A THREAD

#1

A prime example of the highly problematic media coverage on #Ethiopia by news, human rights & activist orgs is 2 Instagram posts made by @IndigenousPpls this past July.

You can view them both here:

https://tinyurl.com/ydau7f5o 

https://tinyurl.com/yd3258ds 

#2

"ISOLATED acts of violence"

"the acts of a FEW"

"The RECENT acts of a FEW"

The @IndigenousPpls repeatedly minimises the ethnically-targeted violence towards Amharas, Gurages & other non-Oromo ethnicities, that was part of the #JulyMassacre...

#Ethiopia

#3

...which saw BOTH:

- Violence towards ethnic Oromo ppl & protesters by national gov forces throughout the Oromia region of #Ethiopia

AND

Violence towards ethnic Amharas, Gurages & other non-Oromos by Qeerro extremists & regional gov forces in the Oromia region

#4

Somewhere between 160-240 ppl of Oromo/Amhara & other ethnicities were killed & 10,000+ people displaced in the #JulyMassacre

Amongst other things, flyers were posted up in Oromia region towns, demanding that non-Oromos leave...

#Ethiopia

#5

...& Qeerro extremists went from town to town, checking ppls IDs to confirm their ethnicity, b4 beating/killing/dismembering them &/or burning down their properties

@IndigenousPpls did not mention any of this.

#JulyMassacre

#6

& while @IndigenousPpls mention the role national gov forces played in the violence towards Oromo ppl & protesters (which absolutely needs coverage!!) they neglect to mention the role Oromia regional gov forces played in the violence towards non-Oromos

#JulyMassacre

#7

The @IndigenousPpls even doubled down on their comments after receiving backlash (2nd post).

"We unequivocally condemn all violence, no matter who it is against or who it is committed by"

But then immediately went on to repeat the "recent acts of a few" rhetoric...

#8

...But there was nothing "isolated" or simply "recent" about the #JulyMassacre :

-The #BurayuMassacre (Sept 2018) which saw b/n 20-60ppl killed/beheaded & 15,000+ displaced of mainly Dorze, Wolaiyta, Gamo, Gurage&Silt'e ethnicities, by Qeerro extremists in the Oromia region

#9

- The #BaleMassacre (Oct 2019), where somewhere between 80-100 ppl of mainly Amhara, Gurage & other non-Oromo ethnicities were killed by Qeerro extremists in the Oromia region.

#10

- (Dec 2019) The abduction of 18 Amhara students from Dembi Dolo University in the Oromia region, by Qeerro extremists.

300+ days later, 17 of these students are still missing (1 escaped)

Both national & regional governments still remain silent.

#BringBackOurStudents

#11

- (April 2015) Oromia regional gov officials forcefully evacuated farmers, leaving 1 dead, 10 injured & 124 homes destroyed.

- (April 2013) Over 90 farming families were forcefully evicted from Guraferda by SNNP regional gov officials.

The evicted were all ethnic Amharas

#12

- Since @IndigenousPpls made these 2 posts, approx b/n 100-120ppl have been killed & 1000s displaced in the #MetekelMassacres in the B-Gumuz region (Jul-Sept20) - mirroring the violence of the #JulyMassacre in the Oromia region

Victims were mainly Amharas, Agews &Shinashas

#13

...+ many more events of violence throughout the decades that renders @IndigenousPpls 's "isolated"/"recent"/"few" rhetoric as false

*Death/displacement tolls are approx b/c numbers differ slightly from source to source/lack of gov transparency.

#JulyMassacre
#Ethiopia

#14

@IndigenousPpls also mention Jawar Mohammed & his org OMN, but ignore the series of inflammatory videos broadcast on OMN's platforms - containing hate speech - in the lead up to the #JulyMassacre

#Ethiopia

#15

The @IndigenousPpls also ignore the role Jawar Mohammed's inflammatory Facebook posts played in the aforementioned #BaleMassacre

#Ethiopia

#16

@amnesty @VICE & @YourAnonCentral have also been guilty of this same problematic coverage on #Ethiopia i.e minimisation of the violence towards Oromo ppl & protesters, &/or minimisation of violence towards non-Oromos by extremists & regional state forces.

#17

...BUT they have at least responded to criticism by apologising &/or removing said coverage.

The @IndigenousPpls , on the other hand, have not.

#18

It's important to note that other orgs such as the @guardian & @AlJazeera_World have also remained silent after receiving backlash about their problematic reporting on #Ethiopia . This look into the coverage by the @IndigenousPpls is just one prime example.

#19

This sort of coverage on #Ethiopia - seemingly oh-so-subtle in its omissions, inaccuracies & wording - further contributes to the incredibly dangerous propaganda that's being weaponised to kill & displace non-Oromo/non-Gumuz ppls in the Oromia/B-Gumuz regions

#20

This progaganda, dating back decades & generations, finds it's roots in discriminatory rhetoric such as "Amharas don't exist", dog whistle terms such as "neftegna" & historically-inaccurate labels such as "coloniser"/"settler"

#Ethiopia

#21

@IndigenousPpls remember the #RwandanGenocide ?

When 70%+ of the Tutsi population were killed?

How militias went from home 2 home checking IDs 2 confirm ppls ethnicity b4 killing them?

Amid rife propaganda labelling them "settlers" who didn't belong in #Rwanda?

#Ethiopia

#22

The reality of explicit violence towards Oromos, and the reality of explicit violence towards Amharas, Gurages & other non-Oromo/non-Gumuz ethnicities are not mutually exclusive, but rather, part of the same deep-seated social & institutional issues.

#Ethiopia

#23

..but many news/human rights/activist orgs continue to report on one, while minimising/ignoring the other

Which results in singular/totalising narratives, as demonstrated by @IndigenousPpls , that sweep a whole lot of discrimination, death&violence under the rug.

#Ethiopia

#24

"Anti-indigeneity is global" - it sure is @IndigenousPpls & this thread demonstrates how your coverage has contributed to it in #Ethiopia

#25

Some readings

The Conversation
https://tinyurl.com/ybm8n7dk 

Vice
https://tinyurl.com/y7bnkyll 

Journal of Peace Research
https://tinyurl.com/ya9tvglk 

Institute for Security Studies
https://tinyurl.com/ybag3sr9 

Reuters
https://tinyurl.com/ya44rofk 

Borkena
https://tinyurl.com/y947pc87 

#Ethiopia

END