Mikadra to Wollega: The Atrocities the West Refuses to Confront

Mengistu Musie (Dr.)

Getachew Reda’s confrontation with Al Jazeera in London was, for many viewers, an extraordinary and dramatic scene. For Ethiopians, however, regardless of which political position Getachew Reda has recently adopted, the moment served as a stark reminder of a long chain of crimes—whether committed by the TPLF or by Abiy Ahmed’s military and Oromo-centric political circles. To many, these forces resemble two branches of the same political family tree, deeply intertwined and historically accountable for immense suffering. What I am trying to express is that neither the TPLF nor the Oromo political groupings emerged as separate, innocent entities; both share a history of grave wrongdoing against Ethiopia and its people.

The interviewer, Mehdi Hasan, is undoubtedly a skilled journalist. Yet his head-on clash with Getachew Reda did not appear to be an attempt to expose new truths or uncover hidden crimes. Instead, the tone of the interview felt more like an expression of Western frustration—frustration that Getachew had abandoned one criminal enterprise (the TPLF) only to join another, an Oromo-centric faction that has also been implicated in serious abuses. For anyone who listened carefully, the interview seemed less grounded in journalistic impartiality and more aligned with external political expectations.

The viewer’s interpretation naturally depends on their perspective. But what was missing from the conversation was the voice of the Ethiopian people—the millions who have suffered under both factions. Instead, the discussion centered solely on the journey of one political figure: his shift from one criminal group to another, the ideological road he traveled, and the inconsistencies of his shifting political philosophies.

Furthermore, the panel included three additional participants in the heated debate between Hasan and Getachew. These spectators were, unsurprisingly, partisans—either supporters of the TPLF or advocates of Abiy’s Oromo-centric camp. One of them was even introduced as an “expert” on international peace and Horn of Africa affairs yet contributed nothing substantial beyond repeating familiar partisan narratives.

In my view, the exchange was merely a fragment of a much larger tragedy, an excerpt from the broader catalogue of crimes committed between 2020 and 2022 by these two criminal political gangs who jointly ruled Ethiopia for decades. For 35 years, 27 of which they governed side by side, they experimented with one of the most brutal and destructive political systems imaginable. Though they later became fierce enemies, their shared legacy is unmistakable: a legacy of violence, disunity, and profound harm inflicted upon Ethiopia and Ethiopians.

Let me raise one critical question, one that deserves an honest and accurate answer. During the entire exchange between Mehdi Hasan and Getachew Reda, whether from the journalist or from the audience, why was there not a single question about the decades-long crimes committed against the Amhara people or against the pro-unity forces of Ethiopia? Not one person who raised their hand mentioned the atrocities in Wollega, nor did anyone acknowledge the ethnic cleansing and targeted violence that have gone on for 35 years under both the TPLF and the Oromo-centric OLF/PP networks.

What struck me most was this: Mehdi Hasan went out of his way to label Colonel Demeke Zewdu as a criminal, yet he showed no willingness to address the well-documented crimes committed at Mikadra by the TPLF-affiliated Samri group. The massacre of native Wolqait residents, innocent people murdered in cold blood, was entirely absent from his line of questioning. Neither Hasan nor the audience nor the so-called three additional panel participants dared to raise this issue. It was as if the victims of Mikadra simply did not exist in that room.

Did Hasan, or any participant in the London Al Jazeera session, asked about the TPLF’s genocidal march toward Addis Ababa? Did anyone question the crimes their forces committed along the way, crimes that were even reported by international journalists like the Washington Post’s cameraman, whose work “Tears of Wollega” shed light on the atrocities committed in the Amhara and Oromo regions?

And what about the joint destruction carried out by both the TPLF forces and Abiy Ahmed’s army during their strategic retreats? Their actions were not random or accidental; they systematically targeted Wollo and Gondar. Schools were not simply damaged; they were dismantled. Hospitals were not caught in the crossfire; they were deliberately destroyed. Crops were burned, livestock slaughtered, and entire livelihoods erased because they believed the owners were Amhara or Afar peasants. This was a coordinated effort to break the backbone of communities already suffering from a brutal and prolonged conflict.

Yet none of these realities were acknowledged in that London studio. Instead, the discussion was narrowed to the political journey of one man and the rivalry between two criminal factions, while the suffering of millions was conveniently pushed aside.

Summary

The article examines the recent confrontation between Mehdi Hasan of Al Jazeera and Getachew Reda in London, arguing that the debate failed to address the most painful and consequential truths of Ethiopia’s recent history. While the exchange appeared dramatic to international audiences, it neglected decades of atrocities committed against the Amhara people, as well as crimes committed by both the TPLF and the Oromo-centric political camps that have dominated Ethiopia for more than three decades.

The central critique is that neither Hasan nor the audience raised questions about the long-standing ethnic violence in Wollega, the systematic targeting of Amhara communities, or the broader pattern of ethnic cleansing carried out by both TPLF forces and Oromo political actors. Despite the abundance of documented atrocities—such as the Mikadra massacre committed by the TPLF-affiliated Samri group, these topics were completely ignored. Instead, Hasan chose to label individuals like Colonel Demeke Zewdu as criminals while sidestepping crimes that affected far larger populations.

The article points out that the audience members and additional panel participants, many of whom appeared aligned with either TPLF or Abiy Ahmed’s Oromo-centric networks, also failed to acknowledge these atrocities. No one questioned the TPLF’s destructive march toward Addis Ababa, nor the crimes committed along the way—crimes documented even by international journalists such as the Washington Post’s Jamal in “Tears of Wollega.”

The author can be reached at : mmusie2@gmail.com

Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com  

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