Thread by @althecat

Dr Tedros(not an MD)'s rescue effort for the TPLF, a terrorist group in which he was formerly the No. 3. leader stepped up on January 6th.

This is @DrTedros's twitter profile pinned tweet. @DrTedros has 1.6m followers thanks to his position as head of @WHO during a pandemic.

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1481684184540323847

The video features a clip from a Covid-19 media briefing (Watch here >> media.un.org/en/asset/k1l/k…) held 6th January on COVIC-19 during which he addressed the issue of medical supplies in the Tigray Region. The briefing addressed media throughout the world.

His Tigray remarks come at the top of the briefing, just over nine minutes in. After talking about equity and the needs of developing countries, he introduces Tigray saying that "nowhere" are issues as acute as they are in humanitarian conflict crises.
media.un.org/en/asset/k1l/k…

[It appears @DrTedros has now unpinned that tweet.]

After mentioning Afghanistan he moves to Ethiopia (11 mins in), saying @WHO has delivered several tonnes of medical supplies to Afar and Amhara, then saying @WHO "has not been permitted to deliver" supplies to Tigray.

[The tweet that @DrTedros has unpinned is here

https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1480611626361446409?s=20

]

@DrTedros describes Afar & Amhara as "affected" by the conflict. He does not mention that 1000s of medical facilities including hospitals and clinics have been looted and destroyed by TPLF forces.

@DrTedros concludes with an appeal to global leaders to provide access to health supplies: "We need health for peace & peace for health". He then delivers Christmas greeting to the people of Ethiopia hands back to the moderator who says there are "100s" of reporters online.

Dr Tedros's remarks were also posted to the @WHO website. who.int/director-gener…

@DrTedros then proceeded to tweet about Tigray more than ever before on his official @WHO account - with its colossal media reach.

On:
January 9th x 2
January 10th (his no longer pinned tweet)
January 11th

January 11th (x2 more = 3)
January 12th x2

January 12th (=3)
& today January 13th (1 so far)

On December 30th this was noticed by a sharp observer on Twitter. The @WHO database of damage and destruction to health facilities has no data at all for Ethiopia, though it does have data for neighbouring countries.

I wonder why this is?

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1476554181284708354?s=20

[HT to @JordanNOMORE for picking up on this. it really is astonishing - I haven't checked to see whether it has been updated.]

https://twitter.com/JordanNOMORE/status/1476166022050848771

And then yesterday in a fresh @WHO briefing @DrTedros was provided with an opportunity to express his views on the issue of Tigray once again in front of his COVID-19 media audience. This time though it was more subtle.

And came in the form of a question.

Link to watch the video stream here >> media.un.org/en/asset/k1h/k…

The reporter asking the question is @simonateba, White House correspondent for @TodayNewsAfrica a Washington DC based AfricanIssues Focussed News Service which appears to be pro-TPLF.

@simonateba @todaynewsafrica The reporter's question is at 33 minutes in, and was bit leading /political - referring to air strikes occurring during @JoeBiden's call with @AbiyAhmedAli, and even though @DrTedros was present he did not initially answer.

For a hook the Q. referred to the previous briefing.

@simonateba @todaynewsafrica @JoeBiden @AbiyAhmedAli @DrTedros The question was initially answered by Dr Michael Ryan (who is a MD) @WHO Executive Director who was outraged and appalled. @DrTedros responded with a lengthy answer including a reading a letter from a physician about the absence of medicine.

@simonateba @todaynewsafrica @JoeBiden @AbiyAhmedAli @DrTedros @WHO Dr. Ryan was clearly prepared for the question from @simonateba, and provided a perfect introduction to the political speech from the carefully @DrTedros which followed - which was - because of his position and the Covid Crisis delivered to media across the planet.

From this I think it is reasonable to assume that the question from @TodayNewsAfrica had been prepared for. The question was the 2nd to last question in the briefing.

To be clear, it is appalling that there are no medical supplies getting in to Tigray, but this is not solely due to the Govt. of Ethiopia as he and TPLF's information cadre allege. The TPLF themselves closed the only route into Tigray on 15th December by attacking Ab'ala in Afar.

It is true in principle that there are other routes from Ethiopia into Tigray most are also blocked by continued fighting, initiated by TPLF. An offensive in the West began on December 28th and more recently in North Wollo.

... and it appears a statement has now been issued by @mfaethiopia about the conduct of @WHO Director General @DrTedros.

https://twitter.com/mfaethiopia/status/1481727574099349504?s=20

The @WHO Director Dr Tedros has had every opportunity, and the platform to preach peace over the past 13 and a half months but chose not to do so. When the TPLF retook Mekelle he tweeted "Pride" rather than encouraging the TPLF to reciprocate the GoE's ceasefire.

Three weeks after this tweet TPLF forces invaded Amhara and Afar using waves of child soldiers/human shields as a military tactic. Not once did he condemn this publicly.

And the five months since neither @WHO nor @DrTedros have even once condemned the destruction and looting of health facilities in areas they occupied or invaded, even though this was widely reported.

The @WHO did not even comment on the TPLF shelling of the Galicoma Health Clinic in Afar in which 240 are thought to have died including 107 children on August 5th.

It is only now that TPLF has been defeated at enormous cost to the peoples of Tigray, Amhara and Afar that the Director General of @WHO and his Executive Director have decided to speak out.

Ends

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