February 1, 2021
Vision Ethiopia Statement on the situation in Tigray from November 2020 is available HERE
Vision Ethiopia
February 1, 2021
Vision Ethiopia, a non-partisan association of Ethiopian scholars and professionals, denounces in the strongest terms the blatant misinformation campaign waged by Western establishments, think tanks, pundits, former diplomats and media outlets, to exploit the current predicaments of our fellow citizens in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in a last-ditch effort to defend and bring back to power the criminal leaders of the disgraced Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The German theologian, Martin Luther, famously said: “It is the nature of all hypocrites and false prophets to create a conscience where there is none, and to cause conscience to disappear where it does exist.” Unsurprisingly, none of these groups have raised as much concern about the raging genocidal violence in the Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz regions, perpetrated by the TPLF in collusion with regional leaders, or the decades of repressive rule by the TPLF regime.
While we deeply sympathize with our fellow citizens in Tigray over their suffering as a result of the justified campaign to bring the criminal TPLF leaders to justice, we vehemently deplore the efforts of the West to mischaracterize the true state of affairs in the Tigray region for the sole purpose of giving a new lease of life to a terrorist organization they have nurtured for decades.
Vision Ethiopia always stands in solidarity with our citizens in Tigray and supports calls for an independent investigation of any human rights violations in the region. Vision Ethiopia believes that our compatriots in Tigray have been victims of decades of repression, like the rest of the population, under the brutal dictatorship of the TPLF and the atrocious and ethnic-based system of government that this terrorist organization imposed on the people of Ethiopia.
As declared in its Press Release of November 5, 2020, Vision Ethiopia condemns the treasonous acts of the TPLF against the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), and fully supports the law enforcement campaign, which is a responsibility expected of any sovereign government.
While we appreciate any genuine humanitarian gesture aimed to help our people in Tigray, we believe that it is a brazen expression of arrogance, duplicity and hypocrisy for the West to preach peaceful rapprochement with the TPLF disregarding its criminal attributes. Under no circumstances would these entities embrace reconciliation with an evil force that
threatens their independence and freedoms. Indeed, to oppose the justifiably appropriate law enforcement campaign in Tigray would be tantamount to opposing Abraham Lincoln’s campaigns to preserve the Union, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor, George W. Bush’s war on the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and, most fittingly, Barack Obama’s mission to kill Osama bin Laden.
History reminds us that in June of 1936 the West ignored the appeal of Emperor Haile Silassie for justice in the face of unprovoked aggression by fascist Italy, and sacrificed Ethiopia to appease Benito Mussolini. Now, almost a century later, the West has rallied again to restore the fascist regime of the TPLF against the will of the people of Ethiopia. It may be recalled that Herman Cohen in 1991 brokered Meles Zenawi’s assumption of power, laying the foundation for the institution of an apartheid-style constitution that is now tearing the country apart. Later on, a cadre of diplomats, including Susan Rice, cemented the power of the TPLF under Meles Zenawi. Leaders like Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama celebrated the glory of TPLF’s dictatorship, as millions suffered under Nazi-style repression, while the tyrannical TPLF regime made a mockery of democracy declaring 100% election victory.
The criminality of the TPLF has been well documented:
- The iniquitous group has been labelled as a terrorist organization, in recognition of its subversive activities before and after it assumed power.
- The terrorist organization is known for exposing our fellow citizens in Tigray as military targets for propaganda purposes, as was the case with the bombing of the town of Hawzen in June of 1988.
- Over the years, the TPLF has looted the wealth of the people of Ethiopia, including aid money intended for famine relief. As reported widely, as a guerrilla group, the leaders even “ tricked aid workers into giving them the money, which was meant to buy food for the starving.”
- While in power, the TPLF’s atrocious crimes have been extensively established by humanitarian organizations and government institutions, including the US State Department.
- After it was dislodged from power, it coordinated genocidal violence in various parts of the country, in collusion with ethnocentric regional leaders in Oromia and Benshangul Gumuz.
- Following its treasonous attack on the Northern Command, it exposed the people of Tigray to horrific humanitarian disaster for political gain, unleashing over 13,000 criminals from prison into the population, disguising its militia in locally manufactured military fatigues of the Eritrean army, destroying infrastructure to create humanitarian catastrophe, and coordinating genocidal massacres against Amharas in Mai-Kadra and other towns.
Sadly, thanks to the debauched zeal of the West to be a partner in crime with the TPLF, as Jeff Peace recently noted, “… the TPLF is unfortunately still winning the PR war. No wonder that many Ethiopians, both at home and in the diaspora communities of Europe and North America, are disgusted.”
Vision Ethiopia, therefore, calls upon the West to desist from spreading hypocritical and disingenuous propaganda to provide cover for TPLF’s crimes, and
- Calls upon the government of Ethiopia to ensure the safety and well-being of the people of Tigray and to open safe corridors for legitimate donors and human rights organizations to operate freely in the region
- Condemns the genocidal violence across the country that is especially targeted at Amharas, Orthodox Christians and other ethnic minorities in the Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz regions and calls upon the Ethiopian government and the international community to make genuine efforts to stop the bloodshed immediately and to bring those responsible, including regional officials, to justice as swiftly as possible.
- Demands the government of Ethiopia to extend the law enforcement campaign to the Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz regions to stop the genocidal violence with the same determination and gusto the ENDF heroically demonstrated against the TPLF.
- Urges the Biden administration to refrain from following the discredited and misguided policy of its predecessors, and to formulate and implement instead a viable strategy aimed at establishing true democracy in Ethiopia that will guarantee the protection of the long-term interest of the United States and the stability and prosperity of the people in the region. The people of Ethiopia have been encouraged by the thoughtful position expressed by the current ambassador of the US to their country.
- Appeals to the EU to re-evaluate its biased and uncritical support to the TPLF and engage in a constructive manner to help rehabilitate our fellow citizens in Tigray who have been victims of the atrocities of the criminal organization for over four decades.
The Board of Vision Ethiopia