Africa-Press Ethiopia
Members of the Benishangul Gumuz Regional State Prosperity Party (PP) Women’s League have demanded the federal government to repeat in Benishangul Gumuz regional state, Metekel Zone the ongoing “law enforcement operations in Tigray.”
The call was made during a discussion the Women’s League of the ruling PP had today on current national issues in Assosa, the capital of Benishangul Gumuz regional state. Participants expressed their support for a similar operation in Metekel zone where frequent violence the participants blamed on TPLF has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians in recent weeks alone. Etsegenet Tesfaye, member of the Women’s League said TPLF “has been creating division among people of the region for the past 27 years, caused
the loss of innocent lives and property damages.” She also said the TPLF had tried to “dismantle the administrative structures of Metekel Zone” and replace it with it’s own group. She adds that the measures taken by the ENDF to eliminate the TPLF has brought a “sigh of relief.”
The deputy speaker of the Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State Council, Alemnesh Yibas, on her part said that there wasn’t any leadership in the region who is not worried by the security crisis in the Metekel Zone. She admitted that the crisis was not fully averted despite coordinated efforts of security forces and promised that the “elimination of the criminal group would continue and that the group would soon be destroyed once and for all”.
#Ethiopia: Ashadli Hassan,Pres. of #BenishangulGumuz regional state issued a one week ultimatum to "anti-peace" armed groups operating in #Metekel zone "to surrender." He said these forces were supported by #TPLF & are engaged in destabilizing the region. https://t.co/3J5PSdltxe pic.twitter.com/IcBhnmWzHy
— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) December 2, 2020
The Women’s League call came two days after, Gizachew Muluneh, head of the Amhara regional state communication affairs office, issued a blistering statement regarding the security crisis in Benishangul Gumuz regional state in which he declared “the second chapter of the struggle” against armed groups operating in the region.
“We no longer foolishly believe that the problem will be solved through old ways.” Gizachew said, explaining that the region was now forced to hunt down the “blood suckers’’ out of wherever they are and bring them to justice in order to compensate “the suffering of the Amhara people.”
The statement states that the sufferings of the people of Amhara, Agew, Shinasha and the “honest and innocent Mao, Berta and Gumuz people” were crimes attributable to “little junta”, who are “TPLF’s agents hiding in Benishangul embroiled in TPLF’s false narrative and hope.”
Gizachew went on blaming the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), some members of the leadership of the Benishangul Gumuz regional government and members of the opposition Gumuz People Democratic Movement (GPDM) for the atrocities against the people of Amhara and Agew by naming to them as “light skinned”.
“The community who have fed them, shared its harvest with and modernized them by changing their poor work culture and civilization is subject to displacement and killing in its own homeland.” said Gizachew, adding “these cannibalistic groups have killed from two up to 12 people from a single family alone. The mothers and fathers of Amhara have suffered loss from a fetus inside a womb to the elderly. The entire nation of Amhara has cried and mourned,” the statement said.
According to Gizachew, the Benishangul Gumuz regional state leadership have used their security apparatus to engage in an extermination and displacement campaign against the Amharas, and have also collaborated with OLF/shanee, members of the GPDM, remnants of TPLF and have engaged in the “extermination and displacement campaign.” “The time we the oppressed people issue statements and plead with the Benishangul Gumuz regional state is over.”
Similarly, a statement issued today by the National Movement of Amhara (NAMA), has called for an immediate end to the ongoing “genocide” against the Amhara people in Benishangul Gumuz regional State.
The party highlighted the “systemic and structural abuses” the Amhara people have suffered in the last three decades. “The people of Amhara have fought hard to thwart TPLF’s attempt to disintegrate the country by committing treason and atrocities” the statement reads, “but the Amhara people continue to be subjected to systemic ethnic cleansing and genocide when it has not yet recovered from recent widespread attacks in Oromia and Benishangul regional states.”
