BY ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
Exactly two years ago today, on 3 November, 2020, the now fugitive TPLF forces made un provoked attack on the northern command of Ethiopian National Defense Force in the mid night while the army members were at rest in their barracks returned from preventing locust invaded farmers’ crops.
When bullet fire was on going, soldiers and their innocent family members were killed. T-TPLF forces also atrociously murdered the captives by running trucks over them. Rapped women and cut their breast in their devilish acts and all grievance committed by the terrorist combatants still vividly remembered. The murderers while laying the bodies of soldiers made festive and danced around and such barbaric act revealed the group’s sycophant mental state.
When it was stationed in Tigray region, for more than two plus decades, the Ethiopian defense force in addition to protecting the territory from foreign aggression, it helped farmers by paroviding labor to harvest crops, contributed money to support orphans and the downtrodden segment of the society to cover their education cost. It constructed roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructures.
But T-TPLF’s response to such philanthropic activities was devilish. After reorganizing itself the defense force launched an offence and recaptured many areas occupied by the junta with in two weeks and while retreating, the junta demolished the Axum international airport located in the historical town of Axum which was constructed by the federal government with the cost of billions of Birr. Later, the Ethiopian army advanced its law enforcement operation and bitten heavily the junta forces and retaken Mekele, the capital of Tigray region.
Right after that, the federal government established new civilian interim administration and allocated 3 billion Birr for the reconstruction of the demolished infrastructure but the junta began to ambush the army and continued its atrocity by killing the members of the civilian administration. Eight months later, the government forces, for the sake of peace and to let farmers to do their farming activities smoothly, left the region declaring unilateral humanitarian ceasefire. Perceiving such positive measure as cowardice act, the junta ignited the second round war on the northern regions of the country including Amhara and Afar regions.
In its invasion, it demolished infrastructures such as electric lines, Tele-com installations, roads, bridges, universities, schools, hospitals, health centers, hotels, banks, factories, small scale manufacturing, residential houses, bee hives, mills etc. It looted money from banks and individuals, killed domestic animals and took some of them as booty. Until it reached to Tarma Ber of Northern Showa it committed unspeakable crimes against humanity.
Due to the war, millions of innocent civilians were displaced from their residential villages; universities and schools were destroyed and millions of students interrupted their education and hundreds of thousands of teachers and colleges instructors left out of jobs. According to a report from the Ministry of Education, about 3 billion Dollars is needs to reconstruct the ruined institutions.
The tourism industry was totally collapsed. As a result, thousands of people who earn their living from the sector became unemployed. Other self-employed job activities also halted in the invaded regions. Right after the provocative war ignited by the T-TPLF, various economic sectors were affected first in the Tigray region and then the rest parts of the war zones.
The manufacturing, service and agriculture sectors owned by both the public and private sector had been crippled and many workers joined the unemployed army. The supply of raw materials to industries and their output to consumers had been disrupted that resulted in market distortion. Service sectors such as hotels and other amusement enterprises gave up their service provision due to lack of inputs and security issues.
The closing down of both public and private banks also affected the money supply to the market and strained transaction of goods and services. Banks also failed to recollect the money they lent to customers in the form of loan which in turn left them in financial crises and they are still unaudited.
Customers also were unable to deposit and withdraw their money for their day to day business activities. As it is known, in Tigray region, significant segment of the society used to survive by the money sent from their relatives resided in abroad. The money comes here in the form of remittance has significant value for the nation’s garnering hard currency and all these activities were halted due to war and ultimately left the beneficiary pauperized.
The closure of banks also indirectly gave way the emergence of money laundering for criminal activities. Millions of local and foreign currencies smuggled to Tigray which comes from the central part of the country captured at check points of northern Wollo and Afar region by the federal police and members of the defense force.
According to the report of federal authority, only form Tigray region, the government lost billions of Birr that would have been collected in the form of revenue due to the outbreak of the war. The mining products extracted from the region which play pivotal role as a source of foreign currency earnings also closed which in turn brought the deterrent effect on the export sector.
The interruption of air transport from and to Mekele also affected the sector and the mobility of people and commodity remained stranded. It also recessed the airlines business. Farmers also were unable to plow their farm due to lack of inputs such as fertilizer, herb and pesticides and selected seeds. As a result, the farming activities in the rainy seasons were totally crippled and ultimately posed shortage of food.
Power installations also were not immune from attack. The Tekeze hydropower dam located in the southern tip of Tigray region was the first affected plant due to the war and the incident posed power interruption in the region. Road transportation from the Amhara and Afar regions to Tigray was crippled that procreated shortage of commodity supply which resulted in aggravated inflation.
In a similar manner the economic activities both in Amhara and Afar regions were staggeringly crippled. All the economic sectors such as manufacturing, service and agriculture were critically affected. The dry port located in Kombolcha town and the textile industry was left to the verge of their collapse due to looting committed by the junta until their recovery later.
The displacement of farmers from their residential areas left the farm unplowed. Some of the cultivated crops which were eying their harvest were looted and burned by junta forces. As it is known the region where the war was ignited was the most pauperized and significant number of the population still survived by foreign hand outs in the safety net program. Hence, the outbreak of the war made the areas unreachable for aid distribution so that their livelihood became appalling.
While it was in power at the center for 27 years until it was removed by public movement, T-TPLF regime was characterized by the absence of rule of law, arbitrary arrest, extra judicial killing, looting and rampant corruption.
According to the Transparency International declassified report, while the junta was in power for two decades and half, Ethiopia lost 30 billion Dollars via illicit trade. The apartments and real estate constructed and owned by the junta here in the capital testifies that how the nation’s resource was abused by the junta and its affiliated business tycoons. Now, the money deposited in foreign banks is serving the junta for spreading propaganda regarding the war and maintaining clandestine activities here.
It had no tolerance for entertaining decent ideas. As a result, journalists and opposition party members stayed in jails for years. The fake federal structure of governance imposed by the junta only served to prolong its power tenure. People were marginalized from the political, social and economic affairs of the nation and everything was decided by the core party officials.
Forty years ago, when T-TPLF was guerilla fighter, it waged war not simply to topple the government but to block the nation’s historical nation building project. Article 39 inserted in the constitution which open the way for dismemberment of the nation testifies its satanic dream. It perceives Ethiopia as a country where various ethnic groups are fighting each other for scrambling of resource.
It pursued a divisive politics and put yes men in the all political structure only to advance self- centered economic policy to advance plunder and repatriate the nation’s wealth to abroad. It had never showed sympathy to its fellow citizens in terms of political wellbeing rather it served 100 percent foreign interest. It was the preferred political entity for westerners because it opened the door to foreigners to loot the country’s wealth and execute their policy in the horn. That is why currently some of the country’s historical enemies striving to rescue TPLF from its historic death under the guise of peace talks.
The government always unequivocally announced that there is nothing above the nation territorial integrity and exerting its energy for the nation continuity. And for these lofty ideas citizens should stand together.
The Ethiopian Herald November 3/2022
