Abiy Ahmed Threatens to “Weed Out” Tigrayans

Addis Ababa (PP News Desk) — The Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed has posted a controversial Amharic tweet that describes Tigrayans as “weeds” to be removed.

“We will work to remove the weed. But while removing the weed, we will try our best not to damage the wheat” tweeted Abiy Ahmed.

Winning a Nobel Peace Prize has not prevented Abiy Ahmed from using a dehumanising language against his fellow citizens in Tigray.

About his decision to call up regional forces to fight alongside Amhara’s extremist Fano militias, Abiy Ahmed paints a picture of all Ethiopian ethnicities fighting another ethnicity: “The children of Ethiopia have risen from all four corners to undo the plans of the junta. This itself is a victory. The children of Ethiopia have identified their enemy. In our country, we weed [out] collectively. And this is what the children of Ethiopia are doing”.

Abiy’s tweet normalises persecution of Tigrayans.

Observers alluded to the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s characterisation of Tigrayans as a clear example of a dehumanising language that resulted in persecution of Tigrayans by Amhara militias, Eritrean forces and Ethiopian National Defence Forces.

“The silence of the International Community about the unfolding genocide in Ethiopia is deafening” said a human rights lawyer in Addis Ababa.

© Puntland Post, 2021