Tigrayan Domination?

I write this in response to this question by Tedla Woldeyohannes.

Whether one sees the history of Ethiopia from 1860-1974 as "Amhara domination" depends much more on one's frame of reference than the evidence. If one has an 'ethnic lens' - if one sees Ethiopia as a collection of ethnicities, then the fact that the national language was Amharic is in itself enough to show that there was Amhara domination. If one sees Ethiopia as a collection of individuals or competing regions or kingdoms (not ethnicities) then there is no such case. Some looking for a grievance/domination thesis might in this case opt for a thesis of class domination. And that's what many did.

Anyway, my point here is that it is not the facts that are the main determinant in one's views, it is one's ideology. This is why often endless discussions on who is Amhara and who is Oromo and who was in power, etc., though helpful when outright lies are being spread, rarely results in consensus.

But, there is an important point to make today. That is, the one and telling difference between pre- and post-EPRDF Ethiopia is that pre-EPRDF Ethiopia was not officially defined by ethnicity. Yes, there was a dominant language and those whose first language was Amharic had an advantage. Yes, there was a dominant culture among the elites that one with an ethnic frame of reference could say was Amhara culture, to the marginalization of other cultures. But people were not, in any sphere of society, officially identified by ethnicity. There was an integration and assimilation that accepted everyone in society, even if some would say the integrated culture was skewed towards Amhara.

In EPRDF Ethiopia, however, ethnicity is official and the political frame of reference is that of ethnic nationalism. If the frame of reference is ethnic nationalism, then everything is viewed through the ethnic lens, so the domination of the TPLF is not seen as class or political domination, but ethnic domination!!! A believer in ERPDF doctrine and the current constitution, if he were true to his ideology, would be forced to see in Ethiopia today Tigrayan domination! After all, even those who do not believe in ethnic nationalism, because they have been bombarded by ethnic nationalist propaganda for years, perceive there to be Tigrayan domination. On the street, it's this perceived Tigrayan domination that really irks people and is the main cause of the past two years of unrest. This is by the way what many have been telling the TPLF from the start - this emphasis on ethnic nationalism will come back to haunt you.

Now, since I do not have an ethnic lens, since I do not believe in ethnic nationalism, when folks complain to me about Tigrayan domination, I tell them that it is normal for the ruling class and those around it to dominate in a monopolistic power structure. During the Dergue's time, those in the Dergue and in their networks were first class citizens. During the EPRDF, those in the EPRDF and their networks as first class citizens, the EPRDF is dominated by the TPLF (statistcally and anecdotally), the TPLF is by definition Tigrayan. The fundamental problem is not Tigrayan domination, but the monopolistic power structure and ethnic nationalism. That's what I think. But one with an ethnic lens would say that the problem is only Tigrayan domination!