Subject: Why Are You Waging War on Amharas? For What Cause, What Reason, and to What End? — A Call for Soul-Searching
Dear Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed,
I write this letter not as a politician, but as an ordinary Ethiopian citizen—concerned, confused, and heartbroken by the direction our country has taken under your leadership. I speak especially on behalf of the countless Amhara people who once stood firmly behind your rise to power, only to now feel betrayed, targeted, and left without protection.
When you assumed office in 2018, you came with a promise of unity, peace, and a new Ethiopia that would rise above ethnic divisions. Many, including the Amhara people, believed in that vision. We welcomed you, defended you against rebellion, and entrusted you with leadership. But today, we are forced to ask a painful question: Why does your government appear to be waging war against the very people who once defended you?
Why Are Amharas Being Punished for Their Loyalty?
Amharas supported your accession to power and stood by your side—along with the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF)—during the war against the TPLF. They sacrificed their sons and daughters for your survival and for Ethiopia’s sovereignty. Yet now, they are being criminalized, hunted down, drone-bombed, and disarmed—while the very TPLF leaders who sought to dismantle Ethiopia walk free. Why is your government spending enormous national resources to suppress the Amhara region instead of supporting those who upheld the country?
Why Are Atrocities Against Amharas Ignored?
Across Oromia, Benishangul-Gumuz, and other regions, Amharas are being massacred, displaced, kidnapped, and silenced. Independent reports, human rights investigations, and survivor testimonies are abundant. Yet your administration remains disturbingly quiet or painfully slow to respond. When will the killing of Amhara civilians matter to the federal government?When will justice and protection be extended to us as citizens of this nation?
Why Are Amharas Barred from Their Own Capital?
It is both shocking and shameful that Amharas are being profiled, harassed, and even barred from entering Addis Ababa—the capital their ancestors helped build and protect.
What possible justification exists for turning fellow Ethiopians into internal exiles in their own homeland?
Why Are Historic Amhara Lands Still Under Dispute?
Wolkait, Raya, and other territories historically part of the Amhara region continue to suffer under federal inaction and ambiguous status. Why has your government withheld federal budgets from these areas, while refusing to officially recognize them as part of the Amhara region? After all the suffering the people of Wolkait endured under TPLF occupation, do they not deserve peace, justice, and dignity? Is it fair or just to disarm Amharas only to hand over their ancestral lands to the TPLF in exchange for international sympathy or political convenience? If this isn’t appeasement driven by fear or misplaced allegiance, then what is it? Is this Stockholm Syndrome?
Why This Silence? Why This Hostility?
Mr. Prime Minister, your silence, selective policies, and political calculations are deepening Ethiopia’s ethnic wounds. Your marriage to an Amhara woman was once seen as a hopeful symbol of national unity. Today, that symbol feels hollow, as Amhara people face state-sponsored violence, marginalization, and abandonment at an alarming scale. You once declared: “Ethiopia will rise again.”But Ethiopia cannot rise while one of its founding peoples is bleeding, demonized, and dehumanized—made to feel like second-class citizens or enemies of the state.
Amharas Are Not Your Enemies—Nor Enemies of Oromos or Any Ethiopian
Amharas are the heart of this country. Its defenders. Its children. Amharas do not ask for privilege—they ask for fairness, dignity, and security. We call on your government to end this cruel war on the Amhara people—both the physical war and the war of silence. Are there no wise Oromo elders or statesmen who can rise above ethnic politics and urge this government to stop the unjust hunting of Amharas? Is this the message you wish to send—that Oromo political leadership cannot govern a nation fairly or uphold justice for all? Are you trying to prove that you can outdo the most radical Oromo nationalists in hostility toward Amharas? What kind of legacy is that?
Why Are Those Who Waged War on Amhara and ENDF Being Rewarded at Public Ceremonies?
The sight of individuals like Getachew Reda and Tsadkan Gebre Tinsae who are now your close advisors —once top TPLF figures—being celebrated at public events such as the Friendship Park reconciliation ceremony is deeply unjust. It insults the letmory of ENDF soldiers and Amhara civilians who suffered and died in the war. These events may be framed as political reconciliation, but they feel like impunity when justice is nowhere in sight. Yes, the Pretoria Agreement of 2022 aimed to end the war and reintegrate Tigray. But in practice, no TPLF leaders have faced accountability—angering the victims in Amhara, Afar, and the wider ENDF community. Governments may claim peace requires compromise, but peace without justice breeds more conflict, not healing.
Why Frame the War as “Amhara vs. Tigray”?
Reducing the war in 2020 to an “Amhara-Tigray” conflict is a dangerous and dishonest distortion of the truth.
“The war began—by your own declaration—when the TPLF launched a surprise attack on the ENDF’s Northern Command, a federal military institution composed of Ethiopians from all regions.” This was not an ethnic war initiated by Amharas, but a national war waged by the federal government to defend the constitutional order. Yes, Amhara regional forces participated. But so did ENDF soldiers from every region of Ethiopia, along with Eritrean troops and other federal allies. In 2022, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s decision to stage symbolic “talks” between Getachew Reda and Dr. Yilkal Kefale—as if the war had simply been a tribal feud between Tigray and Amhara—was a grave historical misrepresentation. It ignored the federal nature of the conflict and dangerously reduced it to a matter of ethnic rivalry.
This false narrative does the following:
- Shifts blame away from the TPLF’s actions and initial aggression.
- Normalizes a “both sides” narrative, which undermines justice and truth.
- Erases the suffering of Amharas in Wolkait, Raya, South Gonder, Wello, North Shewa, and now in Oromia.
- Weakens national unity by reinforcing ethnic polarization and fueling mistrust between peoples.
Such distortions are not just inaccurate—they are harmful. They obstruct reconciliation, deny victims their truth, and make peace harder to achieve.
A Message to Field Marshal Berhanu Jula and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces Leadership
Your Excellency Marshal Berhanu Jula,
We write to you with deep concern for the fate of our country, the honor of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), and the future relationship between the peoples of Ethiopia—particularly the Amhara and Oromo nations.
The war in the Amhara region did not begin because the people sought violence. It erupted after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government moved to forcibly disarm the Fano and Amhara Special Forces—forces that many viewed as the last line of defense for communities long marginalized, targeted, and silenced. This move came amid strong indications that the federal government intended to hand over Wolkayit and Raya—lands historically recognized as part of the Amhara region—to the TPLF, without the consent or even consultation of the people who live there.
We ask you directly, Marshal Berhanu: What do you, or the Oromo people, gain by helping to surrender Amhara land to Tigray? The Oromo region does not even share a border with Tigray. Why should Oromos—or the ENDF leadership under your command—insert themselves into a historical land dispute that is not theirs, and pay for it with the blood of tens of thousands?
More importantly, why is the ENDF, an institution meant to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, being used to crush a popular uprising rooted in political and historical grievances? The people of Amhara are not enemies of the state. They are Ethiopians—patriots who have fought for the country’s survival through every era of crisis. They deserve respect, not repression.
We must ask: Are your forces fighting to protect the Ethiopian state—or to preserve the political survival of one man?
There are credible reports that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told Peace Minister Taye Dendea that Oromos must be convinced they are “better off through the annihilation of Amharas.” If this is true, it is not only morally repugnant—it is politically disastrous. Are you, as a senior military leader—and as an Oromo—prepared to be remembered in history as an enforcer of ethnic war?
Is this truly the path you want to take for the Oromo people—rising not through hard work, unity, and justice, but through the suffering and humiliation of another group?
The ENDF was not built to serve political ambitions. It was created to protect all Ethiopians, regardless of ethnicity or region. And yet, under your leadership, it is being used to bomb villages, destroy lives, and wage war on citizens who are demanding political dialogue, not domination. If the Amhara region is in open rebellion, this is not a “security problem”—it is a political crisis. And it cannot be solved by tanks and drones.
You cannot bomb your way to Oromo elite domination. You cannot build peace by destroying Amharas. This is your moment of reckoning. You must choose: will you continue to be used as an instrument of internal suppression, or will you stand with the constitution, with justice, and with the people? Loyalty to a nation is not the same as loyalty to a political leader. Abiy Ahmed’s political future is not worth the blood of tens of thousands. Do not let yourselves be remembered as the marshal and generals who turned their guns inward, who presided over the slow disintegration of Ethiopia.
Ask yourselves: What legacy do you want to leave for the Oromo people? A legacy of justice, courage, and reconciliation—or one of complicity in war and persecution? Amharas have not invaded Oromia. They are not your enemies. Why, then, should you occupy their land? If your aim is peace between Oromos and Amharas, how does destroying Amhara towns and villages achieve that goal? How does standing beside the TPLF and against fellow Ethiopians promote long-term coexistence with the Oromos?
There is still time to step back. There is still time to act with honor. Consult voices of conscience within the Oromo community—figures like Jawar Mohammed—who once erred in his view of the Amhara people but has, albeit belatedly, spoken clearly about the need for reconciliation over revenge. Let the ENDF return to its rightful role: defending Ethiopia from external threats, not fueling internal destruction. History is watching, Berhanu Jula. The Ethiopian people are watching.
The current political climate indicates that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s time in power is nearing its end. The situation is rapidly evolving, and the window for a peaceful and orderly transition is closing. You are now faced with a critical choice. For the sake of national stability your own legacy and safety, consider initiating a process that supports the formation of a transitional government—one that reflects the will of the people and includes Fano leadership as a central component. Let your legacy be one of courage and clarity—not of submission and silence. Refuse this unjust war. Choose dialogue. Demand justice. Hand Abiy Ahmed over to legal accountability if necessary. And above all—stand with the people, not against them. Let history remember you not as agents of oppression, but as defenders of unity, justice, and peace. የተከበሩ ጀኔራል በርሃኑ ጁላ፣ ያለ እርሶ ይሁንታ፣ እውቅና እና ተባባሪነት አብይ አህመድ አሊ የሽሮ ድንፋታ እንደሚባለው ነው። This may be the only opportunity to act responsibly and help avoid further chaos. Your decision now could shape the future of the country—and determine not only how history remembers you, but also whether Oromos and Amharas can coexist in peace.
Prime Minister Abiy
You are facing a defining moment—perhaps your final opportunity to retain any meaningful authority, even for a limited time. If you act swiftly and decisively, a narrow path to stability still remains. Convene Parliament immediately and take concrete steps to return Welkait and Raya to the Amhara region. This is not merely a political necessity; it is a moral imperative. Failure to act will not only seal your political fate, but will also signal a troubling indifference to the safety of your own family—your wife, your children, and everything you claim to protect. Amharas are watching. History is watching. Choose wisely—while you still can.
What Amharas Ask of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Marshal Berhanu Jula:
- An immediate end to military aggression against the Amhara region and a full withdrawal of ENDF forces.
- A transparent, independent investigation into the mass killings of Amhara civilians across the country.
- An end to the mass eviction and displacement of Amharas from the capital and other regions.
- Full legal recognition and federal funding for Wolkait and other historically Amhara-administered territories.
- Equal protection under the law for all Ethiopian citizens, regardless of ethnicity.
- A genuine national dialogue—not dictated by narrow political agendas, but guided by justice, historical truth, and reconciliation.
- A moment of soul-searching from you personally: What legacy do you want to leave your wife and children? How do you wish to be remembered— as a unifier or a divider? As a man of peace or as someone who turned against his own people?
Know this: the Amhara people have already risen. They are awake, organized, and determined. The future you fear is no longer distant—it has arrived, and accountability is only a matter of time. - Where are the mature voices among the Oromo elites—figures like Abadula Gemeda—who can offer honest advice and issue a stern warning that the path you are following is dangerous and unsustainable? Where are those who understand that true leadership requires wisdom, not vengeance? This course of action does not serve Ethiopia—and certainly does not serve long-term Amhara-Oromo peaceful coexistence. You cannot escape your neighbor. Peace, not conflict, is the only viable and honorable path forward.
- Respect true federalism. Let Amharas be led by their own freely chosen representatives—not by subjugated proxies, as was done under colonial rule. Self-determination is not a privilege; it is a constitutional right.
- Release Amhara political prisoners—such as Parliamentarians Christian Tadele and Yohannes Buayalew, Meskerem Aberra, Dr. Wondosen Assefa, Dr. Kassa Teshager, and countless other Amhara leaders—who are languishing in prison solely for advocating on behalf of their people.
Amharas still believe in the dream of an Ethiopia where no ethnic group is vilified, where no citizen fears their own government, and where leaders are guided by truth—not fear. For the sake of national unity, justice, and peace, we urge you to listen to the cries of the Amhara people.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Ethiopian Citizen
Mekuria Girma
Date: July 25, 2025
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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