The New York Times published on 4 December 2025 an opinion piece titled "Ilhan Omar: Trump Knows He's Failing. Cue the Bigotry."
Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minneapolis, responded to President Trump's vilification of her personally and the Minnesota Somali community generally. She described Trump's remarks as "hate speech" and contributing to xenophobia.
Ethiopia Insight published on 18 March 2024 a commentary titled "TPLF Needs to Chart a New Path Ahead for Tigray" by Fiseha Haftetsion, coordinator of the Policy Studies and Research Center of the TPLF.
The author, head of the Justice Bureau of Tigray until April 2023, calls on the Tigray People's Liberation Front to undertake a number of changes and reforms. Ethiopia's federal and regional constitutions contain democratic principles that must be accepted. Tigray's development program must be based on liberalism. Regional authorities need to make their positions known at the federal level. Tigray should be based on meritocracy. It needs to make better use of its natural resources. It must allow free expression but prohibit crimes like hate speech and racism. Tigrayans must be honest about the flaws within the TPLF.
Seattle-based Dhugaa Media posted on 3 February 2024 a 54-minute podcast titled "Focus on Ethiopia and the Horn Region" with me moderated by Nagessa Oddo Dube.
This is a wide-ranging discussion of issues in the Horn of Africa with a focus on Ethiopia, Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, and Eritrea.
Ethiopia Insight published on 8 January 2024 a commentary titled "Peace in Ethiopia's Oromia Will Only Come Through Genuine Self-rule" by Ermias Tasfaye, an Ethiopia Insight reporter living in Burayu, Oromia.
This is a detailed, if complex, discussion of the politics of Oromia that offers suggestions for dealing with the current conflicts, which seem to be dominated by extreme ethnic nationalism among Ethiopia's major ethnic groups.
The United Nations posted on 21 September 2023 the one hour and 25 minute video account of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia.
The video opens with remarks by the chairman of the international commission, who cites atrocities in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and Afar regions. He notes the lack of cooperation by the government of Ethiopia in the investigation. A representative of the government of Ethiopia responds by rejecting the conclusions of the commission.
Brief statements follow by member national representatives and those from non-governmental and human rights organizations. The video concludes with a response by commission representatives to some of the questions raised by previous speakers.
The Associated Press published on 14 December 2022 an article titled "Ethiopians File Lawsuit against Meta over Hate Speech in War" by Cara Anna.
Two Ethiopians have filed a lawsuit against Facebook's parent company, Meta, over hate speech they say exacerbated the conflict in Tigray Region. The lawsuit seeks the creation of a $1.6 billion fund for victims of hate speech.
Dawit Kebede of the Awramba Times, now banned in Ethiopia, interviewed me for 25 minutes on 4 April 2022 on US-Ethiopian relations, internal developments in Ethiopia, and Ethiopia-Eritrea relations. Apologies for the technical difficulties with the sound quality on the moderator's end.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a US non-profit organization, published on 20 February 2022 a report titled "Facebook Accused by Survivors of Letting Activists Incite Ethnic Massacres with Hate and Misinformation in Ethiopia" by Jasper Jackson, Lucy Kassa, Kathleen Hall, and Zecharias Zelalem.
The report looks at the use of hate speech in Ethiopian social media, its impact, and especially the failure of Facebook to remove it from the platform.
The BBC posted on 23 November 2021 an account titled "Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict: What Are Facebook and Twitter Doing about Hate Speech?" by Peter Mwai.
Both pro and anti-government users of Facebook and Twitter have posted hateful and inflammatory content in Amharic, Afan Oromo, Somali, and Tigrinya. Social media platforms are caught in the middle as they try to manage these postings.
The New York Times published on 17 November 2021 an article titled "Mass Detentions of Civilians Fan 'Climate of Fear' in Ethiopia" by Abdi Latif Dahir.
The article reports the targeted arrest and detention of members of certain ethnic groups, especially Tigrayans, in Ethiopia.
Oromia 11 TV station in Minneapolis posted on 12 November 2021 a 36-minute interview with me moderated by Mathias Gudina.
This is a wide-ranging exchange on developments in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
The UN Security Council issued a statement on Ethiopia on 5 November 2021 that called for unhindered humanitarian access, an end to hate speech, a ceasefire, support for African Union efforts to end the conflict, and the unity of Ethiopia.
All 15 members of the UNSC supported the statement. This means that the US, China, and Russia are at least in general agreement concerning the way forward.
USAID Administrator Samantha Power issued on 4 November 2021 a statement titled "On One Year of Conflict in Northern Ethiopia."
Power called on the TPLF to halt its military advance towards Addis Ababa, an end to human rights violations and hate speech. She noted that the US has provided $663 million in humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the conflict.
Amnesty International posted on 5 November 2021 a warning titled "Ethiopia: Sweeping Emergency Powers and Alarming Rise in Online Hate Speech as Tigray Conflict Escalates."
Amnesty International suggests that Ethiopia is teetering on the brink of a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe.
Foreign Affairs posted on 5 November 2021 an analysis titled "Can Ethiopia Survive?" by Nic Cheeseman, University of Birmingham, and Yohannes Woldemariam, University of Colorado.
The authors conclude that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's fundamental challenge is that Ethiopia's centrifugal (dividing) forces have grown stronger than the centripetal (unifying) forces. If Ethiopia is to survive in its current form, it needs to come up with a reason for existing. The authors suggest there are four possible outcomes of the current civil war, all of which could ultimately threaten the survival of the Ethiopian state. Even a military victory for either side will not likely lead to greater political stability in Ethiopia.
African Arguments posted on 3 August 2021 a commentary titled "Tigray: Our Suffering May Not Be Convenient, But It Is Real" by Temesgen Kahsay, Norwegian School of Leadership and Theology.
This is an appeal by a Tigrayan not to lose sight of each other's basic humanity.
The Horn's Diaspora ran on 28 May 2021 a 39-minute podcast with me titled "Ethiopian Government: From Being the Darling of the West to Becoming the Spoiler" moderated by Merga Yonas Bula on YouTube.
This is a wide ranging discussion concerning recent developments in Ethiopia, including ethnic nationalism, the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, upcoming elections, the Ethiopia-Eritrea border, role of the diaspora, hate speech, and US policy.
The BBC published on 28 May 2021 a commentary titled "Ethiopia Tigray Crisis: Warnings of Genocide and Famine" by Alex de Waal, Tufts University.
The author reviews the arguments surrounding the use of the term "genocide" in the case of the crisis in Tigray Region and the earlier crisis in Sudan's Darfur region. He concludes in the case of Tigray that "there's little appetite for considering whether it is genocide, fearing it will inflame emotions that would impede, not facilitate, solutions."
Reuters published on 27 January 2021 a story titled "Former U.S. Envoys Alarmed by Violence and Hate Speech in Ethiopia."
This is an account of the open letter to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from four former U.S. ambassadors to Ethiopia originally published by The Reporter in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Reporter posted on 26 January 2021 an open letter to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from four former US ambassadors to Ethiopia.
The short letter focused on the need to provide humanitarian aid to Tigray Region, encourage an end to hate speech, and ensure an independent investigation of all human rights violations in connection with the the recent crisis.
