BY SOLOMON WASSIHUN
The explosion of the political tensions in Tigray into military operations was one of the major turning points for the nation during 2020, along with the ‘Corona- Crisis’ and the first round filling of the GERD. Unfortunately, two of these major turning points are adverse challenges and both of them caught Ethiopians by surprise.
Some 100 days earlier, Ethiopians have never suspected they would be involved in a major military operation. The government was fully focused and driving in full gear towards its development and democratization destinations.
Of course, there were some distracting provocation activities from the north and south-western parts of the country, but the federal government had no qualm about ignoring the growing desperation and successive blunders of the TPLF leaders that eventually led the latter to take such a stupid decision to spark a war against the former.
TPLF’s miscalculation of the political dynamics of the country has wrong–footed them into the illusion of returning to their past hegemony. They plotted their way back to the helm of the federal government and to regain a vice-like grip on the politics and the economy.
The plot turned out to be a resounding fiasco costing them very dearly. Several of them are now dead, while others are in jail, the rest in a hideout and on the run until they would fall into the hands of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, ENDF
It is poetic justice that the outcome of the law enforcement operation which was triggered was by the TPLF, has culminated with the decimation of the TPLF. This was one of the intended goals expected by all patriotic Ethiopians including the majority of the people of Tigray who endured the brunt of iron feasted tyrannical rule of TPLF’s police state.
Yet, like any other military engagement, the law enforcement operation could not be without collateral damages, in which loss of lives and property destructions impacting thousands of citizens occurred.
Reports are indicating that millions are at the receiving end of humanitarian aid, and thousands have been displaced, or their livelihoods disrupted.
The deliberate and irresponsible targeting of non-military positions, the looting and mayhem of social service centers by the TPLF has made the undergoing rehabilitation works to bring normalcy a highly daunting task. It should be underlined here that the killing of civilians and destruction of public properties and infrastructures have been carried out under the direct orders of the leaders.
That is undeniable. An investigative report conducted by the federal police has uncovered evidence corroborating these facts. The report indicates that the country has incurred about 2.9 billion birr loss in revenue due to the TPLF remnants’ desperate acts of vandalism and lootings on public utility centers like power, telecom, and airlines services and other services
The federal government from the outset had never considered military actions as an option to resolve the political dispute with the TPLF. The ENDF command, North Command, stationed in Tigray had no idea TPLF was in a clandestine well-orchestrated operation stretching to the capital to stab it in the back. A few weeks before TPLF launched the surprise attack in early November, the Ethiopian Premier had made it clear in a televised interview that his government had neither the wish nor plans to send bullets to Tigray; rather it would send face masks.
Nobody can refute the fact that the federal government has exercised a maximum tolerance to avoid military confrontations in Tigray. Abiy’s administration had reiterated that military confrontation was an unnecessary waste of the country’s meager resources and a distraction from its focus on urgent development agenda.
Above all else, it strongly argued the Tigray people had enough of getting embroiled in war zone situations. Furthermore, the federal government had also warned getting involved in the internal conflict would make the nation all the more vulnerable to foreign power encroachments into the country’s territory and destabilize the life of citizens in the border areas.
Now, after passing the 100 days milestone of the law enforcement operation, the situation on the ground is TPLF has irrevocably been pounded into oblivion, and that the war front appears to have moved from the battlefields to the media and diplomatic arena.
TPLF remnants and sympathizers in the Diaspora, who are the primary beneficiaries of the nepotism and the looting schemes of the TPLF rule are in an all-out media campaign to discredit their own country on the international media and political arena with baseless accusations.
They are also assisted by intellectually dishonest foreigners in the high diplomatic and academic circles who line their pockets with dirty TPLF money embezzled from the Ethiopian people.
Let us not forget that the TPLF has already accumulated huge financial sources overseas through decades of illicit trade and financial transaction that fuels the fake worldwide misinformation smear campaign against Ethiopia.
Let us also not forget that some of the international print and electronic media including The BBC have become almost the mouthpieces of TPLF sympathizers.
Here is a rough sketch of the TPLF propaganda machine. First TPLF sympathizers make up a fake story of allegation against Ethiopia’s handling of the Tigray crisis and publish it on their social media platforms.
Then the so-called independent analysts and think tank experts would eco the fake report concocted by the TPLF sympathizers on the international media.
Then, a few days later, officials of international human rights agencies, or multinational agencies like that of EU, and UN would publish a press release endorsing the fake news reports with total disregard to checking the reality on the ground.
For instance, a few days ago AP, Associated Press, has quoted the Special Adviser to the U.N Secretary-General on Prevention of Genocide, as saying she had received reports of serious human rights violations in Tigray as well as “disturbing reports of attacks against civilians based on their religion and ethnicity” in Tigray and other parts of Ethiopia.
The question that should be raised here is that did the UN adviser made any attempts to check the integrity of the sources of “the disturbing reports” before endorsing and speak about it.
Why didn’t she make a similar voice of concern when the Ethiopian government uncovered a well-evidenced massacre in Mai Kadra in the early days of the law enforcement operation. Wasn’t it because it was unequivocally clear that the perpetrator of the Mai Kadra genocide of thousands of unarmed civilians was TPLF? It is a shame that such prestigious organizations like UN agencies would fall victims to TPLF sympathizers’ misinformation compromising their assessment of the reality on the ground.
Similarly, the series of statements made by the EU Commissions on the Tigray situation is highly biased against Ethiopia and discredits the government’s efforts and achievements regarding humanitarian activities, and to bring normalcy in the region.
The biased stand of EU and UN agencies would not at all be a surprise, when we notice the strong presence of an army of TPLF sympathizers swarming in Brussels, Geneva, and New York including those at key positions in various inter-governmental agencies.
The explicitness of the anti-Ethiopia rhetoric of TPLF sympathizers is characterized by their consistent format sanctifying TPLF as the peaceful, the peoples’ advocate, and the victim while painting the Ethiopian government as the aggressor and breakers of international law.
All reports and press releases sourced from YPLF sympathizers are always avoiding any mention of the basic question: Who ignited the military confrontation and the chain of crisis that ensued in the first place? The reason they skip this question is crystal clear. Woyane leaders themselves have inadvertently admitted to having started it in a televised interview.
The Ethiopian government’s efforts to show the world the dishonest and evil propaganda campaign of TPLF sympathizers is gathering momentum and bearing fruits.
The international community and major world powers seem to have a good grasp of the real situation and the government’s full commitment to humanitarian and peacemaking activities in Tigray.
When the UN Security Council consider Tigray region situation as an agenda a few weeks ago, TPLF cronies were crossing their fingers for UNSC resolutions and press releases that undermine Ethiopia’s position.
To their disappointment, UNSC made no public statement on the outcome of its discussion in Tigray region. What is more, the European Union (EU) Envoy and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, who visited Ethiopia last week remarked“[I had] substantive meetings with the Prime Minister, the President, and other key ministers. [The] main issue was humanitarian access to Tigray. International humanitarian organizations are doing good work [in Tigray].”
The sure thing is, with or without the expected support of the international community, and no matter how hard the TPLF sympathizers’ media campaign tried to sabotage the speedy rehabilitation and restoration of normalcy in Tigray, Ethiopians are determined to join forces to rebuild Tigray the amazing way they liberated it from TPLF shackles.
The Ethiopian Herald February 24/2021
