Attorney General for the Federal government of Ethiopia has announced the filing of charges against 26 members of the TPLF Junta, including former chief of Ethiopia’s notorious national intelligence agency Getechew Assefa.
The announcement came early this morning on a series of broadcasts aired on Regime owned Media outlets such as FANA and the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC). The status of the 26 TPLF officials the government ordered arrest warrants for varies. Some of the fugitives are currently outside the country, while others are secluded in the Tigray enclave of northern Ethiopia.
The most notable and most high profile name on the wanted list is Getechew Assefa. A senior military commander and former head of the national intelligence service. A man once believed to be one of the most closest individuals to the late tyrannical dictator Meles Zenawi prior to his passing in 2012.
Getechew Assefa is reportedly seeking sanctuary in the Northern Tigray enclave of Ethiopia, in which he remains guarded by Tigray tribesmen and loyalists and for the time being remains completely immune from prosecution due to the Federal government’s inability to assert control or authority in the secluded Tigray enclave in the north.
Many people, in particular the pundits and analysts are asking themselves why now ? The timing of the announcement issued by the Attorney General raises eye brows and much suspicioun. The Federal government of Ethiopia is currently facing a world wind of issues.
Lawlessness, ethnic violence, turmoil, two million IDP’s, the Sidama question and the recent clashes on the Amhara-BenishangulGumuz border which has left close to 100 dead. Some estimates even put the death tole much higher. Instead of addressing these burning issues and finding tangible solutions to these man made disasters, the government has completely ignored them and decided to wage de facto war on the Tigray enclave in the north by indicting TPLF officials.
Any decent human being regardless of there ethnic background would never defend the TPLF Junta for obvious reasons but it’s absurd and quiet outlandish to see the Regime based in Addis Ababa confront the Old Guard (TPLF) while ignoring the low level civil war and pending state collapse that’s putting the empire (Ethiopia) on the brink. What few people tend to misunderstand is the fact that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was a former intelligence officer that was raised under the wings of Getechew Assefa and the TPLF/EPRDF for more than two decades. It’s like a student turning on his teacher after all these years.
Regardless the arrest warrant for Getechew Assefa is long overdue but is Abiy Ahmed truly doing this out of good heart for the victims that suffered under Getechew Assefa and the notorious intelligence agency for the past two decades ? Unlikely. If it where truly about justice and fighting for human rights, than Abiy Ahmed would have thrown the cuffs on himself for his complicity in working alongside Getechew Assefa and the TPLF all these years. Thousands of people hailing from various ethnic backgrounds endured atrocities at the hands of the State and its brutal Intelligence apparatus while Abiy Ahmed was coming up within the ranks of the EPRDF coalition over the past 27 years. To say this latest stunt is about justice is an absolute insult to the Intelligence of those who’ve lost loved ones.
The game plan of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the OPDO remains laughable to say the least but one things for sure. The stunt pulled by Abiy Ahmed’s government is politically motivated and the empire (Ethiopia) is facing its own Game of Thrones scenario and which group or faction comes out on top will remain a mystery for the time being.
Written by Mohamed Abdulkaadir
The views in this op-ed only represent the thoughts of the author and are meant to provide an alternative perspective on the developments in Ethiopia.
