Aklog Birara (Dr)
In a conversation with an Ecuadorian entrepreneur whose family relies on the preparation and sale of Ecuador’s world famous “flaky, buttery bizcochos de Cayambe,” I gained more insight on the power of social movements. This took place in the town of Cayambe, not too far from the real location of the Equator. The well-informed Ecuadorian told me how Ecuadorian local women closed ranks, organized themselves, protested without let up and achieved recognition for the location of the Equator and won.
Freedom, democracy, social justice, fair treatment under the law, gender equality and the like are not granted like foreign humanitarian aid. These are earned through purposefulness, relentless effort, mobilization, organization, and unified social and political movements.
Over the past few days alone, Ethiopian political activists, independent journalists and media report state-led savagery concerning the mutilation and desecration of two Amhara girls in their teens. It is reported and documented widely that Oromo Special Forces deployed by Abiy Ahmed to fight Amhara Fano reverted to an unspeakable and savage act. They killed the wounded, skinned these two girls, and cut their breasts.
State-led horrific and barbaric cases of a similar nature like disemboweling pregnant Amhara women have occurred in the city of Shashemene, in Wellega and other locations. Facts speak volumes. Amhara have been singled out for systematic state and non-state led ethnic cleansing, rape, genocide, displacement, harassment, and demeaning characterization for half a century.
The UN had established the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia. The UN Human Rights Council established this body on December 17, 2021, comprising three human rights experts appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council, to complement the work undertaken by the joint investigative team. The Commission’s mandate was most recently extended for a period of one year, until October 2023, through Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/RES/51/27 during the Council’s 51st Session.”
Sadly, this UN mandated independent investigative body but did not extend its life. It failed to fulfil its mandate. Ethnic cleansing, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity continued in Ethiopia. Accountability matters. Had the UN acted concerning war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide, rape and ethnic cleansing following the war between the TPLF and the federal government of Ethiopia; additional casualties of innocent civilians could have been averted. Instead, the Abiy regime operates with impunity.
On October 10, 2023, the UN “warned of heightened risk of genocide and atrocity crimes in Ethiopia. This statement confirms atrocities against Amhara are often ignored by the international community. These atrocities are committed by government troops fighting local insurgents, lately Amhara Fano. The death of civilians is not limited to the Amhara region. Thousands of civilians have perished in Oromia and Tigray
“The incident reports that we see coming out of Ethiopia are deeply disturbing and constitute a call for action,” said Alice Wairimu Nderitu. “I want to particularly draw the attention of the global community to the continued presence of risk factors for genocide and related atrocity crimes in the country.”
The ongoing slaughter, killing and disembowelment of pregnant Amhara women, babies and children, the displacement of hundreds of thousands as well as the destruction of whole Amhara communities is intended to annihilate the Amhara population wherever Amhara lives and works.
The UN’ s Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide notes “The suffering of innocent civilians should never be accepted as inevitable; rather, it must reinforce our commitment to ensure that impunity does not prevail and that all possible prevention actions are prioritized.”
Despite this recognition of atrocities by the UN, the Abiy regime continues to inflict wide ranging human rights violations and untold atrocities targeting Amhara civilians. A key component of the Special Advisor’s plea that guides Abiy’s policy is this.
“Perpetrators have expressed the intention to target a group based on ethnicity. This includes describing Tigrayans as ‘cancer,’ indicating a desire to kill men and children, or else to destroy women’s reproductive capacities. “Abiy Ahmed and his cadre of supporters describe Amhara as “neftegna, colonizer, occupier, killer of innocent Oromo civilians” and the like.
This is the reason the Special Advisor recommended to the UN to “raise all alarms that the risk of genocide is present and growing.”
The UN failed to act. The tragedy continues unchallenged. More innocent civilians continue to die.
The international community has yet to condemn these acts of Ethiopian state-terrorism in the 21st century.
Abiy Ahmed and his well-paid Oromo generals continue to operate with impunity. In this connection, the international community is complicit. This is so because it failed to call for accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of rape, crimes of genocide and crimes of ethnic cleansing.
Ethiopia’s trajectory is dangerous. If Ethiopians together and the rest of the international community fail to respond to the Ethiopian crisis as a matter of urgency, the unthinkable of country-wide civil war and the collapse of the Ethiopian state may occur.
In the event Ethiopia collapses because of Abiy’s tyranny to advance single ethnic group hegemony on behalf of Oromo mini- nation states like former Yugoslavia will emerge. This prospect is not fiction. Ethnic groups are armed to the teeth. Eritrea seceded and Ethiopia lost its seacoast. So, there is precedent.
The Tigray region operates like a de-facto independent nation. People to people relations among Ethiopians are severed. This emanates from the propagation of hateful and divisive narratives by political and social elites. The state is in the forefront of this phenomenon in Ethiopian politics.
In the case of Ethiopia, I predict these mini states are unlikely to live in peace with one another. The better option is to overhaul the current ethnic-federal system and establish a citizenship based federal system like that of the United States, Nigeria, and the rest.
In the light of ominous signs, Ethiopia’s Genz Z has an obligation to wake-up from ethnicity-based hatred and division, slumber, and demand change. No one else will do it for them.
The purpose of this commentary is to draw attention to a new global phenomenon that is likely to spread like wildfire. You may argue Ethiopia is different because ethnic division contaminates unified civil dissent. This is true. However, the future of Ethiopia’s youth bulge estimated by UNFPA at 65 percent below the age of 28 in 2025, is likely to determine the country’s future one way or another. It is the age group born between 1997 and 2012 that constitutes Gen Z. it is this age group that joins various fighting groups including the Ethiopian military populated by youth. Thousands pf Ethiopian young people are dying. This must not continue uncontested.
The current worldwide social revolution spearheaded by Genz Z has relevance for Ethiopia’s youth regardless of ethnic affiliation. On October 4, 2025, CNN wrote an insightful piece entitled “From Morocco to Madagascar: Gen Z is taking digital dissent offline.”
The intent of this social and political movement is fundamental reform in the way governments are run, and resources are shared. “From Kathmandu to Lima, youth-led uprisings are driving thousands from their screens to the streets, demanding accountability, change and, in some cases, toppling governments.”
The Ecuadorian had reminded me that Ecuadorian women mobilized all segments regardless of ethnic affiliation, age and social status and won. CNN reports slight differentiation today. “These Gen-Z protesters come from disparate backgrounds and have different demands.” The commonality they share is opposition to the same state and government. “But the throughline is clear: Growing inequality and marginalization is destroying young people’s hopes for the future – and the only way forward is to confront a broken social contract head on.”
These protests require mobilization, organization, and leadership.
I would like to ask Ethiopian youth to reflect on the commonalities Generation Z oceans apart in Nepal, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Peru share. ‘inequality, marginalization,” poor and corrupt governance, degradation of human and civil rights, exclusion, extra-judicial killings under the pretext of preserving law and order, favoritism and cronyism, ethnic cleansing, genocide vary from country to country. All the same, the adverse effects are real. Madagascar consists of about 20 ethnic groups. This did not deter Malagasy Generation Z to unite, protest, and force the country’s president to flee. Peru has a large non-Hispanic population too. As does Ecuador.
So, do not tell me that Ethiopian’s multiethnic composition is a barrier to public outrage. It is your humanity and empathy that dictate solidarity beyond ethnicity and faith. It is political will and resolve that matter. It is the future fate of all young people that matters. A change in basic assumptions in thinking is therefore key.
Take Morocco, one of the most developed of Maghreb nations. “On consecutive nights this week, cities and towns across Morocco have pulsed with the anger of young people mobilized under the umbrella “Genz Z 212” – the country’s international dialing code. Led by mostly students and unemployed graduates, the protesters are demanding sweeping reforms in healthcare, education, and social justice – issues they say have been sidelined as the government pours billions into 2030 World Cup infrastructure.”
There are striking similarities between Ethiopia and Morocco. Abiy Ahmed and his Prosperity Party erect lavish palaces, hotels, resorts by diverting tens of billions of dollars. In Morocco, CNN reports “While stadiums and luxury hotels are erected, hospitals remain overcrowded and rural areas underserved. Morocco’s education system, long underfunded, is churning out graduates with few job prospects: Youth unemployment sits at 36% – and 1 in 5 university graduates are out of work.”
Ethiopia’s situation is worse. Medical doctors protest because of low wages. Teachers are forced to work without pay. Thousands of Ethiopian unemployed youths leave their homeland in search of jobs across the ocean in the Middle East to no avail. Health services in Ethiopia are in shambles. As is education.
In the Amhara region alone four to five million youth are denied education. Schools are either destroyed or serve as army depots. The situation in the Oromo region is similar. The Tigray regional state has been distressed for a long time, with no remedy in sight.
Yet, national public dissent in Ethiopia is non-existent. This is the case despite abductions, and despite daily state led death and destruction.
Why is Ethiopian society numb? Take a closer look at the Moroccan situation. Morocco is in Africa. This matters.
“The recent protests were triggered by the deaths of pregnant women following routine C-sections in the coastal city of Agadir, spotlighting the crumbling healthcare system. The government’s response has been swift and brutal: Three people were killed and hundreds of others injured, authorities said. Riot police have been deployed across major cities, using force and arresting dozens. Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch said Thursday his government had “engaged” with the protesters’ demands and was ready for “dialogue and discussion.” On Friday, Genz Z 212 demanded the government resign.”
Moroccan youth are protesting for fundamental change despite the dangers they face. On the same continent in Madagascar the Generation Z protest achieved its initial goal. How did they do it? “Crowds of young anti-government protesters call for a general strike and for President Andry Rajoelina to resign during a demonstration in Antsiranana, Madagascar on October 2. For days this week, cities across the Indian Ocean nation – one of Africa’s poorest – have been flooded with young protesters outraged over water shortages and rolling blackouts. They quickly morphed into calls for systemic reform, with the protesters demanding the resignation of President Andry Rajoelina, who first came to power in a 2009 coup, and his government.”
President Rajoelina responded by dissolving the government this week, saying, “I heard the call, I felt the suffering,” but authorities continue to crack down on dissent. The United Nations said Monday at least 22 people had been killed and more than 100 injured. The government disputes these figures.” It was too late.
International media reports that “On October 14, 2025, Madagascar’s National Assembly voted to impeach President Andry Rajoelina after he fled the country amid weeks of anti-government protests. The military then announced it had seized power.” This is an ominous sign for the rest of Africa.
Would the Malagasy military solve the country’s institutional and structural problems? Would it respond to the demands of Malagasy youth that brought down the president and his cabinet? It remains to be seen. But it is a huge start.
This new and remarkable social and political movement is not confined to Africa. It is taking place in Asia and Latin America. CNN reports “In the South American nation of Peru, youth demonstrations began on September 20 after the government announced reforms to a pension law. The protests then swelled to wider calls to stamp out corruption, repression, and rising crime under President Dina Boluarte’s rule. The Peruvian leader’s approval ratings recently sank to 2.5%, with her government at 3%, according to the Institute of Peruvian Studies’ July report, reflecting widespread economic anxiety, anger over corruption scandals and continued outrage over the killing of dozens of protesters after she took office in late 2022.”
Do we know Abiy’s Ahmed’s approval rating? We do not. But it is dismal. The point is this. The Ethiopian economic, social political economic system is unhealthy and getting worse. A new class of beneficiaries has emerged. This class that includes generals, cabinet members and advisors is determined to maintain the status quo at any cost. For this class, the death of millions is immaterial. The government of Ethiopia believes it can build impenetrable walls around its new class of beneficiaries and defend this class using forces: drones, tanks, missiles, mortar, and the rest. This strategy is delusional in that you cannot shelter yourself perpetually while 65 percent of 130 million people are in dire need of meaningful employment. This anomaly has the potential to trigger a generation Z revolt in Ethiopia too.
Peru, another remarkable country with rich culture and biodiversity, suffers from inequality and corruption. “Gen Z protesters in Lima, Peru demonstrate alongside transport workers in a rally against corruption and crime on September 27.
The outcome remains to be seen.
Across the oceans in Nepal, a similar movement is taking place. What caused it?
“The unrest comes in the wake of Gen Z’s extraordinary and unprecedented take down of the Nepali government in September. What began as a protest a government social media ban quickly morphed into a broader revolt against corruption and economic stagnation. In fewer than 48 hours, at least 22 people were killed and hundreds injured as demonstrators torched government buildings in the capital Kathmandu and toppled the prime minister.”
The ongoing Gen Z protest “mirrors other recent Gen Z-driven movements across South Asia: In 2024, Bangladeshis ousted Sheikh Hasina, who ruled the country for more than 15 years in power; in 2022, young Sri Lankans ended the Rajapaksa family dynasty that dominated the country’s politics for two decades.”
What lessons can Ethiopia’s Gen Z draw from this worldwide phenomenon that is shaping the future in the global south?
First, I urge Ethiopia’s Gen Z to set aside ethnic silos, incubate the idea that youth must take the lead in pursuing freedom from harsh, brutal, and corrupt governance in Ethiopia. The ruling elite’s mantra is to divide, conquer and rule based on ethnic differentiation.
Second. Ethiopia’s Gen Z must recognize the incontestable truth that Ethiopia’s Prosperity Party and the institutions it established are completely detached from the day-to-day lives of ordinary citizens, especially youth and women.
Third, Ethiopian social and political elites are fragmented. They have failed to respond to the hopes and aspirations of the Ethiopian people as a political and social community. I urge immediate effort to re-examine and regroup.
Fourth, the priorities of Ethiopia’s ruling elite are completely different from the basic needs of the Ethiopian people: education, health, jobs, food, sanitation, access to safe drinking water, adequate shelter, access to electricity and the like.
Have you ever heard of Abiy’s cabinet or parliament discussing the plight of young people irrespective of faith and ethnicity? Have you heard this cohort acknowledging the catastrophe Ethiopian society is facing?
The future of Ethiopia’s youth is grim. For this reason, Ethiopia’s Gen Z and the rest of Africa must rise and lead the change. The rest of us must provide tools and share global practices.
Fifth, for Ethiopia’s Gen Z to succeed, it must recognize the notion that Ethiopia is in a system induced crisis. It must engage, mobilize, and organize all youth in Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, Somali and other regions. All have a stake in the future.
Sixth, for Ethiopia’s Gen Z to gain international recognition, it must be relentless, peaceful but defiant. The movement must be complementary to the current armed struggle in Ethiopia. It is the end game that matters.
The end game is justice, genuine democracy, and the defense of human and civil rights in Ethiopia.
Lastly, I urge the UN Human Rights Council to resurrect the UN Expert Commission on Human Rights in Ethiopia and empower it to act.
I do hope this commentary, especially the success stories, triggers a shift in our paradigm of thinking. I urge youth to join this unprecedented social movement.
Political and social Change in Ethiopia is inevitable. This will happen sooner if the country’s youths resolve to set aside human-caused differences, mobilize, organize, and work together to change.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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Another earthquake just hit around the same area it rattled a week or so ago. This one was not too far(about 26 miles) from the town of Adigrat in Tigray region and measured 4.5 on the Richter scale. The area is mostly inhabited by our Afar brothers and sisters. The previous ones had done considerable damage to homes and let’s hope this one will not be as bad. Awash/Fentale, look out!!!
1). ‘Murphy’s Law for Ethiopia’: “When all else fails, pit Amaras against Oromos [or vice-versa] & set Ethiopia ablaze!” Only Ethiopia’s Enemies [Egypt/EPLF|Eritrea/etc.] & their Proxies [TPLF/‘Fanno’/OLF-IFLO/etc.] mutilate Amaras/Oromos/etc.
(2). Amaras & Oromos: I am from Addis and I have never met any Oromo in Gojjam & Gonder [G&G] in my sojourns over many years. Yet, over 15 million Amaras [mostly from G&G] live in Oromo Zone [OZ]→[ youtu.be/IXBVqbOe9uY?t=2320 ]
(3). Amaras & Ethiopia: Let’s rig Ethiopia’s population in Amaras’ favor to 30 million. Addis is ≈70% Amara [≈5 million]. Ignore the Amaras in other Zones, too. So, ≈10 million Amaras live in the Amara Zone [AZ] itself →LESS than those in OZ!
(4). Σ: (i). Over 15 million Amaras reap OZ’s benefits: education/jobs/health care/etc. (ii). If Oromos were Amara-Killers as portrayed, need Oromos go to AZ to kill them? (iii). Oromos never invited Amaras to OZ or never prevented them from leaving OZ. (iv). Dr. Yilikal offered the Amaras displaced from Wollega by OLF-IFLO [fled to AZ] to resettle in AZ, but they refused: “We want to return to Wollega…”
5). Ethiopia | Democracy | Elections: The AU/UN/EU/US/etc. monitored the last election at All Polling Stations. The Amaras in AZ elected their Amara leaders [just as others]. Abiy’s Party won! He became PM & formed his government!
(i). Armed Insurrection against an elected government is Domestic Terrorism [DT] → No Sugar Coating!
(ii). Amaras in AZ went to the polls and elected their Amara Leaders →NOT the Self-Appointed ‘Amara Fanno’
(iii). Self-Appointed Proxies [Amara Fanno, OLF-IFLO, etc.] destabilizing Ethiopia from within are Domestic Terrorists [DTs]
(iv). The Amaras/Oromos/etc. who support ‘Fanno’/‘OLF-IFLO’/etc. didn’t know what they were doing when they went to the polls? Don’t they know that accomplices to DT are DTs, too!
6). Double Standard: When ‘Fannos’ kill Ethiopian soldiers, they are Amaras’ Heroes. When soldiers retaliate & kill the ‘Fannos’ & accomplices, it becomes ‘Amara Genocide, Human Rights Violation, etc.’ No Mercy & No Safe Haven for DTs.
7). The Part-Time Ethiopians →’Ethiopian Diaspora [ED]’: “ጅብ የማያውቁት ሐገር ኼዶ – ‘ቁርበት አንጥፉልኝ’ – አለ!” አሉ! 70% of ED were servants/beneficiaries of the former Self-Appointed Tyrant Regimes. Most are Amaras from G&G, too. Isn’t it their regimes’ Greed & Ineptitude that made Ethiopia “The World’s Poster Child of Poverty & Famine”?
8). Abiy’s Ethiopia: “The World’s Poster Child of Greenery & Prosperity”. Over 10 million students/kindergartners/nursery babies/etc. get at least 2 meals a day on site. Foreign aid is only ≈7% [Dr. Birhanu]. Go & See the various development projects! Cf.: The Monarchy watched ≈200K drought/famine-stricken Amaras starve than airdrop 100g [10¢] bread.
It leaves me with great sadness whenever I read articles such as this one written by one of our own well-read individuals especially in times of this where every one of us needs to douse the lit up fire before it becomes an inferno. We instead should be all hands on deck across religious and ethnic lines and work in unison to come up with a strong opposition party for peaceful struggle. The old country, to me and have said it numerous times before, has used up all of its chances over time since 1974 and is at its last pit stop, cross road, if you will. It better resolve its current issues peacefully or go belly up and the world will see the entire 135-140 million citizens on the move in all directions. I still remember how many among us were so jovial when the news reached us that a clique in the military had taken charge of running the nation under the pretext of saving the country from dissolution. It did not take too long for the clique to send 60 former officials to a late night gruesome shooting practice with many of buried still alive. When it was said and done more than 5 million citizens have lost their Allah blessed lives due to wars, famine and summary executions.
The new military strong man in Madagascar has all the work cut out for him to prove me wrong. Please don’t start with me about Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and others in Africa like them. Look at The Sudan next door where Abdel Fattah al-Burhan overthrew a civilian government in 2021 with the pretext to save the country from disintegration. I don’t have to tell you what he has done with it. These days Ibrahim Traoré is all the buzz with many among our well-read individuals and they have the nerve to reminisce with Thomas Sankara as if he was a one-off magician. Dear Africa! You’ve had it with the brass strongmen. How about my main man Paul Biya of Cameroon? Don’t you dare remind him of being 92 years old. He still can bust the move or bust the living daylight out of you and your Gen Z.