Amhara nationalism is not a new phenomenon in post 1991 Ethiopia. In mid 1990’s a popular surgeon Asrat Woldeyes had established the All Amhara People’s organization to fend off the anti Amhara policy of the incumbents; but after he was imprisoned and then killed by denying medication, the nationalism seemed subsided and the party was transformed from ethnic nationalist party into Ethiopian nationalist party. On the other hand, for the last 25 years, the TPLF has incessantly worked to enervate Ethiopian nationalism and replace it with ethnic based regional identities. This policy coupled with the government’s open anti Amhara policy is creating an environment conducive to ethnic based nationalisms in different parts of the country and finally it has started to get some ground even among Amharas, the people who are known to identify themselves with their country and consider being obsessed with ethnic identity as an anachronism in the 21 century. The Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), a member of the EPRDF is also seizing the opportunity to challenge the dominance of TPLF within EPRDF.
The issue of identity in the context of Ethiopia is so intricate and shaped by the country’s long history of inter ethnic marriage, war, trade, migration, urbanization and many other interactions among different ethnic groups. Setting a line between different identities within the country is dependent on the parameters chosen for classification. Religion, language and culture played important roles in the formation of the identities within the country. The Amhara identity is one of the well established identities in the country that has significantly shaped the country’s linguistic, religious and cultural dynamics but equating ‘Ethiopiawinet’ with Amhara identity is also wrong. Oromos, Guraghes, Tigres, Sidamas, Wolaytas, Somalis and other Ethiopians have also their own fair share in shaping ‘Ethiopiawinet’. Some of the elements in the Amhara identity are shared by other Ethiopians especially their neighbors while others are unique to the Amhara.
Historically Amharas are well known for patriotism and love of their country. Amharas firmly believe in the territorial integrity of Ethiopia and this sentiment is little changed to this day. One of the major factors that contributed to the development of this feeling is the way the modern Ethiopia was formed. After the collapse of the central government in the 17th century, the country was ruled by factions of warlords who fought continuous bloody wars for two centuries. But by mid 19th century an extraordinary person from Gondar named Kassa Hailu, who later become King Tewodros II, was able to envision and then create a centralized government by creating his own army and successfully defeating one warlord after the other. King Tewodros II was able to unify the northern and central provinces namely Gondar, Gojjam, Wollo, Tigray and Shewa. These provinces cover the present day Amhara region, Tigray region, central Oromia, the northern part of Southern region and parts of Benishangul and Afar regions. His project of creating a centralized and modern state was completed by his mentee and son in Law Menelik II. King Menelik II was able to incorporate the remaining parts of the present day Ethiopia into his kingdom. Due to such historical contribution of Amharas in spearheading the unifying process of modern Ethiopia and the general consensus among Amharas in keeping the unity of the country, the Amharas are considered synonymous with the unity of Ethiopia. But considering Amharas today feel as they are the sole guardians and protectors of ancient Ethiopian state is an attribution that has been inflated for political gain by Marxist parties and ethnic centered secessionist Marxist liberation fronts mushroomed in the country during the cold war. Even during Menelik’s expansion to the south, east and west, his army and generals were significantly a mixture of Amharas, Oromos and Guraghes and later at the battle of Adwa, Ethiopians from every corner of the country fought to keep the independence of the country under his leadership.
One of the misconceptions about the Amhara and the previous regimes is portraying Amharas as privileged and benefited from the past systems. But, if you compare the socio-economic condition of the Amharas with the Oromos, Tigres, Guraghes and other Ethiopians during those times, you would discover that it is a myth. The fairy tale was spread by secessionist ethnic based liberation fronts like the Tigray people Liberation Front (TPLF), Eritrean People Liberation Front (EPLF), the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the Ogaden Liberation Front (ONLF) and Marxist parties mushroomed in the country during the cold war. For example, as stated above, the TPLF has clearly stated in its manifesto that the objective of its struggle is “ anti Amhara and anti imperialism”. The reason the Amharas are targeted by the fronts is due to Amharas unwavering support for the unity of Ethiopia, which is against the secessionist objective of the fronts. The Marxists’ attempt to fit Marx’s theory that was written based on the reality in Europe into Ethiopia’s context was an epic failure. Though the socio-economic and political context of Ethiopia is utterly different from that of Europe, they wrongly and naively equated Amharas as the oppressors and exploiters in Marx’s theory and even the patriotism of the Amhara is labeled as chauvinism by those parties and liberation fronts and even today the TPLF openly used the labeling to denigrate Amharas . (Continue on page 3)