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A Pan-African group of academics and intellectuals issued an open letter in response to the African Union’s lack of movement over the conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia. The letter calls for a political solution and a de-escalation of the conflict.
The conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people as well as the rape and mutilation of dozens more. It has also forced more than two million people from their homes.
The letter, signed by more than 50 well-known African experts, was the result of private conversations academics had with each other, according to Elleni Centime Zeleke, professor of African studies at Columbia University, New York.
“We were appalled and we couldn’t sit on the sidelines,” Zeleke told RFI.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF) has been the ruling party for 30 years in Ethiopia. In 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power.
He accused the TPLF of attacking federal government military bases in Tigray, launching what he described as a “law enforcement operation” in November 2020 that sparked the current crisis.
The open letter, published in English, French and Amharic, was published by Ethiopian and international media, although references to TPLF or TDF were redacted, says Zeleke, author of Ethiopia in theory: revolution and production of knowledge, 1964-2016.
While a number of academics signed the letter, Ethiopian academics across the country were reluctant to add their names to the letter, saying they could become targets or be barred from carrying out their research. they identified themselves publicly with the letter.
“We stand in solidarity with all the Ethiopian intellectuals present in the country who wish to speak out against the war but feel unable to do so for fear of reprisals”, we can read in the last line.
The seven-page letter highlights the lack of efforts by the African Union, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to quell the conflict.
The role of the AU
The letter is addressed to the African Union, as Zeleke and others believe that the continental body has not done enough to defuse the violence.
The body, reconfigured from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and created in July 2002, was created to prevent this kind of war and conflict on the continent, she said.
“The aim of the AU was to act in the spirit of Pan-Africanism … to ensure that Rwanda and Sierra Leone do not reproduce again,” Zeleke said, referring to the 1994 genocide and to the nine-year civil war in West Africa. .
“We academics condemn the destruction of institutions and cultural heritage that have taken years and centuries of effort to build. The Ethiopian people have suffered enough. The country cannot afford further destruction, ”wrote Michael Woldemariam, director of the Center for African Studies at Boston University and one of the signatories.
Action must be taken
The letter calls on all actors, including the Ethiopian government, the national regional government of Tigray, and groups affected and involved in Amhara and Oromia regions to come to the table to find a political solution. The letter also underlines the possible role of African experts in the repression of the conflict.
Ultimately, he calls on the AU and IGAD, under pressure from neighboring countries, to submit to external mediation.
Other countries individually pressured the Ethiopian government, including the United States, to impose new sanctions on the Ethiopian Defense Force Chief of Staff. This is in addition to the suspension of financial assistance to the country.
While the United Nations Security Council has not directly addressed the situation in Tigray, Zeleke maintains that the search for a political solution to the conflict is directly within the mandate of the African Union.
A political rather than a military solution
The open letter declares that a high-profile solution is the key to stopping the conflict.
“All Ethiopians must recognize that a political rather than military solution is what is needed now, regardless of the claims and counterclaims, legitimate or otherwise, as to how Ethiopia got here. “, we read.
African Union mediation, however, can be difficult for both parties. The Tigrayans accused the AU of bias last month, and the Ethiopian government nearly a year ago out of hand rejected AU mediation.
GESI response
What surprised Zeleke was the response from a group of Ethiopian academics called the Global Ethioipian Scholars Initiative (GESI).
Calling academics “uninformed”, he points out that these same intellectuals made no statement when the TPLF “ruled the country with terror and vicious force for nearly three decades.”
“I don’t know any of the scholars [ in the group], “Zeleke said.
“They repeat the government’s line by saying that the TPF is a terrorist group. They finally call for the continuation of the war, which is worrying to see that the intellectuals are unable to take a critical distance from the official positions and narratives, ”she adds.
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