ALERT
— Remember, this is the same Rapporteur who, relying on so-called "credible sources," rather than actual facts on the ground, falsely reported that hundreds of Somali soldiers training in Eritrea had died in the Tigray war. When these soldiers later returned to Somalia after completing their training— without any of them participated in the war, let alone to die—the Rapporteur neither retracted the claim nor issued an apology. Yet, based on that flawed report, the media and the EU accused Eritrea of deploying Somali soldiers in the conflict.
Fast forward to this year, and the playbook remains the same. During the UN-OHCHR Interactive Dialogue in Geneva, the Rapporteur once again presents a report based entirely on what it routinely calls "credible sources"—which, in reality, means media reports and tweets from lobbyists and activists. This time, it claims that Eritrean soldiers are inside Ethiopia—an allegation repeatedly echoed by the TPLF and Tigray activists throughout the year but never confirmed by the Ethiopian government.
As expected, mainstream media and EU-based activists pick it up, amplifying these false and outrageous allegations against Eritrea.
Allegations that Ethiopian media would normally dismiss as fake news—since they can be easily debunked on the ground—are now being conveniently weaponized as propaganda amid the ongoing diplomatic fallout between the two countries.
When questioned about its reliance on "credible sources" instead of verified facts in its reports on Eritrea, the Rapporteur consistently evades responsibility, shifting the blame onto Eritrea for denying its team access to the country.
There you have it!
Such Western intelligence tactics are routinely used, even against major powers like China and Russia.
A UN-affiliated entity, such as a Rapporteur, relies solely on so-called "credible sources" to issue damning allegations against these countries, forcing them to scramble to deny. When challenged on its use of false testimonies or misleading information, it deflects responsibility, arguing that if China or Russia granted access, there would be no need to rely on these so-called "credible sources."
It's the same old playbook—Eritrea is simply the favorite target of this UN body since 2009.
The Rapporteur doesn’t need permission from the Eritrean government to enter Ethiopia and visit Tigray, to verify its allegations. But, verification was never the goal. The purpose of the Rapporteur itself and its mandate is not to report the truth, but to serve as a political pressure tool against specific governments under the guise of a UN body.
Never forget that!
Remember, not everyone in Ethiopia is smart or takes the time to fact-check the veracity of such unfounded allegations. For many of them, if the "UN" says it, they assume it must be "True."
So, expect to hear a lot of noise with hushtags like
Eritrea, get out of our borders
in the near future.
This also feeds well, into their recent anti-Eritrea rhetoric.
____________
Bizarre and galling: testimonies submitted at the US congressional hearing this week reveal that USAID was indeed funneling financial support to Al-Shebaab. This was all the while when Washington leveraged its diplomatic clout to impose, and maitain for ten long years, unwarranted sanctions against Eritrea (UNSC Resolutions 2009 & 2011) under fabricated charges and dubious "SEMG" annual reports.
But if this was yesteryear, the EU and the UN-OHCHR apparently continue to use, even in these times, the same playbook, and the same "credible sources", to peddle false and outrageous allegations against Eritrea at the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue that was convened in Geneva early this week.
