Thread by @sew_addis

Thread: Novices and political activists are cheering @declanwalsh for his latest @nytimes tirade against #Ethiopia.
The biggest revelation in Declan’s latest compilation of rumors+conspiracies is #Eritrea’s spy chief visit to Amhara region.
shorturl.at/pyFN9

The dramatic depiction of the visit as “A Spy Chief Among the Singers and Dancers” transformed a simple fact of a visit, known to many close observers, into a Hollywood-movie-type suspense. The dramatization would have made sense if the spy chief, Abraha Kassa, did so to New York

What is strange about traveling from Asmara to Bahir Dar in the same flight with the troupe? Should he charter a plane for this visit? Anyone familiar with Ethiopia-TPLF-Eritrea relations would expect Daclan to add another person in his discussion.

What is intentionally omitted in @declanwalsh's article is more revealing about the underlying intention of the article. Declan implied having a deep knowledge of the architecture and constellation within and among the intelligence agencies of the two countries.

Guess what – no mention of the ‘larger-than-ghost’ character he knows very well. “The Spy Chief that Vanished” could have been his preferred subtitle. Why Declan avoid mentioning Getachew Assefa: 2nd most powerful person & invisible head of #Ethiopia’s #Intelligence for 23 years?

#GetachewAssefa disappeared from his office leaving not a single file to the new administration under Abiy Ahmed. Declan lamented that the PM “purged ethnic Tigrayans from his security details and created the Republican Guard.” This sounds alarming unless you know the spy chief

This sounds alarming unless you know the spy chief just disappeared without notifying his boss was a member of TPLF’s central committee, and 95%+ of key personnel in the palace – including security- were ethnic Tigrayans since 1991.

Understandably, factoring the security significance of a long-time spy chief who left to Mekele doesn’t server @declanwalsh's narrative of smearing Ethiopia and Eritrea as the only bad actors in his drama. Any playwright understands the necessity of creating such characters.

Readers find solace in the image of TPLF as a force-for-good character, victimized by evil neighbors, namely Amharas and Eritreans led by a peace prize winner. What a climax! Twist the story to save the good character!
The rest is silence, Hamlet’s last word.

@Qnie_Addis @AlemayehuGK @ZemenuYA @AdamAbebe