EU Commissioner: Tigray is Under Siege & Starvation is Being Used as a Weapon of War

👉 A Cease-fire for Siege

💭 The Nazis’ Horrific Siege of Leningrad is Repeated Today in Tigray, Ethiopia

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Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed Lost His War, And Now He’s Out for Revenge

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was once the toast of the international stage. On December 10, 2019, he delivered his Nobel Lecture at the Oslo City Hall after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. “I…accept this award on behalf of Africans and citizens of the world for whom the dream of peace has often turned into a nightmare of war,” Abiy said.

In less than a year, however, Abiy would unleash the nightmare of war. Those who know him—not only Ethiopians but also fellow African leaders—describe in Abiy a noxious combination of naiveté, ego, and ambition. When Abiy, like other reformers-turned-dictators before him, unilaterally postponed elections, officials in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region defied his prohibition and held the vote as originally scheduled. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), one-time partners of Abiy who had fallen into opposition—triumphed in polls that were largely free and fair.

There is nothing more dangerous than a Nobel Peace Laureate scorned. In the wake of election, Abiy sent his forces into Tigray where, alongside Eritrean troops, they perpetrated massacres, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, and mass rape. Ethiopian diplomats and their state-controlled media repeatedly either denied atrocities or blamed them on the TPLF. Abiy’s government, meanwhile, continued to target older, more established Tigrayan leaders in a short-term strategy that prioritized vengeance over unity as the old guard TPLF leaders such as former foreign minister Seyoum Mesfin were the primary voices among the Tigrayan movement to value Ethiopian nationalism; the younger generation sees little to any benefit in remaining part of Ethiopia’s multi-ethnic mosaic.

Few outside Addis Ababa, however, believed Ethiopian denials: Countries innocent of such charges do not prevent access to the territories alleged to be site of humanitarian crimes. Nor is it possible to coordinate the narratives of refugees and eyewitnesses fleeing war.

Nevertheless, in recent months, Abiy’s government has repeatedly said that they had defeated the TPLF, and dismissed anyone raising questions about the situation in Tigray as engaging in propaganda, even as videos emerged of Ethiopian troops captured en masse by the TPLF. Then, the TPLF re-took the regional capital Mekelle. That action was a shock to Ethiopians whom Abiy and state-controlled television daily assured that Ethiopia had roundly defeated the Tigrayans.

Taking his cue from dictators like Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Abiy has now decided to seek revenge on journalists who dared to speak the truth. Consider the case of Tsedale Lemma, chief editor of the English-language Addis Standard, an independent outlet which has sought to cover events in Tigray fairly.  On July 3, Seyoum Tehome, a pro-government blogger, suggested summarily executing an imprisoned journalist and advised arresting Lemma. In effect, those surrounding Abiy and amplifying his bubble now seek to ensure that failure to uphold Abiy’s delusions is a capital crime. In Minsk, Moscow, and Ankara, such castigations are often lethal.

The United States is at its best and most effective when it stands up for freedom in a bipartisan way. It is time for Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Congressional Black Caucus (full disclosure: I was in the past a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation fellow) and the Republican leadership as well to tell Abiy that the world is watching, and that retribution against Ethiopian journalists for telling the truth will have real and biting consequence.

Abiy and his associates may believe they can pivot to China or whether any sanctions, but they would be foolish to believe that they will personally escape unscathed.

Source

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When Religion Goes Awry: The War on Tigray and the Perversion of Evangelical Christianity

For the last few years, political tensions have been simmering across Ethiopia due to competing political visions and narratives and sharp disagreements about the past, the present and the future of the country. Those tensions eventually boiled to full-fledged war, when on November 04, 2020, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali – claiming that the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces based in Tigray were pre-emptively attacked, launched a military campaign against the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) and its leadership. The military operation initially labelled by the Ethiopian government as ‘law enforcement’ brought together a disparate band of actors – the Ethiopian National Defence Force, the Eritrean Defence Forces and the Amhara Regional Forces. What materialized was a full scale to campaign of destruction resulting in what the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdeo Church – alongside other notable international observers – have called a “genocide” designed to wipe out Tigrayans.

This campaign is now in its eighth month. From the outset, reports trickling out from underneath the draconian communication blackout imposed by the government, revealed extensive human rights violations and atrocities against civilians. Thousands were displaced and massacred, women and children raped, aid blocked from reaching millions, heritage and religious sites desecrated, critical infrastructures and refugee camps targeted and destroyed. These atrocities and the magnitude and total nature of the war directed against Tigrayans, their culture and identity shocked the world. In the words of the United Nations and human rights organizations, atrocities against civilians are described as cruel and “beyond comprehension”.

In light of all this, the persistent and sustained ideological and religious support given to the war by Ethiopian religious leaders and influencers, has been one of the most troubling elements of this brutal conflict. Most prominent in this regard have been the significant numbers of evangelical Christians who remain some of the most vocal proponents, cheerleaders and advocates for the war, even now.

“Blessed are the warmongers”

Evangelical Chrisitians came out in support of the war the Ethiopian government launched on Tigray from the start. In the first two weeks, gospel singers, influential figures and pastors enthusiastically took part in a social media campaign calling Ethiopian to stand with the Defense forces against Tigray in what was essentially a civil war. Ironically, even the country’s reconciliation commission, made up of the country’s top religious leaders, including evangelical leaders, joined the public endorsement of violence and death. It bears noting that there is of course nothing wrong with Christians to publicly display patriotism. Such enthusiastic support and war mongering in the context of a civil war where millions of fellow members of the Ethiopian religious institutions – brethren in faith and citizenship – are subjected to death and destruction was not only in bad taste but unethical and clear contradiction of Christ’s teaching of being peacemakers.

“Blessed are those who rejoice in the destruction of a city”

The euphoria that followed when the federal government announced the capture of the regional capital Mekelle was unparalleled in the recent history of the country. Prior to the capture, a top army general warned residents of Tigrayan capital, Mekelle – a city of a half a million people – that there would be shelling and that “there will be no mercy”. While millions of Tigrayans across Ethiopia and the world waited with deepest dread and grief to hear about the news about their loved ones in Mekelle and across Tigray, their Christian brothers and sisters were out on the streets cheering and jubilating the fall of the city. The former Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Dessalegn, who professes a Christian faith, wrote at the time “Praise God for his mercy upon us” – a twisted but befitting doxology for a city that was shown no mercy.

“Blessed are those who pronounce Christian fatwas”

In the course of the current war in Tigray, Evangelical Christians continued to play an active role in providing religious justification for the war. Weeks into the conflict, ‘prophecies’ about the capture of TPLF (Tigrayan) leaders circulated on social media. A prominent theologian and preacher with thousands of followers on social media wrote that “what is happening in Tigray is God’s judgement” a warped theology that portrays God as the author of death and suffering. The idea that God delights in the death of the innocent is anathema to the central teaching of Christ who came not to judge but save the world. The same person also wrote that “to be a Christian and support the TPLF is similar to becoming a drug-dealing Christian” conflating religious and political convictions.

“Blessed are those who go extra mile to deny massacres”

Three months into the war, a prominent theological scholar wrote an op-ed, denying the massacre of hundreds in the city of Axum. The massacre, as it turned out was not only true, but also referred as as “ranking among the worst documented so far in this conflict” was perpetrated by Eritrean soldiers and verified by Amnesty International, who had interviewed 41 survivors and analysed satellite images. The author, in the name of being objective and providing context, wrote a diatribe about how evil the TPLF is and justified the “law enforcement operation” of the government. While this Op-ed posed as a critical query into media claims – which is an essential and legitimate task – what it ended up being was a blanket denial of an atrocity crime and “whataboutism”. Political considerations or past injustices, however, cannot justify massacres, rape, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war nor can it excuse using assymetric access to media and information to gaslight and to silence Tigrayans speaking out about atrocities being committed on thier families.

“Blessed are those who suppress the critics”

One particular phenomenon that has emerged in the course of the war is the use of prophetic messages and scripture either to silence critics of Abiy Ahmed or portray him as a victim of international pressure. Once videos and reports started to emerge, war crimes and atrocities committed by Ethiopia defense forces, Amhara regional forces and Eritrean defense forces became untenable. The pressure from the international community increased. Tigrayans as well as concerned citizens both at home and abroad started to criticise Abiy Ahmed and his war policy. In the midst of this rising criticism, evangelical Christians began misquoting Romans 13:1 to silence any legitimate criticism of the government. Moreover, some went an extra mile to portray anyone who dared to criticise Abiy as having the spirit of the Anti-Christ. Still others used scripture to portray Abiy Ahmed as king David who was distressed by the rousing anger of people.

“Blessed are those who denigrate bearers of God’s image”

In addition to offering justifications, ideological and theological support and religious legitimacy including to the proof-texting and misinterpreting the scriptures, Christians have also failed Tigrayans by ignoring and contributing to the hate rhetoric against them.

In the first instance anti-Tigrayan othering and “us” ”them” rhetoric ramped up to alarming degrees in the last three years. However, the church kept silent. This is a grave failing by omission. But beyond the silence, religious figures have since the start of the war come out into the open with hate speech against Tigrayans. A prominent scholar and theologian who is a visiting Assistant Professor at a reputable Christian University in the United States recently called Tigray a “curse” that should be allowed to “go to hell”.

A Protestant television transmitted the “exorcism” seen in the clip below which directly and openly demonizes Tigrayans and Tigray. The video shows a woman “possessed” by a “spirit” that has been killing and attacking the Ethiopian national defense forces in Tigray and is aiming to destroy Ethiopia. In a bizarre and worrying coincidence another video of “exorcism” openly demonizing Tigrayans has surfaced in Eritrea.

The critical question is what would Jesus do about the war in Tigray? More importantly, why do evangelical Christians, who claim to worship Christ Jesus – who has taught his disciples to be peacemakers, love their enemies and modeled a life of servant – chose to side with the state that is determined to wipe out Tigrayans and collaborated with a foreign army to bring death, destruction and despair to millions? The Evangelical tradition in Ethiopia prides itself as bible-centered, and as focused on personal renewal and insists and claims to offer the promise of eternal life – but its silence and outright complicity in the current war on Tigray has only brought the thin foundation of its social ethics to the fore. Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, came to seek and save the lost, not to steal, destroy and kill – and it is imperative for his disciples to follow his footstep and stand in solidarity with all who suffer. In the midst of war, the spiritualization of politics and the politicization of religion should be tamed before it engulfs the whole country. Ethiopians of all persuasions bear the image of God, regardless of where one stands in the current politics – all deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

Source

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Protestants Demonizing Orthodox Tigrayans | ጴንጤዎች በተዋሕዶ ትግራዋይ ላይ ሲሳለቁ

A Protestant television transmitted the “exorcism” seen in the clip which directly and openly demonizes Tigrayans and Tigray. The video shows a woman “possessed” by a “spirit” that has been killing and attacking the Ethiopian national defense forces in Tigray and is aiming to destroy Ethiopia.

አንድ የፕሮቴስታንት ቴሌቪዥን በቀጥታ እና በግልፅ ኦርቶዶክስ ክርስቲያን ትግራዋይን እና ትግራይን በማንቋሸሽ ከአጋንንት ጋር ሊያይዛቸው ሲሞክር ይደመጣል/ይታያል። “አጋንንትን የማስወጣት” ተግባር በቪዲዮው ላይ እንደሚታየው “‘መንፈስ ያደረባት ሴት መንፈስ’ በትግራይ የሚገኙትን የኢትዮያ ብሔራዊ የመከላከያ ሰራዊት አባላትን እየገደለ እና እያጠቃ ኢትዮጵያን የማፍረስ ዓላማ እንዳለው ያሳያል፡፡”

✞✞✞[፩ኛ ወደ ቆሮንቶስ ሰዎች ምዕራፍ ፲፥፲፫]✞✞✞

“ለሰው ሁሉ ከሚሆነው በቀር ምንም ፈተና አልደረሰባችሁም፤ ነገር ግን ከሚቻላችሁ መጠን ይልቅ ትፈተኑ ዘንድ የማይፈቅድ እግዚአብሔር የታመነ ነው፥ ትታገሡም ዘንድ እንድትችሉ ከፈተናው ጋር መውጫውን ደግሞ ያደርግላችኋል።“

✞✞✞[፪ኛ ወደ ቆሮንቶስ ሰዎች ምዕራፍ ፲፡፬፥፭]✞✞✞

“የጦር ዕቃችን ሥጋዊ አይደለምና፥ ምሽግን ለመስበር ግን በእግዚአብሔር ፊት ብርቱ ነው፤ የሰውንም አሳብ በእግዚአብሔርም እውቀት ላይ የሚነሣውን ከፍ ያለውን ነገር ሁሉ እናፈርሳለን ለክርስቶስም ለመታዘዝ አእምሮን ሁሉ እንማርካለን፥“

የምኒልክ ኢትዮጵያ እንዲህ የአጋንንት ማራገፊያ አገር መሆኗ ያሳዝናል፤ ያኔ ወደ ቅድስት ምድር ኢትዮጵያ ሰተት ብለው የገቡት ኤዶማውያኑ ፕሮቴስታንቶች፤ አራተኛው የምኒልክ ትውልድ በሆነው በዘመነ ኢሕአዴግ እንደ ግራር ተሰራጭተው ከእስማኤላውያኑ መሀመዳውያን ጋር ሆነው ስልጣን ላይ ወጡ። አሁን ይህን በየዋሕነቱ ሁሉንም ነገር የፈቀደላቸውን (በዘመነ መሐመድ እና በዘመነ ማርቲን ሉተር) የትግራይን ሕዝብ ማጥላላት፣ ማንቋሸሽ ብሎም መጨፍጨፉን መረጡ። ግን የሚጠበቅ ነው፤ ሰይጣን ጊዜው በጣም አጭር እንደሆነ ስለሚያውቅ በድፍረት የማሽሟጠጫው ጊዜ ስለሆነ ነው፤ አጋንነት ከሁሉም አቅጣጫ እየተሸነፉ ስለሆኑ በጣም ተበሳጭተዋልና ነው፣ የጽዮን ልጆች ጠላታችንን ለይተን በማወቅ ከስህተታችን እንማር ዘንድ ግድ ስለሆነብን ነው።

😈 እስኪ እነዚህ የአጋንንት ፋብሪካዎች የሚያደርጉትን እንመለከት፤

የአረመኔው ግራኝ የኦሮሞ ፕሮቴስታንት እና እስላም አገዛዝ በተዋሕዶ ትግራይ ላይ ጦርነት የከፈተበት ዋንኛው ምክኒያት ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ክርስትናን ለማጥፋት፣ ጽላተ ሙሴን ለመስረቅ እና የጽዮን ማርያምን መታሰቢያ ለማስወገድ እንዲሁም የትግራይ ሕዝብ ጽላተ ሙሴ በደሙ ውስጥ የተዋሐደው ‘ሴማዊ‘ በመሆኑ ነው። እኛ ነን እንጂ ይህን በደንብ አጠንቅቀን የማናውቅ፤ እነርሱ በደንብ አውቀውተዋል/ደርሰውበታል። በዚህ ፻/100% እርግጠኛ ነኝ፤ እኔ በአቅሜ እንኳን ላለፉት ሃያ ዓመታት፤ “ኢትዮጵያ በኤዶማውያኑ እና እስማኤላውያኑ ተከብባለች፣ አጋጣሚውንና ወቅቱን እየጠበቁ ነው።” ስል ነበር፤ ወደ ጦማሬ ገብተን መመልከት እንችላለን።

አሁን የሚገርመው ነገር ይህ ፋሺስታዊ/ናዚያዊ አገዛዝ የፕሮቴስታንቶች አምልኮ ክልል ከሆነበትና ፕሮቴስታንቶችንም ለሰላሳ ዓመታት ያህል በእስር ቤት ከአጎረው ከኢሳያስ አፈወርቂ አገዛዝ ጋር አብረው ኦርቶዶክስ ትግራይን ለማጥቃት መወሰናቸው ነው። ይህ እንግዲህ እባባዊ/ዲያብሎሳዊ አካሄድ መሆኑ ነው። በዚህ ዓለም ላይ ወይ ቅዱስ መንፈስ፣ አልያ ደግሞ እርኩስ መንፈስ ብቻ ነው ሊኖር የሚችለው። ስለዚህ ፕሮቴስታንቲዝም ክርስቲያንዊ ሊሆን አይችልምና እንደተቀሩት ኢ–ክርስቲያንዊ አምልኮዎች፤ እንደ እስላም፣ ሂንዱዊዝም ቡድሂዝም ወዘተ የእርኩስ መንፈስ መገለጫ አምልኮ ነው።

በጣም ከሚታወቁትና የማይናወጥ ፀረ–ሴማዊያን (አይሁድ ጠልነት/ጽላተ ሙሴ ጠልነት) አቋም ከነበራቸው ግለሰቦች መካከል የፕሮቴስታንታዊ ተሐድሶው ማርቲን ሉተር እና የጀርመኑ ቻንስለር አምባገነኑ አዶልፍ ሂትለር ይገኙበታል፡፡ ስለ ሂትለር ፀረ–ሴማዊነት ብዙ እናውቃለን፤ ሂትለር “ማይን ካምፍ ወይንም የኔ ትግል” የሚለውን መጽሐፉን ‘ሙሉ በሙሉ‘ እስኪያሰኝ የኮረጀው ከእስልምናው “ቁርአን/የእኔ ጂሃድ” ነው። ስለ ማርቲን ሉተር ግን ብዙዎች አያውቁም። የፕሮቴስታንት አምልኮ አባት ማርቲን ሉተር “On the Jews and Their Lies/ በአይሁዶች እና በውሸቶቻቸው ላይ” በተባለው ዝነኛ ጽሑፉ፤ እንኳን ከአንድ ‘የሃይማኖት መሪ ነኝ‘ ከሚል ግለሰብ ከተራ ግለሰብ እንኳን የማይጠበቁ የፀረ–አይሁድ የጥላቻ ጽሑፎችን አቅርቧል። የሚል በተጨመሪ፤ Martin Luther: Hitler’s Spiritual Ancestor፤ የሚለውን መጽሐፍ እናንብበው።

እንደ አባት፣ እንደ ልጅ! አዲስ አበባ የገቡት የመሀመድ፣ የማርቲን ሉተር እና የሂትለር ጭፍሮች ዛሬ በትግራይ ሕዝብ ላይ የፈጸሙት ግፍ ከመሀመድ እና ሂትለር ግፍ የከፋ ነው። ጂሃዲስቶች፣ ናዚዎችና ፋሺስቶች ከሚፈጽሟቸው ወንጀሎች የከፉ ወንጀሎችን ነው በተዋሕዶ ትግራዋይ ላይ የፈጸሙት።

በጣም የሚገርመን፣ የሚያሳዝነንና ሊያስቆጣን የሚገባው አንድ ነገር ግን፤ “ተዋሕዶ ነን፣ ኢትዮጵያውያን ነን” የሚሉት ወገኖች ከእነዚህ አረመኔ ኤዶማውያን እና እስማኤላውያን ጎን ተሰልፈው የትግራይን ምድር ለመውረር ማሰባቸው፣ ተዋሕዶ ክርስቲያን ሕዝቧን ለመጨፍጨፍና ለማስራብ መድፈራቸው፣ የኢትዮጵያ ስልጣኔ ማዕካላትን ማውደማቸው፣ የተዋሕዶ ክርስትና እናት የሆኑትን ገዳማትና አብያተ ክርስቲያናት ማፈራረሳቸው፣ ሺህ የሚሆኑ መነኮሳትን ከዋልድባ ገዳም ማባረራቸው እጅግ በጣም የሚያስገርም፣ የሚያሳዝን እና የሚያስቆጣ ነገር ነው። 😠😠😠 😢😢😢

በሚቀጥሉት ቀናት ከትግራይ ብዙ መውጣት ያለባቸውን ተጨማሪ መረጃዎችን በመጠባበቅ ላይ ነን።

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