Welkait Committee
| ወልቃይት ኮሚቴ | |
| Formation | 23 August 2015 |
|---|---|
| Type | Committee |
Head | Demeke Zewdu |
Secretary-General | Teshager Woldemichael |
The Welkait Committee is an Amhara-led committee that demands the return of Welkait district to Amhara Region's North Gondar Zone. According to the Committee, Welkait has been part of Amhara province which was annexed by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front regime in 1991 to Western Tigray Zone. On 23 August 2015, the committee was formed by convening the first meeting, forming 20 members including Colonel Demeke Zewdu as head of mobilization and Teshager Woldemichael as secretary.[1][2]
In July 2016, the committee members subjected to imprisonment by EPRDF government for petitioning about Welkait Amhara identity.[1]
History
[edit]The Welkait Committee was established on 23 August 2015 by displaced with 25,000 signatures collection from Welkait people. They convened their first meeting. The committee sought to question the institutional state of Amhara people as well as preventing anti-Amhara discrimination in the disputed region. On 19 September, the committee conducted an inaugural conference at the Landmark Hotel in Gondar with approximately 450 Welkait Amhara in attendance. After forming 20 members, Colonel Demeke Zewdu has been the head of mobilization and Teshager Woldemichael as secretary.[2][3] On 17 December 2015, the Committee submitted complaint letters to the zonal, regional and federal offices. Each office blatantly rejected the letter, assuming the question pertained from matter of identity and border-related case. In July 2016, the Committee members were arrested and tortured for petitioning about Welkait Amhara identity.[4][5][1][6]
Due to the efforts of the "identity committees," the general population in the Amhara Region became aware of and invested in the plight of ethnic Amhara residing in the contested territories administered by authorities from Tigray Region. Welkait and Raya became a rallying point for the development of Amhara nationalism, and its founding members are widely considered the founders of the Fano movement. On 19 April 2018, the Welkait Committee members met with newly elected prime minister Abiy Ahmed in Goha Hotel, Gondar. Abiy recommended to resolve the dispute peacefully with duly constitutional order.[2][7]
Amhara forces officially seized control of Western Tigray during the early weeks of the Tigray war. After taking complete control of the disputed territories, local administrators from Amhara Region were appointed to govern them. As the disputed territories were reorganized as de facto zones of the Amhara region, many of those appointed to leadership positions were former founders of the identity committees. The official status of these administrators was formally recognized only by Amhara region and not by the federal government. They soon carried out a coordinated campaign of ethnic cleansing against Tigrayans in Western Tigray. In several towns across Western Tigray, signs were displayed ordering Tigrayans to leave, and local administrators discussed plans to remove Tigrayans in open meetings. By mid-December, they had established a provisional "Setit-Humera zone," covering the former Welkait, Kafta Humera, and Tsegede wereda. In public gatherings, recently appointed local administrators emphasized their firm stance against any changes to this forcefully delineated boundary. Humera, Addi Remets and Dansha were virtually depopulated, with numerous shops closed, some of them subjected to looting. Any traces of a Tigrinya-speaking administration were deliberately erased. Tigrinya-written signs, including those on private hotels and shops, were repainted. Many houses were destroyed during the fighting, however, others were deliberately set on fire after the conflict ceased. Many Tigrayan communities, facing intimidation, fled east, towards central Tigray. Officials from the provisional administration then actively encouraged people from Gondar areas to settle in, offering free houses to those with connections to the new administration.[8] In contrast to towns with majority Tigrayan populations, The New York Times reports that towns in the zone with majority Amhara populations were "thriving, with bustling shops, bars and restaurants."[9]
Although the Amhara administrators of the unofficial Welkait, Tsegede, and Humera zone are considered the founders of the broader Fano movement fighting the government in Amhara region, they have chosen to distance themselves from the insurgency. These administrators have prioritized maintaining a defensive position against potential attacks by the TPLF and remain in alignment with the Amhara regional government, former special force soldiers have been reintegrated into local militias, essentially remaining armed and stationed in the same places they were originally serving. Locally organized militias in the unofficial Welkait, Tsegede, and Humera zone known as "Tekeze Defense Forces" remain fully armed. They have allowed the ENDF to quietly take firm control of all major towns and cities in the disputed areas, providing a base from which the ENDF has cleared out Fano militias.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Account (2022-04-15). "Welkait: The Redline that cannot be crossed in Ethiopia". Borkena Ethiopian News. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
- ^ a b c "The Welkait Question as a Litmus Test". Sage Journals. doi:10.1177/00219096211007657. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "What Is Fueling Ethiopia's Protests?". Voice of America. 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
- ^ John, Sonja (August 2021). "The Potential of Democratization in Ethiopia: The Welkait Question as a Litmus Test". Journal of Asian and African Studies. 56 (5): 1007–1023. doi:10.1177/00219096211007657. ISSN 0021-9096.
- ^ Kassaw, Alene; Veneranda, Mbabazi (2024-12-31). "TPLF's annexation of Wolkait, Ethiopia: motivations, strategies, and interests". Cogent Social Sciences. 10 (1). doi:10.1080/23311886.2024.2376859. ISSN 2331-1886.
- ^ "Civil rights activists in Welkait give hope for peace" (PDF). Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ a b "EPO Monthly Update | February 2024 – Clashes in Tigray's Disputed Territories Threaten Peace Deal". 19 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
- ^ "Ethiopia: Crimes Against Humanity in Western Tigray Zone". Amnesty International. 6 April 2022.
- ^ Walsh, Declan (26 February 2021). "Ethiopia's War Leads to Ethnic Cleansing in Tigray Region, U.S. Report Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021.
The American report is not the first accusation of ethnic cleansing since the Tigray crisis erupted.