By Addis G. Tadesse – It is daunting to witness that the international community allows themselves to be bamboozled by WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom.
From what Tedros has been propagating in light of current conflict, political and humanitarian situation in Ethiopia, it is crystal clear where the UN official stands. He has been lobbying for international support to the TPLF, a rebel group he was a prominent member of. Mind you, the TPLF ruled Ethiopia for 27 years with blood and iron until 2018.
It was pushed out from hegemonic power through bitter popular struggle. The TPLF retreated to the northernmost region of Tigray and from there has been launching attacks after attack against neighboring regions of Afar and Anhara causing unimaginable destruction.
It sticks to this ill-gotten stance that either it rules over the entire nation of 120 million people, or it will be stirring nationwide disturbance while trying to carve out a de facto statehood over Tigray, a region of 6million population.
The WHO chief never speaks for the victims of TPLF’s blatant aggression. In fact the good people of Tigray have also been held hostage by the TPLF. They cannot freely express their opinions. The very few who were bold enough to call a spade a spade were killed or intimidated into submission.
It is sad to see the people of Tigray being made pawns in TPLF’s power game. It is sadder still to see the international community who chose to look at the Tigray conflict from a simplistic reductive point of view.
Had the international community called a spade a spade from the outset when the TPLF attacked Ethiopian army bases stationed in Tigray massacring soldiers in their pajamas during the pitch darkness of Nov. 3,2020, the situation today would have been very different and subsequent deadly battles would never have been fought.
Meanwhile ethnic extremists would never have been emboldened to wreck havoc in many other parts of the country. The international community did a glaring disservice to Ethiopians.
EDITOR”S NOTE- The writer, Addis G.Tadesse is Addis Ababa based journalist working for international media as correspondent from Ethiopia.