The New York Times published yet another article full of mischaracterizations that will leave its readers with a distorted image of what is actually transpiring in Ethiopia. This is the latest of Declan Walsh’s wanton disinformation in favor of TPLF, entirely written to support the MSM narrative that TPLF has not planned and started the war in Northern Ethiopia. It started with an epigraph “…Abiy Ahmed, won a Nobel Prize for making peace with his country’s longtime enemy — and then used the alliance to plan a war.”, and deliberately disregarded TPLF’s alliance with OLA to perpetrate terrorism against civilians and TPLF’s alliance with 8 other groups including OLA to overthrow a democratically elected government of Ethiopia.
The New York Times has shown a consistent partiality and contributed to the information warfare against Ethiopia in its stories about the conflict. In its pursuit of emboldening TPLF, the New York Times even went to an extent of characterizing child soldiers as ‘highly motivated young recruits’ and elatedly publishing a photo of children with rifles.
Or we can recall an intended deceiving of word play in titling with reference to the rebel, TPLF as “Tigray Rebels” in a story of ‘victory’ and “Ethiopian Rebels’’ in a story of ‘looted American Aid Stores by TPLF’. For Declan Walsh, unidentified source, nameless former TPLF official, his own intuition, denial and misinterpretation of facts, the Sudanese Nima Elbagir, etc. weigh, as an evidence to support his articles of consistent support to TPLF, more than UN and EHRC joint investigation report, Amnesty International report, and the peoples’ voice.
Speaking of ‘preparation of a war’, TPLF, which dominantly and tyrannically ruled Ethiopia for 27 years before public protests helped the new administration take over, self-repatriated to Tigray and showed disgruntlement with Abiy’s administration throughout the reform period as it lost its hegemonic position in the Ethiopia’s politics and economy. Several military parades were staged in Mekele, since back in 2019 for reasons that were disclosed on November 3, 2020 when they carried out the attack against the Northern Command National Defense force.
Though the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced in March, 2020 that the election that was supposed to be held in August, 2020 needed to be postponed because of the global state of emergency against the coronavirus pandemic. However, TPLF held a regional election in September 2020, in show of defiance against Abiy Ahmed, rejecting the extension of the government. Besides the verbal warfare between the two bodies during this period, TPLF perpetrated violence in different parts of the country.
The November 03, 2020 TPLF’s attack against the National Army was admitted by TPLF senior officials and revered as a ‘preemptive strike’. The joint investigation report by UN OHCHR and EHRC affirmed that the war broke out due to TPLF’s attack of the Federal Army, and even Senator Chris Coons also recognized that TPLF launched a war against the Federal government. However, none of them have place and won’t stop NY Times from giving an unabated support to TPLF’s narratives, ridiculing a legitimate government in favor of a rebel group that has committed countless atrocities.
On his article, Walsh tried to provide camouflage to his narratives against the Ethiopian government by referring to a violence by a mob of hooligans that erupted in Addis Ababa on October 23, 2019, following a social media post by Jawar Mohammed, an activist with 1.75 million followers on Facebook, that accused authorities attempt to remove his security. The protest spread to other towns of Oromia regions and 86 people were killed.
Though the October 23, 2019’s protest has got nothing to do with catering to the ambitions of the Oromia region, but the ambition of anarchists, NYTime’s Walsh has extended his ruthless accusation as it was culminated in the death of a renowned singer and songwriter Hachalu Hundesa in June 2020, even without mentioning victims of the targeted extermination in Oromia regions upon the death of the singer. It is insensitive to the victims of the protests following the two occasions that targeted Amhara ethnics.
TPLF has committed countless atrocities and human right abuses including the use of child soldiers and sexual violence, looted USAID, WFP warehouses and victims’ properties, confiscated hundreds of aid trucks, ransacked and destroyed public infrastructures including hospitals, health centers, religious institutions, and schools. However, it is overlooked by the West and the mainstream media (MSM), it would rather be bolstered for more atrocities.
For instance, on December 8, 2021, after Ethiopian forces recaptured the towns from TPLF, World Food Program (WFP) halted food aid in Kombolcha and Dessie after TPLF looted its warehouses. Eyewitnesses also spoke about WFP’s trucks and they claimed “WFP has been giving support to TPLF” as it decided to halt aid upon the event that the Ethiopian government recaptured the towns. According to UN, looters held aid staff at gunpoint, stole large quantities of essential food, took humanitarian trucks were commandeered by Militia personnel and used for their own purposes but that led to WFP’s decision to halt aid in Kombolcha and Dessie when they were under the control of a legitimate government. However, TPLF is left on it’s usual business of carrying out more atrocities.
One of the present time ardent pro-TPLF journalists, Martin Plaut wrote an article that was published on BBC on March 3, 2010 about TPLF’s distinctive history of spending aid money on weapons. It has never been a breaking news for Ethiopians who lived under TPLF’s state-terror while it was on power, and the rebel terrorism since the start of the war. However, perhaps, the MSM including the New York Times will be taking years after the war is over, to withdraw their unabated support and accuse TPLF of its atrocities on civilians to regain power overthrowing a democratically elected government or to execute its plan B – destabilizing the country.
In the meantime, the truth will continue finding its way to finally stop the terrorist group and reveal the unwarranted meddling of neocolonialists and white supremacists in Africa’s internal affairs. As Ethiopia’s victory at the battle of Adwa inspired other Africa countries and oppressed people all around the globe, Africa’s unity will step an inch closer. Ethiopia will prevail with its Pan-African compatriots.
— — —
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my friends Dagim A. and Tilahun Emiru for their contributions to this piece.
This article was first published on
The Neo colonialists agenda for Africa is currently a primary agenda for former colonialists and the US to control Africa economically, politically, and other sovereign rights of Africa are also at stake. The WESTs means of instrument to suffocate Africa is through food aid, financial aid, and human rights. Therefore it is time for African countries to rise up, and say #No More. Stand together with Ethiopia today. If not tomorrow they will be sold out in open market, as they did when they were involved in slave trade some 400years back. Africans if you have seen a movie under the title ” kinta kinte”, you will understand the nature of western countries. The sun never sets in British empire, that was imperial Britain. How about the Portuguese expeditionary forces in Mozambique. How about the French mercenaries in Central Africa, in Djibouti. etc. etc. So wake up Africa!. Now the came with not bible but with the so called Human Rights. The wake up call is from your mother land Ethiopia!