Amhara State Striving to Weed out Anti-peace Elements

Adhanom G/Mesqel

Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) Chairperson, Demeke Mekonnen , while  speaking to radio Fana last week, said that anti-peace and anti-development elements has been striving to the top of their capacity, under the  banner of peaceful demonstration, to mar the Constitution and the desirable peace and development order established by it.

He said the mission of these elements is fomenting incessant war, chaos and destruction across the country and damaging the development, peace and democracy-related reputation of the country which has been built in the past 25 years, ever since the downfall of derg and replacement of tyranny with democracy and constitutional order.

These elements will not refrain from causing horrendous human causality and loss of any desperately needed infrastructures had it not been for citizens nabbing them by their collars  in collaboration with security forces and thwarting their heinous progress; citizens vigilant to weed out war-monger individuals and gangs who are serving as messengers and Trojan-horses of  Shabia, Ginbot 7 , ONLF and other hate-monger groups who are apathetic to  the current development and prosperity of Ethiopia(they are engaged in causing destruction stealthily and openly).

According to him, the current violence being orchestrated in some towns of Amhara and Oromiya Regional States is being incited by nefarious individuals who are manipulating and exploiting internet-based systems to access and give blessings to their respondents and followers. These individuals imitate their destructive mission from foreign and home-based terrorists and anti-Ethiopia gangs who are working their waking time to plunge Ethiopia in to an abyss of blood bath and Armageddon-like inferno( thanks to citizens who won’t allow Ethiopia to be their play ground and incubation of incarnation; their wish has remained futile as people understand their hidden agenda of devastation).

In a similar press conference, Prime Minister Haile-mariam Dessalegene said that he does not believe that the current protests have an ‘’owner’’. However,  that the government will entertain such questions through dialogue. He also warned that individuals should refrain from their evil act of attempting to undertake deconstructive social media activism aimed to aggravate good governance issues as questions of regime change.

He said it is a recent past memory that demonstrations had been staged in BhairDar and Gondar towns of Amhara State. The public should not back illegal public demonstrations that are ownerless and called on by social media. He said the demonstrations that were staged in Gondar and Bahirdar are   non-representative of  Amhara and Oromiya people.

Regarding this issue, Amhara State Communication Office Head, Nigussu Tilahun said that citizens have constitutional right to make peaceful demonstration and ask for exercising their rights in the manner permitted in the Constitution. He said people do not require change of regime as they have witnessed their support to the government amid the demonstrations (because people love peace and peaceful-coexistence with other nations and nationalities).

However, unconstitutional act had been showcased during the demonstration including contempt and derogatory treatment to national flag, propagating subversive  messages and incitement of unrest between nations and nationalities that has been known for their cohabitation and peaceful-coexistence. Indeed, these all heinous acts could not be said to have emanated from the greater public that has posed straight forward questions of good governance.

According to him, change of regime, damaging the multi-national, Constitutional assets and federal system of administration is not in the interest of Amhara people(nor is the Oromo people). Changing national and regional flags with unrecognized emblems and committing derogatory action on them is not also the will of people as they accept what is permitted and acknowledged by the Constitution. Some ill-advised messages were also seen commissioned by infiltrating elements, who want to divert the true intention and genuine message of demonstrators and benefit from it.

The greater public does not join demonstrations in an armed manner; nor it waffled irrational messages. But some anti-peace elements, beyond committing subversive acts, had come up with their guns, pistols, bombs and daggers with the objective of wrecking havoc, inducing mass killings and hijacking the agenda of peaceful demonstrations.

In my opinion, he said, Shabia cannot directly wage war and commit an attack on Ethiopia. Because it understands how mighty the people of Ethiopia and its defense forces are. Hence, it opts to employ various subversive, stealthy and indirect mechanisms to wage proxy war, disorganize the Constitutional order and dismantle the federal system of administration that has been blooming in the country in the past 25 years.

Accordingly, other anti-people and anti-Ethiopia elements had jumped at the current devious opportunity that happened in Gondar. Particularly, Ginbot-7 and ONLF have infiltrated in to the greater public. Their infiltration had been witnessed when they attempt to pervert and exacerbate peaceful acts and demands of people as worse as wrecking havoc on the lives of innocent civilians and causing loss of property.  The unacceptable and self-contradicting messages of regime change and act of contempt committed on the national flag are the results of the command of Shabia and its vassals: Ginbot -7 and ONLF.

United we stand: divided we fall. Amhara and Tigrean peoples have tightly woven moral fiber and they cannot be dissociated by the evil acts of people. They have deep and inter-woven relation since time immemorial. In addition, they have fought together to remove the oppressive regime of derg. Derg would have not been conquered had it not been for the great sacrifice, contribution and coordinated effort of both peoples. And history witnessed that the bullet-ridden corpses of martyrs from both nationalities had been buried in one mass grave.

There are some anti-people forces who callously want to profit from civil war and conflict of peoples. However, both people will work together to fight off destructive elements, stand guard to  and flourish the federal system of administration and resume anti-poverty struggle.

Nigussu said good governance problems have their contribution to the recent violence flared up in some parts of Amhara State. However, people and the government has been showing commitment to iron out these problems. Especially, activities aimed to alleviate good governanace problems have been started in an invigorated manner in this August. We know the grievances of people earlier and we are addressing them with time. The issues raised by people are decisive to further good governance and ongoing efforts are being exerted to alleviate these good governance problems.

ANDM said it has identified problems of good governance through continuous discussion and participation of people. In this regard, Amhara Mass Media Agency has also received tasks to put the issue of good governance high on the agenda. Questions of good governance being posed by people are directly reflected on mass media and people are invited to have their say and contribute their own to the solution. The Movement do not believe that it has fully alleviated good governance problems. According to ANDM, more effort will be exerted in collaboration with the people and it is sure to reach the desired level of good governance   in the near future.

The Movement said nations and nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia, under the current federal system, can put forward any claim through constitutional means. And any show of force or disobedience that undermines the rule of law by any group should be rejected unequivocally.

According to him, EPRDF and ANDM have set workable programs of paramount importance to effect change in the overall setting of the country, be it political, economic or social transformation. Strenuous efforts have been exerted and sizable changes   are being observed with time, slowly but surely. We have to now accelerate these changes and fulfill the demand of people to the level of their request.

Indeed, EPRDF and ANDM are leading the country in the right direction and amazing changes have been registered; changes that have been commended by the whole world.These organizations have the desirable capacity and experience to alleviate problems of people in rural and urban areas. The last assessments conducted in both organizations had witnessed that both organizations have to exert more effort to answer questions of good governance, accelerate development endeavor and effect equitable benefit to all peoples of the country.

Moreover, as part of the effort to alleviate good governance problems, Amhara people are striving to weed out destructive forces that are tasked with instigating violence and inflicting damage on innocent people and properties. To this end, the government said it would try hard in collaboration with people. It also said it will step up its engagement with the public through popular participation and offering ample information to the needs of the public in a transparent and responsible manner.