Human Rights Crisis in Tigray Region of Ethiopia: The Extent of International Intervention and PM Abiy Ahmed’s Denial of Humanitarian Access into the Region.

Abstract

The human rights crisis in the Tigray region of has grown out of a disagreement between central and regional governments. Even though the immediate causes were related to the discrepancy between Abiy Ahmed's push toward election postponement and new party aka Prosperity Party formation. The root causes go beyond that. The country has been in violent political chaos since it was formed as an imperial state. The ideological difference has got deep. The Abiy’s move toward unifying the country was not appreciated by many including Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). It is “the war of vision” between pan-Ethiopians and multi-nation structured as some say. When Abiy established the prosperity party, it seems he wants to bring the old as some call it glorious Ethiopia which is aimed at by unionists. The major ethnicities, their languages, cultures, identities, economic and political representations have not been reflected in such Ethiopia. Diverse ethnicities have been forcefully marginalized, subjugated, and assimilated to accept the system that does not represent them. The problem starts there. It led to non-ending violence's in the country. The current violence and human rights crisis in Tigray and across the country are partially grown out of such problems. This paper mainly focused on violence in the Tigray region, the root causes, Abiy Ahmed's political move that causes and turned into civil war, violence, death of thousands, massacres, mass rape, IDPs, refugee crisis, and human rights violation across the country. The discussion starts with a basic historical overview of empire formation, ethnic-based struggles, challenges to federalism, and the way forward. I have forwarded the recommendations that may be considered.