“Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is shed” (Leviticus 19:16)
By Kebour Ghenna
This week, “unidentified forces” have at least murdered 1500 Amhara civilians and wounded many more in just a day or two in Oromia region. The actual death toll is likely much higher. Unfortunately, patterns of killings in Oromia region remain sadly the same year after year. But this time atrocities reached their heights.
Is there no government in Ethiopia? Or is it perhaps our government itself at work?
Such unprovoked attacks on civilians are considered genocide under international law.
The persecution of minorities, be it citizens of Wolayta, Gambela and Afar in the territories of Ethiopia is not just a humanitarian crisis but a war on a people whose very existence is being denied. In such situations it’s seldom clear when the line has been crossed from an ordinary banditry, into civil war and genocide.
It’s any government’s top duty and “raison d’ être” to protect lives and property of its citizens. The responsibility for the state of affairs in Ethiopia lies squarely on Prosperity Party leadership, including the Prime Minister, and its entire membership. No one in this political institution will escape unscathed by the verdict of the people of Ethiopia.
We citizens of Ethiopia should also take responsibility for our silence. Why have we allowed and continue to permit our government to ignore the cries of those massacred? Why do we turn away when we should speak up? … It’s none of our business…. Let someone else take care of it…. The government ought to do something…. Somebody ought to do something, but not us. We clamp our mouths shut for fear that we become victims ourselves.
Martin Niemoeller, a concentration camp survivor, wrote that “In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.”
When the silent majority allows atrocities to take place and remains silent, it becomes culpable, whether by watching a crime committed without interfering or turning blind eyes on elected officials. Yes, silence is more than consent; it becomes complicity.
In the coming days and months all eyes will be on Ethiopia. We urge the President of the Republic of Ethiopia, the Prime Minister and the President of the House of Peoples’ Representatives to unanimously denounce the massacres and consent to proceed with an open and independent investigation into these massacres.
At the same time, we urge the silent majority to wake up and speak up. If we remain silent, then we deserve whatever our government hand us. Silence got us nowhere. We need to speak up!
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