Strategic Plan

SECURITY AND JUSTICE FOR TIGREANS IN ETHIOPIA

ድሕንነትን ፍትሕን ንትግራዎት ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ

STRATEGIC PLAN DOCUMENT Introduction

Security and Justice for Tigreans in Ethiopia (STJE) is a non-political, non-religious global movement initiated by concerned Tigrean-Ethiopians (henceforth Tigreans) in the diaspora. The creation of this initiative is stimulated by the dire situation the current Federal leadership of Ethiopia is posing in our country in general and Tigrai in particular. The threat to Tigrai-Born citizens of Ethiopia since the current Federal administration, led by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, came to power in April 2018 has been one of survival and death issues. The war waged against all aspects of being Tigrean – be it physical, social, psychological, and emotional – has left the peoples in the State of Tigrai beleaguered on all sides. The survival of the people of Tigrai depends on our own collective will and action and that of the greater human family. The purpose of this initiative is, therefore, to safeguard the security and justice of Tigrai, and the rights and interests of its peoples. This initiative uses peaceful means of struggle to achieve the aforementioned purpose. The next background section of this paper will detail the various verifiable means by which these onslaughts are sustained against the Peoples of Tigrai.

Background In spite of registering sustained economic growth and maintaining peace and security for over Twenty Five years in the country at large and with neighboring countries, EPRDF’s (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front) work experienced a set back by a series of civil unrests from 2015 to 2018. The subsequent events led to the sudden promotion of a formerly obscure Abiy Ahmed to being the Prime Minister. Ethiopians in general, and Tigreans in particular, warmly welcomed the newly elected administration and vowed to support the leadership. EPRDF as a coalition recognized severe problems in the process of democratization and good governance and vowed to investigate corruption in all four parties, which made up the EPRDF coalition. Consequently, the new leadership promised to bring transparency and an even more democratic process of governance, while maintaining the peace and security the aforementioned two years of civil unrest. When the new administration assumed office on April 2nd, 2018, it pledged to uphold the existing constitution, which is enshrined in the foundation of regional autonomy and sovereignty of administrative states as well as constitutional powers for self- determination. 

The scope and nature of the violence that followed the change in administration are unprecedented and Ethiopia has, as a result, suffered the largest number of internally displaced people in its recent history. Stimulated further by the divisive language and rhetoric of the new Federal administration, religious institutions, government offices, universities, as well as places of business, were not spared and people have been persecuted across most of the country due to their ethnicity. The Federal government often openly instigated ethnic strife that only helped fuel the flames of hatred and resentment. Since the so-called change, a large part of Ethiopia has been administered under an undeclared, and hence illegal, State of Emergency, which is arbitrarily practiced to suppress citizens’ rights in the name of peacekeeping. 

All of a sudden, hard-earned gains registered in economic growth, infrastructure, education, food security, and most challenging of all, a sustained era of peace and security were naught. The Tigrai people and its Regional Government headed by the TPLF, which led the struggle of the Tigrean people and Ethiopians at large in the fight against the DERGUE regime began to challenge the illegal actions by the Federal administration. The people and the organization of Tigrai insisted the government respect the constitution that it had sworn to uphold. 

The Federal government’s response to Tigrai’s resistance has been to eliminate any alternative narratives and suppress the resistance by openly promoting a policy of “drying the sea to kill the fish”. The Federal government publicly expressed intent to halt budget allocation to Tigrai, and threatened to cease electricity, telecommunication and aviation services. Should these materialize, it would be an act tantamount to a declaration of war against the people of Tigrai.

The current leadership had also promised to bring about justice, fairness, and due process stating: “No person will be detained without first establishing necessary probable cause, nor will there be a witch- hunts”. In stark contrast, thousands are languishing in prisons solely based on their ethnicity or political persuasion. Former government officials and ordinary Ethiopian citizens of Tigrai descent are disproportionately and selectively targeted. The federal government has used every resource to orchestrate negative propaganda, national media has replaced courts to establish guilt on innocence. The media had presuming these prisoners guilty even before their charges were read and brought to trials. In the eyes of the public, they are deliberately made culpable, violating the universal fundamental rule of law that establishes the “presumption of innocence until proven guilty”. 

The public was also led to believe that the new leadership would continue to boost the national economy, investment, equitable wealth distribution, employment opportunity, and safe learning environment. Instead, the leadership is preoccupied with belittling the economic and social achievements of the previous 27 years. And yet, economic parameters indicate that the Ethiopian economy has come to an abrupt halt. Export has dwindled and investment has substantially decreased. In spite of continued inaccurate public assertions by the Federal government, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is minimal, and in the case of Tigrai, deliberately discouraged and routinely halted. 

Except for those in Tigrai, universities throughout the country have become a source of conflict, death and many of them were completely closed, and normal social activities have been disrupted in many parts of the country. Overall, the current leadership has exacerbated the crises in Ethiopia through its inaction and callous policies that have brought the country to the brink of civil war.

The current leadership’s unfounded enmity towards Tigrai has been manifested in its portrayal of the people as traitors, blaming every failure of the country and generally demonizing Tigrai. Such baseless propaganda is intended to diminish the sacrifices and the remarkable contributions of Tigreans to rebuild the country from the ashes of poverty and civil war. The fabricated narratives have also emboldened bandits and vigilante militias in parts of the country to take the law into their hands capitalize on the environment hatred and blocked roads to the Tigrai region and commit atrocities against law-abiding citizens. 
To the detriment of the country, The federal administration has been ignoring such atrocities against humanity, hence implicitly condoning the actions of these bandits. 

The deliberate effort by the Federal government to situate Tigreans in a precarious situation, demanding them either to submit to the new federal administration whims and wishes or subtle encouragement of other Ethiopians to provoke them to commit an act of “retribution” and/or genocide against the people of Tigrai. In essence, TPLF and/or Tigrai have become the main prey of the current predatory Federal administration merely because Tigrai remains to have a semblance of normalcy, peace, and stability in the entire country, shading light on the wickedness and incompetence of the new Federal administration. Having seen our shared aspirations for which we as people had paid unprecedented sacrifice challenged and our survival compromised by the current Federal administration, have come together to defend our common aspirations, including self-governance, democracy, self-reliant economy as well as social justice and pursuit of happiness. The hostilities orchestrated against Tigrai that gave rise to the birth of our movement, can be enunciated as follows. 

1. The federal leadership has been orchestrating poisonous rhetoric that is intended to provoke other Ethiopians to commit genocide against Tigreans. The government broadcasted a series of bogus documentaries through the state and party-controlled media, which depicted Tigrigna speakers only as the sources of political ill that permeated the country under the previous administration and subsequently jailed hundreds of Tigreans without due process

2. The main highways connecting Tigrai to the rest of Ethiopia have been blocked close to two years and innocent Tigreans were brutalized by mobs, under the watchful eye of the government.

3. High ranking Tigrean members of the Military who had bravely served their country including, the late chief of staff, General Seare Mekonen were either murdered or forced to early retirement.

4. A price cut of about 33% lower than the market price was deliberately set on export-based cash crops produced in Tigrai, to discourage Tigreans farmers and impose economic pressure. 

5. Foreign direct investment (FDI) and tourism had been obstructed directly or indirectly by discouraging investors and tourists from traveling to Tigrai. Investors from China were publicly denied to travel to Tigrai. 

6. The Federal leadership has terminated hundreds of civilian Tigrean professionals and civil servants from the federal government and Addis Ababa Administration posts without cause or severance.

7. The Federal leadership had implicitly and explicitly made threats hold/cut the budget, suspend air transportation, and terminate electricity and telecommunications services, which if acted upon, is tantamount to a declaration of war. 

8. The Federal leadership has deliberately paused and/or suspended several grand projects that have been in progress in Tigrai including railway work, industrial parks, road works, agro-processing, etc. 

9. This leadership essentially banned Federal media coverage for any activities in Tigrai.  

10. In what appears to be a deliberate act, the Federal administration has been conspiring to compromise the territorial integrity of Tigrai by forming an illegal border commission, in contravention of the constitutional statutes, provisions, and procedures regarding territorial disputes and resolutions. 

11. Multi-dimensional conspiracies and reckless propaganda has been spread by the Federal administration and its cohorts that could potentially civil war between the neighboring people of Tigrai and Amhara. 

12. The Federal Government had openly expressed and demonstrated its intent to exclude the people and the government of Tigrai from the Ethio-Eritrean reconciliation and normalization process.  

Alarmed by the developing events in our country and mainly by the hostilities against Tigrean Ethiopians, Tigrean-Americans in the Washington DC metro area irrespective of gender, religion, age, and political persuasion and affiliation, have initiated this global movement in defense of the people of Tigrai. 

Mission - Security and Justice for Tigreans in Ethiopia denounces and stands against any form of coercion and subversion of the rights, interests, and aspirations of the Tigrai people. We will stand against any acts that compromise our right for justice, economic freedom, self-determination, as well as territorial integrity. We do so through the design and implementation of peaceful struggle. 

Vision - The vision of the Security and Justice for Tigreans in Ethiopia is to make meaningful contributions towards realizing a just, peaceful, prosperous and civilized Tigrai that plays a pivotal role in augmenting the democratization process of Ethiopia. 

Core Values 

• Integrity and honesty 

• Transparency and accountability 

• Public service 

• Inclusiveness, collaboration and empowerment 

• Excellence, innovation and dedication 

• Justice, fairness and equality

• Peace and security 

Goals / Objectives 

1.       Advocate for the Interests and wellbeing of the people of Tigrai in Ethiopia 

                               2.     Defend the rights of Tigrean political prisoners in Ethiopia detained by the Federal government as well as those terminated from their civil service employment and morally humiliated due to ethnicity and political affiliation

                              3.    Alarm the international community of the potential for ethnic conflict and civil war, in Ethiopia and seek partnership in the struggle against injustice, discrimination, and violation of Human Rights against the people of Ethiopia by the new Ethiopian Federal Government. 

                            4.     Campaign against the socio-economic, political, and psychological injustice and violation of human rights committed against the people of Tigrai by the Ethiopian Federal government and its allies. 

                           5.     Advocate justice and security for those of Tigrean origin whose existence is threatened by the forced border demarcation, and seek the immediate release of those who were abducted Tigreans by the Eritrean forces. 

Strategies 

The following strategic approaches will be utilized in order to achieve the goals and mission stated above. 

i.                    Collaboration  

Activities:

The leadership committee shall: 

13. Contact all Tigrean organizations in the US, and across the world, including TDA, UTNA, Tigray Community organizations, Tigrai Women Associations, Youth Associations Alumni Associations, Professional Associations, and others to engage in a united effort. 

14. Contact and establish a working relationship with Ethiopian organizations and individuals who are amenable to the cause of justice in Ethiopia. 

15. Build relationships and coalition with organizations, the whose expressed mission is equality and Justice beyond their borders. 

ii.                 Protest 

Activities:  

Assemble a group of individuals who can: 

1. Organize demonstrations and/or marches when and if necessary

2. Initiate petitions and lobbies on a timely basis 

III. Litigation 

Activities: 

Organize lawyers in Ethiopia and beyond who: 

1. Study the possibilities of legal actions against the government of Ethiopia both in Ethiopia and abroad to draw public attention to the imprisonment of Tigreans without due process.

2. Raise the necessary funds to lodge a class action lawsuit on behalf of all Tigrean prisoners. 

IV. Public Education and Media 

Activities: 

Organize a team of experts who will: 

1. Generate informative literature and media productions to build public support and expose the intent and actions of the current Ethiopian leadership.

 2. Publicize the cause of our people to targeted groups by providing data, articles, and alternative policies to groups and to the media. 3. Organize public meetings, conferences, and dialogues, etc.

V. Research 

Activities: 

Assemble a team of researchers that can: 

1. Develop position papers and action plans based on credible information.

2. Organize a team of experts in various fields to work to ameliorate the activities of the organization. 
3. Challenge all negative and false propaganda aimed at our people whose intent is to slander our history, achievements, and contributions. 

VI. Persuasion (Lobby) /Diplomacy 

Activities: 

Organize a team of prominent Tigreans across the US who will: 

1. Lobby through a face-to-face meeting with policy and decision-makers to persuade them to support our cause or at the very least keep their hands off.

2. Lobby through letter-writing, petitions other forms of persuasion.

3. Advocate for the Interests and the wellbeing of the people of Tigrai in Ethiopia.

4. Defend the rights of Tigrean political prisoners in Ethiopia detained by the Federal government as well as those terminated from civil service employment and morally humiliated due to ethnicity and political affiliation.

5. Alarm the international community of the potential for ethnic conflict and civil war, in Ethiopia and seek partnership in the struggle against the injustice, discrimination, and violation of Human Rights against the people of Ethiopia by the Ethiopian Federal Government.

6. Campaign against the socio-economic, political, and psychological injustice and violation of human rights committed against people of Tigrai by the Ethiopian Federal government and its allies.7. Advocate justice and security for those of Tigrean origin whose existence is threatened by the forced border demarcation, and seek the immediate release of those who were abducted by the Eritrean forces. 

                            VII. Funding

The sources of funds for this initiative include:

1. Supporters’ contributions.

2. Fundraise events.

3. Devise sustainable strategies, and prepare resultant proposals for acquiring funds from potential sources/donors. 

Guiding Actions

Establish five committees in which each committee shall use the following guiding actions as a basis to develop their detailed action plans. 

A. Lobbying and Research Committee 

A.1 Produce a detailed document that will be presented to international organizations, the US government (Executive and legislative body, candidates Human rights groups, think tanks, influential personalities). This document details data on actual and potential threats that jeopardize the security of Tigrai and its people as well as detailed information of court proceedings and due process, alleged charges, number of prisoners, etc.

A.2  Based on the research documents, a template letter that can be sent to targeted groups by the Tigrean individuals and organizations throughout The US.

A.3  Start an online petition Drive. 

B. Community Engagement Committee 

B.1  Contact all organizations and prominent Tigreans to engage in activities.

B.2  Establish a network of Tigreans and who can actively involve the campaign.

B.3  Work towards establishing branches of SJTE in all possible areas. 

C. Global Outreach Committee 

C.1  Contact all Tigreans organizations and prominent personalities outside the US. 
C2. Build a working relationship, collaboration, and trust with them that leads to a united effort for our common causes. 

C.3 Help form similar organization in their respective countries. 

D. Fundraising Committee 

D.1. Develop a strategy for raising funds in the immediate and long term period. 

E. Media and Communications Committees 

E.1 Develop website, and all social network presence. 

E.2 Develop plans to utilize media campaigns (TMH, VOA, BBC, Tigrai Online, Aiga Forum, and all other outlets. E.3 Generate materials, and literature, that promote our goals. 

Key Performance Indicators

This movement’s performance will be measured by its consistent, proactive, and reactive responses to rebuff any attempts that compromise the aspirations of the Tigrai people through: 

1. Inclusiveness (quantity, quality, and diversity of members and supporters)

 2. Number, quality, relevance, and results of Meetings, seminars, and conferences

3. Number, quality, relevance, and results of Press releases, Media campaign, and outreach programs

4. Number, quality, relevance, and results of Petitions and Protests

5. Number, quality, relevance, and results of Lobbying, Lawsuits, and efforts to make these a success.

 6. Number, quality, relevance, and results of fundraising efforts, the amount of fundraising, and the designed sustainable strategies of fundraising.

7. Local collaboration with other organizations and prominent figures and consequent outcomes

8. Global collaboration with other organizations and prominent figures and consequent outcomes

9. By the overall positive impact, its effort may bring on the current dire situation of Tigrai and  Ethiopia, measured by earned public support and rallies around the purposes of SJTE. 

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are identified in terms of their influence and interest on the caucuses of our initiative. They are categorized as follows based on how they should be managed. 

1. Manage Closely (High Influence and High Interest): 

• The people of Tigrai 

• The government of Tigrai 

• Tigrean political parties 

• Other Tigrean organizations

2. Keep Satisfied (Low Influence and High Interest):

• International and domestic human right watchdogs 

3. Keep Informed (High Influence and Low Interest): 

• The US government

4. Monitor (Low Influence and Low Interest): 

• Eritreans 

• Ethiopian Federal government 

Assumptions and Risks 

The success of this movement will be affected by several foreseeable and unforeseeable risks and assumptions. Some of the major ones are: 

• Leadership integrity and commitment 

• Solidarity and unity of leaders 

• In/effective communication 

• In/effective conflict resolution strategies 

• Trust among leadership and members 

• In/tolerance for culture of prejudice, gossiping and divisiveness 

• Using the initiative as a stage for promoting a singular political agenda 

• External pressure from different entities that have vested interest in the causes of the initiative