The No More Movement Synonymous with Supporting the War on Tigray

Tigrayans have faced an unimaginable level of cruelty and hate since Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed began waging a genocidal war on Tigray in November 2020. However, Tigrayans and those who have followed Abiy’s political decisions since he came to power recognize that his goal of weakening Tigray existed prior to November 2020. Those Ethiopians who seek the destruction of Tigray and Tigrayans feel nothing but animosity toward Tigrayans and their steadfast commitment for self-determination exhibited throughout Ethiopian history. In the past year, we have seen how the suffering of Tigrayans has been fully welcomed and supported by Abiy loyalists and Ethiopian activists who had longed to see Tigray dismantled.

Brief overview of the genocidal war on Tigray

Prior to officially waging the genocidal war on Tigray, Abiy took multiple measures to weaken Tigray and Tigrayans. Soon after coming to power, Abiy proceeded with signing a “peace pact” with Eritrea’s dictator Isaias Afewerki, ending the era of “no war, no-peace” Ethiopia and Eritrea were in following the 1998 border war. The peace pact with dictator Isaias earned Abiy a premature Nobel Peace Prize, giving him a level of assurance that he would be supported in the political and military decisions he was preparing to lay out in the name of reforming Ethiopia’s political and economic structure. 

In the first two years of being in power, Abiy dismissed Tigrayan officials who did not agree with his political agenda of centralizing power. He also allowed Amhara regional militia to blockade roads to Tigray, reduced Tigray’s budget, and hindered the fight against locust infestation in the region in 2020. He then accused Tigrayan leaders of being unlawful and against Ethiopia’s unity when they refused to join his newly formed Prosperity Party and when they indicated their interest in proceeding with their constitutionally mandated regional elections in September 2020. 

On November 4, 2020, Abiy accused Tigray’s elected leaders – the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – of attacking federal troops at a military base in Tigray. However, political analysts and diplomats in the region have since confirmed that there were evident signs of preparations to attack the TPLF and Tigray prior to November 2020, with Abiy and dictator Isaias actively sharing military intelligence and visiting each other’s military bases in the months prior to the war. Initially, the Abiy administration claimed that the war on Tigray was a “law enforcement operation” that would be completed in days. 

Within weeks of the declaration of war, it was clear that this was no law enforcement operation. Reports covered by local and international news outlets trickled out from Tigray, showing evidence of the war crimes and crimes against humanity that were being committed on Tigrayans. There were horrific stories of massacares, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and intentional destructions of Tigray’s infrastructure. To make matters worse, Tigray has been under a complete communication blackout since the war began. 

Tigrayans Face Extermination, the International Community Remains Idle

As Tigrayans around the world pleaded for the international community to take action against the atrocities committed in Tigray, a staggering number of Ethiopians found comfort in knowing of Tigray’s destruction and the subjugation of its people. The international community became concerned about the chaos unfolding in Ethiopia, but did not take any concrete actions to stop the genocidal war on Tigray. Then, in June 2021, the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) recaptured Tigray’s capital city of Mekelle and most Tigrayan cities and towns, offering hope to Tigrayans who had been suffering under the occupation of Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Amhara forces. 

The Abiy administration responded to TDF’s success with a siege on Tigray, heavily limiting the flow of humanitarian assistance and enacting a complete telecommunications blackout, hindering reporting on the crisis. The Abiy administration also showed little to no appetite for negotiation with Tigrayan leaders – as they were now labled a “terrorist organization.” The TDF responded by attempting to find an end to the siege and the humanitarian crisis in Tigray through military means: they proceeded to Addis Ababa. For Tigrayan leaders, military advancement seemed like the only option to save Tigrayans from the man-made famine and destruction waged upon the entire population.

As the TDF pushed towards Addis Ababa, Abiy and dictator Isaias supporters who felt threatened by the fall of Abiy’s administration became wary. They organized the No More movement that initially blamed Tigrayan leaders, Western governments, and Western media for the chaos in Ethiopia. Supporters of the No More movement organized protests demanding an end to international interference in Ethiopia’s internal matters, which happens to be a state-sponsored genocide against Tigrayan. 

Far from the reality on ground, it appeared as though Abiy and Isaias supporters assumed the TDF was advancing to Addis with the approval of Western countries. However, Western countries, including the United States, condoned TDF’s push towards Addis Ababa and called for the parties to find a path for peace. Meanwhile, the Abiy administration was busy planning further attacks on Tigray with the help of Eritrea’s dictator Isaias and purchasing drones and heavy weaponry from Turkey, Iran, China, and UAE. Ultimately – this movement has only helped justify Abiy’s actions and approves of the crimes he continues to commit in Tigray. 

The No More Movement Approves the Destructions of Tigray

The No More movement activists have taken different approaches in pushing their campaigns – from blaming Tigrayans and Tigray’s elected leaders for what was happening in Ethiopia to claiming that the movement is a Pan-African one that calls for “no more interventions in Ethiopia,” and in Africa more broadly. The campaign has dismissed the suffering of Tigrayans, the real intention behind Eritrea’s dictator Isaias and Abiy’s collaboration, and the illogical and irrational anti-Tigray sentiments that had provided the basis for the support of the war. Not surprisingly, Ethiopian government officials have used the campaign to their advantage in justifying and covering up the crimes in Tigray. Some experts who have followed the situation in Ethiopia have in fact indicated that the movement was initiated by Ethiopia’s intelligence agency. 

The movement has attempted to propagate and give credibility to what Abiy and Isaias supporters have wanted the world to believe about the genocidal war on Tigray. It blames Tigrayan victims and Tigray’s elected leaders for the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, and paints those committing these egregious crimes while repeating the mantra of One Ethiopia as patriots and Pan-Africanists. 

What has surprised most Tigrayans who consistently plead for peace and an end to the siege on Tigray is that Abiy supporters show no interest in the silenced voices of Tigrayans who are suffering. Nor do they heed Tigrayans who have long been saying no to foreign military assistance in the war and calling out foreign countries supplying the Ethiopian government with military intelligence and drones to attack Tigrayan civilians in cities and towns as well as public infrastructure. They showed no interest in calling for Pan-Africanism, peace, and negotiations when Abiy waged war on Tigray or when they saw reports of Tigrayans’ tremendous suffering as a result of the genocidal war. 

If Ethiopian unity was ultimately the goal of pro-Abiy Ethiopians, one cannot help but wonder why they have stayed silent regarding the war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts committed in Tigray during its darkest hours. Ethiopia would not be where it is today if Ethiopians collectively denounced the attack on civilians and the crimes that were being committed in the name of unity. Unity cannot be achieved through violence and the extermination of a people. 

Yet pro-Abiy Ethiopians and the No More movement chose to blame Western countries for the chaos in Ethiopia, while giving Abiy a green light to use every method to dismantle Tigray and Tigrayans.

For many Tigrayans, the No More movement symbolizes the cover-up of the crimes committed in Tigray, those cheering for the massacres and starvation taking place in Tigray during this genocidal war, and most of all, the hate towards the Tigrayan identity and quest for self-determination. Sadly, the movement is nothing more than an illustration of Ethiopia’s betrayal of Tigrayans during Tigray’s darkest period.