Ethiopia: The UN is Failing its Ethnic Tigrayan Peacekeeping Troops

There Has Been Little To No Action Taken To Address The Ethiopian Government’s Ethnically-Based Expulsion And Arrest Of Tigrayan Peacekeepers.

When Tigrayan members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces. ENDF were deployed to UN peacekeeping missions, they did so under the banner of “Together for Peace”.

Respecting and honouring the brave few who put their own lives at risk in the service of their country and for the cause of world peace is a cherished norm. However, Tigrayan members of UN peacekeeping missions are getting the opposite treatment.

When the Ethiopian government launched an armed offensive against the Tigray region in November 2020, it withdrew troops from international peacekeeping missions to bolster its offensive. Citing fears over their loyalty to the federal government and ENDF, Tigrayan members of this contingent were also purged from their ranks without cause. Other Tigrayans were left with no choice but to seek asylum in order to escape abduction and internment.

Evidence of this purge was first attested to in a leaked video published by The Associated Press in which an Ethiopian military leader speaks of the need to ‘clean out our insides’ in a reference to the removal of Tigrayan service members.

Soon after, an article published in Foreign Policy on 23 November revealed an internal UN document that detailed concerns that these troops were likely to face torture or execution.

The UN’s fears were confirmed after it was revealed that military tribunals are being held to sentence Tigrayan security officers to death. The Ethiopian government is seemingly using the judicial system to make a show of passing judgment on defendants who were in fact criminalised by virtue of ethnic profiling alone. The risk to the lives of these service members, including those who served under the auspices of the UN peacekeeping missions, is real.

In such a context, where identity is being used as evidence of guilt, Tigrayans require protection and open legal proceedings that are monitored and corroborated by independent organisations. The international community’s inaction and silence regarding the horrible reality of these Tigrayans have allowed the Ethiopian government to prolong their suffering.

This same government expelled seven UN officials who were operating in Ethiopia, accusing them of ‘meddling’, and arbitrarily arrested 16 local UN staff members.

The UN Secretary-General stated that “Ethiopia has no legal right to expel” the UN officials. However, the institution has not taken any steps to protect its representatives, who are crucial to address the enormous humanitarian needs in northern Ethiopia.

The UN entrusts peacekeepers to uphold its broader mission of maintaining peace and security around the world, and, in return, these servicemen and women bravely put their lives on the line for this noble cause. Accordingly, the UN has a contractual and moral obligation to protect these brave men and women. However, when it comes to Tigrayan peacekeepers, the UN and the rest of the international community have turned a blind eye.

The UN’s unwillingness to address the imminent threat faced by Tigrayans who served in peacekeeping missions – and lack of persistence in demanding protection for humanitarian workers and respect for international humanitarian law – is emboldening Ethiopia’s violations.

To the honourable men and women inside of the UN peacekeeping apparatus, as well as those in donor and member countries, I ask: If you are unable to protect the bravest who have worn the uniform to promote world peace, then how can you ever realise the dream of standing “Together for Peace”?

While silence or disengagement is to be expected at a certain level from diplomatic actors and entities, given their prerogative to not fuel further division in a space as polarized as Ethiopia’s, the case of Tigrayan peacekeepers exceeds the demands of neutrality and political sensitivity.

Their silence is even more worrying as the decision of the Ethiopian government has created a security vacuum in those areas where they were deployed, such as Darfur and Abyei in Sudan and Somalia, undermining the peacekeeping efforts. These actions also overstretched the capacity of UN peacekeeping troops that are present in these areas, leaving vulnerable communities at risk of immediate violence.

Moreover, since most peacekeeping troops operate under UN contracts, their treatment is a direct violation of the UN’s policy and commitment to world peace. The UN’s inaction may cause other countries to lose trust in future missions, given that there is no guarantee for the safety of their soldiers. Any atrocity committed against Tigrayan peacekeeping troops due to an internal political conflict is, by extension, an attack against peacekeepers around the world.

How the UN handles the case of Tigrayan peacekeepers in Ethiopia – many of whom have been incommunicado for over a year – will be a testament to how much the intergovernmental organisation values those it entrusts to uphold its mission.

Ethiopian Peacekeepers Who Brought Peace to South Sudan Attacked by The Nobel Peace Laureate PM

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Failure on Ethiopia Sanctions ‘My Biggest Frustration’ This Year, Says EU’s Top Diplomat

💭 My Note: In other words, Mr. Borrell is telling us: “As long as war criminals Abiy Ahmed Ali, Isaias Afewerki, the Oromo & Amhara special forces continue blocking Tigrayans (potential migrants to Europe heading for EU) from crossing the Ethio-Sudanese border in whatever possible form: By rounding them up, mutilating & dismembering — at the border within Africa – and throwing their dead bodies to the Tekeze river across the border, EU won’t issue sanctions against Abiy Ahmed, Isaias Afewerki and their partners in crime. The are doing a good job in preventing undesired ancient Christian Ethiopian migrants (We saw that when the UN The US and EU all blocked ancient Christians of Syria. Read this: No Christians Allowed: Muslim UN Officials Block Syrian Christian Refugees from Getting Help.

Mr. Borrell said it clearly, albeit concerning Belarus and Ukraine: “We cut the flowing of migrants to Europe…for me this is a source of satisfaction”

May be now The EU is giving money to the dictators of Ethiopia and Eritrea as a reward, instead of sanctioning them?!

After all, EU countries have awarded and honored to those evil monsters with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, and just two months ago, one of the enablers of the #TigrayGenocide, Daniel Bekele with the German Africa Prize. Just unbelievably cruel – the world upside down, isn’t it?!

💭 EU top diplomat Josep Borrell criticised EU member states on Monday (13 December) for failing to agree on sanctions against those suspected of war crimes in Ethiopia’s civil war, expressing frustration over Europe’s failure to give an effective policy response to “large scale human rights violations” there.

The EU’s response to the civil war in Ethiopia was “one of my biggest frustrations” of the year, said Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs high representative. He said the EU had not been able to stop “mass rapes using sexual violence as a war aim, killings and concentration camps based on ethnic belonging,” pointing to the lack of unanimity among EU governments.

It is understood that Germany is one of the leading countries reluctant to impose sanctions, though Borrell told reporters that “many countries felt that it (sanctions) wasn’t an adequate solution.”

While the Biden administration in the United States has imposed sanctions under its human rights Magnitsky Act, the EU has not followed suit beyond freezing $107 million in budget support to Ethiopia.

Last month, EU officials told EURACTIV that sanctions were being discussed within the context of the bloc’s Human Rights Sanctions regime, but little progress has been made.

EU prepared to issue sanctions over Tigray war, officials confirm

The European Union is prepared to issue sanctions against those responsible for the war and humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray province, EU officials confirmed to EURACTIV on Thursday (5 November).

In the meantime, the EU has continued to supply humanitarian aid, despite continued difficulties in aid reaching those in need. Aid experts in Ethiopia say that only around 10% of aid reaches those who need it most.

Borrell acknowledged that while sanctions would not have halted the conflict, they “would have, in my view, influenced the behaviour of the actors.”

Alongside multiple reports of human rights abuses by both sides in the conflict, the fighting has had devastating humanitarian consequences. According to the UN’s World Food Programme, more than 400,000 people are estimated to be living in famine conditions in Tigray. Around 9.4 million people in Ethiopia are now in dire need of food aid, it said.

The war has derailed the economic and political reform agenda, which had earned wide international praise to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The civil war started last November when federal forces entered the country’s northern province after rebels from the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front launched an attack on a government military base.

The Abiy government subsequently cracked down mercilessly on the insurgents and ignored all demands by the international community for a ceasefire and peace settlement with the TPLF. Instead, Abiy has stated that nothing short of total military victory will be sufficient.

African Union mediator Olesegun Obasanjo and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have been leading regional efforts to broker peace.

Earlier this week, local media reported that TPLF forces had retaken the historic town of Lalibela, in the neighbouring Amhara province, though government forces are also reported to have recaptured towns in Tigray in recent weeks.

Slovenia, in its capacity as head of the EU’s Council presidency, on Monday requested a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in Ethiopia.

More than 50 countries supported the call, Slovenia’s Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva announced.

The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Friday on the “grave” situation in Ethiopia at the request of the EU, according to a UN statement issued on Monday.

The Ethiopian government has reacted furiously to the calling of the special session, and described it as an “unjust and counterproductive attempt by some to exert political pressure”.

The UN Council had ignored calls to investigate human rights violations and atrocities by the TPLF in Amhara and Afar province, said Ethiopia’s foreign ministry.

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ከንቱውን ‘Ethio 360’ን እርሱትና ‘Ethio 2021’ ን ተከታተሉት | መረን የለቀቀ አምባገነን

ወንድማችን ያስተላለፈልን መልዕክት ፻/100% ትክክል ነው! የዛሬዋ ኢትዮጵያ ጤናማ የሆነ ሕዝብ የሚኖርባት አገር ብትሆን ኖሮ ፋሺስቱ ግራኝ አብዮት አህመድ አሊ በትግራይ ሕዝብ ላይ በሠራው ከፍተኛ ግፍ ለአንዲትም ሰዓት እንኳን የስልጣን ወንበሩን ይዞ ባልቆየ ነበር። ይህ ትውልድ ግን ሕዝብ ሳይሆን መንጋ ነው። እንደዚህ ያለ አሳፋሪ ክስተት በየትም ሌላ ሃገር የተከሰተ አይመስለኝም።

💭 ከዓመት በፊት ይህን አቅርቤ ነበር፤ በወኔ “ጠቅላይ ሚንስትሩን እንገድለዋልን!”፤ ያለችው ወጣቷ የሊባኖስ ሴት ነበረች፤

“ጀግኖቹ የሊባኖስ ክርስቲያኖች ወስላታ መንግስታቸውን ገነደሱት | በአንድ ሳምንት ትግል”

👉 የሊባኖስ መንግሥት ሙሉ በሙሉ ስልጣን እንዲለቅቅ ተገደደ።

ለዚህ መንግስት ነበር ጂኒ አቢይ ገና የቦንቡ ፍንዳታ ሳያልቅ የሃዘን መልዕክት አስተላልፎ የነበረው!

በቤይሩት ከተከሰተው ከፍተኛ ፍንዳታ በኋላ ህዝባዊ የአደባባይ ተቃውሞ የበረታበት የሊባኖስ መንግስት በፈቃዱ ከኃላፊነት ወርዷል።

የሀገሪቱ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ሀሳን ዲያብ በብሔራዊ ቴሌቪዥን ቀርበው መንግሥታቸው ስልጣን ለማስረከብ መወሰኑን አስታውቀዋል። ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ ይህን ያስታወቁት፣ ለተከታታይ ቀናት የተካሄደውን ህዝባዊ ተቃውሞ ተከትሎ፣ የተለያዩ ሚኒስትሮች እና ሌሎች ባለስልጣናት የስልጣን መልቀቂያ ካስገቡ በኋላ ነው።

የመንግሥት ተቃዋሚዎች የሀገሪቱ ባለስልጣናት በሀገር ጉዳይ ቸልተኞች እና በሙስና የተተበተቡ መሆናቸውን በመግለጽ መንግሥትን ይወነጅላሉ። ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩም በንግግራቸው ይህን ውንጀላ ተቀብለዋል። በሊባኖስ ሙስና ከሀገሪቱ ከራሷ በላይ የገዘፈ ነው ያሉት ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ዲያብ ይህም ለውጥ እንዳናመጣ አድርጎናል ብለዋል።” እኛ ብቻችንን ነበርን እነርሱ ደግሞ ሁሉም (ሙሰኞቹ ) ከእኛ በተቃራኒ ናቸው” ሲሉም ፈታኝ ጊዜ ማሳለፋቸውን ገልፀዋል።

ወንድ በጠፋባት ኢትዮጵያ ግን ገዳይ ዐቢይ ያው ለሦስት አመታት አሰቃቂ ጀነሳይድ እየፈጸመ፣ ኢትዮጵያውያንን እያፈናቀለ፣ ህፃናትን እያገተ፣ ክርስቲያኖችን እየጨፈጨፍ፣ ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናት እያቃጠለ ባጠቃላይ ኢትዮጵያን በብርሃን ፍጥነት እንዳሻው እያፈራረሰ እንኳን ይህን ሁሉ ግፍና ሰቆቃ ስቃይ እና ሰቆቃ ለመቃወም አደባባይ የወጣ አንድም ኢትዮጵያዊ የለም። ሕዝቡ ከሊባኖስ ዜጎች እጅግ በጣም የከፋ የኑሮ ሁኔታ ላይ ነው የሚገኘው፤ እየተራበም ነው፤ ነገር ግን አሁንም በጂኒ ዐቢይ እና ደጋፊዎቹ እያተታለለ ውዳቂዎቹ ኦሮሞዎች እንዲሳለቁበትና እያላገጡ የጥፋት ዘመቻቸውን እንዲቀጥሉበት ዕድሉን ሰጥቷቸዋል። ምን ዓይነት ሰነፍ፣ አልቃሻና ደካማ ትውልድ ቢሆን ነው!? ወሬና ጉራ ብቻ! ለዚህም እኮ ነው በዘር ጥፋት ያ ሁሉ ሰው አልቆ የዓለም አቀፉ ማሕበረሰብ ዜሮ ትኩረት ለኢትዮጵያ ሊሰጡ ያልበቁት።

እስኪ ተመልከቱ በሊባኖስ አንዲት ፍንዳታ ለሁለት ሳምንታት ያህል የመላው ዓለም መነጋገሪያ ርዕሰ ጉዳይ ለመሆን በቅቷል። የዓለም አቀፉ ማሕበረሰብ ባጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ እስከ ግማሽ ቢሊየን ዶላር ለሊባኖን እርዳታ ለመሰብሰብ በቅቷል።”

👉 ወደዚህ ይግቡ፤ Ethio 2021

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‘Too Little Too Late’ for U.S. Sanctions on Ethiopia?

💭 The World Watches as Abiy Loses it — And Risks Losing Ethiopia, Too.

Today, President Biden announced an Executive Order that declared the war, humanitarian crisis and human rights crisis in Ethiopia “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States” and put in place mechanisms to impose sanctions on individuals and entities engaged in the war and abuses.

This comes not a moment too soon: out of the headlines, the civil war has been raging on. Thousands are dying in bloody battles between Tigrayan resistance fighters and the ill-trained recruits that the Ethiopian government is deploying to shore up its shattered army. More than 200 massacre sites have been documented in Tigray, and thousands of women were cruelly raped. There’s a man-made famine. Ethnic hatred whipped up by government propaganda threatens to dismember the country.

These brute facts are obscured by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s bizarre confidence that he is destined to re-create the mythic glory days of the Ethiopian empire and by his loyalists’ aggressive media campaigns. The United Nations and African Union have taken the path of least resistance, taking Ethiopia’s diplomatic blandishments at face value. The United States has called out Abiy on his deceptions and self-destruction. That’s the correct position, but no outside power can save a country whose leader is blithely leading it into disaster.

The war began on the night of November 3-4, 2020, when a political dispute between the Federal Government in Ethiopia, headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and the Regional National Government in Tigray, headed by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, turned violent.

The causes of the war are complex and controversial. The two sides quarreled over the rights of states within the federation: the Tigrayans had held an election against the federal government’s decision to postpone elections due to COVID, and each side denounced the other as illegitimate. The first shots were fired by the Tigrayans and within days, a well-prepared ground and air attack was launched by a combination of Ethiopian federal troops, militia from the next-door Amhara region, and Eritrean troops to the north. Before the month was out, this coalition captured the Tigrayan capital Mekelle, forcing the Tigrayan leadership to flee to mountain redoubts.

For the next seven months, the Ethiopian government repeatedly assured the world that it was on the verge of wiping out the remnants of the TPLF. Despite a tight information blackout, disturbing information leaked out about egregious violations of human rights, certainly crimes against humanity. Ethiopian and Eritrean troops were branded as war criminals. The atrocities also drove Tigrayans — TPLF and non-TPLF — to unite in armed resistance. The war — with its mounting battlefield casualties — stayed below the media’s radar.

In June, Tigrayan guerrillas turned the military tables on the Ethiopian army, scoring decisive victories and forcing the federal army to abandon most of Tigray, including Mekelle, in disarray. The government, however, retained control of Western Tigray, an area bordering Sudan, where ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans continues. The Eritreans withdrew to defensive lines along the international border.

After this rout, Abiy announced a ceasefire but made it clear that he intended to regroup and return by force as soon as possible. With good reason, the TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda, who enjoys a reputation for provocative tweets, dismissed the ceasefire announcement as a “sick joke.”

Most importantly, Abiy continued to use his most potent weapon — starvation. Ethiopia and Eritrea encircle Tigray and enforce a blockade. Banks are closed, commercial traffic is stopped, and humanitarian aid is confined to a trickle. Over five million people in Tigray need emergency aid — an estimated 4,000 tons per day that would take 100 trucks to transport. Since the Tigrayans took back control, a total of just 435 trucks have been allowed in. That’s an average daily ration of about 40 grams, little more than a third of a cup of flour, per person. The obstacle isn’t generalized insecurity but a government policy of using starvation against a civilian population — a war crime.

The Regional National Government of Tigray says it is defending Ethiopia’s federal constitution. Adopted in 1995 when the TPLF was in government, that constitution controversially provides for each Ethiopian region to have the right of self-determination up to and including independence. This is exactly what Abiy’s vision of a unified Ethiopia seeks to deny. He has become an ultra-nationalist, seeking to resurrect the glory days of the Abyssinian empire.

After recapturing Mekelle, the Tigrayans did not wait for a counterattack. Armed with captured tanks and artillery, they took the offensive while their adversary was in disarray. They swept out of Tigray into Afar and Amhara regions, but TPLF leaders haven’t explained their war aims. Did they seek to break the blockade and secure roads for aid? Did they want to overthrow the government in Addis Ababa? And if so, did they want to return the TPLF to power or to form a coalition with insurgents in the south of Ethiopia?

With half his army destroyed and his triumphalist claims punctured, a leader might be expected to panic or flee. Not so Abiy Ahmed. With serene confidence, he proclaimed that he was destined to prevail. He showed visiting diplomats his gleaming refurbished palaces and parks and waved away the Tigrayans as a minority that had blighted the country, insisting that no tears should be shed over their destruction. Abiy assures African leaders that he has a plan to win the war and, they add, he truly believes it.

And Abiy has turned up the volume of nationalist-populist rhetoric to maximum. Ethnically charged, often frankly hateful messages that had previously been confined to fringe diaspora groups are now mainstream. Abiy describes the TPLF, and Tigrayans in general, as hyenas, cancers, and weeds to be uprooted. Many Ethiopians, especially from the historically dominant Amhara group, are heeding his call for every able-bodied Ethiopian to take up arms to fight for their land against the Tigrayan “traitors” and “terrorists.” They fight with zeal. Peasants, students, and urban youth, with just a few weeks’ basic training, charge TDF positions in human wave attacks. Sometimes the second wave doesn’t even have guns and have been told to take weapons from the enemy. Among them are priests and nuns with crosses and tabots (replicas of the Arc of the Covenant).

This kind of war blurs the line between combatant and civilian and between combat and massacre. There are half a dozen reports of TDF killings of villagers, each case trumpeted by Ethiopian media.

The mass attacks are a hemorrhage of young lives and a stark warning of future grievance. But they stalled the TDF advance and bought time for Abiy. The Eritrean army has sent armored divisions back into Ethiopia, and the government has been shopping for new equipment including drones (reportedly from Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey).

With every setback, Abiy digs in deeper. When his ambassadors failed to convince foreign governments, he eviscerated the diplomatic corps, reducing embassies such as the one in Washington to just the ambassador and a skeleton support staff. Abiy reportedly said that diaspora volunteers do a better job of presenting his case than professional diplomats, though he has also hired commercial lobbyists too. Ethiopian “twitter lions” engage in social media combat with venom and determination. Every independent journalist or human rights advocate faces the online version of a human wave attack — relentless twitter trolling and hate mail.

Intimidation works in tandem with standard diplomatic blandishments. In a world beset by crises, Ethiopia is no one’s priority disaster, and so it’s convenient to dilute the frightening realities. The default storyline of foreign affairs officials is that the conflict is complicated, the facts aren’t clear, there are no good guys — and the government has given solemn assurances to make things better. Such thinking is lazy and demonstrably false — but pervasive.

Foreign leaders who have discussed the war in detail with Abiy and who have examined the grim evidence on the ground don’t buy his story; they think he is delusional and is leading Ethiopia into self-destruction. To its credit, the Biden administration is in this camp. Among its few public allies are Ireland, Norway, and the European Union Commission.

Privately, African leaders are terrified that Abiy will drive Ethiopia into state failure, which would in turn deepen instability throughout the Horn of Africa, but they can’t bear to admit that there’s no African solution for this African problem. In reaction to Washington’s tough measures announced today, Africans may publicly complain about American bullying but they will be privately thankful. Such arm-twisting cannot come quickly enough. Ethiopia’s tragedy may be that the country unravels before its leader’s reputation does.

Source

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EU’s Josep Borrell Urges Sanctions over Ethiopia Crisis

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday urged member states to consider imposing sanctions over the crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray, as the bloc looks to increase aid deliveries to the region.

“We should be ready to use restrictive measures where we believe they are justified,” Borrell said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

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Tigray is plunging towards a cataclysmic humanitarian crisis as a brutal war between the government and rebels from the region has left hundreds of thousands of people facing famine.

Borrell said the EU wants to see a ceasefire declared by the government implemented on the ground, but warned that Tigray was instead being “cut off from the rest of the world.”

“The situation in the Tigray region has never been as bad,” Borrell said.

“In spite of the ceasefire announced by the government of Ethiopia, what we are seeing in Tigray, what we are afraid Tigray is going to suffer is a serious humanitarian crisis.”

Borrell said that Brussels was now looking to organize an “air bridge” to help bring aid to the region, but conceded it would not reach the vast number of people in need.

Tigray has been the scene of fighting since Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the army in early November to topple dissident regional authorities.

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner accused them of orchestrating attacks on Ethiopian military bases.

After early successes and a premature declaration of victory, government forces were bogged down in a vicious and months-long battle with the Tigray Defense Forces, or TDF. The Ethiopian army was backed by troops from the neighboring Amhara region and the army of Eritrea, which borders Tigray.

In late June, the TDF recaptured the capital Mekele, which had held by the Ethiopian army since November 28.

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የርሃብ ሲምፖዚየም ወረርሽኝ፤ የኢትዮ-ኤርትራ የረሀብ እቅድ ለትግራይ = የ ፹/80 አመት በፊት የናዚ የርሃብ እቅድ

እስኪ አስቡት፤ “ኢትዮጵያውያን ነን” የሚሉ ወገኖች ኢትዮጵያዊ የሆነውን ወገናቸውን ያለማቋረጥ በጦርነት፣ በርሃብ እና በሽታ ከምድረ ገጽ ለማጥፋት ሲወስን። ለማሰብ እንኳን ያቅለሸልሻል። ይህ እጅግ በጣም ሰቅጣጭ ክስተት በቅርብ የሚከታተሉትን የዓለም አቀፍ ባለሙያዎችን፣ ተቋማትን እና ግለሰቦችን ሁሉ በጣም አስገርሟል/አሳዝኗል፤ ታሪካዊ ጠላቶቻችንን ሶማሌዎችንና አረቦችን ሳይቀር። አንዱ አረብ በጽሑፉ፤ “ኢትዮጵያውያን እርስበር ይህን ያህል የሚጠላሉ አይመስለኝም ነበር” በማለት ተገርሟል። “ለካስ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከናዚዎች፣ ከፋሺስቶች እና ከጂሃዲስቶች የከፉ አውሬዎች ናቸው” አሰኝቷል። ዋይ! ዋይ! ዋይ!

ይህ የግለሰቦች ወይንም የልሂቃኑ ጉዳይ ብቻ አይደለም፤ የሕዝብ ጉዳይ ነው፤ ሕዝቦቹ ኃላፊነቱን ይወስዱ ዘንድ ግድ ነው። ኦሮሞ + አማራ + ቤን አሚር/ኤርትራ ቃኤላውያን የዋቄዮ–አላህ ባሪያዎች በጥይትና በሰይፍ ሊያሸንፉት ያልቻሉትን የትግራይን ሕዝብን አሁን በርሃብ ለመጨረስ ወስነዋል። ኦሮማራዎች ከዘመነ ምኒልክ አንስቶ የትግራይን ሕዝብ በጦርነቶች እና በርሃብ ለመጨረስ ብዙ ሞክረው ነበር፤ ይህ የመጨረሻው ሙከራቸው ነው። እነዚህ አረመኔዎች በምንም ዓይነት የኢትዮጵያዊነት ማንነትና ምንነት የሌላቸው፣ ኢትዮጵያውያን ይባሉ ዘንድ የማይገባቸው በእውነት ከየት እንደመጡ እንኳን የማይታወቁ፣ ናዚዎችን፣ ፋሺስቶችንና ጂሃዲስቶችን የሚያስንቁ አውሬዎች ናቸው። እኛ ላለፉት ሦስት ዓመታት በመላዋ ኢትዮጵያ ለሚፈናቀሉት፣ ለሚታገቱትና ለሚገደሉት ንጹሐን የሚቻለንን ስንጮህና እንባ ስናነባ እነሱ ለካስ የትግራይን ሕዝብ ለመጨፍጨፍና ለማስራብ በስውር ተግተው ሤራ ሲጠነስሱ ቆይተዋል። አሁን ይህን ፋሺስታዊ፣ ናዚያዊ እና ዲያብሎሳዊ እቅድ ለመትግበር ዓለምን እያታለሉና በሜዲያዎቻቸውም የለመዱንት የቅጥፈት ፕሮፓጋንዳ እያሰራጩ እቅዳቸውን ሊገፉበት ቆርጠው ተነስተዋል። አይሳካላቸውም! እንዳይሳካላቸውም የተቻለንን ሁሉ እናደርጋለን። ሆኖም ለዚህ ዲያብሎሳዊ እቅዳቸው ግን በሕዝቦቻቸው ላይ ከሰማይ እሳት ይወርድባቸዋል፣ አይተውት የማያውቁትን ደዌ፣ ወረርሽኝ እና በሽታ ሁሉ ሳይወዱ በግድ ይተዋወቋቸዋል። ማስጠንቀቂያዎቹን ሁሉ ንቀው ሆነ ሰበባሰበብና ምክንያት እየደረደሩ በእዉነተኛ ንስሐ አልተመለሱምና የሰይፉ ማስጠንቀቂያ በጎንደርና በአስመራ፣ በአዲስ አበባ እና በነቀምት፣ በጂማና በሐረር ላይ እያንዣበበ ይገኛል። ልኡልም ጦሩን እያዘጋጀ፣ ሰይፍን እየሳለ ይገኛል። ይኸውም የአህዛብ ሰይፍ፣ የአንበጣ መንጋ፣ የበሽታ/ኮሮና/ ሰይፍ፣ የጦርነት ሰይፍ፣ የአውሎ ነፍስና የጎርፍ ሰይፍ፣ የበረዶ፣ የእሳተ ገሞራ ሌሎችም!!!። የትግራይን ሕዝብ ከምድረ ገጽ አጥፍተው እነርሱ ብቻቸውን ሊኖሩ? በጭራሽ!

✞✞✞[ትንቢተ ኢሳይያስ ምዕራፍ ፩፥፲፱፡፳]✞✞✞

”እሺ ብትሉ ለእኔም ብትታዘዙ፥ የምድርን በረከት ትበላላችሁ፤ እምቢ ብትሉ ግን ብታምፁም፥ ሰይፍ ይበላችኋል፤ የእግዚአብሔር አፍ ይህን ተናግሮአልና።’

✞✞✞ [ትንቢተ ዕንባቆም ምዕራፍ ፫፥፬፡፯]✞✞✞

“ፀዳሉም እንደ ብርሃን ነው፤ ጨረር ከእጁ ወጥቶአል፤ ኃይሉም በዚያ ተሰውሮአል። ቸነፈር በፊቱ ይሄዳል፥ የእሳትም ነበልባል ከእግሩ ይወጣል። ቆመ፥ ምድርንም አወካት፤ ተመለከተ፥ አሕዛብንም አናወጠ፤ የዘላለምም ተራሮች ተቀጠቀጡ፥ የዘላለምም ኮረብቶች ቀለጡ፤ መንገዱ ከዘላለም ነው።

የኢትዮጵያ ድንኳኖች ሲጨነቁ አየሁ፤ የምድያም አገር መጋረጃዎች ተንቀጠቀጡ።“

🔥 “በኢትዮጵያ ጽኑ መናወጥ ይሆናል፣ ይህም የአሜሪካን፣ አውሮፓንና አረቢያን ውድቀት ያስከትላል!!!”

👉 Pandemic of Hunger Symposium: The Ethio-Eritrean Hunger Plan For Tigray = The Nazi Hungerplan of 80 Years Ago

👉 Continue reading/ሙሉውን ለማንበብ

Pandemic of Hunger Symposium: The Ethio-Eritrean Hunger Plan For Tigray = The Nazi Hungerplan of 80 Years Ago

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Pandemic of Hunger Symposium: The Ethio-Eritrean Hunger Plan For Tigray = The Nazi Hungerplan of 80 Years Ago

Tigray, Ethiopia, is a test case for United Nations Security Council resolution 2417 (2417). The United Nations has failed that test.

Today, between 4.5 million and 5.2 million people of Tigray’s total population of 5.7 million are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. Famine is probably occurring already, and without doubt in the coming months Tigrayans will be starving on a scale rarely witnessed in the modern world. Except that, because the Ethiopian government prefers to keep Tigray in darkness, few outsiders will be there to witness it. We may later get to count the graves of the children who perished.

As soon as armed conflict erupted on 4 November, we were warned of the risk of famine. But in the face of the ruthless determination of the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea to starve the civilian population of Tigray, the United Nations, the African Union and donor governments have done nothing of significance. For the hungry in Tigray, 2417 is an empty promise.

The unpublished results of rapid nutrition assessments in six locations accessible to the regional authorities, with UNICEF’s technical support, show that Global Acute Malnutrition rates among children under five years of age of 23.8-34.3 percent. This takes us into the range where we must speak about phase 5 of the Integrated food security Phase Classification (IPC)—‘famine.’

Most of the Tigray region is not accessible to survey teams, due to government restrictions and fighting. Conditions elsewhere are almost certainly worse. The situation is deteriorating week-by-week as food stocks run out. Longer term prospects are even more dire: the planting season has arrived and most farmers are unable to plough their fields and plant and tend this year’s crops. Recent reports speak of Eritrean soldiers arriving in villages where farmers have been able to prepare their land, destroying the seedlings and telling villagers, you will not plant, you will not harvest, and if you try you will be punished.

Recently, aid was reaching about 1 million of those in need. Even that small fraction is shrinking. This month, the Ethiopian government declared the former governing party of the region, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) a ‘terrorist organization.’ Relief workers are now stopped at the first army checkpoint out of each town, and told that they cannot proceed further, because their aid cannot be allowed to help the ‘terrorists’.

It is hard to think of a more systematic use of starvation as a weapon of war since the Nazi Hungerplan of eighty years ago.

Before the outbreak of war on 3/4 November 2020, Tigray was relatively food secure. Once the epicentre of Ethiopia’s infamous famine of 1984/85, thirty years of internal peace and development meant that today’s generation of Tigrayans were, for the first time in history, living without the threat of hunger due to drought or locusts. Agriculture was still a marginal enterprise with low yields on stony soils, but a combination of rehabilitating watersheds and building small dams for irrigated horticulture and orchards, and subsidized fertilizers—enhanced by micro-credit services—enabled modest harvests. Local incomes were supplemented by seasonal labouring opportunities on commercial farms in fertile western Tigray, and employment in new industries such as textiles and marble cutting, artisanal mining of gold and cobalt, and tourism to the region’s historic churches. Further, a ‘productive safety net programme’ designed and funded by the government and international donors kicked in whenever food insecurity threatened.

All that is gone. In the words of Mulugeta Gebrehiwot, former World Peace Foundation senior fellow, speaking over the phone from the war zone, ‘they have destroyed Tigray, literally.’ I have been working on war, mass atrocity and famine in Africa for close to forty years. Never in my professional life have I documented destruction of what is necessary to sustain life in a manner as relentless and systematic as we are seeing in Tigray today.

As detailed in the World Peace Foundation report Starving Tigray, which draws upon scores of open-source reports along with eyewitness testimonies up, the coalition of Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Eritrean Defence Forces and Amhara militia have destroyed, removed or rendered useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. They have burned food stores, looted food, and killed domestic animals from cows to baby chickens. They have slaughtered plough oxen, smashed ploughs, cut down fruit trees. They have ripped up the water pipes and pumps in towns and villages and ripped out domestic plumbing. They have looted and vandalized the great majority of the region’s clinics and hospitals. They have closed banks and frozen the 450,000 accounts in the region’s micro-finance institution, essentially confiscating the savings of the peasantry. They have pillaged and burned factories, ransacked hotels, looted shops and stores, and even broken open the little boxes used by shoeshine boys to steal the brushes and polish. By expropriating and ethnically cleansing the fertile lowlands where sesame is grown for export, they have eliminated Tigrayans’ single largest source of seasonal migrant work, a crucial source of income.

Men and boys are being killed: there are more than 150 documented massacres. In the largest known to date, in the city of Axum, an estimated 750 were killed. These are crimes in their own right. Fear of such violence deters men from travelling to find work, cultivate their farms, or obtain aid for their families.

Evidence for widespread rape and shocking sexual violence—torture, sexual slavery and mutilation—has emerged. Rape is a crime. Rape perpetrated as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population is a crime against humanity. That threshold is met in Tigray, with participation of uniformed state forces in rape and sexual violence.

Rape in these circumstances is also a starvation crime. A survivor of rape may be unable to care for herself and her children, because of physical injuries, trauma, and life-long stigma. A woman who is gang raped in her own home may never want to return to what was once a place of safety, but is now indelibly associated with pain, terror and attack on her familial and social identity. Fear of rape means that women and girls do not venture out to go to the market, go to fetch water or firewood, go to their farms or gardens, or seek assistance. With many men killed, in hiding, or joining the armed resistance, women are often the sole adult carers for their children—breadwinners in a land with no bread.

Not only has the Ethio-Eritrean coalition massively reduced the food available to Tigrayans, but they have systematically reduced the region to a state of destitution. Should this destruction, dispossession and expulsion be permitted to stand, the future is a geographically truncated Tigray, deprived of every source of income save subsistence farming, utterly dependent on welfare handouts. The scorched earth campaign means that the numbers in need will not reduce even if the conflict ends. Ethiopia and Eritrea have posed a horrible dilemma to the humanitarian community. Should donors pay the bill for the human consequences of this destruction or be complicit in what is emerging as a systematic hunger plan?

The humanitarian effort is reaching fewer people and providing them with less assistance than in any comparable circumstances in the world today. Most of what is given is food. There is some health care, but almost no agricultural aid. Much of that aid is stolen by the coalition forces—some of it wholesale, some of it when soldiers raid a village where there has been a distribution and take it at gunpoint.

The perpetrators of these starvation crimes are the Ethiopian federal forces, the Eritrean army, and Amhara forces. Clues to the Ethiopians’ motives can be deduced from the public rhetoric of political groups now setting the agenda of the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Amhara regional state concur in demonizing the Tigrayans. They claim that during the years in which the TPLF was in power, Tigrayans ‘looted’ the Ethiopian state, taking an unwarranted share of development funds, and are therefore ‘thieves’ and ‘daylight hyenas.’ Confiscating Tigrayan property was a slogan of political parties now supporting the government. In a recent panel on France 24, Neamin Zeleke, Executive Director at Ethiopian Satellite Televison and Radio (ESAT) which has been a fulcrum for inciting hatred against Tigrayans, toned down his rhetoric for an English-speaking audience but his intent to enact ‘revenge’ was clear. The campaign targeting ethnic Tigrayans for removal from employment, residence and rights across Ethiopia has the disturbing signature of eradicating them from the Ethiopian polity altogether.

The Amhara leadership claims that when provincial boundaries were redrawn in 1991-94, at the time of adopting a federal system based on ethnicities, Tigray took over historically Amhara lands, which they should now reclaim. (As with almost all such territorial disputes the history and the basis for the claims are controversial.) The U.S. State Department calls it ‘ethnic cleansing.’ That is the correct term: the boundary is being redrawn by force and Tigrayans are being forcibly removed or eliminated. Ironically, the FEWS NET maps this area as ‘food secure’: its methods are not designed to take account of the removal of the previous inhabitants and their replacement by new settlers.

The Eritrean president has long blamed the TPLF—and by extension all Tigrayans—for his country’s international ostracism and poverty and sought to eliminate it as a threat. Eritrea is a despotism, with no constitution, parliament, independent judiciary or free media. Its main institution is its vast army; its soldiers are forcibly conscripted from high school, brutalized and required serve indefinitely. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, which reported in 2016 found a shocking record of abuse by the state against its own citizens. The Special Rapporteur, Sheila Keetharuth, laments that her recommendations, including that Eritrea be referred to the International Criminal Court, were wholly ignored.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister called the coalition offensives a ‘law enforcement operation.’ His claims that ‘not a single civilian have been killed’ and that Eritrean forces were either not involved or were withdrawing have been shown to be lies. In the early weeks, Ethiopia and Eritrea were given a free pass by the Trump Administration and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres repeated PM Abiy’s false claim about Eritrean forces.

The shut-down of internet and phone communication has been effective in minimizing reporting of atrocities including starvation, thereby allowing official denials to pass without refutation. International humanitarian workers are compelled to remain silent for fear of being expelled; the situation for national staff is worse. After the TPLF was declared a ‘terrorist’ organization, communication with them is prohibited.

Culpability for the outbreak of hostilities in November is shared among the four belligerents: the Ethiopian federal government, the TPLF, Eritrea and the Amhara regional forces.

Culpability for the famine lies entirely with the Ethio-Eritrean coalition. To the extent that there were pre-existing food security difficulties, on account of poverty and a locust plague, those show only that the perpetrators of the starvation crimes were aware of the vulnerability of their intended victims. A prosecutor seeking to investigate the situation in Tigray would have good reason to consider a case for crimes against humanity and genocide against the coalition military and political leaders.

2417 on conflict and hunger was designed to ensure that grave circumstances such as these would not be permitted to develop. Paragraph 12 reads:

‘[Council] Further requests the Secretary-General to report swiftly to the Council when the risk of conflict-induced famine and wide-spread food insecurity in armed conflict contexts occurs, and expresses its intention to give its full attention to such information provided by the Secretary-General when those situations are brought to its attention.’

The resolution doesn’t specify what the UNSC should do after giving ‘its full attention’ to the crisis. But it’s clear that it shouldn’t do nothing.

On current performance, Tigray is set to join the catalogue of genocides and crimes against humanity in which the world failed to act on warnings, and responded with hand wringing only after the event. The UNSC discussed the situation in Ethiopia under ‘any other business’ on 24 November and 14 December 2020, and held a closed session on the humanitarian crisis on 3 February 2021. Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs briefed Council, with increasing candour and alarm, over subsequent weeks, with an extremely frank and alarming report on 15 April. No formal session was held and only a pallid press statement was issued on 23 April.

The countries that pushed for action were Ireland and the U.S., supported by other European countries. The immediate reason for deadlock at the UNSC was the threat of a veto by China and/or Russia, on the grounds that the conflict was a domestic matter for Ethiopia and not therefore a legitimate agenda item. This threat was possible because the three African members of the Council (Kenya, Niger and Tunisia) were not ready to support an assertive position pushed by western natitons. The African Union, despite its elaborate norms, principles and institutions designed precisely to prevent and manage a crisis such as this, was silent—rebuffed and intimidated by its host country Ethiopia.

Six months after Ethiopia and Eritrea launched their campaign of starvation and mass atrocity, the UNSC has been a bystander. The UN Secretary General has abdicated his responsibilities. The African Union has failed. On its third anniversary, resolution 2417 provides only the draft for the apology that might one day be forthcoming.

Source

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Hunger as a Weapon Against People in Tigray | Tigray Aid Response is Too Little, Too Late

👉 “በሰሜናዊ ናይጄሪያ ፣ በአፍጋኒስታን ወይም በማዕከላዊ አፍሪካ ሪፐብሊክ ግጭቶች ከሚያስከትሉት ጋር ሲነፃፀር የትግራይ ተወላጆች አነስተኛ ሰብአዊ እርድታ ያገኛሉ።”

ዋው! ጋላማራዎች ኢትዮጵያን እንዲህ አዋረዷት!

ለነገሩማ የወራሪዎቹ ጋላዎች እና ጋላማራዎች የመቶ ሰላሳ ዓመት ዕቅድ፣ ፍላጎትና ሕልም እኮ በትግራይ እና ኤርትራ የሚገኙትን ክርስቲያን ትግራዋያን በጦርነት፣ በረሃብ፣ በበሽታና በማፈናቀል(‘ፈንቅል’ን እናስታውስ!)ቀስበቀስ አዳክሞ በመጨረስ ሙሉውን የቀይ ባሕርን ጠረፍ ለኤዶማውያኑ እና እስማኤላውያኑ ሲሉ መቆጣጠር ነው። አረቦቹ ቀይ ባሕርን ሙሉ በሙሉ ተቆጣጠረው “ባሕረ አረብ” የማድረግ ሕልም ስላላቸው ጋላዎቹም አማራዎቹም እየሠሩ ያሉት ለአረቦች ነው። ይነጅሻቸውና፤ ሺህ ጊዜ“ነጃሽ፣ ነጃሽ” የሚሉን “ባሕረ ነጋሲን” ሙሉ በሙሉ የመቆጣጠር ሕልም ስላላቸው ነው።

ግልጥልጥ ብሎ የሚታየው ሃቅ ይህ ነው፣ ከታሪክ የተማርነውም ይህንን ነው፤ ዛሬም ዓይናችን የሚመሰክረው ይህንኑ ነው።

እስኪ አስቡበት፤ የሦስት ዓመታት ስውር ዝግጅት በህብረት ካደረጉ በኋላ ከአምስት ወራት በፊት፡ ልክ በአባታችን አቡነ ተክለ ሐይማኖት ዕለት፤ ጋላ እና አማራ በአንድ ላይ ሆነው የትግራይን ሕዝብ ለመጨፍጨፍ ተነሱ። እነዚህ “ወገኖች” ምን ያህል አህዛባዊ ክፋት፣ ክህደት፣ አውሬነትና አረመኔነት እንዳላቸው እስኪ በመገረምና በማዘን እንታዘባቸው፦

☆ ትግራዋያን እንዳይሰደዱና ባሉበት እንዲያልቁ “ድንበር ጠባቂ” የአማራ ሚሊሺያዎችን ወደ ሱዳን ድንበር ላኳቸው

☆ የኢሳያስ አፈቆርኪን የአህዛብ ቤን አሜር ሰአራዊት ወደ ገዳማትና ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናት ለጭፍጨፋ ላኩ ት

☆ አህዛብ አረቦች ኤሚራቶችን ከአሰብ ተነስተው በድሮኖች ንጹሐንን እንዲጨፈጭፉ አደረጓቸው

☆ የሶማሊያ አህዛብ ወታደሮችን እንዲሁ ክርስቲያኖችን ያርዱ ዘንድ ወደ ውቅሮ ላኳቸው

☆ የትግራይን ክርስቲያን ሕዝብ ለማስጨፍጨፍ ከደቡብ ሱዳን ስምንት ሺህ ወታደሮችን ጠየቁ (ግን አልተሳካም)

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን ሕዝብ በረሃብ እንዲያልቅ የሰብል ማሳዎችን አቃጠሏቸው

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን ሕዝብ በረሃብ እንዲያልቅ የምግብ ዕርዳታ ከለከሉት

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን ሕዝብ በረሃብ እንዲያልቅ እህሉና ሊጡ ውስጥ አሸዋ ጨመሩበት

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን ሕዝብ በጥሜት እንዲያልቅ ውሃውን ዘጉበት

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን ሕዝብ እንዳይታከምና እንዳይወልድ ሆስፒታሎቹን አቃጠሉበት

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን ሕዝብ ሰርቶ እንዳይበላ ፋብሪካዎቹን አፈራረሱበት

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን ሕፃናት እንዳይማሩ ትምሕርት ቤቶቻቸውን አፈራረሱባቸው

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን ሕዝብ ጸሎት እንዳያደርስ ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናቱን አፈራረሱበት

☆ የትግራይ ክርስቲያን መነኮሳት ከአምላካቸው ጋር እንዳይኖሩ አባረሯቸው፣ ገዳማቱን አፈራረሱባቸው።

😢😢😢አእምሮ አንቀጥቅጥ የሆነ አሳዛኝ፣ አሳፋሪና አስቆጪ ነገር ነው!😠😠😠

👉 158 DAYS in Tigray / ፻፶፰/158 ቀናት በትግራይ

⛔ No Water & Food / ውሃ እና ምግብ የለም

⛔ No Cellphone / የሞባይል ስልክ የለም

⛔ No Internet Service / የእንተርኔት አገልግሎት የለም

⛔ No Bank service / የባንክ አገልግሎት የለም

⛔ No Electricity / ኤሌክትሪክ የለም

⛔ No Transportation access / የትራንስፖርት መዳረሻ የለም

⛔ No Drug Supply / የመድኃኒት አቅርቦት የለም

⛔ No Hospitals / ሆስፒታሎች የሉም

⛔ No Humanitarians Service / ምንም የሰብአዊ መብት ሰጭዎች አገልግሎት የለም

⛔ No Media access/ የሚዲያ መዳረሻ የለም

👉 በሰሜናዊ ናይጄሪያ ፣ በአፍጋኒስታን ወይም በማዕከላዊ አፍሪካ ሪፐብሊክ ግጭቶች ከሚያስከትሉት ጋር ሲነፃፀር የትግራይ ተወላጆች አነስተኛ ሰብአዊ እርድታ ያገኛሉ።

👉 Tigrayans get less humanitarian relief compared to those facing the impact of conflicts in northern Nigeria, Afghanistan, or Central African Republic.

‘A restrictive government, combined with insecurity and active fighting, can completely hamstring the aid response for months.’

People in northern Ethiopia get less humanitarian relief compared to those facing the impact of conflicts in northern Nigeria, Afghanistan, or Central African Republic, an independent poll released today by research group Humanitarian Outcomes found.

Fewer than half the conflict-affected people in Ethiopia’s Tigray region had received help since the conflict began in November, the survey revealed. Those that did said it wasn’t enough, and 79 percent overall believed aid was not reaching the areas most in need. A quarter said government and military groups were blocking or taking aid. Compared to respondents in other conflict zones who answered the same questionnaire, Tigrayans are less sure of the reasons for uneven aid provision; the report suggests that limited telecommunications and media coverage could be a contributing factor.

The survey of 614 people in Tigray was conducted by phone from late February to early March, despite on-and-off power and mobile network connections. The sample included people across the major regions of Tigray, but few displaced people.

The survey provides new evidence to gauge the reach of humanitarian aid in a tense debate between the government and the international community over the scale and seriousness of the fall-out from Ethiopia’s five-month conflict.

The conflict began in November, when federal government forces clashed with armed insurgents supporting the regional political party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Other Tigrayan militia, the Eritrean military, and forces from the neighbouring Amhara region are also involved.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said the government campaign is a necessary assertion of national legitimacy, as the country is faced with an armed rebellion. His government has regained control of major towns in Tigray and installed a provisional administration.

But military clashes continue, and massacres, forced displacement, sexual violence, looting, halting of trade and communications, and disruption of daily life mean most of the estimated six million people in the region are negatively affected, and millions need some kind of help.

The UN’s humanitarian office calls the situation “extremely dire and far from improving”.

EU envoy Pekka Haavisto is visiting the country this week, the latest in a series of diplomatic efforts to contain the conflict that threatens to destabilise the whole country and the wider region.

The report notes that compared to other crisis situations monitored by the overarching project on the “Coverage, Operational Reach, and Effectiveness of Humanitarian Aid”, “Tigray has the highest numbers of people in need as a percentage of the population, the lowest numbers of organisations responding, and the lowest percentage of people in need reached by aid.”

Researcher Abby Stoddard said the report “shows that a restrictive government, combined with insecurity and active fighting, can completely hamstring the aid response for months.”

Almost all respondents said they needed help, and 43 percent said they had received at least some. The most common form of aid requested, and received, was food. Healthcare, clean water, and sanitation services were the services next most in demand. However, electricity and telecommunications topped the answers to an open-ended question on what people needed most.

Only two percent of respondents said they had received any help other than food. Some 31 percent said they “don’t know” the main obstacle to accessing aid, but 23 percent blamed government restrictions and 21 percent a lack of safety. Non-government military were to blame, according to 16 percent.

“Mobile phone surveys will always be limited by the degree of phone ownership and coverage, and in this case we had to pause it a couple of times due to power outages,” explained Stoddard. “Respondents tend to skew more urban and educated as a rule… in this case we mainly reached people who were still in their home districts.”

Limited access

According to the international aid community, government restrictions as well as insecurity and fighting have been preventing sufficient relief aid from getting through. The government has relaxed some of its restrictions on media and aid groups following sustained international lobbying. Significant volumes of food aid are being delivered to the region by the government, the UN, and NGOs.

Addis Ababa insists progress is being made to normalise the situation and deliver help, and to investigate rights abuses. However, the UN’s latest map of humanitarian access shows only small pockets of the region are fully open to relief aid provision.

Asked about which aid agencies were most active, respondents mentioned the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). REST, formerly affiliated to the now rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front, is the final link in the chain for a large food aid operation serviced by NGOs, including Catholic Relief Services.

Food and ‘starvation crimes’

Even as larger volumes of aid are being sent into the region, aid agency heads interviewed anonymously as part of the survey don’t have full confidence in where it’s going: “Although humanitarian organisations are doing their best to monitor distributions, some are worried about possible discrimination and exclusion in deciding who gets aid, and about the degree of control that authorities and armed actors are exerting over processes of targeting and distribution.”

The latest update by the UN humanitarian office, OCHA, reports an “extremely concerning malnutrition situation.”

A new report by The World Peace Foundation, whose authors include Horn of Africa and famine analyst Alex de Waal, states that “Ethiopian and Eritrean belligerents in the war in Tigray have comprehensively dismantled the region’s economy and food system.”

The report continued: “Regardless of who is responsible for the outbreak of hostilities, the sole reason for the scale of the humanitarian emergency is that the coalition of Ethiopian Federal forces, Amhara regional forces, and Eritrean troops are committing starvation crimes on large scale.”

Prior to the outbreak of war in November, the Tigray region had mostly achieved food security, the report noted. But in March, the US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) classified at least 20 percent of the population of both central and eastern Tigray, in addition to several sections of northwestern and southeastern Tigray, as experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity.

Based on those figures, the report stated, there are now 50 to 100 excess deaths every day, and if the food security situation is not stabilised, it will lead to “mass starvation and a risk of famine” in the coming months.

Source

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የኖርዌይ የስደተኞች ካውንስል ትግራይን አስመልክቶ | በሕይወቴ እንዲህ የመሰለ ኢ-ሰብዓዊ ተግባር አላየሁም

የኖርዌይ የስደተኞች ካውንስል (NRC) ዋና ጸሐፊ ጃን ኤጌላንድ የተሰጠ መግለጫ-እርዳታው አሁንም ወደ ትግራይ አልደረሰም።

ጃን ኤጌላንድ በትግራይ ስለገጠማቸው የማያቋርጥ የሰብዓዊ እርዳታ ተደራሽነት ተግዳሮቶች ሲናገሩ፦

“በእርዳታ ሠራተኛነቴ ባሳለፍኳቸው ዓመታት ሁሉ እንደዚህ ያሉ አንገብጋቢ ፍላጎቶች ላሏቸው ለብዙዎች እንቅፋት የሆነ እና ለረጅም ጊዜ ምላሽ ለመስጠት የማይችል ኢ-ሰብዓዊ ተግባር አላየሁም፡፡ እንደ ዓለም አቀፍ ማህበረሰብ እየገጠመን ካለው የሰብአዊ ግዴታ አንፃር እርዳታ ለማድረስ በግልጽ እንቅፋት እየሆነብን ነው፡፡“

ውጊያው ከተጀመረ አስራ ሁለት ሳምንታት ጀምሮ በሚፈለገው መጠን የምላሽ መሰረታዊ አካላት አሁንም በቦታው ላይ አይደሉም ፡፡ ዕርዳታ ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ እየተሻገረ ነው ማለት ሐሰት ነው፡፡ እርዳታው በትንሽ ግጭቶች እና በጣም ውስን በሆኑ ፍላጎቶች ወደ ስፍራዎች ብቻ የሄደ ሲሆን ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ እያደገ መምጣቱ የማይቀር በመሆኑ ከሰብአዊ ቀውስ ጋር አይሄድም ፡፡ ስደተኞችን ጨምሮ በሚሊዮን የሚቆጠሩ ሴቶች ፣ ሕፃናት እና ወንዶች በእውነት ተስፋ በቆረጠ ሁኔታ ውስጥ ናቸው ፣ ያለ እርዳታ እና ጥበቃ ብቻቸውን ይሰቃያሉ ፡፡

መንግስት በሌሎች በርካታ የኢትዮጵያ ክፍሎች በሚፈለገው መጠን የእርዳታ አቅርቦትን በብቃት ማስተባበር እንደቻለ በተከታታይ አረጋግጧል እናም እንደገና ማድረግ ይችላል ብለን እናምናለን ፡፡ ሁሉም ባለሥልጣናት የትኛውም ቦታ ቢኖሩም በጣም የተቸገሩትን ያለገደብ እና ያለምንም ቅድመ ሁኔታ ተደራሽ ለማድረግ የሚያስችላቸውን ሁሉ እንዲያደርጉ አጥብቄ እጠይቃለሁ፡፡

Statement by Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC): Aid still not reaching Tigray

Twelve weeks since the start of conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, meaningful humanitarian operations have still not begun. Aid organisations are unable to reach the Central and Western parts of the region, and two refugee camps are completely inaccessible. In the few instances where agencies are accessing the region, it is limited to areas along major roads or the capital Maekelle. Aid workers face an unpredictable approval process with blurred lines of authorizations, as well as unclear and shifting approval procedures.

Reacting to the persistent humanitarian access challenges into Tigray, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Jan Egeland, said:

“In all my years as an aid worker, I have rarely seen a humanitarian response so impeded and unable to deliver in response for so long, to so many with such pressing needs. As an international community, we are clearly failing to deliver against the humanitarian imperative we are facing.

Twelve weeks since the fighting began, the basic elements of a response on the scale needed are still not in place. It is false to say that aid is increasingly getting through. Aid has only gone to the places with little conflict and more limited needs and is not keeping pace with the humanitarian crisis as it inevitably grows over time. Millions of women, children and men, including refugees, are in a truly desperate situation, suffering alone without aid or protection.

The government has in the past consistently proven that it can effectively coordinate the delivery of aid at the scale needed in many other parts of Ethiopia and we believe it can do so again. I strongly urge all authorities to do whatever it takes to enable unrestricted and unconditional access to those most in need, regardless of their locations.

Source/ምንጭ

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አርቲስት ሰገን ይፍጠር የትግራይ ሕዝብ ስለደረሰበት ግፍና ሰቆቃ

ዛሬ ቀኑን ሙሉ በጥልቁ ሳሰላስልባቸው የነበሩት ጥያቄዎች፤ “በተለይ ኦሮሞ እና አማራ በትግራይ ሕዝብ ላይ ምን ያህል ጥላቻ ቢኖራቸው ነው በዘመነ ኮሮና፣ በዘመነ አንበጣ “እንኩ!” ከማለት በቀር ምንም ባላደረጓቸው በትግራይ ኢትዮጵያውያን ወገኖቻቸው ላይ ተናበው ጦርነት ለማወጅ የደፈሩት? የሕዳር ጽዮንን፣ ገናን እና ጥምቀትን እንኳን እስከማያከብሩ ድረስ ጭካኔ የተሞላበት ፋሺስታዊ ተግባር እየተፈጸመባቸው፣ አረጋውያን እና ሕፃናት እየተሰደዱ፣ እየተራቡና እየተገደሉ እንዴት ጸጥ ብለው ለብቻቸው በዓል ለማክበር ተቻላቸው? የሚሉት ጥያቄዎች ናቸው። ከዚህ የበለጠ ጭካኔ እኮ የለም! ይህን የጥቃት ዘመቻ በመደገፋቸው በሁለቱ ሕዝቦች ላይ የሚመጣባቸው መቅሰፍት ደግሞ ገና ካሁኑ በጣም ረብሾኛል። ፈሪሃ እግዚአብሔር ያላቸው ሆነው በፍጹም አይታዩኝም፤ ለንስሐ የሚያበቃ ስራ እንኳን ለመስራት ጥረትም፣ ዝግጁነትም ብቃትም የላቸውም ማለት እኮ ነው።

ይህ ዲያብሎሳዊ ድርጊት እኮ ናዚው ሂትለር ከሰማኒያ ዓመታት በፊት በሩሲያውያኑ ላይ ከፈጸመው ኢ-ሰብዓዊ ተግባር ጋር እጅግ በጣም ተመሳሳይ ነው። ልብ እንበል፤ ግራኝ ትግራይን ማገድ፣ መተንኮስ፣ ለወረርሽኝ በሽታ፣ ለአንበጣ፣ ለረሃብ ማጋለጡን የጀመረው ከሁለት ዓመት ተኩል በፊት ጀምሮ ነበር። የሂትለርን ፍኖተ ካርታ ይዞ ጥቃቱን በመፈጸም ላይ ካለው አውሬ ጎን ቆመው “በለው! ግደለው! ግፋበት!” እያሉ ወደ ጥልቁ እየወረዱ እኮ ነው ወገኖቼ። እንዴት ይሄን መገንዘብ ተሳናቸው?

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