechanisms capable of distinguishing signal from interference. Without such discipline, even the most courageous defensive efforts risk being neutralized through confusion rather than defeat. Increasing the Signal to Noise Ratio therefore requires not louder messaging but clearer structure, stronger accountability, and a collective commitment to truth.
Episode Two establishes that noise is not a secondary concern but a central battlefield. The struggle for Amhara survival is fought as much in the realm of information, trust, and meaning as it is in physical space. A movement that fails to confront noise as a strategic weapon will find its signal drowned without direct confrontation. Conversely, a movement that learns to recognize, isolate, and suppress destructive noise can preserve coherence and effectiveness even under extreme repression.
The next episode will build directly on this foundation. Episode Three will examine distinct types of noise using scientific analogies and will map them to concrete patterns observed in the Amhara struggle. This classification will provide the analytical basis for developing filtering mechanisms capable of protecting the signal and sustaining the struggle over time.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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It has been just customary during these few years to see the leaders of this group and the government trying to persuade people that they have the upper hand over the other. Whenever the government claims that it has killed so and so number of the rebel soldiers then both Fano and Shene would encounter that with higher numbers of kills. One starts with setting up the punch line and the other one finishes up the theatrics. But it not funny for the gullible youth and their wailing mothers, above all for the future of the country. There is nothing funny or to be jubilant about it. Senseless and bloody conflicts never come and go without leaving poisonous residue behind. The country will be left with overwhelming number of ex fighters with disturbing and destructively conflicted character and it would be almost impossible or will take generations for the country to rebuild itself. Just look at the DR Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Afghanistan, certain Western African and Central American countries except Costa Rica. That is why I despise those of you among our Diaspora who have been beating the drums of war and pouring gasoline on smoldering fracas from your comfy and safe homes. You send your children and grandchildren to schools and dance classes here, but you incite the gullible youth in the old country to march into awaiting infernos. You must be ashamed of yourself.