In the past two weeks, the Ethiopian diaspora community all over the world staged rallies joining the #NoMore! movement. Likewise, the Ethiopian Israelis organized a big rally in Jerusalem on November 21 and December 13 urging some governments of western countries to stop the pressure on Ethiopia.
During the first rally, the community started the demonstrations around the office of the prime minister and walked to the United States Embassy in Jerusalem. I was watching the willpower and passion of thousands of Ethiopian Israelis who were taking part in the march. My colleagues at IETV interviewed many of the participants and all of them expressed their conviction that Ethiopia will prevail. I was impressed by the remarks of one elderly women in the crowd who indicated that God of Israel will bestow peace upon Ethiopia because King David said in his songs “Ethiopia stretches her hands to Elohim."
In the past one year, especially in the past few months, there has been premeditated systematic campaign on Ethiopia by some Western governments. The entire plot was to bring the dictatorial ethnocentric disgruntled political group known as Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) back to power. In line with this, the big corporate media stations such as CNN, BBC and Reuters were engaged in broadcasting fake new that were meant to create a steps directed towards their desired end. They disseminated orchestrated propaganda and staged a media warfare.
United Nations agencies have also been complicit of these actions. The narrative created about Ethiopia is sifted with fabricated stories intended to instill fear and havoc. All along, Ethiopia and Ethiopians remains to be resilient.
The horrible attacks by the by TPLF at the northern base of Ethiopian National Defense (ENDF) which was the flashpoint, has been disregarded by these media groups. None of them mentioned that the TPLF has caused significant damage in terms of human life and loss of property in Afar and Amhara regions.
The systematic killing of civilians including women and children by TPLF in the cities has been recorded by human rights organizations. All acts of violence conducted by the TPLF forces are typically similar to that of Hamas or other terror groups. The TPLF has publicly declared its evil objective to destroy Amhara, dismantle the federal government and disintegrate the nation.
Ethiopians at home and in the diaspora has been disappointed by concerted malicious messaging from the western countries which begins with false narrative that the terrorist groups are advancing to the center and asking diplomatic community and expats to evacuate, announcing possible terrorist attacks and calling for planning a military intervention, etc. These false stories have been circulated with the objective of creating a sense of disorder.
It is important to underscore that the Ethiopian government is engaged in fight against terrorism. While the TPLF joined hands with OLF Shenie and commits grave crimes the western governments are not only silent bust also seem to continue to support its actions defying international norms and customary norms governing international relations. I think they need to reconsider their policy and send strong message to the terrorist group. It is in the public domain that TPLF has been designated as a terrorist group even by the US government, Ethiopians in the diaspora are simply calling the western nations to adhere to the principles and international standards.
The federal government has deployed the security forces to counter the organized terror network. The recent military gains under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy clearly demonstrated that Ethiopia has a strong national army (ENDF) which can thwart the terror attacks and maintain the peace and security of the nation. The ENDF has successfully aborted the terrorist attacks while the combat operation against the terrorist groups was a challenging task. My fellow compatriots tell me that the people of Ethiopia are faithful that “God of Israel will deliver them from all evil.” Ethiopia remains peaceful, stable and secure.
All western officials acknowledge that under the TPLF rule, the Ethiopian people suffered from internal and external conflicts, were obligated to migrate, were subjected to abject poverty and degradation. Ethiopians will never accept the return of the terrorist group. The TPLF forces has been gradually surrounded by gallant people of Afar and Amhara who strike back to reverse the attack. The massive engulfment would lead to complete annihilation of the TPLF.
We all know apart from the internal tensions created by the terrorist groups; Ethiopia has also been confronted by external actors. Ethiopia continues its effort to manage the row on the negotiation over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in a diplomatic way focusing on the African Union facilitation. Ethiopia has opted to take the path of strategic patience in the case of the incursion by Sudan, looking for amicable diplomatic solution. It is incredible to recognize that all these matters are interconnected. The external pressure on Ethiopia has been mounting form all sides.
The diaspora community is poised to combat the misinformation and disinformation campaign launched on Ethiopia. The coordinated Ethiopian diaspora #NoMore! movement across the world has created a new momentum. We, members of the Ethiopian diaspora are calling the international community to support for the Ethiopian government in defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country by all means. Robust backing is anticipated particularly from long-time friends such as Israel.
The rally will continue until we get the necessary attention and proper response from all sides.