Ethiopia was scheduled to hold national elections this month. However, in March, the electoral board declined to conduct the polls due to the coronavirus outbreak. Despite this declaration on the part of the electoral board, the Tigray region announced that it would hold its own election, scheduled for September 9, portraying itself as the guardian of the constitution. The region promised to conduct free and fair elections but the following report, translated from BBC Tigrigna, shows the blanket labeling of dissent as anti-Tigray and banda (the label for Ethiopians who collaborated with Italian invaders during the occupation) making the pre-election environment difficult for the opposition to campaign effectively.

In Tigray, a campaign called “Anti-banda” is underway. Those who dare to voice dissent against the ruling TPLF are labeled as sellouts who sold their souls to betray the region’s interests and are being humiliated in public and ostracized.

Gebremedhin Woldearegay is a peasant living in Endabatsahema woreda of the Tigray region. Earning his living as a farmer, he raised three children. One of the children works in Tigray Science and Technology Bureau in Mekele and the other two work in the government bureau in the woreda. One day, while preparing for the harvest, a few weeks ago, Gebremedhin attended a public meeting in his village. Leading it and in attendance were 200 TPLF officials and armed militias who started reading the names of those who were on the party’s blacklist, the list of names regarded as inimical to the party’s way of governing.

Gebremedhin says he had the shock of his life when the names of his children were read out. They were designated as anti-TPLF and banda. “I was made to be humiliated publicly.“

“I have worked hard to raise my children with my farm; I have worked till I sweat, to make a living for my children. Now at a time when they make themselves useful as worthy citizens, they are being accused of banda” he says.

Gebremedhin’s son, Tsegaye Gebremedhin on his part said he is not a member of any political party, but he posted on Facebook on issues of interest and convictions. He was a member of TPLF for about 12 years but in 2018 he distanced himself from the party as he couldn’t agree with the direction the party had taken. He said it is mind-boggling that his parents are being penalized for his and his brother’s social media postings. It was a sign that dissent in TPLF’s agenda is not to be tolerated and that those who break ranks will bring upon themselves the ire of the party machine, he says.

Contacted by the BBC Tigrigna, Tekleberhan Mesfin, the TPLF bureau head said the charges by the father and child were potently groundless. He said TPLF is working hard to put conditions necessary for a democracy to flourish, and people are being encouraged to participate in voting for parties of their choice operating in the region. However, this does not mean that one has a right to post inflammatory content in social media in the name of freedom of expression, he said.

Abraha Hailezigi, a lecturer at Mekele University, said when people gathered at a church recently in Embaseneyti, his native village, TPLF cadres announced that he and Abraha Teklu (leader of Bayto Abay Tigray) were in opposition activities and people should watch out for them. That announcement had made his parents worried and they called him to ask what happened to him. Abraha said trying to intimidate his parents and shaming them publicly for his own political views is creating a chilling effect in the region where many people are already scared to speak their minds in public.

Fana Teklay is another victim of the anti-banda campaign. Fana, who was born in a village near Shire Endaselassie, lives and works in the Middle East. Fana is also an active participant in social media, expressing her views. One day she heard unexpected news; she was among the 25 people denounced as “banda” or traitors to her ethnic group in a meeting in her native village. TPLF cadres told her parents that she has been campaigning against the ruling party in Tigray for her own personal gain and she has come to Addis Ababa to receive money for that purpose.

Among the charges against her was that she pays money to young people in the village in order to collect information that she would use to foment rebellion against the ruling party. Fana says the accusation was unfounded because she has been campaigning for the TPLF to be elected while at the same time, she also posts scathing criticism of the administration’s poor performance. “My people are suffering from a lack of infrastructure, the local leaders are not up to the task. That was what I tried to bring to the attention of the administration,” she says.

Adugna Workneh, Shire Endaselassie’s TPLF bureau head, denies the charge that people were targeted for expressing their views on social media. But, he said the public was alerted to those who “do errands for our enemies with the intention of destabilizing the region,” he said.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. Please cite Ethiopia Observer prominently and link clearly to the original article if you republish. If you have any queries, please contact us at ethiopiaobserver@protonmail.com. Check individual images for licensing details.