While much of global Europe urges us all to stand with Ukraine, in spite of its racist (Nazi, even) past and present (1), these same forces continue to foment havoc in Afrika in places like Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, where up to 15 million face displacement and Somalia – where the USA resumed its bombing campaign at the end of last month. (2) Yet these activities receive little coverage in the establishment media.
The same is also the case for Ethiopia, within which, in its most recent phase there has been conflict for that last fifteen months. In fact, last year media reports have gone as far as to declare that “genocide was being committed in the northern Tigray region” by the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. (3) The expulsion last September of seven top United Nations officials for “meddling” only added to this narrative with the threat of sanctions looming. (4)
The genocide account is primarily advanced by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), that, although a minority population, controlled the government from 1991 to 2018. However, there are allegations that “TPLF’s regime was throughout supported by US, EU financially, militarily, and politically” to destabilize the region in support of Western interests. (5) More recent reports suggest this is still the case. In November last year it was reported that “the West’s diplomats meet in secret to decide how to help the TPLF” with the expressed desire for the removal of Abiy Ahmed Ali. (6) Meanwhile, others have suggested that the ‘genocide’ account is undermined by a lack of verifiable corroboration, for example, in spite of having its own media photographs of children in Yemen were used social media posts. (7) Further, there are persistent allegations that the TPLF cause is being fuelled by western “media lies” and high profile allies such as World Health Organization Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (8)
Pan-Afrikan analysts opine that the western backed campaign is designed to undermine Prime Minister Ahmed’s efforts, influenced by the philosophy of Medemer (an Amharic word for coming together, or synergy) to bring peace to horn of Afrika region in particular and the whole continent in general:
“The Horn of Africa today is a region of strategic significance. The global military superpowers are expanding their military presence in the area. Terrorist and extremist groups also seek to establish a foothold. We do not want the Horn to be a battleground for superpowers nor a hideout for the merchants of terror and brokers of despair and misery. We want the Horn of Africa to become a treasury of peace and progress. Indeed, we want the Horn of Africa to become the Horn of Plenty for the rest of the continent.” (9)
Ethiopia has been an enduring symbol of Afrikan sovereignty for decades if not centuries. (10) This current conflict is perhaps one of the largest threats to that sovereignty for a generation. Even if the African Union, whose predecessor body (The Organisation of African Unity) was founded in the east Afrikan state, seems equivocal at best in its support of Prime Minister Ahmed. (11) Nevettheless the eyes of the Afrikan world should be trained on Ethiopia for all our sakes.
(1) Josh Cohen (02/05/16) The Historian Whitewashing Ukraine’s Past. https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/02/the-historian-whitewashing-ukraines-past-volodymyr-viatrovych/; TASS (04.03/22) Ukraine’s neo-Nazis hold 7,500 foreigners hostage — Russian Defense Ministry. https://tass.com/world/1416791?utm_source=google.com&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=google.com&utm_referrer=google.com; Loose Women (01/03/22) Charlene & Janet Clash During Discussion On Discrimination At Eastern European Borders. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=charlene+white+loose+woman+
(2) Mohammed Dhaysane (28/01/22) 15 million people face displacement, violence in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso: UN. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/15-million-people-face-displacement-violence-in-mali-niger-burkina-faso-un/2487655.; Eric Schmitt (24/02/22) U.S. Carries Out First Airstrike in Somalia Since August.
(3) Alex de Waal (29/05/21) Ukraine: Concerns mount as black people report racism while fleeing war zone. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-refugees-racism-russia-invasion-b2024175.html; The Sista Shanice Show (28/02/22) Racism in the Ukraine as War Rages Against Russia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-UA57OjGlY
(4) Edith M. Lederer (02/10/21) UN says Ethiopia has no legal right to expel 7 UN officials https://apnews.com/article/africa-united-nations-ethiopia-antonio-guterres-abiy-ahmed-f5c9015472474462081a8fd769e5b18e; Al Jazeera (17/09/21) US threatens new sanctions over conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/17/us-announces-new-sanctions-regime-for-tigray-conflict
(5) Peoples Dispatch (28/02/22) ‘TPLF’s regime was throughout supported by US, EU financially, militarily, and politically’. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/12/28/tplfs-regime-was-throughout-supported-by-us-eu-financially-militarily-and-politically/
(6) Jeff Pearce (24/11/21) Ethiopia: The West’s Diplomats Meet in Secret to Decide How to Help the TPLF. https://jeffpearce.medium.com/ethiopia-the-wests-diplomats-meet-in-secret-to-decide-how-to-help-the-tplf-cb87f2d30777
(7) Merir Haque (05/01/22) The Truth on the War in Tigray. https://borkena.com/2022/01/05/war-in-tigray-the-truth-tsadkan-gebretensae/
(8) BreakThrough News (04/11/21) ebunking the Media Lies Fueling War in Ethiopia, w/ Journalist Hermela Aregawi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeBsFcqAvhA; Ann Garrison and Simon Tesfamariam (25/01/22) How WHO Chief Tedros Violated UN Rules to Advance TPLF Interests in Ethiopia. https://orinocotribune.com/how-who-chief-tedros-violated-un-rules-to-advance-tplf-interests-in-ethiopia/
(9) Abiy Ahmed Ali (2020) ‘Nobel Lecture: Forging a durable peace in the Horn of Africa. https://ploughshares.ca/pl_publications/nobel-lecture-forging-a-durable-peace-in-the-horn-of-africa/
(10)Messy Nessy (17/06/20) Harlem’s Forgotten Fight to Save Africa’s Last Uncolonised Nation from Mussolini. https://www.messynessychic.com/2020/06/17/harlems-forgotten-fight-to-save-africas-last-uncolonised-nation-from-mussolini/
(11) Pavan Kulkarni (13/11/21) TPLF’s war on Ethiopian gov’t is a US-EU backed ploy to thwart cooperation in the Horn of Africa, says former Ethiopian diplomat. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/11/13/tplfs-war-on-ethiopian-govt-is-a-us-eu-backed-ploy-to-thwart-cooperation-in-the-horn-of-africa-says-former-ethiopian-diplomat/
we ask the question:
Ethiopia: Do we know what’s going on?
1) Is the media reporting events in Ethiopia accurately?
2) Is there really a genocide going on in the country?
3) If Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front represents a minority, how has it managed to wield such influence?
4) Is there a regime change agenda?
5) For whom is Afrikan regional and continental unity a threat?
Our Special Guest:
H.E. Mr Teferi Melesse Desta: is the Ethiopia Ambassador for the UK and assumed his post in London in September 2020. He joined the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993 and as a career diplomat, has served at diplomatic missions to the People’s Republic of China in Guangzhou (Consul General 2018 – 2020); in Brussels, Belgium (Minister Counsellor 2010 – 2014); Harare, Zimbabwe (Chargé d’Affaires 1999 – 2000); in Geneva at the United Nations as Chargé d’Affaires in 1998 and Consul General between 1994 and 2001.
In between, he was assigned to various posts within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as Director General, Public Diplomacy and Communications (2016 – 2017); Minister’s Chief Advisor on Capacity Building (2014 – 2016); Acting Director General, Public Diplomacy and Communications (2008 – 2010); Director-General, Ethiopian Expatriate Affairs (2001 – 2008) and Counsellor, Press, Information and Documentation Directorate General (1993 – 1994).
Teferi Melesse Desta holds an MA in Literature (1994) and a Bachelor of Arts in Ethiopian Languages and Literature (1986), both from the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia..
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.
Empress Makeda: President of the Ethiopian World Federation Local 3 London.