Posted by The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
by Yohannes Berhe, Ottawa, Canada
“Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come” the great Victor Hugo uttered these enduring words more than a century ago. And yet, one would be hard pressed to find more fitting words to describe the crises currently unfolding in Ethiopia. A few months back it was the southern part of the nation (Oromigna speaking area of the nation to be precise) that was engulfed in a vast array of spontaneous protests against the TPLF dominated regime. The most recent one is Gonder, one of the northernmost and oldest regions of Ethiopia. Given the most stifling political environment and the complete shutdown of the political space, this worrisome development is not at all surprising. Added to the total lack of democratic legitimacy, the officially sanctioned ethnic policy is an aggravating factor that is pushing our country into uncharted water. The focus of my commentary is indeed to underscore the danger of this hyper-ethnicized political environment as far as the Tigrayan community is concerned.Map of Tigray region.
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