Andrew DeCort outlines concerns about a genocide against Tigrayans after Daniel Kibret's latest blood-curdling speech

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Every day, our beloved, proud, rich Ethiopia is more threatened by truly catastrophic violence. The genocidal public speech at the highest levels of power is becoming extremely alarming.

Daniel Kibret is one of the most popular mainstream Christian leaders in Ethiopia and a close adviser to the Prime Minister. You will find his picture on billboards all throughout Addis Ababa and his books sold everywhere. He has 167,000 followers on Facebook but an exponentially larger grassroots following in Ethiopia, in part through his work with Maheber Kidusan ("The Communion of Saints"), an influential youth network. Everyone knows him.

In this video, Daniel refers to his Tigrayan opponents as "weeds," "satan," and "monsters." He says, "They should vanish by erasure," now and in all historical records. He says that Ethiopian children should be trained to see them as terrifying monsters who want to eat them. He says that they should only be found in graves. Then he speaks about this being the key to Ethiopia's "blessing."

It all looks so innocent. Daniel is a massively popular Christian leader. He's an adviser to the Prime Minister. He stands on a stage with people wearing suits. A wall of beautiful flowers adorns the venue. His audience smiles, applauds and laughs. What could be wrong with this?

What's wrong is this: Daniel's message is a textbook example of how genocides are unleashed. During my PhD research in ethics at the University of Chicago, I spent countless hours studying the sparks that ignite the fire of genocide. It was grueling, nauseating work.

And Daniel's speech is the EXACT language that fuels and justifies genocide as a patriotic, righteous, even "Christian" obligation. It is almost as if Daniel studied genocidal strategy and then condensed it into a short, ultra-distilled statement.

The similarity of language and vision with the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide is unmistakable. This speech could easily be featured in a genocide museum after the blood dries and the skeletons are put on display as people walk through, weep, and ask, "How was this possible?"
This is how. Right here. Right now.

When we see senior, religious and political leaders using this genocidal rhetoric, language fails to express the intensity and scale of the emergency. Ethiopians across regions and identities are in grave danger, especially the most vulnerable like women and children.

Not long ago, one of Ethiopia's most brilliant and respected political analysts told me, “The worst is yet to come. I have lost hope in Ethiopia. All the elements for a serious genocide are here, including elites who actively ignore, deny, suppress, or support what is happening.” Daniel's speech is one example among others that confirms this grim analysis.

Ethiopian leaders who desire peace, security, and prosperity in Ethiopia must urgently condemn this genocidal campaigning. Those associated with Daniel Kibret, officially and unofficially, must utterly reject this speech as a heinous failure of leadership. Religious leaders -- Orthodox, Muslim, Evangelical, Catholic, and others -- should unite around totally disavowing and denouncing this dehumanizing vision as a hellish evil that blasphemes God and destroys our neighbors.

Senior leaders like Attorney General Dr. Gedion Timothewos, Cardinal Berhaneyesus, and others must not be silent at this time. Leaders in every church, every mosque, every monastery, every Facebook page, every YouTube channel, every kebele, every marketplace must declare and defend the dignity of all persons and unambiguously condemn this genocidal vision and language.

Speeches like this blink red and declare, "It's almost midnight." There is no time to waste.

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"The entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." Paul (Galatians 5:14-15).