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The Specter of Rwanda

By Addissu Admas

November 2, 2021

The TPLF is literally treading on the blood of the Tigrean people. It has decided that no Tigrean, young, old, woman, man, able, disabled, Muslim or Christian will be spared in its attempt to force its way down to the Capital. In this campaign of total massacre, we have not yet heard any voice among Tigreans who have asked the simple question: to what end? Do they really believe that the TPLF, even with the other fringe liberation fronts can re-take the central government and lead a pacified nation? Or, have they bought into the notion that the Tigrean people are the victim, and the TPLF is their avenger? Or, perhaps, is it hoping that with its most destructive campaign the TPLF would be in a stronger position to negotiate a much better deal for a probable future independent Tigray? Virtually all Tigreans appear to have bought TPLF’s completely warped, deceitful, and paranoid depiction of the intention of the federal government. Let me repeat what we know without an inkling of doubt: Yes, the war was triggered by a seditious act of the TPLF. It murdered in cold blood the soldiers of the Northern command to rob the best-furnished weapon’s warehouse in the country. It refused to allow the federal government to arrest its most corrupt and murderous members. The Federal government had every legitimate reason to restore order in the Killil, as the constitution would allow it. It did try to do so. Since the TPLF has been masterful in misinforming not only its own people but also the West, it was able to gain the favors of this latter in divulging its lies far and wide. In effect, thanks to the West always-questionable intentions, the TPLF started with a huge advantage in the disinformation war. Soon Ethiopia became a quasi-rogue state, accused among other things of genocide. A total and unforgivable fabrication. The irony now is that we are on the cusp of a veritable genocide if the TPLF ruling cadre does not stop its crazed escalation of this war. Let us pause for a moment and ask with clarity of mind the following basic questions: Is this TPLF march to Addis Ababa, with all its progress and regress, to reconquer the power it once held? Or, is it motivated by the desire to never stand trial for the multitudinous crimes it perpetrated not only against other Ethiopians but against its very own people? Is it to cover up the vast corruption and the ill-gotten wealth of its members, their families and relatives? Is it to unleash its never-concealed hatred for the Amhara people and contempt for the rest of Ethiopians? Or, to give it the benefit of the doubt, a war of ideology on federalism as it conveniently wants to portray it?

Let me answer these questions in the order I asked them. If the TPLF believes in anyway and with any level of conviction that it can regain its considerable former power, it would be setting itself for a rude awakening: Ethiopians have always seen through its blatant use of “divide and rule” principle. It came to power and stayed through all the 27 long years to do only one thing: to establish the hegemony of itself and its people in every sector of government and the economy through a crude use of this principle. I say to it, rest on your glory, a second attempt would only be a Greek tragedy. Ethiopians are now at a boiling point. They are outraged not only that the West has sided with an oppressive, murderous party, but it also seems to watch with complete nonchalance the destruction of Ethiopia. The TPLF instead of being content in “liberating” Tigray, it is wreaking havoc and mindlessly killing untold number of Ethiopians without any protestation from Western media. Which, quite disconcertingly, seems to be applauding TPLF’s wins and the destruction of Ethiopia. What has never penetrated the tribalist psyche of the TPLF is that Ethiopians tolerated it for such a long time not because they were intimidated by its formidable military prowess, not for its tight security system, but because they chose peace at any cost. Now that it is unleashing its ill-equipped, ill-fed, ill-clad hordes of poor Tigrean peasants on the byways and towns of Amhara, we can only conclude that it is opening the floodgates of genocide.

Besides the real fear of losing the hegemony it built for itself and its people, the TPLF has realized since it lost power in April of 2018, that the time of reckoning had finally arrived. Since it knew very well that its corruption, persecutions, imprisonments and assassinations would very soon be exposed for all to see, it had prepared remarkably well its exit. It seems that it had vowed secretly to neither stand trial for years like the hapless Derg officials, nor part with its vast ill-gotten wealth. It instead retreated to Tigray to avoid accountability, and plot its next rebellion.

What this current TPLF campaign reminds us anew is the level of cruelty it is willing to inflict not only on the Amhara people but maybe even more on its own people. Badme, a wasteland that the UN decided it belonged to Eritrea, saw tens of thousands of poor Ethiopian soldiers lose their young lives, not for the territorial integrity of Ethiopia, but the “realization” of a fantasy called “Greater Tigray”. A similar tragedy is unfolding today as tens of thousands of Tigreans are being slaughtered and countless innocent Amhara country folk being violated and displaced from their ancestral lands. To what end one may ask? Does the TPLF think that it can establish a colonial state with the connivance of disgruntled fringe groups in Ethiopia? Does it really believe that it can continue to use its people residing in Amhara and the rest of Ethiopia to establish its “rule”? If such is its intention, then it should – supposing a scintilla of reason and humanity is left in it – realize that it is egging the country towards a genocidal war the extent of which has never been seem in Ethiopia’s long history.

Ethiopians have had it! They will not take it lying down! What is it going to be? Another Rwanda? The US & Company are very much responsible for emboldening this rogue party and the predicament in which it has plunged Ethiopia. Rather than shoring up a budding democracy and the rule of law, they chose to support and empathize with a rogue party whose sole ambition is to restore the hegemony of itself and its people at any cost whatever. I say to Ethiopians to never put credence in the US, or the West in general. Just as the Clinton administration, with all the information it had, let Rwanda plunge into a horrific genocidal war while it instead intervened vigorously in the Baltic wars, we will see the Biden administration, just like the Carter administration in the mid-seventies, watch Ethiopia being destroyed by siding with a rogue party. At this juncture, all Ethiopians, including Tigreans, must come to see through the pure madness of the TPLF and save this ancient nation from the brink.

እውነት ማሽነፏ አይቀሬ ነው

October 25, 2021

የኢትዮጵያኖች በአሜሪካ ውስጥ ያደረጉት እውነትን የማሳወቅ ትግል ትንሽ ውጤት እያሳየ ነው:: በመጀመሪያ ላይ ሰበር ዜና ለማለት ፈልጌ ነበር ግን ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ ይኼ ቃል ትርጉም የለሽ ሆኗል :: የውሸት ዜና ዋና ምልክት ሆኗል:: ትልቁ ነገር ለኢትዮጵያውያን ወጌኖቼ ለማለት የፈልግሁት በአሜሪካን አገር በትውልደ ኢትዮጵያውያን (ዲያስፖራ ይሉታል) የተደረገውና መደረግ ላይ ያለው እውነትን የማሳወቅ ትግል በትንሹ ውጤት እያሳየ ነው::

ለአለፉት በትንሹ ሦስት አሥርተ ዓመታት በኢትዮጵያ ላይ የተጠነሰሰው ኢትዮጵያን የማፍረስ ሴራ የተሳካ እንዲሆን በተደራጀ እቅድ በዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃ በኢትዮጵያ ኢምባሲዎች፤ በተባበሩት የዓለም አቀፍ መንግስታት ድርጅቶች፤ ተያያዥ ቅርንጫፎች ሁሉ ይኼንን ዕቅድ ሥራ ላይ የሚያውሉ ግለሰቦችን ትሰግስገው ይገኟሉ::

በዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃ ያሉትን የሚዲያና የመገናኛ መዋቅሮች ውስጥ የራሱን ዓላማ ሥራ ላይ የሚያውሉ ግለሰቦች አሰልጥኖ በማስቀጠር፤ ከኢትዮጵያ በዘረፈው ገንዘብ ሎቢስቶችን በመቅጠር የውሸት ፕሮፓጋንዳ በማካሄድ ጥቅምት 25 ቀን 2013 በኢትዮጵያ መከላከያ ሰሜን እዝ ላይ ያካሄደውን የክህደት ጥቃት በመካድ ጠ/ሚአብይ አህመድ ነው ጦርነት የከፈተብን የሚል የውሸት ግንባር ፈጥሮ ነበር::

የዓለምን ሕዝብ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ አሰልፎ የፖለቲካ ግንባር ቢፈጥርም ነገሮች መቀየር ጀምሯል:: እውነቱ እየወጣ ነው:: በአለፈው ሐሙስ በ10/21/2021 በፈረንጆች አቆጣጠር የአሜሪካ ኮንግረስ የውጭው ጉዳይ ኮሚቴ ያሳለፈው ሪዞልሽን አሜንድመንት (amendment 445) አዲስ ነገር ባይኖረውም (አሰልቺና ተደጋግሞ የሚነግር ስልለሆ ነ) በአዎንታ መታየት ያለበት ኮንግሬስ አባል የሆኑትና ሬዞሉሽኑን የመሩት ካረን ባስ ሕጉ ካለፈ በሁዋላ የሰጡት አስተያየት ሰበር ነው::

ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ በሥልጣን ሃላፊነት ያሉ መሪ ሰው በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የሚካሄደው ጦርነት የተጀመረው በትግራይ ተዋጊ ግንባር በሰሜን የኢትዮጵያ ዕዝ ላይ በደረገው ጥቃት መሆኑን ካረን ባስ አብስረዋል:: ይኼ በዲያስፖራው ማለትም በውጭ ባሉት ኢትዮጵያውያኖች የተካሄደ የትግል ውጤት ነው:: እንኳን ደስ አለን ማለት ተገቢ ነው::

ካረን ባስ ያበሰሩት እውነትን ነው፤ የአቁዋም መግለጫ ውስጥም ባይገለጽም :: ገና ብዙ መንገድ ይቀረናል:: ለኮንግሬስ አባሉዋ ካረን ባስ የምስጋናና የማበረታቻ መልዕት መላክ ተገቢ ነው :: ትናንሽ ድሎችን ማስተዋል (recognize) ማድረግ መቻል አለብን።

ትግሉ ይቀጥላል።

The UN Literally Looks the Other Way When It Comes to TPLF Human Rights Abuses

Jeff Pearce

Tigrayans forced to fight, weapons being fired and risking locals’ safety, and staff told not to video TPLF “recruitment events” — UN officials don’t talk publicly about THESE conditions in the region

According to a leaked UN internal communication from last Saturday, October 2, its humanitarian staff in Shire know of or at least have heard reports of human rights abuses within the areas they serve in Tigray and seem to be indifferent to responding and acting on them.

What’s being told to a group of UN workers and cluster partners is starkly different at times to how the OCHA is publicly reporting the situation.

Among the revelations in an internal email sent to the Shire Group, one official tells recipients, “The situation across Shire AoR feels a bit tense as TF military recruitment campaign continues (and intensifies) for over a week now. Unconfirmed reports indicate that mandatory recruitment (at least one person per family) have been ongoing in the past few days, coinciding with the increasing tensions and challenges in/around TF-controlled areas in Amhara region.”

There is a lot to unpack here, but what stands out most of all is how there is noindication in the email that the UN manager wants to investigate further to confirm or that officials will ask TPLF leaders to cease and desist forcing Tigrayans to fight for a terrorist group.

The “one person per family” reference is also interesting in that the official shows no interest in determining whether these forced recruits include children.

The UN is still protesting the Ethiopia government’s move to kick out seven UN senior officials it declared persona non grata and which it accuses of undermining security operations, spreading disinformation, and collaborating with the TPLF. Sources confirmed months ago and in August that senior UN officials have harassed Ethiopian workers, helped the TPLF to sabotage national exams in Mekelle, and worked to misrepresent the UN’s own discussion of how to respond to sexual assault cases during the conflict.

It’s reasonable to ask, as the U.S. and its public advocates go on complaining over the expelled “Seven Saints,” how does the UN keep working in Tigray, knowing that Tigrayan residents, including children, are being forced to go to war?

Here is a UN official openly suggesting in an email to colleagues that ordinary Tigrayans are being forced to fight over “challenges” in TPLF controlled regions of Amhara — a hell of a euphemistic way of saying the locals are fighting back. And giving us a window on how desperate TPLF forces are, needing to drag their own people to the battle lines.

“Firearm shooting to celebrate the recruitment is frequently heard and may pose danger to local population and aid workers,” reports the email.

And what action is the UN taking to persuade TPLF soldiers and their officers to stop doing this dangerous practice? None is given.

“All partners, please, refrain from attending (and taking pictures/videos of) any recruitment-related events.”

This is quite revealing. Why must partners and UN staff even need to be toldto steer clear and not capture any photo/video evidence of recruitment-related events?

Why would they attend and be fraternizing with new recruits at all?

Instructing staff not to take any photos or videos of recruiting events is a damage-control effort that speaks more to protecting the TPLF’s image than the physical safety of UN workers. What is the concern here? That staff will be seen socializing with TPLF recruits? That the recruits may include children, and the video and shots will provide more evidence? It’s a practice already confirmed by the New York Times’ own glorifying of child soldiers and in other media reports.

And as the campaign continues to try to keep senior UN officials like Kwesi Sansculotte in their jobs, despite his lack of social media professionalism which now proliferates the airwaves, the UN doesn’t seem very interested in talking about this:

“In the last couple of weeks, a few people were reportedly arrested (suspected of spying for ErDF) and many mobile phones of local people were temporarily confiscated on the suspicion of possibly conveying intelligence info using humanitarian Internet…” [The ellipse is in the original]

Would the UN like to weigh in on what happened to these arrested individuals? Did staff bother to find out their names and how and where they’re being detained? How about if they’re still alive? Given that during the Meles Zenawi era of TPLF rule, torture conducted right in downtown buildings in Addis was commonplace, what are UN staff doing to further investigate and ensure that these arrested individuals are having their rights protected?

The email doesn’t address any of this. And this, too, is glaringly omitted from the Situation Report.

“A few checkpoints along the Shire-Mekelle road remain open for humanitarians, though sporadically crowded with new recruits undergoing military training.”

This seems to indicate that any interference with aid getting into the region cannot simply be blamed on Ethiopian military and militia. In fact, the official contradicts herself in her own email:

“Items such as generators, ITC, teff, high-energy biscuits, and office furniture are still not allowed to transit to Tigray (despite approval by NDRMC these items are denied at checkpoints).”

NDRMC means the National Disaster and Risk Management Commission of the Ethiopian government. In other words, the Ethiopian government approved these items, but they were denied at checkpoints. Who then would deny them? Well, the federal army is no longer in control of the region after it left during the unilateral ceasefire, and it certainly wasn’t around at the time this email was written (October 2). So the only force that could prevent transit is the TPLF.

Keep in mind, the email tells us: “A few checkpoints along the Shire-Mekelle road remain open for humanitarians, though sporadically crowded with new recruits undergoing military training.” Shouldn’t these be the likely candidates for interfering with shipments?

Moreover, in keeping with the flood of photo/video evidence on social media, the email gives us a clear confirmation that the UN’s fleet of vehicles are being misused by the TPLF, contrary to UN aid chief Martin Griffiths trying to blame the more than 400 disappearing trucks on the Ethiopian government:

“Some rental vehicles have reportedly abused UN stickers to easily pass though checkpoints unrelated to any work done for UN,” admits the official in her email. “All partners using rental vehicles, please, make sure there is proper tracking of who and when uses the stickers so this practice of unauthorized use of stickers stops.”

The email also blames bank closures and communications disruptions for cashflow problems (neglecting to mention the number of comms technicians sent to do repairs by the Ethiopian government who have been murdered on the job by the TPLF). And then offers this startling insight into the situation:

“Partners (continue to) report that some national staff working for NGOs in Tigray are not turning up to work due to their inability to pay salaries. Some have tried (for a few months now) to get them paid in-kind/food, but the increasing food prices and depleting stocks affect the arrangement.”

It’s only speculation, but how much then is the relentless cries for return of banking and communications services driven not by the needs of ordinary Tigrayans as by the NGOs facing desertion of their staff?

And there’s more. The email includes the attachment of a PowerPoint presentation on preliminary findings of another round of “Emergency Site Assessment” by IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix. However, the methodology borders on bizarre: relying on questionnaires of 4,061 “key informants” — of whom only 35 percent were women and girls who contributed their “local knowledge.”

The data collection period spanned a few days in late July and all of August. But even a casual look suggests that someone is cooking the books on the numbers. The regional breakdown suggests only 151,040 Internally Displaced Persons in the Amhara region.

Well, I’m not good at math, but I was there in Wollo during the very period that this “assessment” was being made, and while the slide map somewhat reflects the truth of what the ArtsTV team and I found ourselves — that there were about 100,000 IDPs in the Dessie area alone — why doesn’t the map also reflect IDPs across the North Wollo woredas? How about those fleeing the shelling of Debre Tabor or the capture of Lalibela, both of which occurred during this same assessment period?

In fact, according to figures released by the Ethiopian Ministry of Peace, the number of IDPs in the Amhara region is about 550,000 as of September 15.Since more than 400,000 people didn’t suddenly cross into the region on the morning of September 1st, that means DTM had to be willfully blind in how it conducted its research through August, ignoring the great tides of victims of the TPLF looking desperately for safe haven.

The inescapable impression we’re all left with is that the UN has not only been lying to all of us, but even lying to itself. Ethiopia restricted itself to kicking out only seven senior officials. It may need to reconsider expanding the list of those who need to be shown the door.

Reexamining Ethiopia’s Foreign Alliances

By Addissu Admas

September 25,2021

PM Abiy’s response to Biden’s threatened sanctions and restrictions are rather mild compared to the reaction displayed by Ethiopians behind closed doors. This current US administration has essentially decided to remain deaf to the plight of Ethiopians and is shamelessly siding with the TPLF, despite this party’s abysmal record, and its stated plan to drive Ethiopia into civil war in the hope of regaining its hegemonic position. The strategy these days is to depict Dr. Abiy as a megalomaniac despot, impervious to reason; and the TPLF as a victim of cruel persecution. I do not know who advises Biden or Blinken. To be perfectly honest, that is the least of my concerns. I have come to the conclusion than even many of those holding prestigious and endowed chairs in institutions of higher education have sold their souls to this manipulative and cruel party. I need not dignify them here by naming them. Those who read their questionable academic papers know who they are. Much ignorance, blatant calculation and capricious partiality, and who knows, plain old corruption may be the reasons behind their grandiloquent pronouncements. Believe me they know nothing about the hearts and minds of the Ethiopian people. What they know about Ethiopia was poured into their ears and minds by the TPLF; may be even with a dash of corrupting pampering!

I say to PM Abiy that the West has decided not to consider our present predicament with the impartiality, equanimity and objectivity owed to our well-established ancient country. We are, and we will remain a troublesome Third World country where seditious and murderous parties have the same-standing as governments elected by a super-majority of the people. For the West, we are no more than brawling children in the schoolyard deserving the same number of lashes each, without establishing who the guilty party is. It matters not who started the brawl: discipline must be maintained!

The Ethiopian government does not need to be told what to do. It has acted and will continue to act within the powers granted to it by the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE). It should not succumb to the pressure exerted by the U.S. or its allies. If the American government refuses to continue in its stubborn determination to completely ignore the very destabilizing group that is the TPLF, then PM Abiy’s government has no other option than reexamine and re-direct its alliances.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, the youthful Zhao Lijian tweeted recently “[in part]…we believe the parties concerned in Ethiopia have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve their differences, realize national reconciliation and restore peace and stability”. This is a model of how a sovereign nation treats another sovereign nation, i.e. with the dignity and the deference it deserves. The U.S. is going around the world with a big truncheon intimidating its own allies to submission. This has not worked and it will never work.

I say to PM Abiy and his government that it is time to reexamine or even reorient his alliances if America continues to refuse to acknowledge the fact that this war was ignited by the TPLF for the sole purpose of regaining its lost hegemony and the advantage of the people it claims to represent. And not, obviously, because it has profound concern for the country, or much less because of “ideological differences”. If the U.S. and the EU want to continue to believe in the false narrative the TPLF is feeding them, it is time for PM Abiy to seek support elsewhere.

I am convinced that the PM continues to be well disposed towards the U.S. and the EU not only because they are the main source of humanitarian aid to the country, but also because he has clearly indicated to favor their economic and political ideologies. Nevertheless, I would say that it is time for him to choose his friends carefully in order to preserve the integrity and wellbeing of a nation under his stewardship.

If Jimmy Carter had simply lent a helping hand to the beleaguered military regime in its war against Somalia in 1976-77, he would have most likely prevented the cruel excesses of the Derg, and the country may have stirred most likely in a different direction. However, Carter’s refusal to help Ethiopia forced the Derg to embrace the Soviet Union unreservedly. I need not recount here what happened after; it is a well-known part of our modern history. Similarly today, Biden is pushing the Government of Ethiopia to ally itself to the other superpowers of the globe for no other reason that it being obtusely deaf to what the super majority of Ethiopians are demanding. That is that the TPLF stop attacking the Amhara and Afar regions for no other reason than the hope of “securing” a better bargaining position should there be a negotiation proctored by the U.S. If the U.S. wants genuinely peace in Ethiopia, it should demand that the TPLF savage and destructive incursions in neighboring Killils (ethnic enclaves) stop. It needs to be added here that the TPLF, even though it may claim to be the sole representative of the Tigrean people, cannot decide for the total and irreversible independence of Tigray. This is a decision that only the Tigrean people can decide in a universal suffrage, and thus cannot be part of TPLF’s negotiation strategy, or much less the objective of their military campaign. After all, regardless of what is happening today, the Tigrean people are still under the dictates of the Constitution of the Federal State.

As things stand, I have a distinct feeling that the Biden administration is self-righteously entrenched in its position, and PM Abiy’s government has no choice but to embrace whomever is willing to provide a lending hand to end this miserable war. I have confidence that the PM, as Mr. Zhao Lijian stated, will have “the wisdom and capability” of choosing the best allies in helping him maintain the integrity and well-being of Ethiopia and of all Ethiopians.

Ethiopia: TPLF Terrorism Expands, Civilians Massacred – OpEd

Ethiopia: TPLF Terrorism Expands,
Civilians Massacred

By Graham Peebles
September 18,2021

As the armed conflict between Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) enters a new phase, Ethiopians are uniting against their common enemy. The TPLF is not a group of freedom fighters standing up for the downtrodden; they are a terrorist insurgent force waging a war against a sovereign state. Murdering, raping, destroying property and the lives of Ethiopians, the TPLF is a cancer that for decades has thrown a suffocating shadow of fear and division over the country, a cancer that must be cut out totally if Ethiopia is to flourish.

For 27 years they were the dominant force within a so-called coalition government. Corrupt and brutal, the TPLF stole election after election, trampled on human rights, embezzled federal funds and aid money and committed State Terrorism in various regions of the country. Administering a policy of Ethnic Federalism, they ruled through fear, divided the people along ethnic lines and are widely hated by most Ethiopians.

In 2018, after sustained public protests, they were ousted. However, after such a long period in power their divisive methodology and ideals still have influence. Senior members retreated to their Tigray heartland after losing office, regrouped, plotted, and waited for an opportunity to rise up against the government.

On 4 November 2020 they attacked the Ethiopian National Defense Forces Base in the northern region of Tigray. They killed soldiers, took control of the military’s Northern Command in Mekelle (capital of Tigray) and raided federal armories. This act of terrorism, set in motion an armed conflict in the northern region of Tigray; a fight the TPLF had been itching for, which has now spread into the neighboring region of Ahmara.

Thousands have died, combatants and civilians; claims of rape and sexual violence are widespread; tens of thousands have been displaced, homeless and hungry, with large numbers, frightened and distressed, making their way to camps in neighboring Sudan.

The TPLF’s brutal actions should be condemned unreservedly by foreign governments, particularly Ethiopia’s major donors. But, far from standing with the government, the US, UK and EU have consistently supported the terrorists, circulating misinformation, making false claims against Ethiopian forces.

Civilians Massacred

In an attempt to stop the killing and defuse the situation, on 28 June, the Government declared a “unilateral humanitarian ceasefire” and withdrew its forces from Tigray. In response, the TPLF marched into the regional capital and issued a series of outlandish conditions for complying: They demanded the release of all Tigray political prisoners (imprisoned for atrocities committed over many years), falsely accused Prime Minister Abiy of starting the war, and claimed that Tigrayans “have been subjected to…genocide and ethnic cleansing”. Federal forces are fighting the TPLF not the people of Tigray. But, as a result of the TPLF instigated conflict, civilians in Tigray have been severely impacted.

Unrelenting, obdurate, Tigray forces, which have now combined with another extremist group, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), have ignored the ceasefire and continued their attack on Ethiopia, moving into the Afar and Amhara regions bordering Tigray. Death, destruction and chaos is left in their wake with distressing reports of civilian killings, rapes, kidnapping and robbery. Homes are destroyed, office buildings, including Kabele (local government) headquarters vandalized, documents burnt, water and electricity supplies cut, Churches and schools damaged or demolished, cattle killed, crops destroyed.

Over 200 civilians were killed in Afar including more than 100 children, according to UNICEF, and around 300,000 were displaced. Federal forces have now driven the aggressors out of this region. In Deber Tabor in Ahmara, the main hospital was attacked and homes destroyed. A local resident, Mr. Deres Nega told Ethiopian media how his wife, children and friends had been killed by the TPLF. His life has been torn apart. His agony is being repeated throughout the area, his pain is the pain of a nation, a pain that has but one cure, the eradication of the TPLF.

Over 200 km north of Deber Tabor, in Chena Teklehaymanot, mass graves were recently discovered containing 124 bodies, many more people (over 100) are missing feared dead. Witnesses state that the TPLF went house to house and slaughtered men, women, children, even priests (revered throughout Ethiopia) were killed. The massacre, which has been confirmed by Gizachew Muluneh, Director of Communications for the Amhara Regional State, is but one atrocity in a series of coordinated assaults by the TPLF since the government ceasefire. Getachew Shiferaw, a leading Ethiopian activist, relates that, “Civilians were massacred [by the TPLF] in Woldia, Kobo, Alamata, Lalibela, Abergele, Maytemri, Gaint, Gashena and Mersa, among others towns.” He warns that, “Chena is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed’s press secretary, has said that TPLF atrocities in Ahmara “were carried out to avenge the military loss the clique suffered by federal and state troops,” as its fighters were routed from Afar. The government believes the Chena massacre was carried out by “the TPLF’s Samri youth group”, who are also thought to be responsible for killing over 1,000 civilians in “the town of Maikadra…last November.” After which they escaped to Sudan and hid in a UNHCR refugee camp.

Such brutal attacks, which are consistently ignored by western governments (who know very well what is actually happening) and prominent mainstream media, are forcing the Ethiopian government, until now relatively restrained, to respond and mobilize its forces. Ethiopia’s foreign ministry recently said the TPLF was pushing the government to “change its defensive mood which has been taken for the sake of the unilateral humanitarian ceasefire,” and that unless (government) overtures for a peaceful resolution were reciprocated, “Ethiopia could deploy the entire defensive capability of the state.”

The government, which has been weak on law and order enforcement, cannot simply sit back and allow the TPLF to murder civilians. They must respond swiftly and decisively, including, if necessary, deploying the air force, something they are reluctant to do because of potential civilian casualties.

Malicious foreign forces

Since the conflict began the Ethiopian government has been battling, not just the terrorists, but malicious foreign forces and misleading information from western governments and mainstream media – the BBC, CNN, New York Times, Facebook etc. The US, which is widely believed to be indirectly arming the TPLF, have led the misinformation campaign, and appear (together with the UK and EU) to have sanctioned the TPLF’s attack on Ethiopia.

To its utter shame the Biden administration (and UK and EU) has failed to condemn the TPLF attacks, and has undermined the Ethiopian government from the outset. They repeatedly call for reconciliation (thereby legitimizing the terrorists), and instruct PM Ahmed to negotiate with the TPLF, which is not only unacceptable to the government, but to the vast majority of Ethiopians, who liken the TPLF to a pack of hyenas, pointing out the impossibility of negotiating with wild animals.

In response to their international backers’ call for ‘negotiations’ the TPLF drafted a list of preposterous demands for any such talks. Among other fantasies, they wanted PM Ahmed to step down and be replaced with one of their own, and a power-sharing arrangement introduced. This would amount to the overthrow (with US backing) of a democratically elected government: The Prosperity Party (a party of national unity founded by Abiy) has a huge mandate, taking 410 out of 436 seats in the June 2020 general election. The formation of a new government, which will include opposition parties, is expected by the end of September/early October, and is eagerly awaited.

As these malicious foreign forces seek to destabilize Ethiopia for their own corrupt geo-political reasons, and the TPLF commit atrocity after atrocity, the Ethiopian people are laying aside long held divisions (largely caused by TPLF policies) and coming together, standing shoulder to shoulder with their brothers and sisters against the poison of the terrorists and the Imperial arrogance of America and Co.

While this is unquestionably a deeply troubling moment for Ethiopia, at the same time there is cause for celebration and real optimism: The staging of the first democratic elections in the country’s long and rich history was a major achievement, as was the second filling of The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (the largest dam in Africa) reservoir. Along with the imminent formation of a new and democratically elected government, these are unifying national events. Significant developments which the Ethiopian people can take great pride in as they unite against the TPLF/OLA terrorists, destructive groups that must be purged from the country completely and utterly if peace and social harmony are to be established, and the needed work of national transformation is to go ahead.