Ethiopia. War resumes in Tigray. Abiy exerts a criminal form of pressure with the support of the Italian government
“On August 15, at 04:00 in the afternoon near Dedebit, Western Tigray, the Ethiopian federal army attacked the defense posts of the Tigray Defense Forces with extensive use of heavy artillery and tanks” reports Getachew K Reda, Councilor of the Presidency of Tigray, member of the Executive Committee of the TPLF and of the Central Command of Tigray.
Reda says that the Tigrinya army did not respond to the bombings in order to respect the ceasefire declared 6 months ago and to avoid hindering the peace negotiations underway thanks to the mediation of the United States. Local sources, on the other hand, say that there has been a tough battle as federal forces attempted to break through the Tigrinya defense lines but were rejected. At the moment there are no further military attempts by the Addis Ababa regime.
The TPLF excludes that the attack by the federal army originated from the initiatives of some officers, stating that it holds evidence that the order originated from the Federal Army General Staff (ENDF) and from Ethiopian Premier Abiy Ahmed Ali.
The battle of Dedebit weakens the ongoing peace talks and European and American efforts to end the war. On 05 August, the Special Envoys of the European Union, the United States and the United Nations met with high representatives of the government in Addis Ababa and in Mekelle (capital of Tigray) the President and ministers of the government of Tigray, led by the democratically elected political party TPLF in September 2020. The special envoys aimed to resolve the differences between the two contenders to end the conflict started by Abiy and the Eritrean dictator Isaias Afwerki in November 2020.
On 02 August, the president of Tigray, Debretsion Gebremichael held talks with the Italian Ambassador Agostino Paese, the American diplomat Mike Hammer, the EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa Annette Weber, the UN Undersecretary General and Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Hanna Tetteh and Canadian Ambassador Stéphane Jobin.
The peace negotiations, of which the African Union has offered itself as mediator, are in fact at a standstill. The TPLF remains firm at the minimum conditions set out last February. Right to maintain their own regional army; restoration of the regional territories established by the Ethiopian Constitution implying the return of the southern territories illegally annexed to the neighboring Amhara region and the territories to the north still occupied by the Eritrean army. The withdrawal of the Eritrean army from the occupied territories in Tigray; referendum to decide whether to remain in the Ethiopian Federation or become an autonomous State entity in accordance with the provisions of the Ethiopian Constitution. End of the state of siege and the humanitarian blockade that have lasted for almost two years. Recognition of the ongoing genocide in Tigray and criminal proceedings for all those responsibles for this crime against humanity.
The Ethiopian regime did not respond to the requests of the TPLF. Addis has proposed to start the talks without any preconditions and oriented exclusively on the ceasefire. Basic Tigray services will only be restored once a ceasefire agreement has been reached. After that the peace talks will proceed. Note that the ceasefire was unilaterally declared by the Ethiopian Premier 6 months ago. The TPLF has never signed any treaty while respecting the temporary end of hostilities. Addis Ababa remains firm on the dissolution of the Tigrinya army to be transformed into a simple regional police force under the command of the Federal Police. It also does not recognize genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes.
As it is easy to guess, the positions are so distant that a dialogue between the parties is almost impossible. Premier Abiy intends not to take into consideration the conditions of the TPLF, which he considers weakened militarily and in great difficulty. The maintenance of the siege of the region and the humanitarian blockade serve to increase the deadly effects on the population of Tigray in the hope of creating a popular rebellion against TPLF leadership.
With the blatant connivance of international NGOs and the UN Humanitarian Agencies, Abiy is using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war and pressure. From the ceasefire declared by Abiy up to today, the Addis Ababa regime plays the sadistic game of controlling the flow of humanitarian aid which, in fact, is insignificant compared to the needs of the Tigray population. Abiy rarely allowed humanitarian convoys to enter Tigray and only for propaganda purposes aimed at the international community.
TPLF is in a difficult situation. Since the defeat suffered in December 2021, when the federal army with the support of the Ethiopian army, and the aid of China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates managed to defeat the Tigrinya army and the Oromo Liberation Army — OLA that were at the gates of Addis Ababa, the TPLF has never recovered. First of all, the military coordination with the OLA, which is now acting on its own, has failed. Supply of weapons and ammunition from Sudan has been interrupted. It was not possible to replace the losses of fighters suffered with new recruits. Tigrinya sources inform that the call to arms aimed at young people has not had the results hoped for by the TPLF. Finally, the Tigray government finds itself managing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, unable to resolve it as humanitarian aid is fully controlled by the Abiy regime.
The offensive rejected at Dedebit represents a direct message to the TPLF wanted by Premier Abiy to make it clear that it has the potential to recapture the region by force by taking advantage of the military weakness of the TPLF and the dramatic humanitarian situation created by the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, no peace negotiations are envisaged but only the UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER of the TPLF which remains for Addis, a terrorist organization and the leaders subject to criminal measures.
The cynical plan of the Ethiopian Premier and the ongoing genocide are made possible thanks to the Western inability to propose real peace and the support of the Arab monarchies, China and Russia. The UN agencies and Western donors have never gone beyond formal condemnations of the humanitarian blockade by placing themselves in a passive position with respect to the federal regime and allowing it to be used for its propaganda purposes.
International NGOs, including the Italian ones, have assumed a cowardly attitude of silence that has long since bounded into open complicity. No oneNGO dares to criticize the federal government’s crimes, much less speak of genocide as if the 500,000 civilian deaths (UN data) in Tigray did not exist. This shameful attitude is dictated by the need to avoid being expelled from Ethiopia. This eventuality would undermine the possibility of benefiting from the eventual rain of millions for humanitarian actions once peace will be restored.
There are two worst attitudes adopted by international NGOs. They lend themselves to targeted humanitarian assistance only to populations in favor of the regime and have adopted the Addis Ababa propaganda, and they place the blame for the crisis solely on the TPLF and the OLA. In fact, all the foreign aid workers present in Ethiopia have consciously or not accepted to become a government tools aimed at strengthening the suffering of the population in Tigray.
International donors have also adapted to the situation. Some of them have sincerely tried to help the Tigrinya people but have stopped in front of the opposition of the regime to avoid diplomatic incidents. The work of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation — AICS is emblematic. In line with the policy adopted by Farnesina (Italian Minstry of Foreign Affairs) of total support for the brutal Ethiopian regime and the inhuman Eritrean dictatorship, since the beginning of the conflict AICS has not earmarked a single euro for humanitarian assistance in Tigray. All the funds available for humanitarian aid are spent in areas decided by the Addis Ababa regime and are used to strengthen the control and support of the population. This support for the regime that ignores the humanitarian mandate has never been denounced by the Italian NGOs operating in Ethiopia in order not to compromise the flow of funds.
Europe Union and the United States were played by the Ethiopian Premier uqsing the Russia card. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was once a darling of the West and hailed as a reformist, even winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. Faced with Tigray’s aggression and war crimes committed, the EU froze financial support, condemning the Ethiopian regime (with the exception of Italy which supports it 100%) and the United States have begun to arm the TPLF and the OLA.
Now several EU and US diplomats argue that Russia’s growing presence in Ethiopia has made it difficult to maintain strict standards against the Addis Ababa regime. During his visit to Ethiopia, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Western powers of maintaining a colinal mentality in the Horn of Africa region, promising true and loyal support from Russia.
“There are fears that Russia may benefit from the deterioration of ties with Addis and its Western partners. So there is a general desire in some Western countries for stability with a relatively important ally (Abiy) glossing over humanitarian issues and accountability for crimes. of warfare, ”said William Davison, Ethiopia’s senior analyst at the International Crisis Group.
Italy is playing playing a pivotal role on behalf of the Addis Ababa regime, in exchange for the promise of becoming the privileged trading partner once Abiy’s ethnic domination is imposed by force and blood on the Tigers, the Oromo and the 76 ethnic groups that make up the Ethiopian Federation. According to diplomatic sources, the Draghi government (still in office) has embarked on a diplomatic offensive to persuade Germany, France and the Netherlands to reopen financial assistance to the Abiy regime and to recognize it as the only and credible interlocutor in Ethiopia.
It should be emphasized that the Italian diplomatic offensive began months before Lavrov’s official visit, so it is pursuing a geopolitical plan of economic hegemony over Ethiopia of which the “Russian danger” was taken as a mere pretext. To favor unscrupulous Italian industrialists and ensure excellent tax treatment and hyper-exploitation of the Ethiopian workforce, the Italian government has in fact abdicated the defense of human rights and the sacred values of Italian Constitution which arose from the resistance to Nazi-fascism. Far more deplorable behavior than Russia’s attempts to increase her influence in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
The Italian diplomatic offensive, now supported by Germany, France and the Netherlands, has already ensured benefits to the Ethiopian regime. The European Commission recently authorized 81.5 million euros in humanitarian funding for educational and health projects, but made it clear that the projects would take place “outside government structures”. A clarification of pure propaganda as the regime controls all aspects of the country and any economic, entrepreneurial or humanitarian initiative disconnected from the direct management of the Ethiopian government is impossible. According to diplomatic sources, Premier Abiy intends to channel the majority of these financial aid to help only the Amhara population in order to reconcile with the fascist Amhara leadership and to buy other weapons.
The Italian commitment does not stop there. Intense lobbying is being pursued in order for the European Union to unblock financial assistance to Ethiopia, frozen at the beginning of the war. There is talk of one billion euros. The conditions were set for the withdrawal of foreign troops and the signing of the ceasefire. Conditions set for propaganda purposes as no monitoring of a possible and real withdrawal of Eritrean troops (never nominated by Italian diplomacy) is foreseen and the conditions for the ceasefire hoped for are those dictated by Premier Abiy.
It should be noted that in recent months no statement of firm condemnation of the humanitarian blockade aimed at Tigray has been made by the Italian government, Farnesina and AICS. They prefer to talk about a generic Ethiopian crisis and launch generic appeals for peace. Well-known tactic to hide the reality and the heavy responsibilities of the Ethiopian regime.
Last July the Draghi government allocated 22 million euros in the form of a subsidized loan to support the development of the integrated agro-industrial parks (Iaip) of Bulbula, Bure, Yirgalem and Ba’eker and the nearby rural transformation centers (Rtc), officially to favor the creation of jobs in rural areas, in reality to favor the penetration of Italian entrepreneurs behind guarantees of fiscal gifts and the total absence of labor rights guaranteed by the Ethiopian regime. Note that Bulbula is the rural area of a popular neighborhood inhabited exclusively by the military, Bure is a rural area in Amhara, and Ba’eker is a territory of Tigray illegally annexed to the Amhara region.
The former foreign minister Luigi di Maio, the Italian Ambassador Agostino Paelese and the responsible AICS Ethiopia Isabella Lucaferri during the signing of the agreements praised the work of the Ethiopian genocidal regime, carefully avoiding hints of what is happening in Tigray or asking for a greater humanitarian commitment for the Tigrinya population. An incomprehensible act especially for the AICS as the Italian Cooperation should offer assistance to save lives beyond political alignments and economic interests.
Unlike the EU, the World Bank (controlled by the United States) has started lending a hand to Premier Ahmed. The bank announced in April a $ 300 million grant to rebuild war-torn regions, including Tigray, which remains under a military blockade that continues to cause suffering to millions of civilians. Mehari Taddele Maru, a political economist at the European University Institute in Florence, said the World Bank’s plan is “hasty and not well considered” and “fattens the war machine.”
At the same time, the United States has stopped the supply of weapons and ammunition to the TPLF and OLA as political support and is pushing towards a hasty peace that in fact an unconditional surrender of the TPLF. All to stop the “Russian danger”.
A danger that does not exist. Regardless of Moscow’s plans, Premier Abiy desires ties with Russia related to security and arms supplies rather than a willingness to fully enter Moscow’s orbit of influence. Russia cannot compete with China’s checkbook diplomacy imitated by the Italian government, nor with the financial support that can be granted by the European Union and the United States.
By imitating Ukrainian President Zelensky, Abiy is deceiving the European Union and the United States using the Russian bugbear. A skilful move made possible only thanks to the complicity and alliance of Italy and now of Germany, France and the Netherlands. Convenient allies who work hard to convince the West to override human rights and democratic values in order to support the Ethiopian friend in exchange for convenient trade and economic deals.
Any Western country that supports the Abiy regime under the pretext of stopping Russian imperialism is solely motivated by the intention of doing business. This not only implies the disgusting abdication of our duties in defense of human rights and the promotion of Democracy and the rule of law but, it implies SWALLOWING THE GENOCIDE taking place in Tigray by becoming full accomplices. This policy will not lead to a sustainable peace but to a further ethnic fragmentation that will take on the function of gasoline thrown on a fire, making the civil and ethnic war in Ethiopia perennial.
