BY HAILE DEMEKE
Since the onset of the law enforcement operation in Tigray State, the federal government has been taking maximum restraints to avoid civilian causalities and protect human rights. It was in this sense too that the federal government declared a unilateral humanitarian ceasefire and withdrew troops from Tigray State.
The government has been closely following operations so as to reduce damage and also save civilians from possible dangers. In spite of this, some countries in the West and their agents have been making accusations against the government on the basis of false evidences.
Particularly, the finger-pointing has been largely led by rights groups such as Amnesty International. This smear tendency continues to this very day even in the wake of increasing terrorist TPLF’s atrocities against the people of Amhara and Afar.
Despite the misinformation and exaggerated reports of the scale of the allegations, the Ethiopian government has in fact been making its level best to bring perpetrators of alleged sex offending through its different pertinent bodies.
For the past few months, the Federal Attorney General Office in coordination with other pertinent stakeholders has been investigating the problems related to sexual violence in Tigray State. According to the government, so far, a total of 53 Ethiopian soldiers were on trials for rape and killing of civilians out of which 28 soldiers have been apprehended and charged for their participation in the killing of civilians and an additional 25 soldiers were charged with committing acts of sexual violence and rape.
In addition, a joint investigation by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has already been underway to probe the matter. These are testaments to the willingness and capability of the Ethiopian government to ensure accountability.
The government’s resolve has to do with one of the objectives of the reforms, which are ensuring compliance with obligations and duties under international human rights and humanitarian law. This concrete commitment to ensure accountability has been demonstrated by actions.
These being the truth, Amnesty International and other self-proclaimed rights groups have been jumping the gun and are trying to give the fact a whole different picture on basis of flawed methodology, drawing biased conclusion. While ignoring gruesome atrocities by terrorist TPLF group, Amnesty International on Wednesday released a report on allegations of sexual abuses and rapes against women in Tigray. The report is hastily prepared and biased many argue.
Reacting to Amnesty’s report, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia said that through a statement that the government of Ethiopia condemns sexual violence in all circumstances and including in situations of conflict and has a zero-tolerance policy.
The government of Ethiopia has previously issued statements acknowledging that there have been some instances in which during the course of the conflict in the Tigray Regional State, some members of the armed forces have engaged in conduct that is contrary to the clear rules of engagement and direction they have been given. Such illegal conduct included instances of sexual violence and taking this into account the government had taken steps to ensure accountability and will continue with these measures with a view to bringing to justice the perpetrators of sexual violence, the Ministry added.
According to the Ministry’s statement, Amnesty’s report is based on a flawed methodology and relies heavily on interviews conducted in refugee camps in the Sudan and remote interviews facilitated by community workers. For everyone familiar with the modus operandi of the terrorist TPLF, the identity of these community workers is no great mystery, it added.
Furthermore, after interviewing 63 individuals, amnesty reaches sweeping and far-reaching conclusions that could hardly be supported by the limited and remote investigation it claims to have conducted.
As has been the case, in some of its previous reports, Amnesty International seems bent on engaging in sensationalized attacks and smear campaigns against the government of Ethiopia. The government of Ethiopia had already expressed its concerns about the impartiality and professionalism of some of the personnel within the Amnesty East African Office. The current report reinforces those apprehensions.
Amnesty’s report fails to recognize the joint investigation being conducted by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. Instead, the Amnesty report in its recommendation recommends that organs of the UN including the Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council give a platform for the so-called Commission of Inquiry that is being conducted remotely and interviews at refugee camps in Sudan where the perpetrators of the Mai kadra massacre and a large contingent of the TPLF militia are stationed. These recommendations contradict the political motivations and biases that inform such reports that try to weaponize human rights as a means to meddle in countries that refuse to be dictated by various interests, the statement stressed.
Commenting on Amnesty’s report, Law Expert Amdegebriel Admasu told The Ethiopian Herald that the report regarding is based on the telephone interview and also individuals residing in the Sudan refugee camps. This clearly indicates that the report lacks balance and the credibility of the report remains questionable.
“The government in coordination with the relevant stakeholders is conducting investigations sexual allegations. However, the report has denied this fact and drew conclusion in mere judgments.”
Conducting allegations of rape is difficult and it needs serious work, but what Amnesty did is contrary to investigation principles by conducting interviews through a telephone which may discredit the report. “Identifying and accepting the report from the victim only through phone interview without checking the real identity of the victim is unacceptable and this kind of unfair report.
On the other hand, the sources of the report were criminal group residing in the Sudan camp which left the country after committing massacre in Mai Kadra. The report is conducted by interviewing individuals at refugee camps in Sudan where the perpetrators of the Mai Kadra massacre and a large contingent of the TPLF militia are stationed.
For the past many years, Ethiopian troops were deployed in many areas across Africa and beyond in an ethical and well-disciplined manner. This is a testimony at different times and Ethiopian troops has never been accused of rape and other sexual violence in their engagement so far. Amnesty’s report accusing Ethiopian troops of rape and other sexual violence is exaggerated and unfair.
For his part, another legal expert, Tewdros Getachew stated that the report is a result of double-standard actions and Amnesty has kept silent when the TPLF terrorist group committed grave crime in the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar targeting innocent civilians and also internally displaced people.
The report used criminals which committed genocide in Mai Kadra and highly wanted by the federal government for committing crimes. Those perpetrators were fled to the Sudan camp in the name of refugees and the organizations used them as source of the report which is unfair. The methodology that the organization used is against an independent organization, he said.
He further noted that TPLF terrorist group has recently killed over 270 people in Afar, of which 107 were children. Amnesty and other right groups did not react to the mass killings, a showcase of double-standards. This erodes the credibility of the organization. Some of the international organizations are used as means of executing the political interest of the West.
The Ethiopian Herald August 13/2021
