The Massacre of Benshangul Gumuz People by the Amhara’s Special Forces Must Be Immediately Stopped!

Press Release by Peoples’ Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (PAFD)

May 06, 2019 

We are witnessing the biggest failure of humanity in Ethiopian soil just after 12 months since the new PM has vowed to make such barbaric actions towards unarmed civilians a history. Contrary to his and his government’s vows, we observe that the civilians are getting killed for no apparent reasons by a highly armed Amhara regional special force in Benshangul Gumuz regional state.  This armed group is not only targeting solely indigenous and legitimate owners of the land; but also, hundreds of children and elderly are getting summarily executed for a simple reason of being different from their killers in the aspect of their culture, skin colour and political beliefs. This is a clinical example of genocide and it is tragically unfolding in Ethiopia as we speak. Apparently, the unarmed civilians are getting executed in their own soil by those who are legally allowed to occupy their land. As saying goes, a history is repeating itself in the Ethiopian soil. In 2003 between 430 and 500 unarmed civilians were massacred by those who colonised their land for a simple reason of silencing them whilst expropriating their resources and land in Gambella region. The same massacre is now unfolding in Shaka zone on a Shakacho people by the same highlanders. Tens of thousands of Oromo, Ogaden Somali and Sidama civilians were executed in the last 27 years alone. 

Benshangul People’s Liberation Movement (BPLM) is a PAFD’s member. We strongly believe that the rights of our members and that of all peoples in Ethiopia must be always protected. We have confirmed that Benshangul Gumuz civilians are increasingly targeted and executed by the highly armed and well-trained Amhara youth who call themselves Fano. They were trained, radicalized and fully armed with modern machine guns by a National Movement for Amhara (NaMA). According to the eye witnesses, between May 1 and 2, 2019, over 500 Shinasha people in Benshangul-Gumuz Region, Jawi Woreda, were summarily executed and tens of thousands of civilians were also made to flee their own villages for their lives. The main victims were civilians including children, women and elderly.

Further threats of those who call themselves the defenders of the Amhara rights (Amhara extremists) all over the world are intensifying. Furthermore, these groups are also using extremely inflammatory remarks by calling the victims ‘Monkeys’ whilst reinforcing their delusional and mythical lineages with the Judaism thus their capability of killing any group or nation they think they can colonise their land. On this subject, we have gathered ample and credible evidences that the killers of Benshangul Gumuz civilians are increasingly employing inflammatory and derogatory remarks calling the victims uncivilised primitives needing execution in exact manner as the Europeans have employed during, after and prior to the scramble for Africa.

The Ethiopian Government neither condemn the killings of civilians nor asked for apology for failing to safeguard them. Although some authorities claim the restoration of the order, this is far from the truth as the Government hasn’t so far take any justifiable action against the killers and forces behind these tragic executions. Apparently, the Amhara Regional Government has got full knowledge of the indicated group although it has deliberately refused to stop them from acting bestially. Some witnesses show that it has even assisted the executors with technical aspects of the indicated barbaric oppression.

In the aspects of Media coverage about such inhumane actions to unarmed civilians, we saw little or some misguided quotations about the incident. Instead, all Medias those usually daily reports when someone burps in Amhara region remain their mouths zipped. For example, some extremely biased Medias such as ESAT and ZeHabehsa- few days prior to the execution of civilians actively propagated the killing of between 10 and 13 Amhara civilians by the Benshangul Gumuz people who used traditional arrows. Witnesses believe to the contrary about the fact that ESAT’s and ZeHabesha’s false propaganda has played key role in escalating the situation to end up in such unsettling eventuality. Additionally, some of the Amhara’s army commanders including Colonel Demeke Zewudu, and some activists in their social media accounts have boasted of the killing of primitive people and stressed yet more to come to clear the remaining primitives so that they can overtake their land. These groups further threatened even the Oromo people in relation to the ownership claims of Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) and vowed to repeat their success in Benshangul in Wallo and other parts of Amhara-Oromia borders

Therefore, we the PAFD member political organisations, unanimously condemn with the strongest possible terms such barbaric actions toward the unarmed civilians, children, women and elderly of Benshangul Gumuz. We urge the Amhara’s regional state to exercise utmost restraint and lawfully handle its anarchically behaving special forces that has been primarily trained to maintain law and order. There won’t be any peace and security as long as some groups are fighting to dominate and dehumanise fellow mankind. Therefore, we must understand that refraining from bestially behaving to the other nations and groups must be seen as a sign of civility and wisdom.

Furthermore, we demand the federal government to immediately intervene and stop the on-going execution of powerless civilians whose lives are put at the mercy of their barbaric assailants. We also urge the federal government to immediately investigate and bring those responsible for such horrific and inhumane actions to civilians to justice. We advise the international human rights group and western countries politicians to earnestly bring this unsettling massacre of civilians to the attentions of obliviously sleeping Ethiopian authorities by urging them to take meaningful and corrective measures as a matter of urgency. We also call up on all Ethiopian peoples to unconditionally condemn such barbarism and demand the Amhara regional state to stop its inhumane actions to the unarmed civilians.

Finally, we send our deepest condolences to the families of barbarically executed Benshangul Gumuz civilians and show our consistent and unrestricted solidarity until justice is served on their behalf by bringing those who have killed and maimed their sons and daughters to an independent justice and their rights to the ownership of their land is restored by removing the colonial occupiers. The PAFD will always works for and speaks up for the voiceless people in Ethiopia.

Freedom and Justice for All Peoples in Ethiopia! Press Release by Peoples’

Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (PAFD)

May 06, 2019