August 28, 2021

A meeting  called by big powers US, UK, France along with a mix of smaller countries of Estonia, Ireland, Norway (willing partners) was held on August 26,2021. Once again, the use of  United Nations Security Council (UNSC) currently has become the favored venue to enable the US repeat its demands in support of the TPLF under the guise of security and humanitarian concerns in Ethiopia  The currently elected government of Ethiopia moved out the Ethiopian National Defense Forces ( ENDF) from Tigray Killil (region) on June 28, 2021 declaring a unilateral cease fire. The conflict in the region persists because the TPLF is attacking the neighboring Afar and Amhara Killils and causing internal displacement in these regions. Looting by the TPLF child warriors has become a modus operandi in small towns of the Afar and Amhara regions. A defensive war is fought by the Afar and Amhara militia with support of the federal ENDF stationed in these regions.

The US and its allies are giving credence to the unholy alliance of OLF and TPLF by stating at the UNSC meeting “……the Oromo Liberation Army—an armed group which seeks self-determination for the Oromo people, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, ….and the TPLF announced the formation of an alliance to fight the Ethiopian government”.

“The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) —an armed group was wiped out by the TPLF when the latter was in power and the remaining OLF’s leaders lived in exile until PM Abiy allowed them to return back and join PM Abiy’s reform movement peacefully. It is said “no good deed goes unpunished”, and those OLF terrorists that returned have been roaming the countryside killing civilians for the past three years.

PM Abiy’s Prosperity Party got all the votes in Oromia Killil in the last elections held in June 2021. It is also said  “misery loves company” and the OLF has opted to ally itself with the TPLF that essentially destroyed its organization some years back. In addition, this OLF move is a betrayal of all Ethiopians  and specially Oromos, who died to uproot the 27 years of TPLF terrorist rule from power in 2018.

The US, through the international media has been discrediting and disrespecting PM Abiy’s leadership and make it look like he is not fit to receive the Nobel Prize  in 2019. In short, the US and its willing partners have been eroding PM Abiy’s stature on the world stage. It is not the first time an African leader and Africans have been insulted by Western powers. The message is clear to all Ethiopians.

In a clear contrast to the US and its willing partners , Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave Ethiopia’s PM Abiy a dignified welcome to his country showing respect for the Ethiopian nation the PM represents.

It was reported that President Erdogan offered to serve as mediator in the conflict in Tigray. Before any official response from the government of Ethiopia to the offer of President Erdogan, the US said “ it appears that thus far these offers have not been accepted by Ethiopia.”

On Wednesday August 25, the UN’s Security Special Report shared the following …“ On 19 August, Samantha Power, the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), blamed the Ethiopian federal government for the insufficient delivery of aid into Tigray, noting that there is a food shortage “not because food is unavailable, but because the Ethiopian government is obstructing humanitarian aid and personnel, including convoys and air access”.(see our previous post in August on Samantha Power Ethiopia visit).

It was reported that the August 26 meeting was “the eighth time the Security Council has discussed the situation in Tigray since the crisis erupted in November 2020”…and “the briefing was only the second open Council session on this issue”.

Though the US and its willing partners talked about “accountability” , “sanctions” “violations of humanitarian and human right laws” a more rational approach maybe like that of China and Russia who view “…the crisis in Tigray should be understood as an internal issue”

It was also reported that at the July’s meeting  “Russia expressed regret about the format of the meeting and cautioned other Council members against using [the open meeting format] to further destabilize an already complex situation in Tigray and weaken the political position of federal authorities”.

Hager Wodad agrees with the Russian statement that  the UN should not be used by the US and its willing partners to destabilize Ethiopia by using the situation in Tigray and furthermore, weaken the elected government of Ethiopia.