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Alastair Thompson

6 Oct, 12 tweets, 5 min read

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1445703935977607175

Seven minute warning. The stream has started. Will let you know what happens in this thread.

media.un.org/en/asset/k1z/k…

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1445703935977607175

@StephDujarric

Live video has started. Waiting for @StephDujarric the chief @UN_Spokesperson.

@baysontheroad

Briefing has started. Expecting questions from James Bay (@baysontheroad) on Ethiopia of @AJENews / @AJEnglish

@DrTedros

Readout On Ethiopia: Tomorrow there will be a UNSG/@DrTedros press conference tomorrow - which could be an interesting opportunity for some questions for Tedros on the allegations made against him in the leaked audio.

A second mention of Dr Tedros - something about vaccines.

@baysontheroad

Two questions from @baysontheroad, neither on Ethiopia. He appears to have lost interest in the reasons for the expulsions.

Audio problems now.... Echoes... Question from Bangladesh about press intimidation.... Question about Yemen.. Question about an unsafe tanker....

@baysontheroad

Now we have a WFP person talking about Afghanistan. So it appears no real readout on Ethiopia - except a few mentions of Dr Tedros. At the close there was an inquiry from @baysontheroad about an opportunity for the press pool to talk to the UNSG. But not details of this.

@StephDujarric

The briefing from WFP Afghanistan is dire. Economy close to collapse. No money. People selling their belongings to eat. Would be interesting to know if the crisis is better or worse than that in Ethiopia. Perhaps a briefing like this about Ethiopia would be good. @StephDujarric

@StephDujarric

@StephDujarric Apparently its a matter of weeks before the collapse of the Afghan economy, according to Mary McGroarty from the WFP.

@antonioguterres

And it's over.

The next appointment is at 2.45pm ET, a stakeout for UNSC members as they arrive for the consultation on "Peace and Security in Africa" featuring a briefing by UNSG @antonioguterres about Ethiopia - and which is expected to focus on Ethiopia.

My expectation if that the briefing meeting will mostly be interesting in terms of getting a feel for how the international community are thinking about recent developments in Ethiopia including the expulsions.

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More from @althecat

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

8 Oct

@UN

This (2nd image) is what >> un.org/ruleoflaw/them… << the @UN says about the the need for Freedom of Information laws to be in place in nation states to protect freedom of expression as per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

And this is a recent (2020) statement issued by the independent OHCHR [Office of the high commissioner of human rights] issued about the absence of implementation of Freedom of Information within UN institutions. ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/…

“The UN and many international organizations lack the kind of freedom of information policies that are increasingly the norm among governments,” - David Kaye said before presenting a new report to the UN General Assembly.

Read 11 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

8 Oct

@TheEconomist

2 damaging pieces about Ethiopia in @TheEconomist today, an editorial and a report. Both behind a paywall, and inaccessible to most Ethiopians

"Abiy against the world

Ethiopia is losing friends and influence

An essential Western ally now faces sanctions and isolation"

The editorial is the more damaging of the two, and links to the report, upon which it is loosely based.

"No favours for killers
Ethiopia is deliberately starving its own citizens
The world should apply whatever pressure it can to force it to stop"

@AbiyAhmedAli

LINKS:
Editorial >> economist.com/leaders/2021/1…

The report is linked at the bottom with the phrase "increasingly paranoid and erratic" used to describe @AbiyAhmedAli

Report >> economist.com/middle-east-an…

Read 4 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

7 Oct

@jack

I'd love to know who @jack talked to when he visited Ethiopia and what they talked about?

The role of @Twitter in reversing the information warfare dominance of TPLF, based mostly on lies, and replacing it with narratives based on reality has been an outstanding success.

There are spectacular differences between the approaches applied by the TPLF's cyber corps and those of Ethiopia.

TPLF: trolling, lying, gaslighting, bland unspecific allegations.
ETHIOPIA: humour, amplifying, revealing, informing, investigating, thanking and politely rebuffing

On the news media side the TPLF maintain clear dominance however. They have put in a lot off effort with things like story fabrication and placement, engineered and carefully deployed leaks.

Read 12 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

7 Oct

UN Interference in Ethiopia. Exhibit #1

An extraordinarily foolish oped by Mark Lowcock. UN Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator between 2017 and 2021.

I.E. The official in charge of Tigray when war began.

cgdev.org/blog/how-destr…

This oped is indicates that from the outset the war, the UN’s perspective on Tigray was divorced from reality.

TPLF attacks on multiple ENDF bases, killing 1000s of soldiers & officers, stealing heavy weaponry and attacking a neighboring state. Is not a “political dispute”.

I can only conclude from this intemperate and delusional account of recent history that Sir Mark Lowcock is anxious, that when the causes of the humanitarian disaster in Tigray are determined, they will be sheeted home to his leadership.

Read 4 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

6 Oct

@USAmbUN

And @USAmbUN Stakeout:

The expulsions are an affront. To the UN (and others). These are self inflicted wounds. And they reflect how this is conflict where Ethiopians are killing and raping Ethiopians. It is Ethiopia's leaders who are letting down Ethiopia.

@USAmbUN

@USAmbUN She goes on a bit. You can watch the video here >> media.un.org/en/asset/k17/k… (3:17 mins in).

Q1: Reuters - are you going to impose sanctions on Ethiopia?

A: The fact of the UNSC meeting today was an action. It was not an action that was easy to take. The US have tools at our disposal. It could be a resolution...

Read 5 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

6 Oct

@antonioguterres

The appearance by @antonioguterres at the end of the meeting is perhaps the most striking bit of all of this.

"It is my duty to defend the honour of the United Nations," he said when asked about his "right of reply" at end.
VIDEO: (Beginning 2:36mins) media.un.org/en/asset/k17/k…

"The UN has no political agenda in Ethiopia. Our agenda is just one to support the Ethiopian people, Tigrayans, Amaharas, Afaris, Somalis, that have suffered so much. We cannot see people going on dying, because of bullets, because of hunger...

"... we need to do everything to stop this conflict. We need to do everything to ensure that humanitarian aid is distributed everywhere to everybody. We need to do everything for a dialogue to be established among Ethiopians to solve the problems in Ethiopia."

Read 7 tweets

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