Call for Retraction of US Statement that may dangerously targets “Amharas” who are already a target of an ongoing genocide in Ethiopia!

We, people of ethnic Amhara descent across the world, are deeply concerned about the recent statement released by US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in relation to the conflict in Tigray Region of Ethiopia.

We acknowledge the commitment made by the US to ensure that human rights is respected in its strong ally Ethiopia as well as other parts of the world. However, it is regrettable to find that the recent statement by Secretary of State squarely framed one ethnic group for events that were not independently investigated. It is a matter of national record that after TPLF attacked the North Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), various regional forces were called for duty by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the Commander in Chief of the nation. Amhara Regional Force was one of those forces. Upon successful deterrence of TPLF’s attempt of hostile takeover of the central government by prevailing over the first battle that happened in Amhara Region, at a location called Kerakir,  as TPLF were heading to take over the North Gonder Zone of Amhara Region, the Amhara Regional Force along with the ENDF was able to deter an all-out civil war.

While we very much applaud the effort to stop the human rights violations in Tigray and double down on your call to get the perpetrators accountable, we believe that the verdict that your statement gave against Amharas on events that were not investigated will cause immeasurable suffering to ethnic Amharas who are already being hunted down throughout Ethiopia due to the non-stop hate campaign TPLF and their other separatist allies have propagated for the last 30 years.     The statement even failed to acknowledge the well-founded main cause of the conflict ­­­– the savage attack of the national defense force by TPLF – and the massacre of ethnic Amharas in their native land “Kadra Wonz” which has been changed to “Maikadra” since being forcefully annexed to Tigray Region by TPLF. It was also evident that the ethnic Amharas was the most targeted in the attack of the national defense force by TPLF.

It is regrettable to note the massive media campaign against the people of Amhara following the released statement, which appears to give a green light for many to take a side against the people of Amhara. Some of the TPLF affiliated local and foreign activists have gone to the extent of using unverified or fake video footages and evidences to campaign against the Amharas. By not being impartial and not covering both sides of the story, the statement by US Secretary of State has clearly inflicted enormous damage to the people of Amhara in many ways. It is heartbreaking to see that the statement has led to a wrong judgement of the Amhara people by many international institutions and media. This could have been easily avoided by waiting for the allegations to be investigated independently before handing out verdict. We have realized that access to the conflict ridden areas has just opened to Medias and no investigation has occurred yet.    

Dear Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken,

The people of Amhara have no interest in causing any harm to Tigray. As it is well known, ethnic Amharas have been subjected to many years of systematic genocide and displacement after what TPLF refers as  “west & south parts of Tigray” which were integral parts of the Gonder and Wollo provinces of the Amhara region respectively before being forcibly  annexed to Tigray Region by TPLF. Hundreds of thousands of people have left their native land and been living in different parts of the world as refugee including the USA. More Amhara population still live on the annexed lands and their human rights is equally important as the others.

If given the opportunity, we have a team of experts who can provide deep insight into the historical background for your complete understanding of the political dynamics in the region. In the meantime, We respectfully demand the retraction of your statement in order to ensure your statement does not exacerbate the ongoing genocide against Amharas all over the country  

We are hopefully looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Concerned Citizens of Ethnic Amhara Descent across the World