@sparkomat In case my letter is not readable in picture format, here it is in a thread. My take on a story you produced from Amhara Region for Sky News and why I am in complete opposition to it. [1/17]
https://twitter.com/mekdes_asefa/status/1445399473480421385
This is your first reporting out of the Amhara region and I find it interesting that you failed to mention any of what is on the ground. I say this as a person who knows that there is no way you cannot not see the damage and destruction in the region [2/17]
(and if you have talked to people, what they have witnessed) not to mention the IDPs and their situations and focus on the troops. Your description of the region makes your audience believe that there are only people ready for a bloodbath and not victims, [3/17]
and leaves me to wonder if this was your intention.
But let’s say that you chose to focus on a different angle and move on to the rest of the story. [4/17]
But let’s say that you chose to focus on a different angle and move on to the rest of the story. [4/17]
1. “The Ethiopian PM, Abiy Ahmed, sent troops into Tigray last November as he tried to oust the TPLF from power. A series of events, culminating in an attack on a number of federal army camps, had raised the political temperature to boiling point.” [5/17]
This is a completely wrong narrative on how the war started, & it suggests that Abiy started the war and the attacks on federal army camps were an outcome and not what set the war in motion. BTW, have you ever tried to reach out to survivors of the Norther Command of ENDF? [6/17]
2.… thousands of troops…. The majority were male, but some soldiers were female and many looked extremely young. In Amhara, middle-school and high-school students - along with their teachers - were called up last month with explicit instructions to "bury the enemy". [7/17]
By saying “middle school and high school students” & “young”, you are suggesting that ENDF and Amhara Forces are using child soldiers without actually saying it. We all know your western audience would automatically calculate and assume [8/17]
these students are underage when you know all too well that that is not the case. I wonder if it is a coincidence that one of the major criticisms on TPLF was use of child soldiers. [9/17]
3. Perhaps the most disappointing part of your story is this question and how you asked it.
"What do you want to happen to the TPLF, the people of Tigray?" I asked. [10/17]
"What do you want to happen to the TPLF, the people of Tigray?" I asked. [10/17]
"Have them eliminated, I personally want them to be eliminated. I want them eliminated. How many people have we lost? How many animals have we lost, how much livestock have we lost? My father is dead. I am prepared to fight." [11/17]
Asking one farmer/militia what he wants to happen to TPLF and the people of Tigray is outright wrong and feels like you tricked him into saying what you would expect him to say about the TPLF who killed his father, and destroyed his land and making it look [12/17]
like he is saying it about the people of Tigray is irresponsible to say the least. If the intention is to make it look like it is a genocide, I have to say statements like these could very well be where genocide begins. Would like to remind you of #Rwanda if you care [13/17]
Had you asked about TPLF and the People of Tigray separately (as you should have), I bet his reply would stand for the TPLF and he would have told you that the people of Tigray are his brothers and sisters. [14/17]
4."Human rights groups say atrocities have become common place on both sides in this conflict and have appealed for dialogue and negotiation."
Although you are on the ground in Amhara, and as a reporter one would expect you to report on the atrocities [15/17]
Although you are on the ground in Amhara, and as a reporter one would expect you to report on the atrocities [15/17]
that you are actually witnessing, you have to quote human rights groups to go out of the way to equate atrocities you’ve witnessed and those you have not seems a little suspicious of your neutrality. [16/17]
In all honesty, I respect any reporter that goes to the site to report on the facts on the ground. But it looks to me like you are there more for credibility purposes than to really witness the realities. If you disagree, I would love to hear what you have to say. [17/17]
@SkyNews @sparkomat @GetachewSS @McGarwen @Qnie_Addis @althecat @TheStrangerEth @jeffpropulsion @JemalCountess @NeaminZeleke
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