The great mystification. How the Ethiopian government hides ethnic cleansing in Tigray
A cold shower comes from the Envoy of the European Union, Pekka Haavisto, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, who two weeks ago met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and other representatives of the federal government. Haavisto reported to the European Parliament that the Ethiopian government has adopted a strategy of denial on the extent of the war in Tigray, officially won on November 28, 2020.
A cold shower comes from the Envoy of the European Union, Pekka Haavisto, Finland Minister of Foreign Affairs, who two weeks ago met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and other representatives of the federal government after meeting with Sudanese counterparts, and visiting the camp Um Rakuba Tigrinya refugees in Sudan. Upon his return, Haavisto reported to the European Parliament that the Ethiopian government has adopted a strategy of denial on the extent of the war in Tigray, officially won on November 28, 2020. Heavy words especially if we consider the prudence adopted in recent years by the EU in the complicated events of the African continent. The mandate of the European delegate was to assess the situation in Tigray and the risk of war between Sudan and Ethiopia.
“When it comes to talking about the conflict in the Tigray region, the federal government of Addis Ababa does not have a common understanding of the events and tends to deny the extent of the problem. In all the meetings with the top officials of the Ethiopian government, I have noticed a sort of stubborn denial but, in certain private talks with some senior government officials, I have noticed contradictory reports on the issues of humanitarian access and on human rights violations.
The idea I have made is that the government itself does not have a clear picture, especially as regards the areas controlled by the Eritrean army and those controlled by the Amhara paramilitary militias. That is the question. There is a lack of understanding of what is really going on, despite the fact that the rumors, testimonies and evidence that are emerging are very worrying “, said Haavisto told the foreign ministers of the European Union on his return to Brussels. He is now drafting a detailed report that will form the basis of the common document of the 27 EU member states that will define the line to be taken towards the government of Premier Abiy.
In his report to EU foreign ministers, Haavisto stressed that the EU’s contribution to resolving this horrendous civil war should be translated into fact by a series of pressures to persuade the parties involved in the conflict to a nationwide dialogue. Underlining the priority of the withdrawal of Eritrean troops and a ceasefire, Haavisto clarified that the description given by the Ethiopian Premier of a “police operation” does not correspond to reality in Tigray. “This is a war”.
Haavisto sent the European Union to formulate a common line on the Ethiopian drama as soon as possible, since what he saw in the country of the Queen of Shaba represents a serious alarm bell and the situation is destined to worsen. Last December, the EU froze 88 million euros for budget support for the Ethiopian federal government due to the brutal conflict. EU Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen warned that another € 100 million in bilateral aid is currently in doubt. However, some EU member states are continuing to offer their support to the federal government. Sign of the never resolved problem of the absence of a common foreign policy in the EU. Unlike financial policies, which are now indisputable, European foreign policy continues to suffer from an illogical fragmentation that leads Member States to create opposing sides and conflicting actions on the main world crises, especially in Africa.
Just think of the case of Libya where for years a secret war has been underway between Italy and France for control of the country, and of its oil and natural gas fields. Another example is the position against the bloody military junta in Burundi, where France, behind the scenes, tries to rehabilitate the regime and persuade the EU to repeal the economic sanctions decreed in 2016 due to the proven crimes against humanity carried out by the War Lord Pierre Nkurunziza and continued (in sadistic inheritance) by the current leader of the military junta: General Neva, Évariste Ndayishimiye. Only the continuing provocations of the junta represent a serious impediment to the implementation of the rehabilitation agenda of the regime promoted by the European Parliament in Paris. Among them we remember the ethnic census of the population, the life imprisonment of 34 political opponents in exile and 12 members of the Civil Society and journalists also abroad accused of terrorism for the simple reason of having opposed the violence carried out and of defend universal democratic values and respect for human rights.
An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told All he platform of European journalists Devex that the situation in Ethiopia will soon be discussed in Parliament. “I think it is one of the priority topics to be discussed openly among the member states,” said the official.
In recent days, various Ethiopian and international journalists have broken the cover-up operation suggested by the far-right Amhara leadership and adopted by Premier Abiy Amhed Ali. Evidence of unprecedented massacres conducted by Eritrean invasion troops, Amhara paramilitary militias and the federal army is now detailed to raise serious doubts of ethnic cleansing and attempted genocide. The work of the journalists allowed Amnesty International to draw up a shocking document on the Axum massacre committed by Eritrean troops with the tacit assent of the Ethiopian federal army that the famous and illustrious international association in defense of human rights bluntly classifies as a crime against humanity.
The report is also based on the testimony of 41 survivors from the massacre. The provisional death toll speaks of about 800 civilians brutally slaughtered, including Orthodox priests and children aged 1 to 10. The report was translated into Italian and published on the blog of humanitarian activist David Tommasin. The report sadly confirms an internal note from the United Nations drafted last November 20 days after the start of the conflict which contained various clues about torture and mass executions carried out by Eritrean troops.
The note was leaked by Tink Tank Foreing Polciy, but not picked up by the Western media. Even the European Union had not paid particular attention. At the time, various Western diplomats, while privately deploring the crimes committed, were convinced that the clean-up operation was short-lived. Unfortunately, this did not create a strong embarrassment among the European and American supporters of Premier Abiy, portrayed as a reformer, democrat and defender of human rights.
Now the situation is different. The crimes are so large and heinous that they are technically impossible to conceal. The Eritrean opposition site (Eritrea Hub) draws attention to the Tigray tragedy by underlining the US government report which clearly speaks of ethnic cleansing bordering on genocide committed by Eritrean soldiers and fascist Amhara militias. The Biden administration report also speaks of the massacre of tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees considered “enemies” by the dictatorial regime of Asmara.
More and more international human rights organizations and leading Western media are now claiming that ethnic warfare is underway in Tigray. The original motivation for the conflict: an attempt to resolve a political conflict between the TPLF and Premier Abiy by military force was replaced by the clear intention of the far-right Amhara leadership to exterminate the Tigrinya population in order to steal fertile territories and prevent future retaliations. The atrocities committed on civilians, the prohibition for humanitarians to bring assistance to 80% of the population, the strict control of the few humanitarian aid allowed but used as a political weapon, mass rape and systematic looting of civilian property, the destruction of sacred places and cultural heritage of Tigray, the annihilation of production capacity, are all unequivocal signs of a genocidal intention promoted by the Amhara leadership and suffered by Premier Abiy and his party: the Prosperity Party.
The evidence and testimonies that emerged of the tragedy in Ethiopia were made possible thanks to courageous independent Ethiopian journalists, not only Tigers but also of other ethnic groups. Many of our esteemed colleagues have paid first-hand to make the world aware of the ongoing ethnic warfare. On February 27, federal soldiers arrested two translator journalists — Fitsum Berhane, (Agence France-Presse collaborator), Alula Akalu, (Financial Times contributor) — and a Tamrat Yemane reporter. On Monday 01 March, Giramy Gebru, a BBC Tigray Language journalist, was arrested in a cafe in Mekelle and taken to a military camp. Asked for explanations by the international media for which these journalists work, the authorities refused to explain the reasons for the arrests.
Under enormous international pressure, Ethiopian journalists from Tigray were released. However, local sources warn that they can now run the risk of being victims of extrajudicial executions as happened with the journalist Dawit Kebebe killed in November in Mekelle.
