Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Horn News Hub).
Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review (HAGR)
Strategic Historical Insight & Political Analysis
The Hands of Treachery: How TPLF’s “Above-the-Core” Warlords Betrayed Tigray’s Peaceful Coexistence
I. Framing Narrative: The Story of the Hands
In the history of Tigray, one haunting image persists: hands raised not in unity, prayer, or solidarity, but in betrayal.
These were the hands of the so-called “Above-the-Core” warlords of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)—figures who chose tyranny over justice, self-enrichment over sacrifice, and factional power over the survival of their people.
Rather than defending Tigray, they prolonged a bankrupt system of authoritarianism and crushed the spirit of peaceful coexistence. They became the Hands of Treachery—raised to endorse cruelty, raised to suppress justice, raised to sabotage Tigray’s democratic awakening.
This is not merely a political story but a frame narrative: betrayal forms the outer frame, while within it lies the lived suffering of Tigray’s people. The “Above-the-Core” warlords thus stand as monuments of shame, local manifestations of a global pattern of tyranny and impunity.
II. The Anatomy of Betrayal
📍 The Hands as Symbols of Treachery
They conspired to overthrow the Tigray Interim Administration under President Getachew Reda.
They dismantled the honor of the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF)—an army born of sacrifice—replacing it with the corrupt, factionalized “Fetlework Defense Forces” (FDF).
Their record is not defense but criminality: kidnappings, gold theft, targeted assassinations, and the exile of patriots.
Women bore some of the deepest scars, subjected to sexual violence used as a weapon of power and intimidation.
📍 The Hands as Monuments of Denial
They denied grieving families the dignity of burying their dead.
They blocked displaced citizens from returning to their homes.
They withheld reconciliation, food, and water from the wounded and the starving.
They transformed Tigray’s armed struggle from a shield of survival into an engine of regression.
📍 The Hands as Weapons of Oppression
Since January 15, 2017, these hands have shed the blood of Tigrayan youth in Enderta, Tembien, and South Tigray.
They dismantled lawful administrations and replaced them with puppet rulers.
They declared self-governing communities in South Tigray the “enemy,” mimicking the repression of Isaias Afwerki’s Eritrean regime.
They subjected the South Zone to humiliation, echoing the imposed governance of Mulu Nega during Ethiopia’s federal occupation of Mekelle.
III. Isolation of the Criminal Network
Tigray’s most dangerous threat today is internal: the “Core” and “Above-the-Core” networks. Their existence is both a political liability and a moral wound.
Political isolation – Strip them of all legitimacy, authority, and voice in Tigray’s future.
Social isolation – Remember them not as leaders but as betrayers, symbols of humiliation and corruption.
Economic isolation – Dismantle their illicit networks of gold smuggling, illegal mining, and land seizures. Confiscate their assets for the reconstruction of Tigray.
IV. Humiliation as Justice
Humiliation is not vengeance—it is a form of historical justice. These warlords must be remembered as:
Symbols of shame – Enemies of their own people, forever branded as traitors.
Stripped of dignity – Their false prestige erased, their names tied eternally to betrayal.
Publicly exposed – Their crimes documented so that future generations never forget the cost of treachery.
They must be recognized for what they are: homegrown genocidal actors—the most destructive political criminals in Tigray’s history.
V. Illustrating the Narrative Through Art: The “Pillar of Shame”
Betrayal must not fade into silence. It requires an enduring cultural and historical marker—a visible symbol of treachery to educate future generations.
The global precedent is Jens Galschiøt’s “Pillar of Shame,” erected in Berlin, Mexico City, and Hong Kong to memorialize the victims of authoritarianism and genocide.
For Tigray, a Pillar of Shame must rise:
The Sculpture: Hands raised not in solidarity but twisted in betrayal, cast in bronze or stone.
The Memorial: Dedicated to Tigray’s betrayed youth, the displaced, the starved, and the murdered.
The Symbolic Power: A permanent reminder that internal betrayal can be as devastating as foreign invasion.
The Global Connection: A monument placing Tigray’s suffering within the wider history of oppression, genocide, and resistance worldwide.
VI. The Frame Narrative Concluded
The frame story is clear: hands raised for tyranny destroyed Tigray’s chance at peaceful coexistence. Inside that frame lies the people’s lived reality—youth killed, families uprooted, dignity stripped away.
By isolating the betrayers, dismantling their criminal networks, and memorializing their shame, Tigray can transform this dark chapter into a foundation for justice, renewal, and unity.
VII. Final Judgment
The “Above-the-Core” warlords are not protectors, leaders, or heroes. They are Tigray’s greatest internal enemies—homegrown genocidal actors whose betrayal is indelibly recorded in history.
Tigray’s path to peace requires their delegitimization, humiliation, and permanent removal from power. Only then can Tigray be reborn: dignified, just, and united.
International Reference
The lessons of history are unambiguous:
The Nuremberg Trials against Nazi perpetrators,
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa,
The memorials of the Holocaust, Rwandan Genocide, and Bosnian War
All confirm one truth: betrayal and atrocity must be named, documented, and punished if a society is to heal.
Tigray must do no less. Its struggle against the “Hands of Treachery” belongs to this global tradition of justice and memory.
Prepared under the Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review (HAGR)
Contributing Authors: Regional and International Political, Security, and Historical Experts
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