BY ZEKARIAS WOLDEMARIAM
Following the outbreak of conflict between the federal government and the TPLF group the issue of human rights violation, investigation and remedial measures has become rampant. As a relevant global institution, the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) is one of the agencies highly engaged in following up the human rights situation in the conflict area.
Discharging its responsibility to the protection of human rights the Ethiopian government has also collaborated with the UNHRC in the investigation of the alleged human rights violations during the war in Tigray. Accordingly, it to be recalled that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the UNHRC established a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which issued an investigation report.
The government also accepted the report and agreed for the implementation of the recommendations.
Yet the UNHRC came up with another team, entitled International Committee of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE). The committee does not involve the government and followed procedures and methodologies that were different from what the JIT used.
Regarding the methodologies, the outcome and possible purpose of the report, The Ethiopian Herald had interviewed Surafel Getahun, researcher and lecturer of Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) at Dire Dawa University. Have a nice read!
The ICHREE to examine the human rights violations that have been committed especially in northern Ethiopia has issued a report. Shall we begin our discussion by explaining your observations on this report?
As you may remember, there was a report jointly issued by the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. There were a lot of accusations that there was no concrete evidence for what they were saying about genocide, and that they had used hunger as a weapon in the past. It confirmed that those accusations are rumors and propaganda created by the terrorist group on the basis of which there is no evidence or information. On the other hand, it listed the issues that lead to liability.
The insurgent group also caused the massive loss of life and human rights violations; Apart from that, it also detailed the destruction of social institutions. Amazingly, this collaborative report was accepted. It was also approved by many countries.
However, in a way that undermined this joint study, the organization established another committee and released a report that has political approval and does not touch the reality on the ground. In my opinion, this report is fundamentally flawed and non-insolated report. When conducting this research, which region did the people live in? Which area did they go to and how much information did they get about the actual devastation? The issues are not clear. Instead, it is a column that looks like a report taken from social media, especially the Twitter of the terrorist group’s followers.
To begin with, the fact that the commission left the previous report aside and came up with what it was shouting about on social media casts doubt on the credibility of the report itself. I am personally very ashamed that in the past, Human Rights Watch sat in a refugee camp in Nairobi, Kenya and reported the fake news received over the phone. First, the organization’s unwillingness to investigate the human rights violations and damages in the Afar and Amhara regions is an indication that the organization has a balance problem.
I doubt that they will investigate the truth about the women who were raped, especially in Kombolcha. How many attempts have you made to probe the damage to Kobo? Who is included in this interview? What it says is not clear. Instead of that, it is clear that they have brought false propaganda and information that the Junta’s aides tell them.
Overall, this report is unbalanced; it can be said that it is a document that contains completely false information. As I said before, there is no reliable source that can be cited in this report. Therefore, it will not be accepted even if the propagandists of the terrorist group come with what they got and say that such and such abuse has been committed. Especially in the past, there was a media campaign. If there was any work done by the TPLF representatives at the highest level, it was to blame the neutral parties through digital diplomacy.
Can you give us an example of how this report is unbalanced?
As you may remember, the fact that they did not include this in the report while knowing that for the past eight months humanitarian aid has been provided to the people of Tigray shows that the report is fundamentally unbalanced. Above all, the recommendation given at the end has made it clear that the international community is aiming to directly interfere in the internal affairs of Tigray. This has its own political implications and they are planning to use it as a prelude to enter Ethiopia. It is clear that it is part of the US’s efforts to influence Ethiopia in particular.
On the other hand, it is known that the same extremist group disrupted the peace talks in Ethiopia. They kept silent when it murdered 25 people from a refugee camp in Waghmra. Why didn’t they condemn? That is why we raise doubts about these institutions in one way or another. Sadly, this report clearly shows that they do not want the war to end peacefully. If they were convinced that if peace is to come to this country, they could have stressed that the terrorist group should be arrested first.
If they wanted the war to end peacefully, they would have condemned the recent theft of 70,000 liters of fuel that belongs to the UN and attacks on the Amhara and Afar people. Then why did they lose courage and strength? Instead of this, they chose to put pressure on the Ethiopian government to do what they want. In general, I have found that the information that has been tracked is completely untrue and unbalanced, and it also contradicts the reality behind this report.
Has such any studies been conducted by the United Nations regarding civil conflicts in other countries? What does such study that does not include the government and the affected communities show?
Yes, the studies that this organization always conducts are aimed at protecting the interests of powerful countries like the United States. When they want, they don’t care how many people die and human rights are violated as long as it doesn’t harm their interests. If it seems to affect their interests, they will use it to coordinate the international community by carrying out such studies that will allow them to create pressure with excuses. This position has been repeatedly seen in various African countries.
For example, one of the issues that the United Nations is being blamed for is the situation in Eastern Congo. From 1979 to 2003, when more than five million people died they were in silence. This is because the United Nations and the powerful countries that are pushing the organization as they want are to save the western companies and individuals who are extracting and looting the oil mines in that area. The Westerners chose to remain silent in order to protect their interests while a massive genocide was being carried out in that country. Not a single day has the United Nations dared to issue a report on that matter.
On the other hand, as it will be remembered, they intervened in the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur and turned the issue into genocide and human rights violations and convinced the international community. The most surprising thing is that an American writer was trying to motivate the international community against the former President of Sudan, Al-Bashir, by writing that 200,000 to 400,000 people are being massacred every week. They boldly wrote that the conflict was a sectoral extermination just to blame Al-Bashir. It is because of their exaggerated report that they made the international community rise up against Al-Bashir.
At the same time, the main purpose of that report they released on Ethiopia was political interest. It was a situation of harassing and suing the government of Sudan just like they are doing against us now. On the other hand, there is a situation where many people have chosen to remain silent in countries where people are dying. For example, about three years ago, massive human rights violations were committed in Myanmar. Western companies are still drilling for oil in that country. The United Nations, including the United States, did not dare to boldly call the massacre genocide. In fact, they were trying to silence those who spoke about the massacre.
Still what happened in Ethiopia is like Darfur. The international community is directly related to the respect of their own needs and interests in one or another Ethiopian war. This is what this report, which has been marred by political interest, shows. Why didn’t the United Nations issue such a report when the Americans destroyed Iraq and Syria with rockets and crushed people? You should ask. The reports issued by this organization are generally unbalanced and unrealistic. On the other hand, it is clear why an irresponsible and one-sided report is an issue.
As has been repeatedly seen, when the humanitarian aid work of the United Nations was interrupted by the TPLF group, instead of suing, it chose to remain silent. If this institution was actually honest, it would not have remained silent when the relief work was interrupted by the terrorist group. Who is robbing the children of nutritious food and staying in the fort? If the United Nations was honest, it should have publicly condemned this act. It was inappropriate for them to choose silence and support this act of terrorism when fuel meant for humanitarian aid was stolen.
To tell the truth, what the international community or the institutions under the UN should do is to refrain from this activity as it will cause more problems to the people of Tigray. It should have shouted against the rebel group in the same way as it does against the federal government. Similarly, as it is remembered, when this war started, the organizations here were silent because they had their own interests and goals in that war. The more the war is prolonged, the more pain and suffering the people of Tigray would experience. Secondly, it is known that they do not want peace. By prolonging the war, their aim is to weaken the government and implement their own political agenda.
What they are doing now is to interfere in the domestic affairs in the way they want by beating the drum saying that “the people of Tigray are in danger because of the federal government”. On the other hand, the aim of the report is to harass the Ethiopian government under the pretext of human rights. In particular, there is a way that they go to make accusations. Apart from that, if someone who does something good which is out of their interest, they will not accept it. If the UN organizations that work on food and health were real institutions, they would have been required to put pressure on the Tigray rebel group and do a lot of diplomatic work.
In addition, these UN institutions should return the property stolen by the terrorist group. On the other hand, they should have informed the people that the relief materials were not properly delivered. Not to mention that the Ethiopian government did not get attention when it shouted repeatddly that the TPLF terrorists are being recruited and trained in the refugee camp in Sudan. However, a year later and after the camp was empty the United Nations Refugee Commission said that it had that information. If it had information, why didn’t it stop earlier? It is very sad.
What damage do you think would this report cause on Ethiopia?
I am concerned that the report may mislead the international community to a great extent. The report issued by the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights is said to represent the purpose of the institution. But as I mentioned before, the report violates the previous report, it is unreliable and contains errors. Apart from this, it is clear that there are sanctions that they want to impose on the current government of Ethiopia.
In particular, the United States wants to impose sanctions through the United Nations, allow civil societies to put pressure on the government, and deploy a United Nations peacekeeping force in the area. This is what was done to other countries that refused colonialism. What they did to Sudan is a good example.
Of course, it is different from the current situation in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, the political implications of such reports are very significant, so instead of putting the government under pressure, it is necessary to conduct the negotiations in the way they want. The report does not cover the destruction of civil institutions, death and persecution in Amhara and Afar region. All the blame is placed on the federal government. And there is a situation where it condemned the Eritrean government in some way. On the other hand, nothing is said about the activities of the terrorist group.
However, the people of Tigray are still in a great crisis. Unless diplomatic measures are taken and the international community is given explanation about Tigray, they will put the government under great stress. Before that happens, the democratic system has a lot of homework to do. It should be able to counter false propaganda. And this can be done by providing real evidence.
The report of the American Special Envoy on his return from Mekele was shocking. It shows how much they were cheated by [TPLF] with regard to humanitarian aid. The country is not able to bear any more sanctions in its current state. Therefore, I think a lot of diplomatic work should be done. It is necessary to make the friends of Ethiopia cooperate in opposing the pressure on the country. In this way, the silence of foreign forces should be broken. Mainly, ambassadors in different countries should explain the situation of Ethiopia to the international community in different ways and reduce the possible pressure on Ethiopia.
Basically, the government immediately announced that it would not accept the report. Other countries have adopted it. The Ethiopian government has arrested soldiers who have committed crimes in the past. There are steps it has taken in its own way. The report does not include whether these steps have been taken by the government. I believe that the government will do its job by raising these things and using diplomacy. I believe that efforts should be made to convince the international community especially by coordinating the countries that opposed the report that Ethiopia does not accept this report and that it has a political purpose; On the other hand, it is necessary to act at a higher level to show that it tends to support the terrorist group.
On the other hand, the international community’s silence on the issue of the terrorist TPLF has prolonged the suffering of the people of Tigray. This shows that the group is a hide for these institutions. I believe that the government should do a great job by exposing this. In particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to do extensive and continuous work in this regard. In addition, it is necessary to criticize the fact that the reports issued by the institutions in the United Nations are contradicting each other and to expose that it is being used by the powerful countries. Also, since there are countries that have been affected in this way like us, we should encourage them and make them stand by our side.
In general, we should oppose interference in domestic affairs based on the same international law and do high diplomatic work. Especially through our embassies, the people of the world should understand the truth and expose the conspiracies of the countries they lead. The organization expects to show how much the choice of silence on the terrorist threat is affecting the social and economic conditions of the countries.
I also believe that the government’s efforts to ensure that human rights are respected must continue. Diplomats and experts who have developed knowledge in language and diplomatic skills should be assigned and should be made to focus on this issue. I also think that a lot of work can be done through digital diplomacy. Also, people with better knowledge and persuasive skills should appear on the international media and explain the current situation of Ethiopia. This is a problem that has come to us as a country and we should say no to colonialism.
I still believe that the Ethiopian government should do a lot of diplomatic work. In particular, the clear biased report of the United Nations institutions and the multi-faceted social, economic and political problems that the group is causing by using a high level of diplomacy on the part of the government; also, the silence of these institutions should be well exposed to international institutions. Special pressure should be put on these institutions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should call the international community to discuss and criticize the report.
Thank you for your time
You’re welcome
The Ethiopian Herald October 1/2022
