The frontline voices:
Tigrayans speak on the
realities of life under an
insurgency regime
Ann Fitz-Gerald
Ethiopians of Tigrayan descent, residing both inside and outside of Tigray, have contacted this researcher to request greater scrutiny of grassroots Tigrayan opinion on the ongoing conflict in Northern Ethiopia.
These “silenced voices” have been characterized by many Western analysts and English-language media as supportive of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a vanguard armed group that exercises authoritarian control of both the “Tigray government” and the “Tigray Defense Forces.” Researchers’ access to the Tigray region is carefully controlled by this armed group and its well-developed surveillance networks, rendering independent research impossible.
Canvassing grassroots opinion therefore required travel to two camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs): one in Amhara (accommodating 620 Tigrayan civilians), and one at the Awash Basin centre near Chifra, Afar (accommodating approximately 15,000 captured/surrendered Tigrayan fighters).
The rationale behind this piece, the methodology, an analysis of feedback from respondents, and recommendations for policy consideration are presented below
The author of this document has worked independently and is solely responsible for the views presented here. The opinions are not necessarily those of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, its Directors or Supporters.
Introduction
While a great number of written commentary pieces on the conflict in northern Ethiopia have been produced over the last 18 months,[1] little to none has exposed the grassroots views of Tigrayan communities actually living in Tigray.
Instead, three main groups have sought to represent the views of ethnic Tigrayans.
One is the leadership of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) based in the region’s capital city Mekelle, with affiliate leaders and senior party officials in Washington and Geneva, relying on media appearances and formal statements issued by the political party.[2]
Another is made up of TPLF supporters in the Ethiopia diaspora, many of whom have been organized as part of a wider auxiliary and “digital army”[3] and who – as a result of access to opportunities made possible to them during the 27 years of TPLF rule in Ethiopia – have also supported the TPLF party leaders.
Arguably, this group would also include leaders across the reputed “one in five”[4 ] intelligence network (Immigration and Refugee Board Canada 2016; Aalen 2019; Fitz-Gerald and Segal 2021), which has existed in Tigray under the TPLF for decades and which serves as a mechanism to control, monitor, and silence grassroots voices.[5]
The final group are those members of the Tigrayan opposition who are primarily based in Addis Ababa, and whose voices are often dismissed (Borkena 2020) in the face of the TPLF’s wide international networks.
While the voices of the first two groups dominate international coverage, those whose views depart from their narrative are silenced, threatened, harassed and vilified; in effect, insurgency tactics are being replicated in the virtual battlefield of the Internet.
But what sets this insurgency movement apart from many others is the extraordinarily large budget that the TPLF amassed during its 27 years in power, and just prior to its departure from office in 2018, which left the Government of Ethiopia’s coffers empty (Steinman 2017). Besides supporting its digital attack and rebel force, these funds also pay for Washington-based lobby groups and law firms that have issued threatening letters to individuals – and their employers – who dare depart from the TPLF narrative.
The TPLF’s modus operandi is a digital insurgency of unprecedented proportions; one that has, not surprisingly, created two completely polarized conflict narratives. Whereas evidence has gradually emerged and is still being found for what is actually happening in the war, aspects of international policy, not least of which include the harsh sanctions that have been enacted and continue to be threatened on Ethiopia, have not changed nor have been adjusted to factor in the ground-based realities.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) crossing from Tigray into Amhara, in addition to the captured/surrendered Tigrayan fighters currently situated in a large centre in the Afar regional state, offer an opportunity to hear true voices- The frontline voices: [3] Tigrayans speak on the realities of life under an insurgency regime
