Mereja Forum

[Zmeselo]

WORLD
Tigrayan Reporter: TPLF blocked aid to not “Make Abiy Look Good”

awasaguardian

http://awasaguardian.com/index.php/2021 ... look-good/

September 23, 2021

Popular Tigrayan journalist Hermela Aregawi, who previously criticized the Ethiopian government, spoke-out against Tigray rebels that are accused by the UN for starving Tigrayans by delaying aid transport. The high-profile Tigrayan reporter shocked many of her followers, when she revealed that pro-rebel Tigrayans declared they

don’t want aid to get to people because it will make Abiy Ahmed (government) look good.

Ms Aregawi, an Ethiopian-American journalist of ethnic Tigrayan descent working for CBS news network in Los Angeles, was initially vocal opposing Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed’s military response to the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) insurrection. As one of the most famous Tigrayan-Ethiopians in the West, she supported various Tigrayan activists, including the OMNA-Tigray pro-TPLF advocacy group. However, she recently began to publicly doubt and question why the TPLF refused the government’s ceasefire in June & expanded its war into Amhara and Afar regions. Over a million more have been displaced and over two thousand Amhara civilians massacred in various atrocities committed by TPLF, since July.

After the United Nations accused the TPLF last week for not returning “all 149 trucks” of UN’s latest food aid convoy, Ms. Aregawi expressed the concern shared by many Ethiopians that TPLF is still diverting humanitarian aid and logistics to support Tigrayan fighters; instead of prioritizing non-combatant Tigrayan civilians who are starving. Since July,

only 38 out of 466 aid trucks that entered Tigray have returned,

according to the United Nations. https://www.france24.com/en/africa/2021 ... on-says-un

This UN statement made headlines worldwide, as the humanitarian aid trucks were already provided with enough fuel for a round trip and as more photos of TPLF misusing the aid trucks to transport its own militants were uncovered.

Contradicting claims by TPLF leaders that the aid trucks ran out of fuel, the UN also released video of extra fuel tank vehicles that were already sent to Tigray.

Since the Abiy government opened the Semera-Afar aid corridor several weeks ago and decreased road checkpoints from 7 to 2, the World Food Program (WFP) spokesman Gemma Snowdon revealed https://www.france24.com/en/africa/2021 ... on-says-un that the TPLF stealing and diverting UN aid trucks in Tigray is currently

the primary impediment to moving humanitarian aid into Tigray.

Several government officials are concerned, that TPLF is repeating its 1980s strategy of using starvation of Tigrayans as a political weapon. According to BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8535189.stm tens of thousands of Tigrayans starved to death in the mid 80s due to an ethnic rebellion and after over 95% of Western aid money was stolen by TPLF to fund its brutal insurgency.

Despite documented evidence of “high energy biscuits” and other nutritious WFP food brands falling into the hands of Tigrayan militants in recent weeks, Ethiopian officials say they will keep opening the aid corridor to Tigray.

Even if the evil steals 99 percent of the food aid, we must keep sending aid if we can save even one Tigrayan,

said the newly elected Ethiopian MP Daniel Kibret.

Due to his previous association with Prime Minister Abiy, Mr Kibret has been one of the top victims of TPLF cyber misinformation campaign since the insurrection began in November. In January, mistranslated and edited videos of Mr. Kibret were spread online by TPLF supporters in the United States, claiming he wanted Ethiopia to “drop 10 heavy bombs” in each town to kill all Tigrayans. However, original video evidence showed he praised Ethiopian Air Force for not resorting to bombing towns and for minimizing civilian casualties in Tigray.

As the war continues, Hermela Aregawi also asked why pro-TPLF online activists do not reveal how many Tigrayan fighters have died; but mention only civilians.

How many young soldiers have been killed in this questionable war?

she said.

Similar questions about the TPLF’s “genocide” claim propaganda were raised by many independent observers after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy admitted the human toll of the war and visited families of fallen & wounded soldiers, at the end of 2020. However, TPLF leaders refused to admit losing any soldier during the war and some Tigrayan hardliners even claimed that the over 52,000 soldiers who allegedly died are all civilians.

Since early November, TPLF members worldwide have pushed this narrative that all Tigrayan soldier death were civilian death. Casting doubt, Ms Aregawi also asked why pro-rebel Tigrayans on social media labeled the conflict

a genocide since Day 2.

My perspective on Tigray evolved because of inconsistencies I have seen and heard in 10+ months,

she admitted on Twitter.

Critics say, the diversionary weaponization of the “genocide” term has been a part of TPLF’s playbook for years. When Amharas were ethnic cleansed in Welkait to create “Western Tigray” in the 1990s and when hundreds of unarmed civilians of Addis Ababa were massacred in broad daylight in 2005, TPLF chairman Meles Zenawi famously used “interahamwe” term and “genocide” charge against civil rights leaders and nonviolent dissidents.

Some Tigrayans today, not affiliated with the TPLF, are praising the courage displayed by Ms Aregawi.

For the sake of peace, we need more independent-minded Tigrayans like her who oppose TPLF’s war for power,

Rahel Berhe, a Tigrayan activist in Addis Ababa said speaking to Awasa Guardian (AG). She was a member of the underground Yikono movement http://awasaguardian.com/index.php/2021 ... ay-report/ that spotlighted the sexual violence epidemic that ravaged Tigrayan women under TPLF rule for decades. After recent reports that an Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel faction laid down its arms, there is hope the TPLF might disarm as well if the international community puts pressure, she claimed.

Ms. Berhe, also, pleaded with the Ethiopian government to continue opening humanitarian aid delivery to Tigray. She claimed that the majority of Tigrayans at most risk facing starvation today are the same Tigrayans who had severe malnutrition and left perpetually dependent on food aid for years,

while TPLF supporters and members were becoming millionaires

nationwide.

In addition to controlling Ethiopian military and economy at home since 1991, a UN 2015 report https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes ... -game/amp/ had revealed some TPLF government leaders and Tigrayan elite drained over $30 billion to oversees accounts since the 1990s, according to Forbes.

[Zmeselo]

WORLD
Ethiopia Made A Powerful Appeal To The US To Stop Its Hybrid War

ANDREW KORYBKO

http://oneworld.press/?module=articles& ... ew&id=2233

TUESDAY 21 SEP 21



Prime Minister Abiy’s open letter to Biden should be seen as a powerful move in support of anti-imperialism, international law, and national sovereignty.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed published an open letter https://allafrica.com/stories/202109180116.html to US President Joe Biden last week appealing to him to support his country’s staunch ally in its ongoing anti-terrorist campaign. Addis Ababa nowadays regards the formerly most influential faction of its ruling coalition, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), as a terrorist group after it attacked government forces in its eponymous northern region last November.

The TPLF is no longer part of the government after having quit it to protest Prime Minister Abiy’s far-reaching socio-political reforms. The group also claims that he illegitimately extended his rule late last year by postponing planned elections under the pretext of containing COVID-19 despite his newly formed Prosperity Party later winning them earlier this year.

Ethiopia has been in a state of conflict http://oneworld.press/?module=articles& ... ew&id=2152 since November that some observers have described as a civil war despite the government considering it to be a regional anti-terrorist operation. Whatever one wants to call it, it’s clear that the US, most of the West, some of the global organizations under their influence, and a few Arab countries such as Egypt have taken the TPLF’s side to varying extents.

This manifests itself through political support to their cause, including by demanding talks between the two warring parties which scandalously implies legal-moral equivalence between them, as well as sanctions. That coalition of foreign forces justifies its meddling as being based on humanitarian motivations. Addis Ababa is concerned that the TPLF is actually being used as a proxy for dividing and ruling this cosmopolitan country.

In particular, some Ethiopian analysts suspect that Egypt is playing a leading role in this destabilization campaign in order to undermine their country’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project that’s been met with fierce opposition from that Arab country and their shared Sudanese neighbor. A more broader school of thought is that the West just doesn’t want to see a prosperous, diverse African country rise as a regional power.

Regardless of the strategic motivations behind their meddling, it’s undeniable that foreign forces have supported the TPLF against Ethiopia’s internationally recognized government. The US is the most globally influential among them and could therefore stop this campaign if it had the political will to do so, but Prime Minister Abiy believes that some of its policymakers are under the TPLF’s influence and that of its lobbyists.

He aired out the entirety of his concerns in the open letter that he wrote to Biden, which deserves to be read in full by all interested observers. It’s very powerful because he convincingly articulated the reasons why his government regards the TPLF as terrorists, explained why the US should support its historical anti-terrorist ally’s operations against them, and exposed the double standards driving Washington’s policies against his country.

Even those who haven’t closely followed this conflict might still be impressed at how the Ethiopian leader drew attention to the TPLF’s devious employment of victimization rhetoric to legitimize the group’s cause, its attendant appeal to humanitarian concerns, and the effectiveness with which it’s secured Western support. This modus operandi had previously been experimented with in Syria and is now being applied against Ethiopia.

The very close similarities between Ethiopia’s incipient Hybrid War

sequence and the precedent most infamously pioneered in Syria strongly suggests that the US is also behind this latest African conflict after it’s well known that it orchestrated that West Asian one. It’s unclear why it’s waging this Hybrid War on Ethiopia though, with theories abounding but no conclusive explanation having yet to emerge.

This confusion explains why Prime Minister Abiy sought to appeal to President Biden through a variety of angles in the hopes of influencing the US’ chief decision maker to call off this campaign. It’s especially relevant that he spoke about the sway that the TPLF and its lobbyists have over some American decision makers since it suggests that the Ethiopian leader believes that there’s still hope left to counteract it and reverse this policy.

It also suggests that his government doesn’t think that the entirety of the US’ permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies (“deep state” https://oneworld.press/?module=articles ... ew&id=1796) is in support of this either. Some dissent presumably exists since it’s certain that at least a few of those forces appreciate Ethiopia’s prior support of the US’ anti-terrorist aims in Somalia, laud its prior balancing act vis-a-vis China and the GCC, and know how bad it looks to backstab an ally.

The pressure that they’re putting the country under through their Hybrid War on Ethiopia is pushing the East African giant further into the arms of the US’ Chinese http://oneworld.press/?module=articles& ... ew&id=2107 and Russian https://russiancouncil.ru/en/blogs/andr ... al-openin/ rivals. In other words, the humanitarian pretexts being used to justify this campaign are resulting in geopolitically counterproductive outcomes from the perspective of American grand strategy, something that Biden and his team should be aware of.

Of course, astute observers of American foreign policy probably already realize that the incumbent US leader is little more than a figurehead who represents shadowy “deep state” forces so appealing directly to him likely won’t change anything. Nevertheless, the importance of Prime Minister Abiy’s open letter is that it generated international attention and thus enabled the world to become more aware of Ethiopia’s position.

It’s also significant that Prime Minister Abiy exposed American hypocrisy and described the Hybrid War that his country is presently suffering from as a colonial mutation. His claim that certain policymakers are operating under foreign influence at the implied expense of the US’ objective national interests sheds light on the actual workings of US foreign policy that are rarely discussed in public, let alone by the leader of a US-allied nation.

Prime Minister Abiy’s appeal to America can therefore be interpreted as a hint the his country might be about to push back more confidently against its (now-former?) ally’s Hybrid War campaign if it doesn’t soon stop. This could take the form of more detailed accusations against the US as well as a more dramatic recalibration of Ethiopia’s foreign policy towards China and Russia.

Of course, should those developments come to pass, the US would then double down on the Hybrid War on Ethiopia by perversely claiming that those moves were “unprovoked” and accordingly represent a so-called “threat” to American interests. That would in turn result in another manufactured justification for continuing this campaign on top of the already manipulated humanitarian one.

Whatever ends up happening, it’s clear that Ethiopia finally feels confident enough to call out the US’ Hybrid War against it. This sets an excellent example for other Global South nations to follow if they too become victims of such campaigns in the coming future. Prime Minister Abiy’s open letter to Biden should therefore be seen as a powerful move in support of anti-imperialism, international law, and national sovereignty.

[Zmeselo]

Thread #Project11779: Debunking, the "Tigray genocide" narrative. By: Addis_Qnie, MD: @Qnie_Addis




These are some of the earliest references to 'Tigray Genocide'. Within 48 hours of the start of the war, the claim of genocide took off. (Have already done a couple of threads on TPLF & genocide, as a political strategy)

The pro-TPLF propaganda machinery understood and exploited a particular weakness of the liberals, clinically. They exploited the mortal fear of the liberals, of being accused of racism or aiding and abetting a genocide or sexual exploitation.

They understood all too well, that all they needed to do was make the allegation. They harassed dissenting voices, left & right. The pro-TPLF side, made great use of the fear of getting cancelled. It worked, like a charm!


This strategy was given an official nod by Rice, with this tweet. This tweet was also a tacit sign for the MSM and HR groups, which side the USG is on. This was followed by unrelenting barrage of negative coverage by the media, Amnesty & HRW.

The cries of ethnic cleansing and genocide reached fever pitch in the spring of 2021, before the ENDFs sudden withdrawal from Tigray in June.


With ENDF out of Tigray, the claims of 'mass rape, ethnic cleansing & genocide' became less viable. The change in strategy this time around, was heralded by none other than: Samantha Power. The MSM-HR complex took note & shifted their war-cry to, 'defacto humanitarian aid blockade.'


With TPLF routed from Afar, the flow of aid improved significantly. The GOE, by facilitating aid delivery to the extent of having no 'backlog of trucks', moved the ball into the court of the TPLF.

Now GR and Power are scrambling, to either maintain the myth of humanitarian blockade or shift the narrative back to 'genocide' & 'rape'. Or create a new narrative, such as the ludicrous claim that Ethiopia is a 'national security threat' to the US.

The USG knows fully well, their support for TPLF is prolonging the war and incentivzing TPLF to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching the people of Tigray. Power & co are as willing as the TPLF to sacrifice the people of Tigray, to bring TPLF back as a viable political entity.

The big question is how long can you sustain such an elaborate lie, with so many holes and inconsistencies. This lie is becoming too big to maintain, it is becoming more and more fragile.

Let's keep pulling out one block at a time out of this giant Jenga, until it crumbles.

It is time for Ethiopian-Americans to mobilize enmasse as a voting block and make our voices heard, way before the midterm elections.

Let's take a page, out of the Pro-TPLF bloc's playbook. Let's write to our representatives. Let's write to our local newspapers. Let's canvas for candidates, who support our cause.

Biden won Georgia, with a margin of 11,779 votes. This should be our rallying cry!