BY FITSUM GETACHEW
The relations between Ethiopia and the US are older than a century and they have almost always been very close and warm across all these years. Multiple Ethiopian leaders have been to the White House as special guests of the administration beginning from the Eisenhower and Haile Selassie days. We do not remember any significant rapture between the two governments nor peoples across all those years even if their interests may have been different. The records show the readiness on the part of the US government to support Ethiopia, and particularly in times of humanitarian needs, the US has proved itself a valued ally of Ethiopia.
At the same time, Ethiopia has never backed from supporting many of the policies of the US government even vis-à-vis certain countries in Africa, and other third world countries, given its very close relations.
Of all the collaborative works the two have carried out in the international scene one can easily mention the most recent one and that is the fight against terrorism in the east African region, particularly targeting al Shabaab. Following the not so ceremonial withdrawal of American marines from Mogadishu in the early nineteen nineties Ethiopian troops have largely replaced them; and they have been paying sacrifices in partnership with the international community. The US cannot deny that Ethiopia is a valuable ally in the fight against not only terrorism but also human and drug trafficking. The collaboration between the two countries dates back decades and no wonder that the US is also the most generous donor to fulfill Ethiopian development needs.
Furthermore, the military cooperation has also been important for the country’s survival in independence. Hundreds if not thousands of Ethiopian officers have benefited from various kinds of trainings and working visits to US military and political establishments. Ethiopia’s democratic experience has been largely influenced by such exchanges of personnel and missions. Ethiopia’s defense capabilities have been strengthened by US partnership.
However, Ethiopia’s stance and commitment in the ‘non aligned movement’ has been one of the key foreign policy and diplomacy traits of the country. During the cold war days Ethiopia never sided with any of the two extremes keeping its neutrality intact. Emperor Haile Selassie was in this regard a visionary leader who nurtured excellent relations not only with the US but also with the ‘Eastern Block’, including Russia and China etc. This may not have been palatable to certain US politicians but Ethiopia has always kept its national interests above partisan politics. It has always insisted to act in the best interests of its people. It never felt that it had to bow and be ‘mere executioners’ of the desires and wishes of any side.
The idea of sovereignty for Ethiopians is something on which there can be no compromise as is its unity and integrity. Ethiopia is now undergoing tremendous positive changes after it had to submit to the dominion of a government composed of a group of people whose mere interest has proved to be detrimental to the interest of the nation, threatening even its survival!
Given the kind of relations the US and Ethiopia have had across the years, this cannot be a mystery by any means to the US administration. One can say that the US government is well aware of what has been going on in the past three decades and of course even earlier; but definitely given the kind of relations the EPRDF government had with the US authorities, given particularly the close relations between some high ranking US government officials and their peers in Ethiopia, one can presume there are hardly any secrets the US does not know about Ethiopia.
During the past four years or so we have come across very promising but also very challenging years because the EPRDF government largely dominated by TPLF has been evicted of its palace and retreated to its regional base. Many things which were in doubt about the real projects of TPLF-EPRDF have now become clear. It is every one’s guess that the US did have the information that probably many Ethiopians never had. How much did they contribute to this new development must be a crucial issue to settle!
Today, as more and more confessions emerge on the part of TPLF leaders, the primary intention and objective of this party has always been to dismantle Ethiopia and then emerge as a kind of sub-regional power by forming its own republic!
The developments that built up after the November attacks on the Northern Command and the plans behind it earlier prepared and later on elaborated more, show clearly the real intentions of this group and its delusional view of the world.
TPLF’s all out war against Ethiopia was not only declared openly but shown with clear evidence to the entire world! And yet Ethiopians wonder how can certain nations find it difficult to admit this and take consequent stance. There must be an interest greater than taking similar stance! And this becomes even more troubling when we consider that even close allies have failed to take notice of this incontrovertible fact and are now acting as if nothing special happened! Ethiopia was literally on the verge of breaking up due to the reckless attack on multiple fronts on the federal army made in a way that it could not even defend itself. It risked this catastrophe and only a well planned and prompt counter offensive saved the country. It is sad that many so called allies did not take part in this mission which would have been considered historic!
In three weeks the federal forces pushed back all the TPLF arsenal and personnel to either perish or get hidden in the various caves and tunnels they had built or among the innocent civilian population. The Ethiopian National Defense Forces finished the first round of defense successfully and then began to rebuild all that was deliberately destroyed by the retreating TPLF forces. It invested billions of dollars to rebuild, repair or maintain the damages of the conflict, but the TPLF leaders had only one intention and that was to go on with the deaths and destruction of the country. Again what is here tragic and alarming is that there were ‘foreign’ elements who tried to help them with their devilish ideas.
Anyone who had some familiarity with Ethiopian politics would immediately understand the stance of TPLF and its supporters and may be at least stay neutral in this conflict. However, what we have come to observe has been unbelievable and not comprehensible until more details emerged and more information was revealed. Many of us had forgotten that the TPLF led EPRDF had been in fact installed easily in Addis thanks to the valuable all rounded support of western countries particularly the US because the Derg was considered a ‘communist’ government and anyone who managed to put it down was on the favoured list of the West. Here the international political landscape and its dynamics were decisive.
Ethiopians were in a way forced to submit to the authority of the new coalition but it was later on to be known that this EPRDF government was never a friend of the people! It had the agenda of dividing it and in the end dismantling it, to realize the dream of establishing their own republic. This could not happen because after twenty seven years of plotting and working consistently to that end, Ethiopians woke up of their slumber and managed to dislodge from power the TPLF!
Evidently those who had always supported the TPLF may not have liked this development (when it was replaced by a confident popular force led by the new premier Abiy Ahmed). Every narrative that used to ‘deafen’ us for twenty seven years began to change and a new spirit filled the air in the country! The June 2021 elections have if anything confirmed such investiture and may be the country may be heading for the first democratic government in its history. Again this fact was not well acknowledged by many of our traditional partners who evidently still had their romantic attachments to the ousted leaders! Normally when there is government change in any country partners try to save their interests by tabling discussions with the new leaders rather than try to reverse the will of the people!
Now all this leads us to the recent letter written by the Ethiopian prime minister to the White House describing what has been happening, beyond the fake news and digital war directed against a sovereign country. And the response has been, to say the least disappointing for Ethiopians. Ethiopia wants to make it clear once and for all that all the propaganda and invented news on account of what the Ethiopian federal forces are engaged in and what the TPLF mercenaries are doing must be revealed supported by the necessary genuine documentation and not misrepresented by masters of digital war facilitated by certain so called international analysts or experts bankrolled by the TPLF junta. We must also add to this list the famous political actors in Washington presented as lobbyists paid lavishly by the dollars plundered from the coffers of the poor Ethiopian people!
It is well known that a few individuals in the TPLF have been plundering the resources of a hundred and twenty million people at their will and these individuals along with their families are enjoying lavish lives in the West and some other beaches! This is not a secret that Western intelligence bodies need to labour to find out! But sadly the reactions to all this has not been in Ethiopia’s favour. And it is here that we all feel the need to shout because the truth should not be buried leading to the US government insisting that the FDRE ‘sit down and negotiate’ with the terrorist TPLF!
The response given by the Biden Administration on the letter written to it shows the true face of the administration and Ethiopians will never accept similar moral equivalence. It is just as the US would not sit down and negotiate with forces it has labeled ‘terrorists’! It would create a public outrage!
Sanctions that the US is threatening against Ethiopians only encourage the TPLF junta to continue with its destructive operations. Ethiopians believe the US seems to be falling in to another historical error with such move. The US administration does avail of well read politicians and experts and we are confident that they will guide it to a better pondered decision before things get out of hand and a major catastrophe materializes in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopians call for more responsible and fairer reaction on the part of its close allies.
Ethiopia is not an insignificant country even if it is desperately poor. The fact that it relies on much international support in order to carry out business smoothly does not make it a reality to be dismissed as ‘marginal’. Forgetting that Ethiopia is the ‘origin of mankind’ and cradle of one of the most ancient civilizations, and a huge influence on African affairs can be costly for an ever interconnected and interdependent world.
Any negative development in Ethiopia has its spill over effect on other African countries and they are watching closely how the West is currently treating Ethiopia!
Doubtless, TPLF is a terrorist organization that has been flourishing thanks to the support it had accumulated across the years, taking advantage of the dictatorial powers it had built in the country. Today,
it is a baseless body that just struggles to survive terrorizing its own population pushing them to desperate self annihilation! The moment the Tigrean people actually come to realize to what sort of leaders and party they had been sacrificing their families and children, hopefully, they will bring to account each and every leader and the end of TPLF will officially be sealed soon. But what governments such as the US and others are trying to do is not only ‘interfere’ in the internal affairs of a sovereign country but also prolong the agony of Ethiopians. It does not stand up to the spirit of the days!
As the premier said once again, it is troubling that the US government still believes that TPFL is a genuine representative of the people of Tigray!
And it is troubling to hear from it that the Federal government should sit down and discuss issues with a terrorist organisation that has up to now just been engaged in killings and wanton destruction! Ethiopians are anxious to find out, when shall the US administration realize its ‘miscalculations’ or misconceptions and stand on the side of the ‘right’ rather than continue to flirt with a reckless group of desperate dictators!!!???
The Ethiopian Herald September 23/2021
