It’s great to see a report by a real reporter about Ethiopia. Aka @AFP’s @rcoreyb, who appears to be actually at today’s swearing in unlike the @nytimes@declanwalsh and @ap’s Cara Anna.
There seems to be quite a lot of solid evidence that the famine in the 1980s, the only aspect of recent Ethiopian history with which Westerners are familiar, was a man made famine, by the TPLF.
Memo to the UN & USG: The people & Govt. of Ethiopia also feel let down, & not over the relatively speaking trivial issue of these expulsions (which it’s nice to see have been completed) but by 11 months of collusion with a brutal separatist rebellion which killed 10s of 1000s.
And a question.
Has President @SahleWorkZewde’s speech been released in translation? If so I’d love to read it. Link please. Also @AbiyAhmedAli’s. Once he delivers it.
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The latest leaked email, published by Canadian author and investigative journalist @jeffpropulsion contains additional revelations, which, in the light of the audio recording point towards systemic failures at the highest level of the United Nations. jeffpearce.medium.com/the-un-literal…
@jeffpropulsion The leaked audio also raises questions about UN funder involvement - i.e. Members (US, EU UK?) in the efforts to secure direct control - absent both @UNEthiopia and Govt. of Ethiopia visibility - over the aid effort in Tigray.
@jeffpropulsion@UNEthiopia Taken together these latest revelations bring into question the management of the entire UN Humanitarian operations, and now urgently require responses from the UNSG @antonioguterres and @UNReliefChief Martin Griffiths.
This @jeffpropulsion story followed on the heels of the release on FB of an audio recording of him talking with sources, which appears to have been obtained from a stolen audio recorder as he left Ethiopia.
@jeffpropulsion The story is based on an Oct. 2nd (Saturdauy) leaked email from a UN aid worker based inside Tigray. Its contents, as explained by @jeffpropulsion are deeply disturbing, seemingly showing indifference towards issues such as the weaponisation of aid and the use of child soldiers.
In a normal news media environment, the recording & leaked email would be treated as bombshell revelations, especially given their bearing on a diplomatic rift between the UN's humanitarian agencies and the Govt. of Ethiopia in the wake of the expulsion of 7 UN officials.
Just waiting for @UN_Spokesperson@StephDujarric. Will be interesting to see if there is any readout remarks/and or questions about the swearing in of the Govt. And whether the UN is continuing to maintain the position that the officials should be allowed back.
They both relate to a phenomena that needs a better name.
It is often called "false equivalence" but, IMO that's not strong enoug. @Qnie_Addis has done a thread on "gaslighting" which is what it is, but as a term is not IMO specific enough.
@Qnie_Addis "The spread of conflict into the Amhara and Afar regions"
The conflict did not "spread". TPLF forces invaded.
This lack of precision makes it sounds as if Ethiopia contributed to this, when in fact at the time that it "spread" Ethiopia was under a unilateral ceasefire.
Here is the Q&A related to Ethiopia. Questions were focussed on the expulsions and the reasons for compliance with Ethiopia's persona-non-grata instructions, which the UN insists it does not recognise & says it is a long-standing position of the UN.