>> unrest in ethiopia is amhara region. what is driving the conflict, how is the government addressing the grievances? this is "inside story". ♪ adrian: welcome to the program. conflict has returned to ethiopia, this time in amhara.

mentally -- many amharas feel they have been sidelined by the government. local rebels in amhara fano known as fano help the government and its two-year warm. now they have to get up bombs against the military. the rebels have been accused of trying to overthrow the government. the nation's intelligence chief condemned the group i calling -- while calling on them to stop fighting. >> it is a force of band-aids creating a prop -- and it's --bandits creating a problem. the national defense force is always the ultimate protection for the constitution. >> who are the fano and what do they want? it is a rebel group with a goal

of defending the region of amhara and its people. they fought with government and amhara regional forces and faced accusations of rights abuses. but their relationship with -- after the prime minister try to bring the group under its stroll -- control. in april, violent protests broke out after the prime minister ordered all paramilitary forces from ethiopia be integrated into the police national army. officials insisted it was to bring unity, but protesters said it would underline -- undermine amhara's security. let hear from our correspondent on what is behind the latest violence. >> the government has declared a state of emergency since this fighting began, the fighting is

between regional forces in the amhara region and fano. what we have been told is the government has set up a roadblock, they have established curfews, and we know that the internet has been slow. it appears it has been blocked. it is difficult to get information coming out of that region. we are told he fighting is intensifying. this group, fano, is a group that is based in amhara, a region that does not have formal strategies. but it has been there for a while. we also know that during the conflict between the government

in tigray and amhara, two years ago, fano backed the government. and somehow the government provided weapons to fano, that is what the fight is about now because the government wants to disarm this -- these fighters. they say no. we note domestic flights have been canceled because of what is going on. and the situation is -- and we have also spoken to some people who live there, who say they are very fearful about what is going on, there is a lot of uncertainty. and they want this resolved as quickly as possible. ♪

adrian: let's bring in our guests, we are joined by kemal hashi mohamoud. from new york, joined by yohannes woldemariam. specializing in the horn of africa. and from north carolina, tewodrose tirfe, chairman and founding member of the amhara association of america. many people inside of ethiopia may have interpretative this as support for the prime minister. was that not the case? >> no that was not the case. the amhara people, when they were fighting in the war in northern ethiopia, they were

fighting to defend themselves because they were invaded. the fight in the war in northern ethiopia was mistaken as a support of the prime minister, it was really a defense against invasion. it is critically important to give your idea of context. what we are witnessing in the amhara region is of the live of decades long political marginalization and genocide committed against amhara people. since he became into power, thousands of amharas have been massacred, and over one million amharas have been ethnically cleansed. the same policy has been

implemented in other regions where thousands of homes have been destroyed. over 20 mosques also destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands of amharas to be homeless. many of them ethnically cleansed. since he came to power, this has been what people has been witnessing. the current fighting started with the prime minister sending security forces to disarm and dissolve the amhara region special forces and started attacking them. while simultaneously arresting thousands of generals, politicians, human rights activists and youth. over 4000 amharas have been

arrested and placed in concentration camps. this is a war started by the prime minister against the amhara, who are fighting for survival. it is important to know. adrian: as we said, the prime minister ordered all paramilitary forces across the 11 regions of the country to be integrated into the police of the national army. you are saying amhara has been singled out? >> this has been the case for since he came into power. the amhara people have been protesting and showing the discontent before the war, during the war and after the war. the people have been targeted by the regime since he came into power. that is why you are seeing the fight by the amhara people against his security forces. right now his administration is

using her teller really and firing at cities, kissing -- killing thousands of people, women are being raped and heritage sites are being destroyed. we are asking for the international community to condemn this genocidal violence targeting an entire ethnic group. adrian: ethiopia is a deeply ethnic sized country. to what extent has the prime minister made things worse? in the early years, his words he acknowledged past wrongs, his commitment to addressing identity. why are people dissatisfied with his leadership? yohannes: let me address the initial speaker a little bit. because he alludes to the amhara

being marginalized historically. one can take the long and short view. the longview actually is the opposite of what the speaker was saying. the amhara where the privilege people in ethiopia, and the other people have been marginalized and oppressed. and are unable to speak and develop their language. it is historical revisionism to present amhara as victims. in the short run, i agree with what he mentioned about the displacement of the amhara. but this has historical reasons, a lot of these people were -- during the regime as part of the war strategy. there were people there already, and so the people began to

resent them from the beginning because they were coming into their land. this is a little bit of a twist in the historical facts. in terms of the prime minister, he has made things worse. he is an adventurer. the war he waged -- the genocide he committed is something that has not been witnessed since rwanda. within five years, he has polarized the country to the point where it is disintegrating. ethiopia is really sustained by western budgetary aid and political and military support. it is a very weak state to begin with. i know and u.s. foreign policy,

-- the more accurate description is a destabilizing force in the horn of africa. the beginning of ethiopia itself , the emperor, the founder of modern ethiopia, was colonizing. it was not just european: station and africa. -- it was not just european colonization in africa. in a situation where he can get weapons from europeans by manipulating power and using mythology, that exists in the western world, he was able to acquire weapons and counter -- conquer the southern lands. this has been building up for

about 100 years. and finally things are coming to a boil, we are witnessing now -- a country on the verge of disintegration. adrian: what do you make of what you have heard from our two guests? is the country on the verge of disintegration? kemal: i think the country is on the verge of the other way. it is on the verge of unity, which has never been seen. but i see a difference, people having their own -- that's be honest, -- stability, now the stability -- coal fully it will come in order. and speaking of earlier, the prime minister targeting the

amhara people. i do not see an issue here. the amhara people are interested by their own government that they have: -- elected. the arguments, -- the only actor here is the premier of the leadership of the government which is trying to work for the safety and security of the amhara community. so the people will come back again to lead their own normal lives, being at peace. we have to see a lot of ways this country is growing, we are having the greatest economy.

-- greatest economy in east africa. let's see those positivity's, the country is achieving. we have to admit that the government is trying to make sure that the country comes together. that is why law enforcement measures in the amhara are needed, to make sure there is only one strong army, a force that will be looking for the safety and security of the entire community and set of rebels. [indiscernible] adrian: he wants to get in here. tewodrose: as the only amhara panelist, if i could be given an opportunity to respond to these guesses. there is a lot of false claims

being made. number one, in response to the member of parliament, the amhara do not have their own representatives or government. the region is under a state of emergency, the federal government is managing the amhara region and has been since april. the amhara have never elected their government. the source of instability in the region is the prime minister. that is very clear. the war in northern ethiopia has never ended. the agreement that was signed was a flawed process that was not conclusive, it was exclusionary and did not include all of the stakeholders. eight excluded the amhara people. we warned it was not going to be peace in the country unless all

of the stakeholders are included. the amhara people had their negotiation ready to participate, they were excluded, and we have another war started by the prime minister in this region. what we are asking for is an inclusive process that includes all of the stakeholders, or else what we are seeing right now in the amhara region will broaden to other parts of ethiopia and possibly and golf africa. -- engulf africa. they are inside the capita of the amhara region. many parts are now under the fano administration. this is one of the largest regions in the country under fight right now. what we are asking for is the international stakeholders to come in and condemn the regime

for the instability in the country, the region, and to hold him and his government accountable so we can move away from this regime into a civilian led transitional government where we can have constitutional reform, democracy, justice and accountability. something that has escaped us for decades. tewodrose: adrian: do you want to respond? kemal: i don't know where this comes that mentioning the amhara are excluded and governmental decision-making process, the fact, the idea that saying they have been neglected, -- both the

regional and federal parliament. for the prosperity party was leading the country has 15 majority position. many people of amhara have a really -- and are leading their region. so i see eight delusional saying, they are a -- they are disclosed did. they are only elected when an opposition party is leading the region. i do not see that to be fair. let's be honest, they have their own representatives, they lead the amhara people. it would be ok with in other regions or other countries in the world.

but the fact that it has been -- which has been recognized by many international institutions and -- i do not know where it is going. [indiscernible] nobody has been neglected. a lot of people are fighting against the force, they should be advised by all interests in the community. who is going to be affected is the amhara community. both forces should think who is going to be affected the most, the amhara community.

adrian: let me bring in -- to what extent -- hang on. can you give me a one minute answer. >> it is important your audience understands. this was a fake election, the government won over 90% of the returns. and you percent of the parliament is seated by the prosperity party. this was not a fair election that was held. there was unrest. the opposition political party members decided not to participate in the election because they would have been persecuted by the government. this is pure lies. adrian: what free and fair election -- to what extent is the prime minister in an

impossible position here? the people of amhara, there grievances might be general, but are there demands reasonable? >> the election was fraudulent, it was ill-timed. eight excluded the tigrayan people. when you are the only one running, you are going to win, that is what he did. the issue here is that he came into power riding on the back of the rebellion. and to some extent the amhara as well. there was an unreasonable help them euphoria, and he came into

power, even the europeans and westerners gave him the nobel prize without understanding who the man is. this is a very dangerous man. we are seeing that in five years, how dangerous a situation he has created. ethiopia is a difficult place to govern. but here we have a power-hungry person. i don't know if you have heard, he is building a palace for himself that costs $10 billion. when the ethiopian people are starving and the economic situation is unbearable. he counts on western aid, money from the outside, the middle east, from all kinds of places in order to build a country. and also, with regards to the amhara, there is no dispute they have been the privileged people in ethiopia. anybody can tell you this.

but when he came into power, they expected him to -- he is not run by anybody. he is for himself. he is intoxicated with power, he wants to stay in power at any cost, that is why he did not have any problem with one million people dying. he is acting like everything -- like he has not done anything. the international community is not holding him on track. he is talking about invading a neighboring country. this is preposterous. adrian: time is against us. a brief answer from you, how do you respond to that? he is a power-hungry and dangerous man? yohannes: i would say, no.

the fact that my other parts are putting their idea of the prime minister, who is a single person in the entire system of the government, is reckless. we have a strong government. putting all things together as only the prime minister -- and some groups -- what is happening or the initiatives and the legacy he is leaving behind, despite the disturbance, and the contribution he is making. i only see -- i do not know the reason why they hate him that much.

i do not see any interest that comes out of the community. the safety of the community, i believe we use this time to speak of making sure the war -- for the amhara region. all of the arguments, he is building a palace, he is going to wage war, what is the proof? it is reckless. adrian: we are almost out of time. a quick answer from you. >> there were allegations he made. adrian: 30 seconds. >> the kemal: have not been privileged historically. that is false and aligned people are putting out there to justify attacks against amharas.

he said the amharas -- there was resentment, he justify the ethnic cleansing. these are people. that is ridiculous. adrian: you cannot say all lie there, that is an opinion that i cannot substantiate. we are almost out of time. is this conflict going out of control, or is it set to escalate? >> this is said to escalate because it is a people's resistance. >> the fact the amhara were settled in that region and were privileged -- adrian: is this conflict set to escalate? >> no doubt, this is a country on the verge of disintegration,

not a country -- if it is going to be salvage, it would be a miracle. adrian: are you confident this conflict and be brought under control? kemal: absolutely, the point of the state of emergency is to put it under control. the rebels will do whatever they want in their own interest. the region cannot control this. hopefully it will end soon. i ask everybody to contribute. adrian: gentlemen, many thanks indeed to -- for taking part in the program. i appreciated, thank you for watching. you can see the program again by going to our website at aljazeera.com. join us on our facebook page at facebook.com/ajinsidestory. we will see you again, bye for

now.

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