Mereja.Forum

[Zmeselo]

Propaganda on massacres in Ethiopia may raise fears of intervention in Horn of Africa

FRANS DE MAEGD

https://www.investigaction.net/fr/la-pr ... -lafrique/

18 Mar 2021



In Ethiopia, the TPLF imposed an apartheid regime for nearly 30 years with Western support. But tensions between the different communities led to the overthrow of the corrupt regime which had then entrenched itself in its region of origin, Tigray. The TPLF attempted to regain power, but was quickly defeated by the central army. Now, from abroad, it is posing as a victim and organizing a propaganda campaign to try to force an international intervention that could have serious repercussions throughout the Horn of Africa.

Amnesty International's report on the Axum massacre, a recycled story

At the end of February, Amnesty International [i] published a worldwide report [ii] on

(…) hundreds of unarmed civilians executed during the war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia

Since the violent conflict between the TPLF [iii] separatists and the central government broke out on November 4, 2020 and after the defeat of the TPLF after four weeks, its members abroad have not ceased to warn the international community of the massacres of the Ethiopian army and the Eritrean army in Tigray. Some even spoke of a “real genocide”. The first “report” on the latest “massacre” reported by Amnesty was produced by Tigray Media House [iv] (TMH). This media is directed by Alula Solomon [v], spokesperson for the TPLF abroad. The lies spread by TMH have now reached a grim climax. Their “information” [vi] has been widely reproduced by the Associated Press office in Nairobi, in an article by Cara Anna [vii] (02/18). It was then repeated in Amnesty International's report of February 26 on

the terrible massacre of Axum [viii] near the Church of St. Mary of Sion on November 28 and 29, 2020.

Information on Axum's “massacre” was then recycled in a Guardian report dated February 26, 2021. Hundreds of believers were allegedly murdered in St. Mary's Church and the murderers attempted to rob the shrine of Noah's Ark [ix] while causing serious damage.

In all these stories,

the Eritrean soldiers are singled out.

But let's get back to the Amnesty International (AI) report that was made public. It is totally implausible. First of all, there are the 41 witnesses. 31 of them were testifying from refugee camps in Sudan. It is a well-known gathering place for former TPLF combatants. The other witnesses were contacted by telephone in Axum. AI did not bother to ask the Ethiopian and Eritrean authorities for their reaction. AI therefore assumes a priori that the TPLF version of “Axum events” is correct. Yet the Ethiopian government has always been willing to provide information on developments in the region.

The story is also cracking on all sides for other reasons, including the presence and crimes of the Eritrean soldiers.

An old Google Map photo would show where the destruction was done. But the photo itself doesn't prove anything. The reader thinks he sees something, which is not to be seen….

Among other things, a witness claims to have seen a red truck with an Eritrean license plate and an “Eritrea” inscription on the vehicle. But these red trucks and license plates are totally unknown in Eritrea. It is also particularly incredible that a soldier told a woman who escaped the massacre that he was “an Eritrean”.

Then there is the fact that a number of the killers wore the recognizable uniform of the Eritrean army. According to serious reports and communications from the Ethiopian government, the TPLF had been making Eritrean uniforms in Almeda Cherqacherq's textile company since the very beginning of the conflict - before it was destroyed by the TPLF [x] - in order to prove the presence and complicity of Eritrea in the conflict. Absurd, because Eritrea did everything in its power not to get involved in this conflict and did not follow up on the various provocations by the TPLF.

To make the story even more “credible”, the TMH called on an Orthodox priest, Michael Berhe, who testified about all the atrocities committed in Axum.

The problem is that this man is not a priest at all, but a translator based in Boston [xi]. This story aroused the ire of the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in New York [xii] .


(Top left, the man testifies as an eyewitness priest. In addition, he is presented as a happy fellow in Boston…)


Axum is not found in Niger (November 2020).

"Fake News"

The whole story of the “Axum massacre” is a lie from A to Z. A team from the Ethiopian News Service was present on site from November 28 - “the massacre” would have taken place on November 28 and 29 - to report on the important annual feast of Saint Mary in Axum. The feast was prepared throughout the city. The reporters spoke during those days with priests from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They said fighting had taken place on the outskirts of the city, especially on the airport side, a few weeks earlier, but that things calmed down by the end of November. On November 30, the team made a short report on the religious holiday. The report was broadcast on Ethiopian national television.

Can we imagine that thousands of people celebrate a party around the church after a massacre and near the mass graves of their loved ones? Can we imagine that the ecclesiastical authority would not have protested, if on November 28 and 29 their sanctuary had been attacked?

AI could have perfectly known what really happened in Axum at the end of November, just by watching the Ethiopian news and interviewing the right people.

A campaign against the Ethiopian government

Since the start of the conflict, the Ethiopian government has faced Western demands to grant the media free access to the region and the conflict zone.

But first of all, there is a justified distrust and vigilance towards the Western media, which the TPLF has been milking for nearly thirty years. The media of the Western powers, as well as many aid agencies and NGOs, have been at the forefront of armed interventions in almost all conflicts for years. Since World War II, virtually all conflicts have been based on fake news and revelations first broadcast by “our media” (as on the eve of the war against Libya and Syria, not to mention the two wars against Syria & Iraq).

In the program Terzake of the VRT [xiii] of December 21 - this report was partially taken up by the RTBF the following day -, the reporter Stijn Vercruysse speaks about all the misery caused by the bloody conflict without naming any culprit, except for Eritrea:

We were able to establish that everything indicates that Eritrean soldiers crossed the border wearing Ethiopian uniforms,

says Vercruysse.

It seems they were part of the fighting and at least helping to secure the area. But instead of securing, they would loot Tigrayan homes.

The VRT did not have to wait for Amnesty International's February report.

Continue to blame Eritrea. Why?

Why does the TPLF keep spreading such cruel stories and more? Why does Eritrea, which is doing everything possible to stay out of this conflict, continue to be singled out as one of the main culprits of the crimes?

There are mainly two reasons for this:

In this conflict, the responsibility for all this real misery (the destruction, the refugees…) lies with the TPLF separatists who attacked an Ethiopian army base on November 4th. During this attack, dozens of people were killed. When the central government wanted to restore order, a young TPLF militia called “Samri” murdered some 400 Amharic residents in Mai-Kadra on November 9 last year. AI drew up a correct report on this incident. But the Western media swept this report under the carpet and confused who is really responsible for the massacre.

Worse, in their desperate attempt to keep control of the towns of Tigray, the TPLF bandits destroyed numerous infrastructures (power stations, businesses - including the pharmaceutical company of Adigrat - roads and bridges, university buildings, means of communication ... ) to then put all this destruction on the back of the Ethiopian army which one can logically wonder what would have been the interest.

From abroad, and in particular the refugee camps in Sudan, TPLF survivors want to cover up their crimes by offering the Western media a wide range of Ethiopian and Eritrean crimes.

Of course, the reconquest of Tigray caused a lot of suffering. The clashes between the poorly armed militias and the Ethiopian army were very serious at first. Tens of thousands of Tigray residents fled violence and food shortages as fields where the harvest was ripe had to be abandoned. What is most terrible is that the TPLF regime released 13,000 common criminals to wreak havoc. Looting and rape can most likely be attributed to these criminals, but one cannot rule out excesses on the part of the Ethiopian military. Moreover, since the end of last November, the Ethiopian government has been carrying out a systematic investigation into all the crimes committed in Tigray. But AI is obviously not taking this investigation seriously.

The Ethiopian government has a vested interest in ensuring that all criminals are tracked down and brought to justice, regardless of their side. This is a prerequisite in order to restore confidence in the central government in Tigray after so many hate campaigns carried out by the TLF since the summer of 2018 and the enormous chaos that reigned during the conflict.

International intervention

The TPLF has spread its stories of “crimes against humanity in Tigray” to force an international intervention. Its members thus systematically involve Eritrea in the conflict to give “the war in Tigray an international character” which would require “international intervention”. We know history.

To date, all of these attempts have failed.

As early as late last year, UN Secretary-General Guterres said that despite provocations by the TPLF (such as the bombing of air bases in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea), that Eritrea has nothing to do with the internal conflict in Ethiopia and Tigray.

The European Union, a partner of the new Biden administration in the United States, tried to convict Eritrea of ​​“crimes against humanity” during the 46th session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva at the end of February this year. But the real international community, which is not limited to the West, has rejected these accusations. China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Belarus, DPRK (North Korea), Ethiopia, South Sudan, Philippines, Skri Lanka and others voted against. China and Russia have also stressed in their response that the use of "human rights" by Western powers to try to intervene in the internal affairs of other countries must stop.

Why does the West continue to support the defeated TPLF?

Why is the United States and its crippled ally the EU so fanatic about defending the defeated TPLF in a sparsely populated and uninteresting region of northern Ethiopia?

Because the TPLF of Tigray (a region which has no more than 5% of the current Ethiopian population) has kept Ethiopia under its control for nearly 30 years, which occupies a geostrategic position in the Horn of Africa and which was supported by the West. At their instigation, Ethiopia waged a war against Somalia (2006-2007) and against Eritrea (1998-2000-2018), ignoring the Algiers peace agreement of 2000 with impunity.

In matters of domestic policy, the TPLF regime has not sought to resolve the major regional contradictions which are the cause of recurring problems abroad. On the contrary. These have been pushed to the maximum despite appearances. The US and the EU turned a blind eye to all persecution and crime because the TPLF regime offered great economic benefits and seemed able to continue playing the policeman of the region.

But from 2016-2017, the situation in Ethiopia turned desperate. It all started in the Oromo region where a protest left 75 people dead in December 2015. Tension peaked in August 2016 when the ongoing unrest saw dozens of residents of Addis and surrounding areas shot dead. The TPLF government declared a state of emergency in October 2016. But protests have also increased in other regions. An interminable civil war then threatened Ethiopia and other countries in the Horn of Africa.

Most of the main region came out in force. The TPLF government in Addis was in dire straits.

The Trump administration understood this and did not want to embark on another endless and hopeless conflict (as in Afghanistan, Syria…). The United States therefore dropped the TPLF like a brick and allowed a “soft coup” that brought current Prime Minister Abiy to power. The latter signed peace with Eritrea from the spring of 2018, sought to ensure the unity and cooperation of the countries of the Horn and made painstaking attempts [xiv] to reconcile the torn peoples of Ethiopia. This cooperation was rejected by the TPLF, which had entrenched itself in the north, in its region of origin, Tigray. The TPLF then worked on two scenarios: regaining power in Addis (which proved impossible) or wresting Tigray from Ethiopia by creating conflict in this region. Their new dream was to create a Great Tigray while forcing strategic access to the Red Sea.

The reaction of the Ethiopian central government after the TPLF attack on Ethiopian army units has been justified. The Ethiopian army invaded Tigray to restore order. The reconquest of the region was completed in about three weeks, but it of course caused a lot of chaos and misery.

Had the government allowed the violent secession of Tigray, the gates of hell would have been opened not only in Ethiopia, but also throughout the Horn of Africa. All ultranationalists among all peoples who have been oppressed from time immemorial would have seen this as a strong signal. And that could have resulted in endless civil wars.

The inhabitants of Tigray have undoubtedly escaped the worst as the Ethiopian army came to bring order to the region. Conflicts between militias were about to erupt, which would have caused bloodshed. The rapid defeat of the TPLF in Tigray shows that the “game is over” and Ethiopians who have known its dictatorial regime for nearly thirty years are rejoicing.

However, during these almost thirty years of domination, the TPLF has woven an international web with which it now leads a rearguard action. He is thus supported “unexpectedly” by Biden's new administration “America is back” [xv] as well as by the EU, which is very happy to be able to return under the wing of the United States to serve them.

Today, the efforts of the TPLF and the West are creating a lot of confusion and anxiety. These attempts prevent the restoration of peace, order, the return of refugees and the return to normal life in a tormented region of Tigray. Attempts by the TPLF to return to power and those by imperialism to redefine its will in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa are unlikely to succeed. Peoples and nations fully understand the West's sinister game in the region and will not give it any leeway.

A second question can be asked: why do so many progressive and left-wing organizations join the TPLF discourse against the central government of Ethiopia and especially against Eritrea?

First, in 2018, the two countries signed a peace agreement that won Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize. But the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki received nothing as is the custom when two countries bury the hatchet. All the sanctions against Eritrea have nevertheless been lifted. But this country is still described by the Western media as “North Korea of ​​Africa”. This label deters almost everyone (including on the left) from knowing Eritrea a little better and discovering the extremely positive role it plays in the region.

Second, the TPLF presents itself as the representative of an

oppressed nationality and victim of the central government which oppresses all the peoples of Ethiopia.

The sympathy of most progressives and leftists in the West has traditionally gone to “oppressed peoples and nations”. So without much thought, sympathy now goes to Tigray and TPLF. But as is often the case, no concrete analysis is made of a concrete situation and the latest developments are not considered in light of Ethiopia's recent history. If you examine this story more closely, you quickly realize that it was precisely the TPLF that oppressed the people and played to pit regions against each other for 30 years when it held power in Addis. Ababa.

We therefore invite everyone to reflect on this story by reading the interview with Professor Mohamed Hassan [xvi] in Investig'Action and the article by Ethiopian Professor Girma Berhanu, who works in Stockholm [xvii] .

Both strongly denounce the ethnic divisions and apartheid of the former TPLF regime. The start of his reign seemed promising, however. The TPLF had broken with the so-called “Jacobin centralism” of the DERG and Mengistu periods (1974-1991). Ethiopia then became a federal state with 9 regions cut out on an ethnic basis (!) And enjoying relative autonomy.

When defining the boundaries of the regions, the TPLF enlarged Tigray by more than a third, notably removing territory from the Amhara region.

We know (certainly in Belgium) that the autonomy of a region is only as big as its budget. Thus, only 13% of the state budget has been transferred to the regions. Regional leaders, mostly corrupt, had to constantly beg for money from the Addis Ababa government.

The Constitution stipulated that if a majority of the delegates of a region wanted to gain its independence, it was the right of each region. But when the Somali region wanted to hold an independence referendum in the early 1990s, it was brutally prevented from doing so. In particular, a TPLF commando killed the then president of the Somalia region, Muhumed Qani, in the town of Gode.

From 1995, every Ethiopian had to choose “a nationality”, even if he felt above all an Ethiopian. This shattered Ethiopian national sentiment and fostered narrow-minded regionalism. In the late 1990s, the Ethiopian government sold fertile land to foreign agro-industries, causing the mass eviction of farmers from their land and even the “relocation” of national minorities in miserable conditions, such as the Anuaks [ xviii]. Between December 13 and 16, 2004, 424 Anuaks were killed by the TPLF army in the Gambella region (northeast of Oromo region). Thousands of people have fled (including to Kenya). The brutality of this situation has been denounced by Human Right Watch. But the Oromo population of this region was not spared either: they lost a lot of land, part of which was transferred to an Indian agro-industrialist who tried to produce rice, but failed.

The Afar and Amhara peoples have also suffered greatly from the repression. But it is the Somali region that has paid the heaviest price. In 2007 and 2012, the TPLF army organized massacres in Fik, Dhagaxmadow, Mooyaha, Qorille and Gunagado [xix] .

So much so that when TPLF supporters loudly denounce the loss of “Tigray's regional autonomy”, it arouses the hatred and contempt of all the peoples of Ethiopia.

It should also be noted that the Ethiopian government has set up a new regional government. New elections must be organized in the near future, when peace has fully returned.

Famine and international humanitarian aid

Finally, a small remark on “the threat of famine” in Tigray after the fall of the TPLF. The needs were great, because the supply of the towns had been interrupted, the reserves looted, the crops left in the fields. For the West and many of its “human rights” defenders, as well as for NGOs, this is an excellent opportunity to organize a massive international humanitarian aid effort independent of the Ethiopian government which has been held to be responsible for all the misery. The Ethiopian government has said it is doing everything possible, as the situation permits, to help the suffering population and to give the large number of refugees the opportunity to return to their homes. Only these measures will restore normal life in the region. This has always been the main objective of the government. The Ethiopian Red Cross (which is of course linked to the International Red Cross) provided first aid. The government says any foreign aid is welcome, as well as aid workers, if aid goes through the Ethiopian state. On the other hand, the government recently successfully organized a large-scale census of the entire Ethiopian population. It is important that the entire population learns to distinguish between the TPLF separatists and the inhabitants of Tigray so that the damaged solidarity with this region can be restored.

It should also be noted that the needs of the people of Tigray have never been the concern of the TPLF parasites when they were in Addis Ababa. Access to water, in particular drinking water, remains extremely problematic in rural areas [xx] . The upstarts of the TPLF also showed no respect for auxiliary hospital equipment. As they fled to the mountains after the fall of the capital Mekelle, the TPLF refugees left ambulances they had used for their escape behind them. A Japanese aid organization, which had donated ambulances, was very angry about this.

The game is over for the TPLF, and the false information its members spread abroad resonates like swansong.

Source: Investig'Action

Notes:

[i] “Amnesty International: Hundreds of unarmed civilians executed during war in Ethiopia's Tigray region”

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2021/02/25 ... honderden/

[ii] Here is the AI ​​report: https://www.amnesty.org/fr/documents/af ... 0/2021/fr/

Western media, such as the Belgian VRT, immediately broadcast a high-profile prime time report.

[iii] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_de_ ... Tigr%C3%A9

[iv] https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/v ... a+cafee&fr

[v] https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/ ... %3A%2F%2Fi. ytimg.com% 2Fvi% 2FyLw0GA3p-r4% 2Fmaxresdefault.jpg # id = 0 & iurl = https% 3A% 2F% 2Fi.ytimg.com% 2Fvi% 2FyLw0GA3p-r4% 2Fmaxresdefault.jpg & action = click

[vi] The TPLF then took part of the national treasure and military equipment.

[vii] https://apnews.com/article/witnesses-re ... 9bd1d20bfa

[viii] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/ ... me-against -humanity /

[ix] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... deadly-war

[x] https://eritreahub.org/tigray-the-looti ... ry-in-adwa

[xi] https://www.facebook.com/1180543102/vid ... 2435396455

[xii] https://www.ena.et/en/?p=22059&fbclid=I ... 8twyxvpdaI

[xiii] . https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2020/12/20 ... et-geweld/

[xiv] Government in which Abiy began to make mistakes in front of the Oromo and Somalis, among others. Several people were very impatient and wanted the old problems to magically disappear. There was a call in different regions. Appeal which was canceled by the Abiy government.

[xv] The Biden administration wants to return to the offensive in the Horn of Africa as it did recently in the Middle East (the bombing in Syria). This can be done (they believe) through TPLF survivors, but also by using the tensions between Egypt and Sudan with Ethiopia over Ethiopia's new Nile dam and the supply of Nile water in Sudan and Egypt.

[xvi] The Recent History of Ethiopia, Part 3: The TPLF and Zenawi Period

https://www.investigaction.net/fr/lethi ... de-zenawi/

Mohamed Hassan is a former Ethiopian diplomat and specialist in the Arab world and the Horn of Africa. Today, he is an advisor to the president of the Somalia region in Ethiopia.

[xvii] https://borkena.com/2018/01/09/ethnic-a ... -ethiopia/

[xviii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anuak_people

[xix] The current president of the Somalia region in Ethiopia, on his facebook page (March 1, 2021), evokes these real massacres (which have barely been talked about in the international media ...) in response to the screams of the survivors of the TPLF on “the current massacres in Tigray”.

[xx] https://tesfanews.net/does-the-people-o ... tplf-rule/

[Zmeselo]

The Quest to Bring Ethiopia Back Under Their Sphere of Influence

By: Sara Isaias

http://www.eritreacompass.com/the-quest ... influence/

March 19, 2021

Facilitated by the insecure Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), powerful forces had managed to keep Ethiopia firmly within their sphere of influence by investing heavily- militarily, politically and economically- throughout the 27 years of the TPLFs reign of terror and grip on power. This unprecedented level of influence which these forces had enjoyed over Ethiopia is something that they had never expected to loose, but thanks to the incompetence of the TPLF, Ethiopia today finds itself drifting away from them, placing the dominance and influence that these forces had enjoyed for so long in jeopardy.

The wind of change that began to blow in the region some two and half years ago has managed to sweep away the TPLF completely from the Ethiopian political scene. With the TPLF gone, regional alliances have been reconfigured. This realignment in the Horn of Africa has led to some countries to believe that Ethiopia was now charting its own course and it was slowly but surely slipping away from their tight grip, their sphere of influence becoming ever more smaller.



To those who have been accustomed to hear the western press laud the TPLF led Ethiopian government at every opportunity — despite it having been guilty of being one of the worst perpetrators of Human Rights abuses in the World — it comes as somewhat as a surprise to see the current Ethiopia government being ruthlessly and relentlessly demonised, especially in these past couple of months, simply because it has good relations with next door Eritrea — the country some love to hate.

Safe in the knowledge that its crimes would be covered by its handlers and it will not be held accountable, through out its reign the TPLF has been guilty of committing numerous crimes against humanity. One such crime is the ethnic cleansing of the Anuaks in the Gambela region of Ethiopia back in December 2003. The TPLF forces brutally killed over 400 people, primarily targeting men in the town of Gambela — the regions capital. It is a well documented fact, that TPLF forces had raped women and burnt houses in their hundreds. Emboldened by the West’s lack of interest in the human rights of the people of Gambela, the TPLF in a desperate bid to cling to power had again committed mass atrocities in the Gambela region in 2016 — just before it was ousted from power by a popular uprising.

The crimes against Humanity that the TPLF had committed while in power and overlooked by its sponsors were so numerous and horrendous, even Ethiopia’s Human Rights Commission, which was under the tight control of the TPLF, was unable to ignore all of them and reported about the killing of over one thousand people only during the instance of the popular uprising, mainly youth of the Amhara and Oromia regions.

While the corporate media and other linked institutions decided to afford the TPLF cover for the atrocities it had committed, it was left to Mr Mustafa Omer, the regional president of Somalia region in Ethiopia, to remind the world about the Gunagado massacre, the Qorille massacre, the Malqaqa massacre, the Dhagaxmadow massacre, the Mooyaha massacre, and many other mass killings carried out by the TPLF. Even the recent Mai Kadra massacre on ethnic Amharas by the TPLF in November of 2020 has been spared the selective wrath of the western press and other organisations and is now conveniently ignored, giving further protection to the now defunct TPLF.



The spontaneous coming together of the people of Eritrea and the people of Ethiopia to fight the disinformation war being waged on Eritrea and Ethiopia — without any instructions from their respective governments — can be seen as a true example of Pan Africanism at work.

Observing the people of the two countries who had been made to see each other as enemies by the shenanigans of the TPLF, work closely and effectively to safeguard the region, cannot but force one to think of might have been achieved had not the TPLF deliberately, maliciously and constantly driven a wedge for the past 20 years between the two nations in a bid to make them eternal foes. It does not bare thinking about the lost opportunity for peace, cooperation and development that could have been achieved between the two people.

In a region blighted with poverty, cooperation in development would have dramatically changed the lives of millions for the better. The merchants of chaos had gathered from near and far, making the preservation of the status quo of conflict and poverty their top priority. However, despite the best efforts of these dark elements, the people of Eritrea and the people of Ethiopia through the sacrifice of many, now find themselves presented with an opportunity to cement the ground work for lasting peace in the region.

With the TPLF gone to never make a come back, one could ask, are there new actors chosen to encircle the Horn of Africa alliance of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia? Who might those chosen be? Could it be Sudan to the west and Kenya to the south? Could there be a link with the lifting of decades long sanctions on the Sudan and its border dispute with Ethiopia which seems to have escalated at an alarming rate having come from nowhere? Ethiopian social media pundits considered it a slap in the face of the Ethiopian government and a gesture of great disrespect of Ethiopian sovereignty, when the US had the audacity to discuss recent events in the Ethiopian region of Tigray with the Kenyan leader — which are internal matters of Ethiopia — the recent UNSC discussions on Ethiopia and the way Kenya voted. Could all of this be an indication, that Kenya is now being groomed to become the new darling of the West in East Africa?

Are elements in the Sudan the real problem, or are there others hiding behind the facade of Nile? Is Sudan being backed by powerful countries in the Middle East, US, and Europe? Or is it Egypt that is operating behind the scenes, pulling the strings to orchestrate a crisis in the region in an attempt to safeguard its interests? Could the signing of the Egypt and Sudan military agreement be a coincidence, or purposely designed to exploit the current situation in the Horn of Africa? Or is Egypt working to limit Turkey’s historical influence in the region, given that it is keeping it busy in Libya?

The answers to all these open ended questions are not yet crystal clear, but one thing we can all be certain about is, all the media frenzy surrounding recent events in the northern part of Ethiopia cannot be said to have emanated from a genuine concern for the Human Rights of Ethiopians living in the Tigray region, but has a more ulterior motive — the bringing back of the TPLF from the land of the dead.

The widespread coverage by the media of recent events in Ethiopia, usually laced with a disproportionate dollop of fiction, is intended to apply pressure on the Ethiopian government and PM Abiy, in the hope that he would buckle under the pressure and steer Ethiopia back into the sphere of influence

_______

https://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/ethiop ... oc98553690
https://unpo.org/article/18883
https://www.press.et/english/?p=30957#
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... AQ084?il=0
https://egyptindependent.com/egypt-suda ... agreement/
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1820756/middle-east

[Jaegol]

Well written articles
Thanks for sharing!

[Fiyameta]

Excellent analysis. Thanks for sharing.

The Quest to Bring Ethiopia Back Under Their Sphere of Influence

By: Sara Isaias

http://www.eritreacompass.com/the-quest ... influence/

March 19, 2021

Facilitated by the insecure Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), powerful forces had managed to keep Ethiopia firmly within their sphere of influence by investing heavily- militarily, politically and economically- throughout the 27 years of the TPLFs reign of terror and grip on power. This unprecedented level of influence which these forces had enjoyed over Ethiopia is something that they had never expected to loose, but thanks to the incompetence of the TPLF, Ethiopia today finds itself drifting away from them, placing the dominance and influence that these forces had enjoyed for so long in jeopardy.

The wind of change that began to blow in the region some two and half years ago has managed to sweep away the TPLF completely from the Ethiopian political scene. With the TPLF gone, regional alliances have been reconfigured. This realignment in the Horn of Africa has led to some countries to believe that Ethiopia was now charting its own course and it was slowly but surely slipping away from their tight grip, their sphere of influence becoming ever more smaller.



To those who have been accustomed to hear the western press laud the TPLF led Ethiopian government at every opportunity — despite it having been guilty of being one of the worst perpetrators of Human Rights abuses in the World — it comes as somewhat as a surprise to see the current Ethiopia government being ruthlessly and relentlessly demonised, especially in these past couple of months, simply because it has good relations with next door Eritrea — the country some love to hate.

Safe in the knowledge that its crimes would be covered by its handlers and it will not be held accountable, through out its reign the TPLF has been guilty of committing numerous crimes against humanity. One such crime is the ethnic cleansing of the Anuaks in the Gambela region of Ethiopia back in December 2003. The TPLF forces brutally killed over 400 people, primarily targeting men in the town of Gambela — the regions capital. It is a well documented fact, that TPLF forces had raped women and burnt houses in their hundreds. Emboldened by the West’s lack of interest in the human rights of the people of Gambela, the TPLF in a desperate bid to cling to power had again committed mass atrocities in the Gambela region in 2016 — just before it was ousted from power by a popular uprising.

The crimes against Humanity that the TPLF had committed while in power and overlooked by its sponsors were so numerous and horrendous, even Ethiopia’s Human Rights Commission, which was under the tight control of the TPLF, was unable to ignore all of them and reported about the killing of over one thousand people only during the instance of the popular uprising, mainly youth of the Amhara and Oromia regions.

While the corporate media and other linked institutions decided to afford the TPLF cover for the atrocities it had committed, it was left to Mr Mustafa Omer, the regional president of Somalia region in Ethiopia, to remind the world about the Gunagado massacre, the Qorille massacre, the Malqaqa massacre, the Dhagaxmadow massacre, the Mooyaha massacre, and many other mass killings carried out by the TPLF. Even the recent Mai Kadra massacre on ethnic Amharas by the TPLF in November of 2020 has been spared the selective wrath of the western press and other organisations and is now conveniently ignored, giving further protection to the now defunct TPLF.



The spontaneous coming together of the people of Eritrea and the people of Ethiopia to fight the disinformation war being waged on Eritrea and Ethiopia — without any instructions from their respective governments — can be seen as a true example of Pan Africanism at work.

Observing the people of the two countries who had been made to see each other as enemies by the shenanigans of the TPLF, work closely and effectively to safeguard the region, cannot but force one to think of might have been achieved had not the TPLF deliberately, maliciously and constantly driven a wedge for the past 20 years between the two nations in a bid to make them eternal foes. It does not bare thinking about the lost opportunity for peace, cooperation and development that could have been achieved between the two people.

In a region blighted with poverty, cooperation in development would have dramatically changed the lives of millions for the better. The merchants of chaos had gathered from near and far, making the preservation of the status quo of conflict and poverty their top priority. However, despite the best efforts of these dark elements, the people of Eritrea and the people of Ethiopia through the sacrifice of many, now find themselves presented with an opportunity to cement the ground work for lasting peace in the region.

With the TPLF gone to never make a come back, one could ask, are there new actors chosen to encircle the Horn of Africa alliance of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia? Who might those chosen be? Could it be Sudan to the west and Kenya to the south? Could there be a link with the lifting of decades long sanctions on the Sudan and its border dispute with Ethiopia which seems to have escalated at an alarming rate having come from nowhere? Ethiopian social media pundits considered it a slap in the face of the Ethiopian government and a gesture of great disrespect of Ethiopian sovereignty, when the US had the audacity to discuss recent events in the Ethiopian region of Tigray with the Kenyan leader — which are internal matters of Ethiopia — the recent UNSC discussions on Ethiopia and the way Kenya voted. Could all of this be an indication, that Kenya is now being groomed to become the new darling of the West in East Africa?

Are elements in the Sudan the real problem, or are there others hiding behind the facade of Nile? Is Sudan being backed by powerful countries in the Middle East, US, and Europe? Or is it Egypt that is operating behind the scenes, pulling the strings to orchestrate a crisis in the region in an attempt to safeguard its interests? Could the signing of the Egypt and Sudan military agreement be a coincidence, or purposely designed to exploit the current situation in the Horn of Africa? Or is Egypt working to limit Turkey’s historical influence in the region, given that it is keeping it busy in Libya?

The answers to all these open ended questions are not yet crystal clear, but one thing we can all be certain about is, all the media frenzy surrounding recent events in the northern part of Ethiopia cannot be said to have emanated from a genuine concern for the Human Rights of Ethiopians living in the Tigray region, but has a more ulterior motive — the bringing back of the TPLF from the land of the dead.

The widespread coverage by the media of recent events in Ethiopia, usually laced with a disproportionate dollop of fiction, is intended to apply pressure on the Ethiopian government and PM Abiy, in the hope that he would buckle under the pressure and steer Ethiopia back into the sphere of influence

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https://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/ethiop ... oc98553690
https://unpo.org/article/18883
https://www.press.et/english/?p=30957#
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... AQ084?il=0
https://egyptindependent.com/egypt-suda ... agreement/
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1820756/middle-east

[Zmeselo]

My brothers, you're so welcome!!!

[Zmeselo]

I think this image is fitting, considering the collusion of State Department with some of history’s evil regime remnants that are hell bent in destroying Ethiopia- Eritrea. Image not mine! Credit goes, to one of the members of criminal junta entities.
(Aman Nebiat: @AmanNebiat)

[Zmeselo]

Ethiopians In Sudan Protest Against Diplomatic Pressure

https://www.fanabc.com/english/ethiopia ... -pressure/

Addis Ababa, March 20, 2021 (FBC) –Thousands of Ethiopians living in Sudan have held a rally to denounce the attempts being made by some foreign officials to put diplomatic pressure on Ethiopia.

In the rally held at the Ethiopian Community Center in Khartoum, the demonstrator also expressed their support to the law enforcement measures taken by the government in Tigray regional state.

In a six-point statement issued after the rally, they condemned the treasonous attack committed by TPLF on the northern command of the Ethiopian defense forces.

The swift law enforcement measures taken by the government after the attack saved the country from disintegration, the demonstrators indicated.

They also condemned the misinformation campaign by some remnant and supporters of TPLF and the unfair diplomatic pressure from some countries and organizations.

They praised the on-going efforts of the government in restoring infrastructure damaged by TPLF and to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need in the region.

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Neutrality & professionalism, Vanessa style! Look, at the date of the post.

[Zmeselo]

View from the Left Bank: Rob Prince's Blog

Ethiopia – Following in the path of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya and what Washington hoped to do in Syria? Susan Rice’s War: Washington weaponizing human rights again – this time in Ethiopia. Prelude to another Syria?

Rob Prince

https://robertjprince.net/2021/03/18/et ... ssion=true

2 days ago


Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – hope for the country and the Horn of Africa to provide electricity to fuel development.

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For some time now, since the Addis campaign to neutralize the Tigre military opposition, the U.S.has been weaponizing the human rights issues in Ethiopia in a manner that is both cynical and dangerous, following a pattern similar to the destabilization patterns Washington has employed elsehwere… a first step for more aggressive actions (mostly through proxies)? On the “menu” for future steps, if the pattern is implemented – expect sanctions, vilification of the leadership, distorted reporting on human rights abuses, no flyzones, military intervention of one kind or another., you know… “di gantse arbet” (the whole works!)

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A memory stirs… It’s ten years ago and I am participating in a forum at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies where I taught, just prior to the U.S.-NATO orchestrated invasion of Libya and the overthrow of the Khadaffi government there. There was an atmosphere approaching hysteria in the room among the other panelists, as well as the audience. As is usually the case, I am isolated among my peers and students in my opposition to the coming attack. The argument put forth at the time by faculty and a dean who previously had rich diplomatic experience was the United States and NATO had to bomb Libya “to save people’s lives” – the people involved, were imprisoned Islamicists in Bengazi.

Later – as with Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in 2003 – it turned out there was no evidence – none – of the impending repression and that, like in Iraq – the human rights hysteria was more a pretext, a cover for war than a driving force. Bottom line – in the name of a kind of “human rights morality” one of the naked wars of aggression and neo-colonial conquest was launched against the people of Libya.

Ten years on, I can’t help help thinking that with slight differences, there is a similar build up towards war – and regime change – shaping up in Ethiopia. Frankly I don’t think it will work but could result in untold human and infrastructural damage to Ethiopia all the same, leaving that emerging regional power little more than a basket case, as subservient to international capital as it has been up until now, and from which it is trying to break away, to create its own internal and regional dynamic of development.

The international aspect of the overall crisis in the Horn of Africa is also at play. Elias Wondimu, writing in the Nigeran publication, Premium Times https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/ ... ndimu.html warns of a new “scramble for Africa”:

The new global players in the region are no longer France, Italy, Great Britain, and Germany. Today, China, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the U.S., Russia, India, Brazil, Turkey, Iran, South Korea, and the Gulf nations are all working hard to expand their spheres of influence. If our reading of current affairs and history is correct, what is starting in the Horn of Africa is yet another World War “Scramble for Africa.”

The news from Ethiopia continues to be troubling and even more troubling is the way that the news in Ethiopia is being reported.

A United Nations Security resolution was set aside on March 4 after Russia, India and China all threatened to veto the measure. Introduced by Ireland, supported by Washington, to get approval for a statement calling for an end to violence in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigre region and to bring international attention to the need of humanitarian assistance. Had it passed, such a resolution would have almost certainly been followed up with United Nations Security Council calls for sanctions, and what usually follows – no fly zones, NATO and/or AFRICOM led (or encouraged) military intervention.

From the mainstream media reports you’d think that Abey Ahmed’s Ethiopian central government – in an unnecessarily de-centralized state – has been committing war crimes against the Tigre population in Tigre Province, refusing assistance to refugees and in general is playing a nefarious role in crushing the poor Tigre ethnic group.

But…

Beware of mainstream media bearing tales of war crimes and genocide and playing, once again, a humanitarian interventionist card – this time in Ethiopia.

The world is full of places – to name a few – former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and if Washington has its druthers – which it won’t – Iran. All started with cries of supposed war crimes, “weapons of mass destruction”, leadership akin to Hitler as a way of softening up public opinion for some form of hybrid warfare – be it sanctions, military intervention by great powers or proxies. All the crocodile tears hiding plans for conquest, “regime change” – a euphemism for overthrowing governments – massive bombardments and intervention by that special brand of political detretis called mercenaries, that magic potion that Washington uses to be able to declare “plausible deniability’ for its wars of conquest, attempts at partition, either de jure or de facto.

Another possibility – worst case scenario admittedly, but given the substantial U.S. influence via AFRICOM in the Ethiopian military – a military coup in the name of “ending chaos” – which U.S. allies in the region have stirred up. Old game: create chaos in a country – or help stir it up and then, call in the military to “restore order” and follow a political approach more condusive to Washington? Not saying it’s going to happen… but don’t rule it out.

Is it now, under Susan Rice’s tutorship, Ethiopia’s turn to be the object of Washington-based hybrid warfare?

All this comes at a critical juncture in Ethiopian history. The clock is ticking…

At a time when the prospects for a major breakthrough in the socio-economic situation of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa in general have never been greater, destabilization efforts have intensified considerably, both internally and domestically, as if in an effort to throw a monkeywrench into the country’s development program. A growing COVID-19 threat along with ethnic factionalism and outside interference threatens this promising moment, as does external disruption as well as foreign military intervention.

The near completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and with it, the possibility of Ethiopia taking a major “development leap forward” have made regional hegemonic powers (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E.) nervous. They understand the Ethiopian development juggernaut as a zero sum game in which their influence will be reduced, as Ethiopia’s grows in the Horn of Africa. Egypt has repeatedly threatened to bomb the GERD, in order to interfer with its soon-to-be functioning.

Ethiopia is looking for a new kind of relationship with Egypt, one that rejects the colonial heritage of agreements on the management of the Nile river written under British colonial tutelage in which Ethiopia – and most of the other upstream Nile River Basin countries had no voice, partition. Egypt very much wants maintain the regional status quo, to keep control of the Nile – and its hegemony over the upstream sources of the Nile in place as has been the case for more than a century. The Ethiopian harnassing of the GERD as it is called – is not so much for water extraction from the Nile which threatens Egypt’s agricultural sector as much as it is for the production of electrical energy for Ethiopia and surrounding countries.

Although in such situations, of course, technical issues do play a role, for the most part, the barriers that Egypt – with support of Washington – continue to create over negotiating the GERD’s future essentially boil down to political concerns – Egypt’s relative loss of regional influence, Ethiopia’s emergence as a more independent regional force, freer of foreign control than in the past. The GERD also provides greater possibilities for Pan African regional development and coordination, especially if, as planned, Ethiopia is able to sell its excess electrical energy to its neighbors.

As for the United States, as Chinese influence in Ethiopia grows – gateway to China’s Belt and Road Initiative extension into Africa – Washington has increased shifted gears towards Ethiopia, in short order reducing its support for the Addis government and entering into a more adversarial relationship. Washington’s hostility towards Addis Ababa has been growing for sometime as shown in its complete support for the Egyptian position visavis the GERD, its blocking IMF/World Bank funds to help finance the project and more recently the complete reckless comments of former President Trump – threatening Ethiopian that Egypt would soon bomb the GERD.

There has been no change, none whatsoever, in the Biden Administration’s approach to Ethiopia for that matter since Trump departed office. The Ethiopia File – if one can speak of it – of the new Administration is in the hands of three old Obama Administration hands: Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, National Security Council Advisor Jake Sullivan and Susan Rice, head of the Domestic Policy Council. These three have a long record of “work” in Ethiopia, with the key player among them being Susan Rice. Rice’s close links to the TPLF need to be scrutinized in terms the current emerging destabilization campaign and foreign efforts to return the Tigre to power. She is anything, but a neutral player.

For some time now, since the Addis campaign to neutralize the Tigre military opposition, the U.S.has been weaponizing the human rights issues in Ethiopia in a manner that is both cynical and dangerous, following a pattern similar to the destabilization patterns Washington has employed elsehwere… a first step for more aggressive actions (mostly through proxies)? On the “menu” for future steps, if the pattern is implemented – expect sanctions, vilification of the leadership, distorted reporting on human rights abuses, no flyzones, military intervention of one kind or another., you know… “di gantse arbet” (the whole works!)

An Ethiopian commentator, Al Mariam’s Commentaries, https://ecadforum.com/2021/03/04/the-fi ... t-i-of-ii/ recently put the current anti-Addis Ababa media offensive in sharp focus:

The U.S. and E.U. shed crocodile tears as they merchandize agony, despair and woe to advance their political objectives and in the process unload their White Man’s Burden to save the half-child, half-savage starving Africans. The truth about the lie propagated by the U.S. and E.U. about the “humanitarian situation in Tigray” is their greatest enemy. The U.S. and E.U. are weaponizing the misery and suffering of the people of Tigray for their own political ends. The U.S. and E.U. shed crocodile tears as they merchandize agony, despair and woe to advance their political objectives and in the process unload their White Man’s Burden to save the half-child, half-savage starving Africans.

Since the TPLF attacked the federal military base in Tigray region on November 3, 2020, the U.S, the European Union in cahoots with their lackeys — the Western old guard media, sycophant think tank echo chambers, the donation-grubbing self-righteous and self-appointed bearers of the “White Man’s Burden” in Africa, a/k/a international human rights organizations, heavily-lobbied prominent politicians, diaspora abandoned TPLF orphans and TPLF-lackeys in Ethiopia pretending to be dissidents — have been systematically and relentlessly shaping a demonic narrative on Ethiopia with the singular purpose of turning global public opinion against the Government of Ethiopia and to justify their role as the final deciders of the Lord of the Ethiopian “Iron Throne”.

The U.S. and E.U. have done it all, with smoke and mirrors.

Harsh language, yes, but from my vantage point, spot on.

The goal of such a campaign is to get the Tigres, faithful U.S. surrogates and neo-cons – back in power, or failing that, partition Ethiopia yet again and create a new ethnic entity – Tigreland (or whatever they want to call it). Pressure is on full scale Ethiopia drawing closer to Russia and Turkey – pushed into this situation by U.S. antagonism, aggressiveness. Expect to be hearing of Turkish, Russian military missions to Addis as the situation in Ethiopia deteriorates much further.

For Washington, Ethiopia has long been much more of a security “lilly pad” than a country that Washington has helped develop economically. Economically, its importance is quite modest. The current strategy is one of creating chaos (or having others do it – Egypt, the Emirates, the Tigres, Wahhabists in the Islamic regions of the country). The goal is mostly to create a mess for China, for whom Ethiopia is one of the key gateways into Africa.

The indications that Ethiopia is being targeted as these other countries, have been mounting. In recent months the State Department, which has called for condemning the Ethiopian government for its needed police action in Tigre Province, a number of members of Congress including Colorado’s U.S. Senator Michael Bennet has issued statements along the same lines. The angle of the media in the United States and Europe has expressed a clear bias against the Ethiopian government, accusing its mililitary of war crimes in Tigre Province and “the usual suspects” – international “human rights” organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – increasingly joined at the hip with the State Department have lost their way.

These organizations have utterly failed once again – as they did in Yugoslavia, Iraq (prior to the U.S. invasion), Libya – where their propaganda contributed to war crimes and Syria – to give an honest assessment of the evolving situation. In tandem with new “humanitarian interventionist stars” like Samatha Power and Susan Rice – liberal humanitarian interventists join hands – or is it fists? – with the John Bolton's and Mike Pompeo's of American politics. No U.S-orchestrated foreign intervention reflected this alliance more than the 2011 NATO inspired invasion and overthrow of the Khadaffi government in Libya, the tenth anniversary of which is upon us presently.

As the same commentator quoted above notes:

The U.S. and E.U. see a rising Ethiopia in Northeastern Africa. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with an estimated 70 per cent of the population under age 35. That population could propel Ethiopia into becoming an African economic powerhouse in a decade or so. Ethiopia, until the advent of COVID-19, had the “fastest growing economy in Sub-Saharan Africa”. Ethiopia is constructing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the largest in Africa, and could literally be the power house of Africa. Ethiopia is charting the course for genuine multiparty democracy in Africa which, if emulated by the rest of Africa, could usher a new era of popular accountability in Africa. Ethiopia is proving to be the anchor of regional peace and stability in the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia is working to create a common market in the Horn region. What does all this mean? It means Ethiopia is a rising and shining African Giant. It means Ethiopia could be a mover and shaker in regional and African politics. It means the U.S. and E.U. have to deal with Ethiopia as an equal, not as a perennial beggar. These very ideas send shockwaves throughout the U.S. and E.U. neocolonial empire. The U.S. and E.U. want a weak, famine-stricken, ethnically fragmented vassal state in Ethiopia. That is why they are desperate to restore the TPLF regime. The U.S. and E.U. seek to put on the throne a comprador government in Ethiopia. They want a servile government that takes direct orders from them. They want a government that jumps up and says, “how high?” when ordered to jump.

The notion that the “poor Tigres” of Ethiopia are being oppressed – puts reality on its head suggesting that the victim is the perpetrator of violence. Need to remember that the Tigre element in Ethiopian society ruled from 1991 when, in coalition, they overthrew the Marxist-led Derg. The coaliton that came to power soon became a coalition in name only as the Tigre Popular Liberation Front (TFLP) consolidated its power, purging its coalition partners and ruling essentially unchallenged until April 2, 2018 when it was eased from power and from controlling the country’s increasing sources of wealth.

The political reforms instituted during TPLF rule included the weakening of the central government structures resulting in a political balkanization of the country’s varied ethnic communities, in a manner that was structured to create the kind of tensions and problems that exist today. The 28 year period of Tigre rule was characterized, as one of seething repression and neo-liberal economic (and political policies). During that time, complicating Ethiopia’s problems, the country’s military was used as Washington’s catpaw both to punish Eritrea for its refusal to submit to IMF/World Bank structural adjustment programs as well as sign on to AFRICOM and in the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, itself emerging at the time as an independent political entity outside U.S. hegemonic control.

In the recent past, Washington has used Ethiopia as its military proxy; providing the United States with a needed cover – plausible deniability for Washington DC, which still is calling the shots. At Washington’s behest – and aid – using the now well-oiled pretext of “fighting terrorism”, in 2006, the then Bush Administration pressed Ethiopia into invading Somalia. According to the BBC, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC

The United Nations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations estimated that at least over 9,000 Ethiopian troops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian may be in the country.

While the AP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press suggests the number closer to, 12–15,000. (I have seen other statistics, stating that the size of the Ethiopian invading force was more than 20,000.)

Ethiopia’s invasion’s goal was to put an end to the rule of the Islamic Courts Union, a Somali coalition, admittedly with a religious slant – but which was the first to bring an era of stability to the instability that had wracked the country for decades. Fifteen years of political instability, war and incessant U.S. drone attacks from bases in Kenya have followed. The U.S. encouragement to use Ethiopian troops to further its geo-political goals in Africa is a classic example of a disturbing developing trend on the part of the U.S. to “partner” with African countries who provide the cannon fodder for U.S. imperial wars while providing Washington with the shield of “plausible deniability.”

Another aspect of Tigre rule often overlooked was the systematic looting of Ethiopian national wealth, with large amounts of laundered money and precious metals flowing out of the country into Tigre communities abroad, including here in the United States where it is laundered to give Tigre merchants an economic edge over other Ethiopian emigrees and used strategically to buy political influence.

Such is a short synopsis of the record of Tigre rule; It is not a pretty record, far from it. At the same time, during its time in power the TPLF was able to cultivate powerful elements in Washington, influence think tanks, the media in the United States (through the usual means) that have been all to ready parrot Tigre arguments, swallow Tigre propaganda cool aid and turn American public opinion against an increasingly beseiged Addis Ababa central government led by its current Prime Minister, Abey Ahmed.

Let us be clear.

It was the Tigre element – and not the Addis Ababa government – that provoked the violence by attacking a government military post, provoking a decided Addis government military response. Had the Ethiopian central government not intervened forcefully, the situation could have easily escalated into one where the whole country was in danger of collapse. Plus the Tigre cause is far from innocent, little more than a power grab, a return to steering the Ethiopian ship of state at a critical moment in that Horn of Africa nation’s development. The Tigre goal is to either to destabilize the current Ethiopian government to such a degree that its plans for completing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be frustrated, or failing that, to provide the basis for a future separation of the Tigre region from Ethiopia, thus partitioning the country. In this destabilization effort – a desperate, last ditch effort to return to control Ethiopia’s wealth and growing regional influence.

A new, more constructive Washington policy is needed. At the moment it is nowhere in sight.