, a unified coalition of Amhara civic organizations across the globe...){kind=link}
December 9, 2025
To:
H.E. Amb. Selma Malika Haddadi
Deputy Chairperson
African Union Commission
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
H.E. Mohamed Abdi Ware
Deputy Executive Secretary
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
Djibouti
From: Collaboration of Amhara Associations Summit (CAAS)
Your Excellencies,
On behalf of the Collaboration of Amhara Associations Summit (CAAS), a unified coalition of Amhara civic organizations across the globe, we write to express our profound disappointment and formal condemnation of the African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for their involvement in and endorsement of a staged and deceptive “peace agreement” publicized on December 4, 2025, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
During the event, H.E. Amb. Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and H.E. Mohamed Abdi Ware, Deputy Executive Secretary of IGAD, were present in official capacity as witnesses. Their institutional authority was used to validate what was presented to the public as a genuine peace deal between the Amhara Fano People’s Organization (AFPO) and the Amhara Regional Government.
However, the central figure showcased by the government and presented as a “representative of AFPO” was in fact a private individual with no mandate, authority, or legitimacy to negotiate or speak on behalf of AFPO. Long before December 4, AFPO had publicly expelled this individual after credible allegations that he was conspiring with the Ethiopian federal regime and acting
against the organization’s interests. AFPO publicly declared that he held no authority to negotiate or speak for the organization under any circumstance.
Despite this well-known and publicly documented fact, AU and IGAD officials proceeded to stand as witnesses to this manufactured event. Both organizations thereafter published statements on their official social media platforms, endorsing what they described as a “peace deal” between AFPO and the Ethiopian regieme, statements that were patently untrue.
The presence of AU and IGAD high-level officials at a fabricated ceremony, combined with their public amplification of misinformation, constitutes a serious breach of neutrality, procedural integrity, and institutional credibility.
We strongly belive the involvement of AU and IGAD in a fabricated political performance represents a profound breach of neutrality, due diligence, and ethical responsibility. These actions:
• Legitimized a deceptive narrative designed to weaken authentic resistance groups. • Enabled the propaganda machinery of a government widely documented as committing atrocities including genocide, war crimes, and the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war against the Amhara population.
• Provided political cover to a regime engaged in drone strikes on civilians, mass detentions, enforced disappearances, and the displacement of millions.
For well over 2 and half years, the so-called Amhara Regional State has effectively ceased to function as a civilian government. It has been replaced by direct federal military rule, imposed after a popular uprising against genocidal state violence. Any claim that a regional government exists with the capacity or legitimacy to negotiate on matters affecting the Amhara people is therefore false.
Under these conditions, AU and IGAD’s attempt to present a private individual signing a document with a militarily imposed “regional authority” as evidence of peace is not merely inaccurate—it is dangerous.
In the context of the Amhara people’s Universal Right of Self-Defense (URSD), a right invoked in response to genocide, mass killings, systematic displacement, and the destruction of entire communities, this staged agreement further delegitimizes both the regional and federal authorities.
Your institutions, by participating, have now become perceived as part of a propaganda apparatus, endorsing an agreement built on fabricated terminology, false representation, and a mischaracterization of the conflict.
Rather than reducing tensions, this action will exacerbate the already volatile and complex crisis, undermine prospects for real negotiation, and further erode public trust in continental institutions.
We want peace. We work for peace. But we believe peace cannot be manufactured through political theater; it must be built on a foundation of truth. Genuine peace cannot emerge from staged ceremonies or agreements negotiated with individuals who lack any legitimate mandate to speak for those they claim to represent. Sustainable peace requires truthful representation, the inclusion of authentic stakeholders, transparent processes, verifiable commitments, and engagement rooted in genuine good faith. The event of December 4 met none of these essential
criteria. Instead, it eroded the possibility of meaningful dialogue, further weakened trust in regional institutions, and provided political cover for the ongoing violence and repression facing the Amhara population.
What transpired was not merely a lapse in procedure, it was a profound moral failure. Our Formal Requests
Given the gravity of this matter, the Collaboration of Amhara Associations Summit (CAAS) respectfully but firmly demands the following:
1. Immediate retraction of AU and IGAD social media posts claiming to witness a peace agreement between AFPO and the Ethiopian government.
2. Public clarification acknowledging that AFPO did not participate in the December 4 event and that Mr. Masresha Setie had no authority to represent the organization. 3. Internal investigation into the procedural breakdown that allowed high-level officials to legitimize a staged event without basic verification.
4. Renewed commitment to impartiality, transparency, and engagement with legitimate stakeholders in any future peace initiatives related to the Amhara crisis.
5. Assurances that AU and IGAD will not again endorse deceptive or politically manufactured events presented by the Ethiopia’s genocidal regieme.
We belive the stakes are too high.
Millions of Amharas have been displaced, terrorized, raped, or killed in one of the most severe human rights crises of our time. As continental institutions, AU and IGAD carry not only diplomatic responsibility but moral obligations. In a moment when Africa desperately needs impartial leadership, truth, and principled mediation, the December 4 incident casts a long shadow over both your institutions.
Your involvement in this staged peace event has weakened trust, damaged your credibility, and signaled a dangerous willingness to be used in political deception.
We therefore urge you to take immediate corrective measures to restore integrity, uphold the values enshrined in your mandates, and contribute meaningfully to a legitimate and lasting path toward peace.
African lives and Africa’s institutional legitimacy depend on it.
Respectfully,
Collaboration of Amhara Associations Summit (CAAS)
CC:
• AU Permanent Representative to the United States, Washington, D.C. • Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations, New York • Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
Signatories:
Washington Area Association of Amhara (WAAA
Amhara Association in Seattle (AAS)
Amhara Union – Munich /Germany
Amhara Association of Los Angeles
The Amhara Heritage Society of Minnesota
Amhara association of Nebraska (AAN)
Amhara Association in New York
Amhara Society Social Forum London, Ontario, Canada
__
Disclaimer: Content in the Press Release category is provided by third parties and published as received, without editorial modifications. Borkena.com, one of the leading Ethiopian news portals based in Toronto, assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Borkena.com
Support : https://borkena.com/subscribe-borkena/
Borkena Ethiopian News Youtube Channel
Join our Telegram Channel : t.me/borkena
Like borkena on Facebook
To submit Press Release, send submission to info@borkena.com
Add your business to Ethiopian Business Listing / Ethiopian Business Directory
Join the conversation. Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter) @zborkena to get the latest Ethiopian News updates regularly.