By Petros Tesfagiorgis 12-24-18

In the Amhara owned social media there is an awful hate campaignagainst the TPLF and the People of Tigray such as:

Thecampaign is of epidemic proportionand the standard of decency is shamefully low. It isprovocative, threatening and may lead to armed clashes,God forbid. As usual the victims of conflict are the ordinary Ethiopian citizens not the campaigners because most of them do so from their comfort zone in the West. They and their family can’t be displaced, murdered or maimed as is happening in many areas of Ethiopia today particularly in the South.We Eritreans are very clear that peace with Ethiopia means withall nations and nationalitiesin Ethiopia and not to be used as a weapon to undermine the people of Tigray.

However it is Abiy who allowed Isaias to interfere in the internal affairs of Ethiopia in order to appease the extremists Amhara. As a result of side-lining the people in the peace process and interfering in the internal affairs of Ethiopia, the resentment of the people of Eritrea against Isaias is growing fast. The attempted murder of General Sebhat Ephrem should have been a lesson to Ethiopians of what is brewing in Eritrea. PM Abiy has shown no interest in the people of Eritrea. The least he may have done is to show some concern to Eritrean refugees trapped in Libyaand plead the UNHCR totake them to  a third country or join in the refugee camps in Ethiopia. They are starved, tortured and subjected to other forms of violations.  See Photo of Eritrean refugees in Khom, Libya.

The only consolation for Eritreans is that on the border there wasgreat happiness as Eritreans and Ethiopians greet each other, tears flowing down their cheeks.  It is a sign of genuine people to people solidarity. It is peace building move of a kind that shined during the armed struggle. After all it was the military cooperation of TPLF and EPLF that defeated the Soviet armed and trained army of the fascist military junta led by Colonel Mengustu Hailemariam.  Of course the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) has also contributed a lot to the defeat of the Junta (Dergue). OLF together with EPLF had a lightening attack that destroys military garrisons of the Dergue in the South.

The Tigreans were clear of the right of Eritreans for self-determination and supported the independence of Eritrea like the rest of the world while the Amhara wavered. Even to this day, while the peace process is unleashed many Ethiopian writers keep writing undermining the Eritrean struggle.  FewEritreans that support Isaias  have failed to see the big picture and are siding with Isaias against Tigray.

MJ WalikuArsema

Refugees in Al Khoms, Libya. They are being enslaved, sold off and tortured, there are 90 refugees, 44 are minors, 10 are women, and they are being abused and forcibly disappeared. Please register them immediately and evacuate them to safety! Write to UNHCR Libya and Italy.

By Activist Julia Tranchina- human rights lawyer in London:

The Tigray politicians, intellectuals and the youth are taking thethreat seriously and are organizing conferences and debates nationwide to analyse and understand the whole motive behind the hate campaign and the extraordinary witch hunt.

They organised demonstrations in many cities.  The demonstrations were the biggest expression of a popular culture of defiance and reflects thecombative mood of the entire Tigray nation when they find themselves under attack. It was also ashow of unity and confidence.

During the demonstration, The Tigray regional State Vice President Dr Debretzion Gebremikael gave a talk with calm and restraint. He appealed for the rule of law, which is in short supply, and criticized the Abiy Government for failing to protect the victims of Ethnic conflict and called for active involvement to end it. The hate-mongers does not accept this constructive criticism because it came from Dr Debretzion. The hatred of Tigray blinded the hate-mongers that Debretzion is reformist who is putting the welfare of the people of Tigray centre stage. Interestinglyhe expressed his priorityto combat the main enemy, poverty. This has reminded me of a big Poster at Meskel Square Addis Ababa during Eritrean Diaspora civil society meetings in 2011.The posters had pictures of Late PM Melles Zenawi with children – Itsaid “we will inherit our young development and not hunger”. I stood mesmerized and murmured “Cry my beloved Eritrea” Eritrea that won the war for independence but lost the peace when Isaias started the war with Ethiopia and further declared war on the people of Eritrea, subjecting them to extreme repression. It gave rise to the influx of huge number of refugees to exile.

The disease - of hate has deeper roots in the body politics of Ethiopia. It is an attack against the federal systemthat ended the supremacy of the repressive Amharafeudal system and gave the ex-oppressed nationalitiesself-rule, dignity and identity. The ex-oppressed nationalities have achieved visible and effective politicalrepresentation and they would not let this supremacists abort the federal system in order them to rule    from the centre “Addis Ababa, the seat of Menlik from where he build a strong feudal Empire by invading the Oromos. They know they can’t reclaim their supremacy they don’t have the power.But they took as a holy mission to take revenge on TPLF.

The hate promoters are so insincere and vicious they never mention that Ethiopia is transformed from years of poverty stricken country into a country who scored the highest economic growth in Africa. Do they remember the 1972 famine which killed 2 million Ethiopians? It heralded the downfall of Emperor Hailesellasie, who tried to hide the famine? Do they remember the 1985 famine when the Band aid singers, led by Sir Bob Geldof, raised millions of dollars – to fed the hungry in Ethiopia? “The title of the Song was “Do they know it is Christmas” The song is sung every X-mass in UK ever since. As I write this article I have listened to it on the radio.  But I can’t help thinking “Do the Eritreans men, women and children trapped in Libya know it is Christmas? No. they don’t know. They know they are in hell and no Isaias nor Abiy the soul mates want to know. The campaign by Eritrean in the West is so weak except for few Eritreans and human rights activists who are making a difference. Some Eritreans refugees were lucky, they are being rescued and managed to go to a third country.
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