For anyone who has been analyzing Ethiopia’s development and being ready to emancipate itself from the state of underdeveloped and any bias could be in a passion to witnesses the reality on the ground in a more balanced and fairly way based on facts.
The wind carried Ethiopians true struggle for justice, democracy and peace has been freshly blown to bring about overall change in Ethiopia of course via ensuring growth and prosperity.
Cognizant of the high demand of the people and the pressures coming from various interest groups, the new leadership in helm has opened the door and let all concerned parties and media to partake in the nation political and economic affairs, many also were released from prisons and feasible independent institutions are being established.
Though the scenario happening in Ethiopia is internal political affair, some nations of the globe are witnessed to order Ethiopia about dos and don’ts ‘dropping a crocodile tear’ with a view to saving who had been the major responsible for all atrocities and messes in Ethiopia and who have down played the call for forgiveness and reconciliation.
The real intention is to shift the blame made by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) against innocent citizenry to the innocent ones and the incumbent who forcefully pushed to enforce law and order. This is really illegitimate, immoral and quite unacceptable. True, the world knows that TPLF was the dominant party who had been ruling Ethiopia for over 27 years in force.
Following the comprehensive reform, TPLF was discontented and engaged in eroding and plotting conflicts targeting at downplaying the federal government efforts to restore peace and security. Fundamentally, TPLF had been found behind all conflicts and targeted killings that had been observed in all corners of Ethiopia.
It had ignored federal government call for peace and reconciliation rather engaged in arming and training special force and intoxicating the innocent youth with hate in a bid to execute its hidden agenda to come to power.
On 4 November TPLF attacked the Northern Command the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) Northern Command headquarters in Mekelle and bases in Adigrat, Agula, Dansha, and Sero in the Tigray Region by armed forces it has trained for over three years for this bankrupt purpose.
Following the inhuman acts and many atrocities perpetrate by TPLF,some anti-peace and anti-Ethiopia elements had been backed and together orchestrated in broad light and sponsored killings of civilians all traded to help it come to power.
The House of Peoples Representatives of Ethiopia designated the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Oromo Liberation Front-Shene as terrorist organizations. This is a commendable step and naming a spade is a spade it is a relevant measure.
It should be well noted that the United Nations’ top development agency memo to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres that leadership in Ethiopia’s Tigray region deserves much of the blame for provoking the federal government’s bloody offensive against the Tigrayans, appearing to suggest that a military crackdown that has driven half a million people from their homes and fueled allegations of mass atrocities may have been justified.
According to the confidential memo—signed by Achim Steiner, the administrator of the U.N. Development Program (UNDP)—“all sides” in the East African conflict bear a share of responsibility for the bloody government offensive on the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, with federal forces receiving backing from the Eritrean armed forces and militias from Ethiopia’s Amhara ethnic group.
The four-page memo points to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Ethiopia’s former ruling political party, as provoking the Ethiopian government offensive by attacking and seizing Ethiopia’s Northern Command headquarters in Tigray in early November 2020, in what would have been an “act of war everywhere in the world, and one that typically triggers military response in defense of any nation,” according to the Feb. 16 memo, which was obtained by Foreign Policy.
The memo provides a largely sympathetic account of Ethiopia’s role in the crisis, echoing government talking points and repeating the Ethiopian leadership’s says that the international community has failed to address TPLF provocations over the past two years, including its opposition to government reforms and refusal to engage in political talks with the government. The memo also urges donor states to focus more on development and humanitarian goals and less on reprimanding the Ethiopian government over its human rights record and especially the excesses committed during the conflict. It recommends that any investigation into human rights abuses be led by Ethiopia’s own national Human Rights Commission, possibly with international participation.
“In a context like Ethiopia, this approach is likely to be counter-productive and will yield no results,” the memo states, referring to taking a confrontational task.
The memo paints a damning portrait of the TPLF political leadership, characterizing it as an obstacle to the government’s reform agenda, while faulting foreign governments for failing to call the TPLF out over the past two years when their actions challenged the rule of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
“The ghosts of a repressive 27-year TPLF regime continue to torment the country—and winning the hearts and minds for social cohesion requires accepting that there is blame on all sides, including the international community,” it states.
Though these and other credible facts certain, still some partner nation are consumed in pushing Ethiopia to make dialogue with a terrorist party that killed the defense force and killed thousands of innocent civilians.
Be that as it may, some countries are trying to conceal the culprit of the TPLF and shift the blame to the other party, the government perhaps. They have find an answer first for this question before backing a terrorist group,’ Is there any country in the history of the world which ignores the issues when their national defense force is severely attacked, killed and dangled?
Besides, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms in a letter issued this week all efforts to undermine the sovereignty of Ethiopia is intolerable we all should stand in unison to defend our country. Ministry of Foreign Affairs letter reads that there are repeated attempts to make unwarranted statements on Ethiopia’s internal affairs, particularly in relation to the Amhara regional forces. Ethiopia is a sovereign nation, and it cannot accept any dictates from outside on how to manage its own internal affairs. The Ethiopian government wants to make it abundantly clear once again that deploying the necessary security structures and means available in ensuring the rule of law within all corners of its borders is within its sole responsibility. It is mandated by the Constitution to ensure peace and security against any threats to the Constitutional order of the country.
It is in this context that the Federal government has been undertaking the rule of law operations in Tigray. While it is the desire of the Ethiopian government to remain always ready and open to engaging with partners on issues of mutual interest and concern, it will be forced to reassess its relations if these attempts to interfere in its internal affairs continue unabated. It is indeed unfortunate that some partners chose to dwell on internal matters of Ethiopia. One can’t be indifferent when Ethiopia is flagrantly invaded while purporting to have too much concern about and trying to unduly delve into its international matters; for doing so simply bears duplicity. That is why the Ethiopian government rejects those statements, which are not only inappropriate but also completely unacceptable.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
The Ethiopian Herald May 21/2021
