Ethiopian PM Frames Attacks on Orthodox Christians as “a Move to Disrupt the Election”

Borkena

Toronto—The Office of the Prime Minister on Friday released a two-page statement highlighting the massacre of Orthodox Christians in Arsi, in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.

The statement was fundamentally about the election and what Abiy Ahmed’s government considered its achievements in connection with it.

The incident in Arsi was instead framed as an attempt to “disrupt the election.”

Indeed, the latest round of attacks against Orthodox Christians in Arsi occurred on voting day and during the evening following the vote. According to official accounts from the government and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, 13 Orthodox Christians were killed under horrifying circumstances. Other local sources and citizen reports on social media put the figure at over 50. Moreover, more than 280 residential homes belonging to members of the same faith were burned. A church that was over 100 years old was also set on fire. Hundreds of households have been displaced as well.

The attacks have been recurring for over five years. Over the past three months alone, there have been three orchestrated killings targeting Orthodox Christians.

It is the first time the prime minister has openly mentioned the massacre in Arsi.

“The attack occurred in coordination with those who seek to disrupt the country’s development, rebels operating in the Amhara region, and foreign powers with hatred toward the country’s development,” the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said. It also linked the attack to militant Oromo nationalists, whom it refers to as “Shene” (a reference to the Oromo Liberation Army). The latter denied involvement in a statement it released following the latest incident.

The prime minister’s assessment of the incident, which he sees as an effort “to disrupt the election,” appears misleading given the recurring nature of the attacks and their targets. His Holiness Abune Mathias released a brief statement expressing sorrow after the attack. He was explicit that the violence targeted followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and church institutions.

Many Ethiopians, especially Orthodox Christians, tend to believe that the motive is to ethnically cleanse Orthodox Christian communities from the region for radical religious reasons.

Residents of the affected communities often link the attacks to “Shene.” However, there are also those who believe elements within the government structure have been involved through facilitation or by paving the way for the attacks. Their view is that it is not possible for such recurrent attacks to occur without government participation. Since the attacks began more than five years ago, no entity has been held accountable.

Opposition political parties in the country have also been condemning the attacks. Getnet Worku, Public Relations Head of the Coalition for Ethiopian Unity, which is composed of four major political parties, wrote an open letter to the Ethiopian prime minister. He stated, among other things, that three groups have been responsible for the recurring attacks: radical Islamist elements with links to groups such as Al-Shabab, militant Oromo nationalist groups, including the Oromo Liberation Army, and elements within the government structure. He described the group within the government as the most dangerous of the three.

Furthermore, he is not alone in holding that view. Many Ethiopians now believe that the government is a major part of the problem.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has for several years been calling on the government to take action to stop the attacks, but those appeals have not yielded results. As things stand, there appears to be no end in sight.

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