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Revision as of 03:51, 19 December 2020 by Boud (talk | contribs) (start)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Awol Allo | |
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| Born | Bale Province  |
| Occupation | Lecturer |
| Employer | |
| Website | https://www.keele.ac.uk/law/people/academicstaff/awolallo |
Awol Kasim Allo is a legal specialist of Ethiopian origin who started lecturing at the University of Keele in 2016. Awol was supportive of Abiy Ahmed, who became prime minister of Ethiopia in 2018, nominating him sucessfully for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. Awol became a critic of Abiy in 2020, accusing him of favouring centralisation against federalism and of being motivated by the desire for centralised control of power in the decision to launch an attack by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) against the Tigray Region in November 2020. An Ethiopian arrest warrant against Awol was issued in late November 2020.
Childhood and education
Awol Kasim Allo was born in the village of Wate-Chimmo near Gassera in the former Bale Province in Ethiopia. He attended Batu Terara High School in Goba. He obtained a law degree at Addis Ababa University in 2006, a master's degree at the University of Notre Dame, and his PhD at London School of Economics (LSE) in 2013, specialising in the "role of law and legal institutions in enabling progressive social and political change".
Academia
Awol taught at the LSE starting in 2013. He started a tenure track position at Keele University in September 2016. As of November 2020, Awol held British citizenship.
In 2019, Awol started a research project into "medemer and solidarity", where "medemer" is a "notion ... similar to the notion solidarity" proposed by Abiy Ahmed after becoming prime minister of Ethiopia. Awol wished to see if medemer could in democratisation and peaceful coexistence in Ethiopia.
Points of view
Truth commission
In 2019, Awol stated that he was supportive of the project to create a truth and reconciliation commission in Ethiopia to help in transitional justice, but warned of risks. He summarised the experience of other countries that had had truth commissions, stating that "the tension between accountability/justice and peace are one of the most well-known and inevitable of contradictions faced by almost all transitional societies."
Regional and federal democracy in Ethiopia
In 2019, Awol called for Oromo political groups to participate in organising politically in preparation for election, to "enter into coalitions and engage in constructive politics". He stated that "No mature and decent leadership can resort to violence under any condition" and warned that "engag in sabotaging the transition for short term political gains" would cause all groups to lose.
Awol stated in 2019 that he saw the federal government as showing "significant levels of patience" in compromising with regional governments and in not using its full legal powers of arrest of federal crime suspects."
In 2020, Awol's view of the federal government evolved to see it as becoming authoritarian (see #Tigray conflict below). In November 2020 he saw the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF, the former ruling party until 2018) as "an outspoken and powerful defender" of a federal structure in Ethiopia.
Tigray conflict
Awol, who had been one of the nominees of Abiy Ahmed for the Nobel Peace Prize, described Abiy as becoming increasingly authoritarian during the late 2020 Tigray conflict, repressing journalists and political dissidents. Awol opposed the sending of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) to take control of the Tigray Region.
On 25 November 2020, Awol described the conflict as "a deadly civil war that threatening to destabilise an already fragile and volatile region". Awol interpreted the ENDF actions as "an all-out war on a regional government as a means to settle an ideological and political difference". Awol stated that "violent and widespread repression" had begun in Oromia Region, Wolayita Zone and Sidama Region "against those who resisted" Abiy's program. Awol saw a fundamental opposition between "Abiy's vision of a centralised and unitary state" versus a constitutional division of power between a central government and autonomous regional governments. Awol described the "Amharas and the Amhara elite" as supporting the ENDF actions with the aims of retaking land and of reimposing and assimilationist system of excluding non-Amhara culture.
Awol stated that, "As a Nobel laureate, Abiy had the moral and political obligation to rule out war as a means of settling a political dispute. There can be no military solution to the ideological differences between Abiy and the TPLF."
In late November 2020, Ethiopian authorities issued arrest warrants for Awol and seven other Ethiopian intellectuals for "using a variety of media outlets to destroy the country".
Criticism
Awol has been criticised by Sehin Teferra as incorrectly rejecting the existence of an Ethiopian identity by misrepresenting it. and as being a bigot for denying the right of Ethiopians to see themselves as having an Ethiopian identity. Sehin accused Awol of having "fanned the flames of ethnic bigotry" in relation to the June 2020 Hachalu Hundessa riots that followed the murder of Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa.
While Awol saw the arrests of Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba in relation to the Hachalu Hundessa protests as Abiy making the Oromia Region "leaderless", Sehin saw this as support for violence and a refusal to consider evidence.
References
- ^ "True Reconciler". Capital (Ethiopia). 2019-01-30. Archived from the original on 20-12-19. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|archivedate=(help) - ^ Allo, Awol (2020-11-25). "How Abiy Ahmed's Ethiopia-first nationalism led to civil war". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
- ^ Brown, Will (2020-12-04). "Ethiopia wants to arrest a UK academic who nominated country's PM for Nobel Peace Prize". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
- Kumsa, Martha Kuwee (2020-12-16). "Our diverse feminists must team up to disavow epistemological violence". Ethiopia Insight. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
- ^ Teferra, Sehin (2020-09-25). "The 'epistemological violence' of Awol Allo". Ethiopia Insight. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
External links
- Official website at the University of Keele