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WHAT OUGHT TO BE NEXT US MOVE?
At the end of the most devastating war ever [WW2], the human race made two new set of rules which are mutually incompatible. To break the endless cycle of wars we simply made it illegal for one country to attack another or meddle in others’ internal affairs. Such rule made sovereignty absolute. But, if every border is sacred and no intervention in another country’s affairs is allowed, does it mean any regime can do what ever it wants within its boundary? No! because soon we made other set of rules. The same countries that signed the UN charter also ratified the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and The Convention Against Genocide, which bluntly stipulates that there are crimes even sovereignty can not shield its perpetrators. In other words, the charter clearly ranks human rights above the right of the state and recognizes human liberties constitute a higher value than state sovereignty. In accordance with the above set of international rules several grounds can be stated to justify a military action against the Abiy regime because of its war of genocide against the people of Tigray. The war being waged against Tigray constitute the hall mark of extermination; all one has to do is listen to the regime’s mouthpiece, authorities – better yet just listen to the head honcho himself.
During the regimes eight months of occupation of Tigray, it has committed unimaginable crimes: Rape, mass execution, destruction of public service providing institutions, a deliberate destruction of crops, looting and embezzlement of government and public property – to cite few. As a result, Tigreans are reliving the trauma inflicted upon them by Abiy government forces and their allies. Children are living with constant nightmares along with loneliness and grief over the lose parents, siblings and relatives. Tigreans residing in Ethiopia (outside Tigray) are subjected to intimidation, arrest, harassment, extrajudicial killing, are excluded from government jobs. Government and allied media outlets are constantly spreading anti-Tigrean evangelism. A systematic attempt to marginalize and isolate the Tigrean population in Ethiopia is underway. The anti-Tigrean preaching include boycott of Tigrean businesses, calling Tigreans “traitors”, “occupiers”, “aliens” etc. and all anti-Tigrean propaganda include grandiose mythologies – from utilizing sorcery that make them invisible during combat to controlling the Ethiopian economy and conspiring to dominate the geo-politics of the region (Horn of Africa). As you can see, the excuses for anti-Tigreanism are laughable and surreal beyond measure or comprehension, yet they have brought forth violence beyond measure especially in the last few months. The languages of the hate-Tigreanism movement comes out of the century old ant-Tigrean play book of the Amara extremists aka Amara elites. Those are the kind of poison and deadly words which have found a place in the government media and online, where lies are becoming truth – people [Ethiopians] are buying them and getting on board. Furthermore, listening Colonel Abiy verbatim, observers concur, he often uses the exact words that led to the holocaust, the Rwanda genocide and Srebrenica massacre. There is a deepening concern that humanity is forgetting the lessons of the above-mentioned tragedies and that in many ways than not, history is repeating itself. The question then becomes what should the international community do? Elie Wiesel a holocaust survivor and an advocate against hate, warned that in such circumstances neutrality is not an option. Neutrality he says, “helps the predator never the victim”. In other words, silence encourages the tormentor and perpetuate the suffering of the tormented. If we agree something must be done, then who should do what? Normally, the African Union has the mandate to intervene. Unfortunately, over the years, the continental body has proven to be inept and incapable or unwilling to deal with such tragic circumstances. That leaves the UN. The United Nations Security Council [UNSC], to its credit, has raised and discussed the Tigrean genocide on many occasions. But, because of contrapositions of the permanent member nations, the body couldn’t agree or come up with strong and enforceable resolution condemning the regime of Abiy Ahmed. On the contrary, such talk but no action, has emboldened the regime…keeps defying even the soft resolutions of the body which calls for access to humanitarian aid to the people of Tigray, which culminated by its recent action – expelling UN agencies meant to provide crucial and life saving assistance – unprecedented step by any UN member state. The failure of the continental and global bodies to effectively deal with the Ethiopian government’s carnage and ethnic cleansing of Tigreans is consequently testing the resolve of moralists and those believers in the universality of human rights – are calling for the US to honor its words and take the “necessary action” against Colonel Abiy’s regime. The government of the United States of America, has from the onset, condemned the Abiy regime’s war of extermination in Tigray. But rhetoric or threat, no matter how strong they sound seldom are taken seriously by dictators. Moralists are appealing to President Joseph Robinette Biden, not to repeat former President Barack Obama’s mistake. In August 2012, the then President Obama threatened to take a decisive military action against the regime of Bashir al Assad, if he uses chemical weapons against the Syrian people. Assad did use chemical weapons, but Obama fail to keep his words. That embolden the Assad regime encouraged Putin to get involved – Assad is saved, and the Syrian revolution is defeated. Therefore, a military strike by the US or NATO would constitute a moral imperative which is an emerging exception in international law to the UN charter’s general prohibition on the use of force. It is also compatible with the international law that recognizes the need for compassionate intervention to save and protect society from genocidal regime. Besides, we need to keep in mind – when you have unchecked violence with genocidal overtones at the throat of a region, you have a threat not only to the global legal order but also to the sensibility of the human race.
Once the Tigray-Ethiopia war is over, there will be a time to ponder the lessons of such military action, good or bad. It will no doubt occupy a chapter in itself in the political books of Africa. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that, should such action taken by the US, this will be one of the few times the US is willing to take such measures, not in the name of certain unilateral interest but in the name of certain principles and values. In a nutshell, it will be an action that will prove the moralists right. Because a force used to vindicate moral principles gives humanity a peace that would expose our moral inconsistencies. Tigray prevails
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