It has been almost two weeks since the Ethiopian government ordered its forces to a halt, after spectacular counter-offensive operations on the ongoing conflict in northern Ethiopia. The controversial decision may partly aim at strategizing to minimize the further collateral damages and human costs of the war and choose the optimal time and conditions for the final military advances. The international community, including the Americans, has welcomed the decision. Some analysts have indicated that the decision has spoiled TPLF’s and western medias’ jointly rigged booby trap to accuse the government of genocide.- A set up similar to the fake massacre report last August about corpses that were said to have washed up on the Sudanese banks of Tekeze river. Major media outlets like CNN, AP, Reuters, The Guardian and, Al-jazeera were peddling the carefully crafted fake news story.
According to a senior government official, the decision not to march into Mekele intends to create a window of opportunity for a peaceful conclusion of the war. The Ethiopian Foreign Minister and Deputy Premier in his New Year’s message stated: “The Government has decided not to continue pursuing active military enforcement against the TPLF in the Tigray Region. Many have welcomed the decision as it opens a window of opportunity to consider other options of resolution that exist without recourse to war.”
Whatever the reason for the decision might be, the terrorist group has now swerved towards the edge of a precipice, lying, grabbing, and throwing, destroying anything it can to save its self from going down to the drain. The funny thing is after suffering a staggering blow by the Ethiopian forces and retreating hundreds of kilometers within a few days, TPLF told the world earlier that it withdrew its forces, due to changes in its military strategy. But, the pro-Ethiopian voices on social media revealed to the world the telling videos and images about how TPLF got pounded on the war front. Then, the Woyane propagandists changed their narration, saying they retreated just as a gesture for their commitment to peaceful resolution of the conflict.
What is more laughable than TPLF’s denial is western powers, and western media echoed these false narratives, knowing too well the humiliating blow TPLF received at the hands of the gallant Ethiopian forces. They have seen several thousands of dead and captured TPLF combatants in civilian outfits, thrown into the fire of war as sacrificial lambs. But they choose to endorse TPLF falsehoods.
Here is how the lead of CNN breaking news on 21 Dec 2021 about the defeat of TPLF and its subsequent ceasefire request read. “The Ethiopian government has dismissed calls for a ceasefire from Tigrayan fighters in the north of the country, saying the olive branches it previously offered them have been rejected many times. The leader of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region had announced a withdrawal of rebel forces from neighboring areas in the country, a move that raised hopes of a ceasefire after 13 months of the war.”
Interestingly enough, when reporting the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Tigray following the political decision of the government, the same news network, CNN has reported the event on 28 June 2021 with news titled, Ethiopian Forces Retreat in Tigray, and Rebels Enter the Capital, with a tone as if it was a derivative of a press release of TPLF: “Less than a week into the offensive by Tigrayans forces, the Ethiopian military had withdrawn from the capital, a UN official told CNN. The armed wing of the TPLF, known as the Tigray Defense Forces, had steadily been gearing up for the offensive and in recent days kicked off a coordinated push to recapture Mekelle.”
As one writer puts it, the primary causality of the ongoing war in Ethiopia’s north is the Truth. The concerted disinformation campaign by the TPLF media and the major international media outlet has obscured the truth from the attention of the majority of the international community.
The war crimes committed by the TPLF in Afar and Amhara regions are undeniable facts and have already been partly reported by a few international media outlets. Rights groups like Human Rights Watch have already sounded alarmed and filed well-evidenced reports over various unspeakable atrocities committed by the TPLF rebels in Amhara and Afar region.
Despite the reality on the ground, the TPLF leaders are not ashamed to categorically deny any accusations, swearing publicly they did not inflict any harm against the Amhara and Afar people. That is painful to hear for those who lost their families, their houses, their crops, livestock, and all their belongings to the TPLF aggression. It is an insult to their injury. It is another cause of emotional and mental pain to those women and girls who have been physically and mentally scarred by the TPLF gang rapists. It is also an insult to the intelligence of the Ethiopian people and the international community.
Before being captured by the TPLF invaders, such towns like Woldia, Dessie and kombolcha were economically vibrant places with booming businesses, industrial zones, advanced healthcare services, dry ports, air terminals, and collages. What we found out after they have been liberated from a few months’ invasion of TPLF is heart-wrenching, to say the least. They are devastated into places of humanitarian crises, mass graves, and looted and vandalized infrastructures.
There is no question or doubt about who conducted the killings, rapings, arson, vandalism, and looting in Afar and Amhara regions. But the TPLF leaders are mocking the suffering of the Amhara and Afar people saying “the alleged and unconfirmed [as the Americans, their allies put it] reports should be investigated by independent bodies. Unless the TPLF leaders chose to ignore it, the situation has already been confirmed by international independent organizations like HRW. Even the Americans, their allies, at some point, admitted at least the organized looting carried out by the TPLF when it attacked the US AID warehouses last September.
Denial and treachery are TPLF’s intrinsic character. It is a common character shared by all racist genociders criminal groups including the Nazis. As the Nazis deny Auschwitz, Tplfites deny Mai-Kadra, which was proven by international experts. TPLF leaders are so confident with their disingenuous cadres and their worldwide propaganda network, and their White House buddies that they believe they can get away with any crime they have committed. They have strong partners in crime both at home and abroad. So it is the integral tactic of their political strategy to piss in our pocket and tell us it is raining. That is how TPLF does politics though out its political life which spans about half a century.
The Americans and Europeans are incessantly pushing for the Ethiopian government to do a thing that is practically almost non-sense- to reach a negotiated settlement with TPLF. This is so because, for one thing, TPLF is a terrorist group and a criminal enterprise that deserve the handcuffs rather than the handshakes at the negotiating table. But, there is an additional, more serious, and irrevocable stumbling block in the road to peace. It relates to the psychological makeup of the Tplfites. TPLF is a gang of disingenuous people who live in denial and do not have an iota of integrity to qualify as credible counterparts for negotiations. And now, here comes the million dollars question. Who should the Ethiopian government talk to? We hope, the Tigray people may come up with the answer, sooner or later.
BY SOLOMON WASSIHUN
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 6 JANUARY 2022
