That Travel by Federal Chancellor Scholz to Ethiopia and Kenya occurred against a backdrop of major tensions in the region. This should not be overlooked, although the reason for the trip may be the 60th anniversary of the founding of the African Union.
Of course, the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signing a ceasefire in November is a positive. But the question remains: did a good peace come about? It must be doubted. Since the essential partner, Amhara’s representative, is not involved in this agreement, although the Amhara and Afar regions had previously been the scene of some of the worst atrocities.
are in this conflict 1.2 million Ethiopians have died so far. There is no such thing as a just war. That’s undeniable. However, when assessing what happened, we must not ignore the fact that the TPLF were by no means the only victims in this war. After all, he started this war savagely attacked and massacred the northern army during the night.
Only countries with regional armies
Since the ceasefire, the Amharas, those who have sacrificed the most for national integrity, are seen as terrorists. The reason is, that Amhara refused to disarm their troops. This is a political issue out of an Ethiopian curiosity: Ethiopia is perhaps the only country in the world where vassal nations are allowed to maintain their own regional armies.
The disarmament of all parties to the conflict would now be desired. But President Abiy, an Oromo, has excluded his own ethnic group. This means that the country’s largest ethnic group is still armed. So who is surprised if Amhara doesn’t trust the government in these conditions?
After the war with Tigray ended, Ethiopia was threatened with a new war, this time between Oromo and Amhara. The West should be aware of this mixed situation. He must take a more different view of the conflict that threatens to tear Ethiopia apart than he has to date.
Germany can contribute
The German government could make an important contribution to preventing a new war. The West must first admit that President Abiy, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, has disappointed the country greatly. Ethiopia stood behind him, as did the international community, when he made historic peace with Eritrea and defended Ethiopia’s national integrity.
Now it will be very important that the West is not wrong about the causes and understands the reasons for the conflict in Ethiopia. The constitution adopted about 30 years ago takes full responsibility for all political crimes in this country, which plays an important role for the entire Horn of Africa region.
Constitutional apartheid regime
It forms ethnic federations, where the term “ethnic federation” is just another word for the constitutionally enshrined apartheid regime. This constitution establishes a federal state only on paper. In fact, the constitution strengthens the hegemony of whichever ethnic group is in power. For about 30 years it was Tigray, for four years it was Oromo.
Therefore Europe must show the same courage towards Ethiopia as it did towards the apartheid regime of South Africa. It’s about promoting a true federal statewhere ethnic boundaries have been erased and where ethnic parties are no longer in power.
Ethiopia needs to be deethnicized. The state needs administrative regions, not ethnicities. It needs a party that does not represent ethnic interests, but a political program.
India should be a role model, a country with more ethnic groups, more languages, and more religions than Ethiopia. Yet India has succeeded in building the world’s largest democratically governed federal state. That’s what Ethiopia is all about.
Dr Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate was the grandson of the last Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie. He is a management consultant in Frankfurt and has published many bestselling books, most recently “Who’s afraid of black people?”.
