ከዓለም ዓቀፍ የአማራ ዲያስፖራ ጥምረት ለአውሮፓ ህብረት የተጻፈ ግልጽ ደብዳቤ

OPEN LETTER FROM A COALITION OF GLOBAL AMHARA DISPORA ORGANIZATIONS

June 1, 2026

Ginbot 24, 2018 E.C.

Urgent need for reassessment of budgetary assistance for the criminal regime in Ethiopia, currently led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

We the undersigned Amhara civic organizations write this open letter to express grave concern over the recent announcement by the European Union (EU) of resumption of budgetary support and strengthened partnership with the Oromo Prosperity Party (OPP) led Prosperity Party (PP) regime of Ethiopia. The announcement mentioned resumption of budget support, economic support, and investments with assurances of future commitments. We understand that the EU has provided extensive humanitarian and development support to the Ethiopian people in the past. However, we strongly believe that unfettered support of any kind to the regime in Ethiopia would be to the detriment of both the Ethiopian people and to the member states of the EU.

Below, we have provided a brief situation overview followed by a series of recommendations related to the announced items and in pursuit of lasting peace and stability which would be mutually beneficial to all parties.

Situation Overview

Under the PP regime, Ethiopia has been embroiled in consecutive wars leading to disruptions in daily life, regional instability, and economic decline. As it stands tens of millions of people continue to suffer throughout the country with strong indications that the crisis may spill across borders into a regionalized conflict.

First and foremost, the armed forces of the PP regime in Ethiopia have been implicated in a pattern of gross violations of international law. Numerous organizations have reported patterns of violations with hallmarks of genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes against Amhara people in the Amhara, Oromo, and Benishangul-Gumuz Regions various other parts of Ethiopia. According to data collected by the Amhara Association of America (AAA) since August 2023 the Ethiopian National Defense Force has carried out more than 376 aerial strikes (drone and airstrikes) resulting in upwards of 1,714 civilian casualties. Aerial strikes and heavy artillery shelling have systematically targeted civilian gatherings, health centers, schools, and sites of worship. Throughout the war, the armed forces of the PP regime have carried out weaponized sexual violence against young girls and women with over one hundred cases a day.

The regime’s campaign of impunity has extended to deliberate attacks on public facilities throughout the country. Since the onset of the armed conflict more than 6,000 schools have been forced to close leaving over 4.4 million children out of school in the Amhara Region. The PP regime’s armed forces not only targeted schools but converted hundreds into military outposts often destroying education supplies.

For several years the PP regime has carried out mass arrests and abductions targeting citizens on the basis of their ethnic identity and alleged political views. Though the targeting began with opposition figures, civil society leaders, independent journalists and human rights advocates – the campaign has since intensified to target individuals from all walks of life. In connection with the war on Amhara, hundreds of mothers have been detained with their young children on accusation of familial ties with anti-state combatants. Overall, tens of thousands of innocent civilians are being held in federal, regional and zonal detention facilities.

Emboldened by lack of international scrutiny the PP regime has intensified acts of interference in neighboring states as a proxy of the United Arab Emirates. Notable is the PP regime’s role in fuelling the deadly civil war in Sudan as reported by the Yale School of Public Health. If the regime is allowed to continue its genocidal war on Amhara and its foreign meddling, it could fuel the already dire migrant crisis.

Genocidal violence against Amhara people has been ongoing for decades since the ethnic federalism system was imposed in Ethiopia. Over this period the Amhara people have been targeted through massacres, mass detentions in concentration camps, forced contraception, demolition of homes, ethnic profiling and enforcing sieges through the disruption of road access, electricity, communication, and water supplies. Therefore, current trends under the last eight years of the OPP led PP regime are an intensification and continuation of decades of abuses by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front dominated Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. Genocide Prevention in Ethiopia (GPE) led research informed by field data, survivor testimonies and official documents indicate that deliberate statistical erasure as well as physical elimination of the Amhara people occurred in staggering numbers during this period. For example, since 1991 an estimated 4 million Amhara people have been displaced from various parts of Ethiopia.

Proposed Steps

To help mitigate regional instability and advance the mutual interests of the Ethiopian people and the member states of the EU, we urge the EU to consider the following recommendations:

  • Freeze Fiscal Aid – Immediately halt all direct budgetary support to prevent the co-optation of European financial reserves for state-led military campaigns and
  • Redirect Funding Strategically – Route vital aid (healthcare, education, and food security) entirely away from state channels, distributing it exclusively through independent humanitarian, international, and civil society
  • Promote Independent Investigations – Mandate unfettered, immediate access for international human rights bodies to investigate human rights violations in the context of the war in Amhara Region and more broadly violence in neighboring
  • Impose Targeted Sanctions – Implement asset freezes and travel bans against military commanders and political officials responsible for atrocities, inciting hatred and violence, and coopting aid.

 

Signatories

  1. International Amhara Associations Union (IAAU)
  2. International Amhara Movement (IAM)
  3. Amhara Diaspora Global Forum (ADGF)
  4. International Fano Coordinating Committee (IFCC)
  5. Amhara Association in Belgium
  6. Support Amhara Group in Belgium
  7. Amhara Association in France
  8. Verein zur Förderung des Amhara-Volkes Berlin V.
  9. Hoffnung Amhara Verein in NRW, Germany
  10. Verein der Amhara in Deutschland V.
  11. Amhara Relief Association Munich, Germany
  12. Amhara Verein in Nürenberg, Deutschland
  13. Amhara Union in München/Deutschland V.
  14. Amhara Association in Milano, Italy
  15. Amhara Association in Italy
  16. Amhara Association in Netherlands
  17. Hibir Amhara Norway
  18. Amhara Association Sweden
  19. Amhara Support Association, Switzerland
  20. Amhara Association in Switzerland
  21. Birmingham Amhara Association (UK)
  22. Amhara Community in UK
  23. United Amhara Association (UK)
  24. Metekel International Support Group, UK
  25. London Fano, UK
  26. Amhara Heroes Trust, UK
  27. Canadian Amhara Societies Alliance (CASA)
  28. Federation of Amharas in North America (FANA)
  29. Amhara Association in Ottawa, Canada
  30. Amhara Association of Calgary, Canada
  31. Amhara Association of Manitoba, Canada
  32. Amhara Community in Toronto and GTA, Canada
  33. Amhara Humanitarian & Development Society of Edmonton (AHDSE), Canada
  34. Amhara International Alliance (AIA)
  35. Amhara Organization in Greater Toronto Area, Canada
  36. Amhara Society Social Forum (London, Ontario), Canada
  37. Dejen for Amhara Survival (Waterloo-Wellington, Ontario), Canada
  38. Edmonton Amhara Association, Canada
  39. Fidel Amhara Community Organization, Canada
  40. Solidarity for Families of Amhara Political Prisoners, Canada
  41. Amhara Association of America (AAA)
  42. Amhara Professionals Union (APU)
  43. International Gondar Amhara Unity Association
  44. Genocide Prevention in Ethiopia (GPE)
  45. Amhara Guard Strategic Studies Group (AGSSG), USA
  46. Amhara Association in Dallas (AAD), USA
  47. Amhara Association of Bay Area (AABA), USA
  48. Amhara Association of Nevada (AAN), USA
  49. Amhara Association in Georgia (AAG), USA
  50. C. Joint Task Force, USA
  51. Amhara Association of Oregon (AAO), USA
  52. Amhara Association of Michigan (AAM), USA
  53. Amhara Mahber of Arizona (AMA), USA
  54. Amhara Association in Los Angeles (AALA), USA
  55. Amhara Association in Buffalo, New York, USA
  56. Amhara Association in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
  57. Amhara Association of California (San Diego), USA
  58. Amhara Association of Chicago (AAC), USA
  59. C. and the Surrounding Area Amhara People’s Coordinator, USA
  60. C. Fano, USA
  61. Seattle Amhara Association (SAA), USA
  62. Washington Area Amhara Association (WAAA), USA
  63. DMV Amhara Task Force, USA
  64. Amhara People Survival Struggle Supporting Task Force, Minnesota, USA
  65. DC Joint Task Force, USA
  66. C. and Surrounding Amhara Association, USA
  67. Amhara Association of Colorado, USA
  68. Aba Baheri’s Platform, USA
  69. Amhara Heritage Society of Minnesota (AHSM), USA
  70. Amhara Association in Nashville, Tennessee, USA
  71. Amhara Association of Nebraska (AAN), USA
  72. Ghion Amhara Association, USA
  73. Amhara Association in Houston, USA
  74. Amhara Association in Indiana, USA
  75. Amhara Memorial Society, USA
  76. Amhara Unity Melbourne, Australia
  77. Queensland Amhara Association, Australia
  78. Amhara Association in Sydney NSW, Australia
  79. Amhara Youth Association in WA, Australia
  80. Amhara Association in Perth WA, Australia
  81. Amhara Association in Adelaide SA, Australia
  82. Tasmania Amhara Association, Australia
  83. Amhara Support, Relief & Rehabilitation Association Incorporated, Christchurch, New Zealand
  84. Amhara and Amhara Families of Ethiopian Association in Auckland Incorporated, New Zealand
  85. Amhara Families Society of Wellington Incorporated, New Zealand
  86. All United Amharas Association, South Africa

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