Tigray, a region in Ethiopia, is currently experiencing a major conflict.The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, wanted to unite Ethiopia by bringing together the countries’ different regions, each with its own system of government. By unifying the country, Abiy Ahmed hoped to strengthen the federal government's power and weaken the regional power. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Prime Minister postponed each region’s parliamentary elections, however Tigray continued to hold them. Angered with their choice, Abiy Ahmed cut all funding from the Ethiopian government. Things turned violent on November 4th, 2020 when Abiy Ahmed claimed the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front was stealing weapons from the government military base. This information was proven accurate and soon after, Ahmed cut all Internet access the region had, essentially putting the region of Tigray on lockdown. Soon after, fighting broke out and Abiy Ahmed sent militia fighters from the region of Amhara to fight against Tigray officials. In addition, Eritrea, a country near Ethiopia, joined Amhara in fighting against Tigray. As a result, Tigray is facing a humanitarian crisis as well as the threat of ethnic cleansing. According to the New York Times, U.N officials claim: “just 20 percent of the region can be reached by aid groups because of government-imposed restrictions.” Not only is Tigray as a region struggling due to the humanitarian crisis, there have also been accusations of the Amhara militia fighters attempting to push out the Tigray ethnic population. The U.S government made a report claiming: “ethnic Tigrayans had been attacked and had their homes pillaged and burned.” It was observed that other towns with a large Amharan population had significantly less violent acts, hinting at the possibility of an ethnic cleansing of only the Tigray people. Abiy Ahmed’s office continues to claim that they are aware of the situation and want to bring peace to what is happening in Tigray. The New York Times reports that the government “reiterates its commitment to enabling a stable and peaceful region.” As time progresses, more and more Tigrayan people are facing violence as their homes and towns are invaded. President Joe Biden has contacted the President of Kenya and the two have discussed the steps that need to be taken in order to prevent even more hardships from happening. This March, the United States is expected to lead the United Nations Security Council and observers have stated that the U.S should use this position to their advantage and bring awareness to the situation.
Discussion Questions:
1. How has the Prime Minister abused his powers and how might this affect the political future of Ethiopia?
2. Based on prior knowledge of geography and how it affects political relations, how might the location of Tigray affect the situation it is in now?
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/world/middleeast/ethiopia-tigray-ethnic-cleansing.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/world/africa/ethiopia-tigray-conflict-explained.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/world/africa/ethiopia-abiy-tigray.html
The Prime minister has abused his power by shutting off the internet when people don't do what he likes. He also sent troops to kill or capture the officials in Tigray. This could cause Ethopia to suffer from corruption, and a lack of peoples' representation in Ethopia. Tigray is a ways from the capital, so the people living near the capital probably look down on the country folk. Tigray is also a separate ethnic group from everyone else, so the others feel animosity towards Tigrays.
ReplyDeleteThe Prime minister abused his power by using it to shut off the internet, essentially using his power to punish those who disobey him. He also used the pretext of "uniting the regions" to order troops to attack Tigray just because they didn't follow his plan to unite the regions. This abuse of power could cause the people of Ethiopia to become distrustful of the government, and cause future acts of resistance to become difficult for the people to start.
ReplyDeleteThe Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has abused his power by forcibly putting the people of Tigray in lockdown. He has also sent military to fight against the officials in Tigray just because their political views don't align. This might result in the lack of representation of Tigray in the future Ethiopia, since the Prime Minister's aim is to bring together the different regions. The ethnic cleansing that is happening right now will affect the Tigrayan population drastically as well. This might result in a weaker say in Ethiopia of the Tigrayan ethnic group.
ReplyDeleteThe current conflict between Sudan and South Sudan that is right next to Ethiopia's Tigray region might affect the conflict there, especially as tens of thousands of refugees from Tigray have sought refuge in Sudan, which has heightened the political tensions existing between the different nations and caused skirmishes and conflicts between Sudanese people and Ethiopian refugees.
ReplyDeleteThe prime minister has abused his power because he shut off the internet for people who do what he does not approve of. He also used a lot of physical force to gain what he wants such as killing officials. This might affect the political future of Ethiopia because of his idea of bringing different regions into Ethiopia. This could harm the Tigrayan population.
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