Spoke on the genocide in #Tigray at the #POLLEN (Political Ecology Network) conference in Barcelona last week.
It was wonderful to meet so many lovely fellow academics.
At the height of the genocidal war against #Tigray, #AbiyAhmed’s campaign of denial was amplified by voices in the diaspora, including university figures such as Derese Kassa of #IonUniversity in the #UnitedStates. Today, as the narrative shifts to suit new political purposes, that same machinery of “purpose-driven truth” leaves many of those once-useful defenders exposed. By acknowledging what happened in #Axum, Abiy Ahmed has effectively cast aside some of his former amplifiers.
When human suffering is involved, the humane and wise choice is simple: refuse to be instrumentalized by those carrying out harm. Yet too many academics and clergy did not remain neutral. They became active participants in a state-driven campaign at a time when moral clarity mattered most.
And history has a long memory. The role they chose will not easily release them from its shadow. @ionauniversity
https://t.co/OHQ29MY7Pq
Tigray Genocide Deniers Still Tenured at Major Universities
At the height of the genocidal war on #Tigray, many #Ethiopian scholars—inc @IonaUniversity’s Dr. Derese Kassa—were amplifying denial of well‑documented atrocities, such as the Axum massacre.
🖇️https://t.co/f1YOk1C2CB
Tigray Genocide Deniers Still Tenured at Major Universities
At the height of the genocidal war on #Tigray, many #Ethiopian scholars—inc @IonaUniversity’s Dr. Derese Kassa—were amplifying denial of well‑documented atrocities, such as the Axum massacre.
🖇️https://t.co/f1YOk1C2CB
#Tigray: Time for a new leadership
Five years ago, the Federal Government of #Ethiopia and the State of #Eritrea went to war against Tigray. Three years ago, the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front declared a truce. The Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in #Pretoria was imperfect but better than continued war and genocide.
Today, Tigray is utterly defeated. Tigray’s own leaders have turned a truce into a defeat. Shame on those leaders of the TPLF. Shame on them for betrayal, venality, selfishness and short-sightedness.
In 2020, the #TPLF led Tigray into the war—a war not of its own making, but a war that it could have avoided or at least prepared for.
From November 2020 to November 2022, Tigray lost one in six of its people from war and war crimes including starvation and disease. The basic social and economic infrastructure of the region including public and privately owned businesses were destroyed.
Reconstruction costs are estimated at more than $30 billion. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls were raped. The psycho-social trauma has incalculable costs. The number of casualties mean that Tigray faces a missing generation.
During eight months of occupation, the people of Tigray organized a resistance and escaped from the horrors. The TPLF followed the people. The victory of July 2021 was a people’s victory.
The TPLF had the opportunity to redeem itself and to recognize the leadership of the Tigrayan people.
https://t.co/Roo3qWxif1
Five years ago, one of this century’s deadliest wars erupted in northern Ethiopia. The U.S. helped stop the fighting, but the Pretoria agreement remains only partly fulfilled. Tigray is still unstable, there is no justice for victims, and tensions with Eritrea continue. A secure, peaceful Horn of Africa protects U.S. interests, prevents extremist threats, stabilizes partners, and helps millions who are suffering.