Post falsely claims Ethiopian PM vowed to bring opposition ‘to its knees’ in recent speech

This article is more than one year old.
Published on April 26, 2023 at 18:53
3 min read
By Tolera FIKRU GEMTA, AFP Ethiopia

A post claims that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a recent speech that he would "bring the opposition to its knees in northern Ethiopia" to ensure the security of the Oromo ethnic group. However, this is false: a review of the address shows that it does not contain these statements. Instead, Abiy spoke about the armed conflict in the East Wollega zone in the Oromia region and called for a peaceful resolution.

The post was published on April 21, 2023, with a headline in Amharic that translates to "Abiy’s speech in Nekemte to Oromo people". Nekemte is a major city in the Oromia region’s east Wollega zone.

Screenshot of the false post taken on April 25, 2023

The post then presented statements attributed to the prime minister during the alleged address:

"Just join us and do not worry. Others nag us, but we really work for the Oromo people. We are still working for the people. The Prosperity party is an Oromo government. If power slips out of our hands this time, we will not get it back in a hundred years," it reads.

"The people of northern Ethiopia are resisting us. If we are not able to organise and bring them to their knees, not only we who are in power, but the entire Oromo people will be in danger," the post continues.

The mention of the "people of northern Ethiopia" appears to refer to protests that erupted in the northern Amhara region over the federal government’s decision to disband regional special forces. Calm returned to the region in mid-April.

The post has been shared more than 320 times.

It also includes a photo showing Abiy speaking to military officers along with other federal and regional officials.

Peace negotiations

Local media reported that Abiy held discussions with community representatives from four zones of Wollega in Nekemte on April 19, 2023.

The zones had been experiencing security problems due to the conflict between the Ethiopian government and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an armed rebel force actively operating in the area.

Both warring parties have blamed each other for a number of attacks that have claimed lives of civilians in the Oromia region.

A few days after he met with the community representatives, Abiy announced (archived here) on April 23, 2023, that his government would enter peace negotiations with the OLA to be held in Tanzania. OLA also confirmed this (archived here).

Abiy’s speech in Nekemte

AFP Fact Check conducted a keyword search on YouTube to find Abiy’s speech in Nekemte on April 19, 2023.

The original video (archived here) showing the full meeting was aired on the Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN), a broadcaster owned by the Oromia region.

Sixteen minutes into the clip, Abiy speaks about the armed conflict affecting the lives of the people of Wollega and says that his government will prioritise a peaceful resolution of the armed conflict along with the development of infrastructure in the affected areas.

Screenshot of Abiy's speech captured on April 25, 2023

He also responded to a question raised by a participant about killings of civilians by "extremist groups" entering Wollega from other areas.

"Let us first think about our internal affairs and leave aside the external challenges," Abiy replied. "If the Oromo live in harmony with each other, no external forces can harm them. But we are killing each other, we are divided. Such rifts could create opportunities for external challenges."

He went on to ask community representatives: "Support us to ensure the continuity of development work in Wollega. It is possible to cooperate in development work when you have different political objectives.”

Abiy, however, said nothing about the need to crush opposition in northern Ethiopia.

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