August 12, 2016

Editorial

Long-drawn Civil War and Massive Exodus of Refugees

Massive refugee exodus from Ethiopia is imminent. The recent protests that rocked Ethiopia, from North to South, including the Capital, spear-headed by the Oromo people and followed  by the Amhara is reflecting the festering rebellion all over Ethiopia. These protests by the people  from the grass root level are a direct result of  the oppressive policies and  undemocratic rule of the regime in Ethiopia. The regime is trying to divert attention from the depth of the discontent of the people by trying to attribute it to eternal forces.

Actually, massive human rights violation has augmented  the traditional the marginalisation of many nations in Ethiopia. The deadly cocktail of greediness, blatant disregard of the minimum standards of democratic rule and unbridled human rights abuses poses humanitarian catastrophe not only to the people in Ethiopia but will reverberate throughout the Horn of Africa and the Middle East  as well as Europe and North America, if urgent and remedial actions are not taken by the international community.

While eighty-million human beings are standing up to an oppressive  insecure regime which is responding with lethal force and committing grave human rights violations in order to hold on to illegitimate power,  the international Community is in denial,  ignoring the plight of the peoples in Ethiopia. This is a recipe for disaster. The signs that Ethiopia is disintegrating and a blood-bath leading to genocide is imminent is clear. This in turn will trigger the exodus of millions of refugees!

If Europe was shocked and panicked by the influx of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, when the Syria collapsed. Imagine the chaos and the human tragedy that will unfold when millions from Ethiopia embark on mass exodus to the Neighbouring countries and the West.

The EU has recently earmarked hundreds of millions to troubled regions of the world in order to stem the refugee tide. Would not it be easier to address the root causes of human exodus  and find viable political solutions before it becomes too late?

The Situation in Ethiopia is on the brink of disaster and if the world ignores it or keeps looking the other way, the cost will be dear not only to the victims and oppressors equally but also to the rest of the world.

Common sense dictates that it is time that the international community intervenes and brings together all stakeholders to find a sustainable just solution to the age old Ethiopian conundrum of oppressive autocratic regimes and perpetual  conflicts. Unless a just, representative democratic order that guarantees the rights of all peoples in Ethiopia is instituted and implemented that is based on the consent of all the nations in Ethiopia, everyone concerned will pay an avoidable heavy price.

End