Tamirat Haile: Is He the Protestant Version of Gedu Andargachew?

Few weeks ago, the former president of the Amhara region, Mr. Gedu Andargachew who also served as minister of foreign affairs denounced the war in Amhara region between Fanno and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) before the parliament that was summoned to ratify the motion to pass a decision for the State of Emergency (SoE) in Amhara region. After denouncing the war in the Amhara region and opposing the State of Emergency, Mr Gedu Andargachew outlined a few points as a solution such as the withdrawal of the ENDF from the region and establishing an all inclusive transitional government in the region. 

Honestly speaking, I found Mr. Gedu’s speech to be very authentic in content and to your surprise, I agree with the points he mentioned as a solution. I stand against war now or forever. I believe dialogues can still solve the crisis in the Amhara region, and I am all for it. 

However, there is also a problem with Gedu’s speech. In fact there is only a single problem with it. The problem with Gedu’s speech is Gedu himself. The speech came from the wrong man. The same man has been praising the ENDF and the war against Tigray between 2021 and 2022. There are multiples of videos of this man doing these things. If he was praising war against Tigray and started denouncing it when it comes to Amhara, there is a double standard to it. It’s pretty obvious. 

Just a few weeks after Gedu’s speech, another figure emerged – the Protestant version of Gedu. Pastor Tamrat Haile released a lengthy video, lasting ten minutes, in which he urged the federal government and Fanno to halt the war and engage in dialogue. The points he raised were evidently fueled by a deep concern for the nation, and his proposed solutions, much like those of Gedu, are paths that all stakeholders should consider. However, a crucial aspect was missing from Tamrat’s video – a simple acknowledgment or apology for his silence over the past five years when countless lives were lost throughout the country, including the two years of civil war in Tigray. Tamrat, like many prominent evangelicals in Ethiopia, opted to remain silent even in the face of atrocities such as gang rapes and youths incinerated by air bombs.

Yet Tamirat is not alone in his silence during the past five years, a period marked by widespread massacres across the country. Many Protestant preachers chose either silence or support for the war, with some even going so far as to label it a holy war. Those of us who lacked the moral equivalence or influence of such figures received threats for speaking out against the war. However, these preachers continued their routine of delivering ‘ትጠረምሳለህ’ (“You will breakthrough”) speeches to their followers, leaving their own silence unaddressed.

In all honesty, my intention isn’t to pass judgment or to score points by pointing out the double standards exhibited by others. Ideally, I wouldn’t even be writing this piece. However, it is imperative to shed light on double standards, as failure to do so inhibits us from empathizing with the suffering of others. The healing process for those deemed as the ‘other’ becomes compromised when we selectively speak out only after their pain has reached a certain threshold. 

Why now, Tamirat?

The question of Tamirat’s sudden decision to speak out against the war in the aftermath of more than a million deaths troubles me deeply. What prompted Tamirat to suddenly sense the divine displeasure in the midst of this civil war? I have some explanations/theories. 

1. He had a theological awakening?

Pastor Tamirat is affiliated with an Anabaptist denomination, known for its theology of peace that resonates across evangelical circles. Anabaptists advocate for peace and embodying the teachings of Jesus as peacemakers. However, it’s debatable whether Tamirat truly comprehended this theology, despite his connection to the Anabaptist denomination.

Consider his well-known song about peace from his 11th Album, which reads:

በጠመንጃ አፈሙዝ ወይ በዕርቅ ድርድር
የተገኘ ሰላም አላየንም በምድር
Neither through guns nor through dialogue

We have seen peace on this earth

The theme of the song is ‘Jesus is Peace’ which is right. Tamirat sang it right. Christ is our peace. However, Tamirat also says, ‘Neither through guns nor through dialogue, we have seen peace on this earth’. He does not believe in war but also does not believe in dialogue? Dialogues cannot bring peace? WWhile he opposes war, his dismissal of dialogue as a means to peace raises questions about his belief in the effectiveness of dialogue. This ambiguity suggests that Tamirat might not genuinely believe in the power of dialogue

Could his recent video indicate an awakening to a genuine Anabaptist theology of peace, inspiring him to embody Christ’s role as a peacemaker urging conflicting parties to pursue peace? If so, it would align with Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matt 5:9). However, Pastor Tamirat should have initiated his video by publicly confessing his newfound commitment to the Anabaptist theology of peace and apologizing for his silence while fellow countrymen suffered over the past five years.

1. His friends nagged him?

Excuse my speculation, but I must ask: Was Pastor Tamirat influenced by pressure from friends or colleagues to release the video? The identity of these friends remains unknown to me, but I am aware that Tamirat lived and ministered in the U.S. Perhaps members of the church he pastored in the U.S. prompted him to address the war in the Amhara region.

If that is the case, I’m not opposed to it. I’m grateful that they encouraged him to speak out against the war. However, I wish he had the same resolve to listen to the pleas of countless women and young men, who pleaded for an end to the war over the past five years. I lost two colleagues, Beimnet and Mejja, medical doctors who perished in the Tigray war. Many more individuals have been sacrificed in the war in Oromia. Whom do they turn to in order to gain Tamirat’s attention and amplify their suffering? How is it that Tamirat remained deaf to the cries of the young man publicly executed in Dembi Dollo’s town square, or the young man murdered in broad daylight by militants in SNNPR’s Amaro woreda? Yet, somehow, Tamirat suddenly rouses himself to stand against the war in the Amhara region? Such inconsistency is a glaring hypocrisy.

Confronting Hypocrisy and Seeking Healing

My intention in exposing these double standards isn’t to merely criticize or score points. I hold a steadfast opposition to violence and a deep yearning for peace to be the universal language of humanity. As Tsega Etefa highlighted in his book, ‘Nagaa’ (peace) is the everyday language of the Borana, the ancestors of the Oromo people. Ancient Christians in the northern regions, belonging to the Amhara and Tigray communities, greet each other with ‘ሰላም’ (peace) in their daily interactions. What’s really wrong with us then?

I believe that is where dealing with hypocrisy requires; to ask ‘What’s really wrong with us?’ I mean for real what happened to us? Who took our conscience not to even see our own double standards? Whose lens are we using to view the sufferings in the world? How much should the other side suffer to make us hear their cries? Do our relatives need to suffer so that we can start to release a video denouncing violence and its actors? Answering these questions is where the solution lies.

Continuing on this path necessitates public repentance for our public silence. Our silence has inflicted more pain than our newfound commitment to justice can heal. Thus, our journey toward peacemaking must be accompanied by public repentance. This act holds the power to mend hearts and heal countless souls. Only then can we collectively strive for peace.

Any preacher who has not traversed this route cannot be wholly trusted to have truly achieved the inner freedom required to stand for truth. This same journey is what I hope for those genuinely seeking to heal broken hearts. This is my call to Pastor Tamirat – a call to confront his hypocrisy.