What is currently going on in Ethiopia is to the say the least very disturbing. Ethiopians are struggling not only against their own homemade enemies, compatriots, but also against aliens who are trying to take advantage of the current instability in the north. Ethiopia has already qualified the current campaign as the battle to avert the existential threat posed on it. We have been told by experts that there are tangible signs of the existence of alien forces intervening in this struggle. This is a very dangerous development in the equation of the battles. The point of no return seems looming unless some breakthrough is conceived and applied.
Ethiopians know this and that is why they are trying to rally not only their compatriots but also the rest of Africa to have a clear understanding of the situation in the first place, and then they would not hesitate to support Ethiopia’s cause. As things stand now, there is no doubt that Ethiopia’s cause is also Africa’s cause. No African country would sit idle and enjoy the breakdown of such an important African country because of the conspiracy of certain western powers and then expect that similar fate would not occur to them.
The policy that those forces who today support such a terrorist group as TPLF are telling us that without their blessing no country can hope to live in peace and freedom. That is the core message they seem to convey to all those who are watching developments in Ethiopia. ‘Forget about democracy, forget about elections unless you take care of our strategic interests!’, seems the message.
It is obvious that Ethiopia’s cause is just and legitimate. It cannot succumb to imperialist advances through the medium of terrorists such as TPLF, ‘Shene’ and others. These forces have blatantly and openly declared that they want to dismember Ethiopia and try to create their own independent states. This is utter madness for Ethiopians and no Ethiopian would accept such proposition because Ethiopia is a historic country that has strong foundations, a complex country that enjoys a variety of peoples and cultures, but with so many valuable things to share or unite them than factors that its enemies argue divides them.
Ethiopia has always fought back successfully every attempt of colonization or subjugation. Its patriots have always paid the necessary sacrifices to reject every form of assault and occupation even when the enemy was much stronger. The secret has always been the unity of its people which has been instrumental in foiling back every attempt to colonize Ethiopia. Today these forces have changed their form but are still trying to destabilize the country and force it to accept the legitimacy of terrorist forces such as TPLF and ‘Shene’.
There is now concrete and unequivocal evidence of open support on the part of certain alien forces in the attacks of TPLF and ‘Shene’. Forces that try to take advantage of Ethiopia’s disintegration are engaged in supporting these forces. At the same time, the propaganda war waged against Ethiopia is reaching new heights with the shameless reports of so called mainstream international media beginning with Reuters, CNN, BBC and New York Times etc. These media outlets have aligned themselves with these terrorist forces trying to help them advance falsely disseminating partisan news of invented victories and conquests. They glorify whatever the terrorists do offering them the platform to express their wishes and dreams while at the same time discrediting the legitimate Ethiopian government forces and their efforts to foil the terrorists’ advance. These media have turned a blind eye to whatever atrocities these forces have carried out on innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the conflict while accusing the Ethiopian forces of all sorts of excesses in their counterattacks. They present the aggressors as victims while the truth is the contrary!
Ethiopians are now mobilizing in all fronts in the counterattacks to defeat these terrorists. What is worrying and what other African countries must do is expose the criminal role these alien forces are playing in this crucial battle for the survival of Ethiopia, a sovereign and independent country.
The concerted action of these foreign forces allied to these terrorists is threatening the integrity of the country. That is why Africans must stand by the side of the legitimate government of Ethiopia elected in a free and fair electoral process.
The forces that support the terrorists must be condemned and called to abide by international law and principles that prohibit interference in the internal affairs a sovereign country. Africans must realize that such move is creating a dangerous precedent because infringements of this kind would only multiply in future posing new threats to other sovereign countries if it is not exposed and condemned at all international venues. Ethiopia cannot be forced to accept the blackmail of alien forces who are now siding with terrorists in their bid to dismantle the country. Ethiopia needs to be left alone to settle its internal problems using its local resources and possibly traditional means.
The only way to settle the current battle in Ethiopia is by supporting the federal government and forcing the terrorists to put down their arms. The people of Ethiopia can reach an internal settlement by talking to those who are worth talking to not by a few terrorists who have kept in hostage an entire people. The federal government has been clear in its stance. It has the responsibility of safeguarding the country from any aggression, be it internal or alien. It has to defend its boundaries against any possible attacks by aliens. It has to lead its people to development and progress like any government would have to do. But it also has the duty to fight forces such as TPLF and ‘Shene’ who are causing immense suffering and extensive destruction to the country. They have been committing atrocities against innocent citizens wherever they set foot into. Anyone who sides with these terrorist forces enemies of Ethiopia must realize that they too are equally enemies of Ethiopia.
Western media who continue to glorify these terrorist forces instead of denouncing their heinous crimes must realize that they are morally responsible for the continuation of these brutal attacks on the innocent. They must also realize that at the same time they are downplaying the legitimacy of the Ethiopian government. They are definitely on the wrong side of history. It is because they have their own agenda in this battle. Otherwise, they would not be supporting forces that are totally contrary to every form of democracy and justice, deprived of all forces of humanity as easily discernible from the atrocities committed on innocent civilians engaged in their day to day activities of livelihood.
These alien forces know the origin and objectives of these terrorist forces. They only hope to ride them to earn a position of prominence in a future state or government headed by TPLF as they did during the 27 years of TPLF dominion. Ethiopians however are not willing any more to accommodate alien exploitation and subjugation as has been dictated by a TPLF led government. Whatever happens in Ethiopia today can be a signal of what could happen tomorrow elsewhere in Africa and that is why the urgent calls of Ethiopians should reach promptly to other beaches in the continent.
Africans and the world must know Ethiopia cannot afford to lose this battle against terrorists and that is why it is using all its resources available to fight back and foil every attempt to dismember it. It has justly called for a full scale battle to safeguard the integrity of the country. At the same time, Africans cannot sit idle and watch Ethiopia disintegrate by these terrorist forces aided by alien forces. Africans must raise their voices against any interference and meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign country and still less in fielding all sorts of support to the terrorists experienced throughout this conflict.
There are no guarantees that such mission of these forces would not spread to other parts of East Africa and then beyond because it seems part of a large strategy devised and launched by certain western powers. Africa cannot look indifferently at what alien forces are doing to weigh in the battle in Ethiopia. It is now becoming clearer by the day that the stakes are high with the interference of alien forces in this battle. Beginning with moral and psychological support the partisanship of some western elements is spreading to significant logistical and technological digital support. There are suspicions that every military move made by the Ethiopian forces is being monitored and communicated to the enemy, thus averting losses and defeat to TPLF.
The terrorists are allegedly benefiting from not only the orchestrated systematic propaganda by the western media but also by crucial support of information related to battlefront moves. Observers have been warning that any military related support to the terrorists could only complicate things by inviting the Ethiopian government to seek foreign assistance and thus create the premises for the risks of elevating this conflict to a proxy war. Ethiopia’s mission is an existential one and as long as it is threatened by these home-grown terrorists, it has to rise up to the challenge or risk being engulfed in an interminable battle.
The advances of the terrorists are being foiled by the heroic sacrifices of its citizens of all walks of life and not only the regular armed forces or militia. But any interference that would shift the balance of the battle to the terrorists using any form of assistance can only contribute to prolonging the suffering of millions and eventually cause even more catastrophe than already incurred during the past twelve months. That is why Ethiopians as well as other Africans must speak with one voice and loudly. Leave alone Ethiopians settle their differences through their own internal mechanisms. If the African Union is called to intervene, so be it; but not countries that have other agenda in the internal affairs of a sovereign country.
It must be underscored that today it is Ethiopia, but tomorrow it can be any other African country. Ethiopia is trying to build new democratic institutions. It is engaged in developing its industries with the usage of all its available resources such as the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, GERD. This project is key to provide hydropower to the mushrooming industrial plants in the country.
All these moves may not be palatable to enemies or rivals of Ethiopia who want it to be a divided and conflict ridden land, not capable of growing into a strong economy. The Ethiopian government has promised its people that its priorities are not to take care of the interests of aliens but those of Ethiopians. It has rejected subservience to foreign influence or taking orders from others in exchange for some handouts. Bowing to alien forces is not characteristic of the Ethiopian psyche who prefer poverty to indignity or servitude. This is what its history tells us and there is no way it can change today.
The current battle in the north of the country is all about the continuation of Ethiopia as a sovereign state or disintegrating into multiple minor entities put at the mercy of any alien power. Ethiopians know that this is a campaign worth living for and equally worth dying for. The rest of Africa must take note. It is impossible to accept that Ethiopia considered by many as the ‘mother of Africa’ be doomed to disappear from the world map and conceive an Africa that can live in peace. This fire kindled in Ethiopia could very easily spread and engulf other parts and that is why it needs to be extinguished right here now and allow no further opening to other campaigns of intimidations and threats on Africans.
Ethiopia’s sovereignty is also Africa’s sovereignty, and the sooner this is realized, the better because alien forces who are tempted to make their intervention even more substantial are warned of the potential consequences. Such attempts must be nipped in the bud.
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD NOVEMBER 24/2021
