The Amhara Fano People’s Organization (AFPO) today published the first comprehensive manifesto for the Fano movement, presenting what the group calls a formal political and strategic roadmap for the future of the Amhara struggle.
In a press release distributed on October 12, AFPO said the manifesto — developed from a draft circulated months earlier and revised after community feedback — is “more than a political statement.” The document, the organization says, is intended as “a strategic design for legality, trust, transparency, unity and inclusive politics,” and marks a new chapter for Fano as it seeks broader political legitimacy.
The manifesto sets out AFPO’s account of long-running grievances and its political goals. The text accuses successive Ethiopian governments of subjecting the Amhara people to decades of systemic abuses, including what it describes as ethnic cleansing and mass killings over the past fifty years. According to the release, those historical injustices, political betrayals and suppression of Amhara voices pushed the Fano movement into armed struggle — though AFPO stresses the movement is “not for revenge but for justice, equality and peace.”
AFPO also outlines political, economic and social programs under a banner the release names “Finote-Merhu,” which the organization says aims to translate the manifesto’s principles into policies for democratic governance and cooperative development. The manifesto, the group says, pledges solidarity with other communities facing oppression and rejects a retaliation-based agenda in favor of rebuilding civic institutions and advancing public sovereignty and human rights.
The organization framed the manifesto both as an internal guide for members and leaders and as a call to domestic and international audiences for clarity and recognition. “As the influence grows, calls from different directions, especially from the diplomatic community, have been being responded to for clarity of ideology and to inform the political line,” the release notes.
In closing, AFPO urged all who believe in “freedom, dignity and equality” to stand with the truth and with the people of Amhara, and called for participation in what it described as a transition from armed struggle toward rebuilding civilization and creating a just, united Ethiopia.
