August 9, 2021                                                                                                 ነሐሴ 4 2013

(NPR) 

In an interview on Ethiopia’s conflict with the National Public Radio (NPR) Ms Samantha Power said “Well, the militarization of the conflict is getting worse by the day, by the hour in the day.” But which conflict is she talking about? (https://www.npr.org/2021/08/05/1025248684/after-ethiopia-trip-usaid-administrator-samantha-power-shares-view-of-conflict,) The conflict that she is talking about can only be understood to mean the on going attacks by the TPLF outside Tigray in Amhara and Afar regions. 

The conflict between the government of Ethiopia (GoE) and the TPLF ended on June 28, 2021 with the unilateral cease fire by PM Abiy and the withdrawal the ENDF from Tigray. The TPLF chief Dr. Debresion in his latest interview tells us “Tigray is chocked as a result of the ENDF’s evacuation out of Tigray  into the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar regions last June. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEEoYtIXIkM ) His rational for continuing the conflict in the Afar and Amhara regions is because he feels threatened, feels choked. 

As we write this, TPLF fighters are in Lalibela and also shelling Woldea and Afar killing hundreds of civilians. No word from Ms Powers about these raids and displacement of poor peasants in these areas.

 This conflict outside Tigray region was also the subject of an interview of general Tsadkan Gebre Tensai of the TPLF by the BBC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEzWbTYkkNE&t=1s). He said that his mission “is not to fight to reclaim land” in Amhara region and his incursions are to open corridors to Sudan through west Amhara region and choke the (road/rail) lines from Djibuti to Addis to force PM Abiy to negotiations that is cooked up by the US (Powers and Feltman). 

The only conflicts are outside Tigray and so are the internal displacements of the Afars and Amhara people. The TPLF driven conflicts and the internal displacements that followed was explained to Ms Powers by PM Abiy’s peace officer Ms Moferiat Khamil before Ms Power left Ethiopia. However, not a word about this on the NPR program by Ms Power, the USAID head administrator. Is this an oversight or Afars and Amhara to Ms Power are children of a lesser God?

As if echoing Dr Debresion’s statement , Ms Power said “You have the government (GoE) not seeking to come to the “peace” table for an inclusive dialogue, but rather deploying forces”. This statement is a deliberate misrepresentation because Ms Power knows it is the TPLF that is “not seeking peace but conflict”. She came across as adding fuel to the fire than a peace maker or an honest broker. 

There are no ENDF or Eritrean forces in Tigray, and the Amhara militia have been withdrawn and Ms Power described that “rebels”  (i.e.TPLF) are pushing out (of Tigray) and trying to take territory that they traditionally have not occupied in Ethiopia”. Ms Power further said “You see the rebels (TPLF) inside Tigray… …want a victory in effectively defeating the Ethiopian government”.  That sounds more like a US agenda , through the efforts of Ms Power and Mr. Feltman,  who she described “has been working relentlessly behind the scenes to try to bring the parties to the negotiating table”. TPLF’s Dr. Debresion complains about Tigray being choked and general Tsadkan says he has a military strategy that will force the GoE to negotiations.

Hostilities both political and military began by the TPLF directly and indirectly over 3.5 years ago until the TPLF decided to go into a full fledged open war by attacking the ENDF northern command on November 4 last year. The TPLF leaders got decimated and quite a number of them have been arrested and awaiting trial and a warrant is out on the remaining outlaws. 

In the interview on reuters, Ms Samantha says “the TPLF forced the Eritrean forces and the militia, ….. out of large swaths of territory” and thinks “that picture is clear” and the GoE and the TPLF “each seem to believe that they can win this militarily” and the people “who are getting caught in the crosshairs, of course, as always, are the civilians”.  it is true civilians get trapped in these conflicts. It is the TPLF fighters the are roaming  into small rural towns and shoot up and disrupt the poor  people lives. There are reports artillery guns from surrounding hills are blasting into towns like Weldia  following coordinates given by TPLF cadres who infiltrate and from sleeper cells among the people.

Furthermore, Ms Power says “What are much more obscured are the conditions of desperate civilians inside Tigray because access has been so severely impeded.”  Shouldn’t Ms Power ask Mr Debresion  or general Tsadkan , supposedly “subject matter experts” to clarify/shade light on  what seems “obscure ” because of road access?  In fact,  road access have never been better and tons of food aid have entered Tigray on hundreds of trucks on a daily basis. To be sure, access impediment was the product of TPLF raid/attacks  on these trucks to loot the loads and feed its guerrilla fighters.

Ms. Power spoke on her visit of refugees in the Sudan and heard “…the prevalence of sexual violence as a feature of the mass atrocities being committed, the venom with which the perpetrators are seeking to ensure that Tigrayan women cannot have babies in the future.”   We just wonder if these words were from the displaced  peasants or the  TPLF cadres   in their midst informing her… because we heard these same words  previously echoed around  the world through  the TPLF keyboard warriors  and their supporters..

 She heard also that “ For many of them, it was eight, nine months ago that they came across the border” and “as they relived what had been done to them, it was as if it was the day before.”  “I mean, it was so real and just so harrowing,” Power said. “I have in my career had occasion to talk to a lot of survivors of mass atrocity and even unfortunately of sexual violence”.  We  thank and admire Ms Power for the eloquent words of empathy to the refugees.  But  we ask Ms Power why do these conditions  persist following  US/UN  policies (e.g. Yugoslavia then, now Tigrai and who next will face the US  disastrous policies tomorrow?)  

“So it has become a kind of island (Tigray?) where inside there – certainly there is not the violence and the atrocities that were occurring before these forces departed.” According to Ms Power, it was the “departed” and not the TPLF that perpetrated the violence and the atrocities.. really? She continues “But getting to the people inside has become almost impossible for humanitarians.”  …. this, after the reported deliveries of hundreds of trucks carrying USAID food supply on a daily basis by UN officials. Oh the horrors of different but coordinated tongues!

Ms Power went to Ethiopia to pressure PM Abiy to open the western front to resuscitate the TPLF in the name of opening a humanitarian corridor. That didn’t materialize. If an offensive takes place by the ENDF in the next coming weeks as most predict, the war on the ground might change qualitatively.

It is hard for Hager Wodad not to deem Ms Power as a partisan and “sympathizer in Chief ”  of the TPLF.  Ethiopians know the TPLF and its 27 years of terrorist rule and no amount of Ms Power’s  sanitization effort of TPLF’s  past or present terrorist activities ia acceptable.