Statement on the Hypocrisy of the West Regarding the Conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia

Vision Ethiopia Statement on the situation in Tigray from November 2020 is available HERE

Vision Ethiopia
February 1, 2021

Vision Ethiopia, a non-partisan association of Ethiopian scholars and professionals,  denounces in the strongest terms the blatant misinformation campaign waged by Western  establishments, think tanks, pundits, former diplomats and media outlets, to exploit the  current predicaments of our fellow citizens in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in a last-ditch  effort to defend and bring back to power the criminal leaders of the disgraced Tigray  People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).  

The German theologian, Martin Luther, famously said: “It is the nature of all hypocrites and  false prophets to create a conscience where there is none, and to cause conscience to  disappear where it does exist.” Unsurprisingly, none of these groups have raised as much  concern about the raging genocidal violence in the Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz  regions, perpetrated by the TPLF in collusion with regional leaders, or the decades of  repressive rule by the TPLF regime. 

While we deeply sympathize with our fellow citizens in Tigray over their suffering as a result  of the justified campaign to bring the criminal TPLF leaders to justice, we vehemently  deplore the efforts of the West to mischaracterize the true state of affairs in the Tigray  region for the sole purpose of giving a new lease of life to a terrorist organization they have  nurtured for decades. 

Vision Ethiopia always stands in solidarity with our citizens in Tigray and supports calls for  an independent investigation of any human rights violations in the region. Vision Ethiopia  believes that our compatriots in Tigray have been victims of decades of repression, like the  rest of the population, under the brutal dictatorship of the TPLF and the atrocious and  ethnic-based system of government that this terrorist organization imposed on the people of  Ethiopia. 

As declared in its Press Release of November 5, 2020, Vision Ethiopia condemns the  treasonous acts of the TPLF against the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National  Defense Forces (ENDF), and fully supports the law enforcement campaign, which is a  responsibility expected of any sovereign government. 

While we appreciate any genuine humanitarian gesture aimed to help our people in Tigray,  we believe that it is a brazen expression of arrogance, duplicity and hypocrisy for the West  to preach peaceful rapprochement with the TPLF disregarding its criminal attributes. Under  no circumstances would these entities embrace reconciliation with an evil force that 

threatens their independence and freedoms. Indeed, to oppose the justifiably appropriate  law enforcement campaign in Tigray would be tantamount to opposing Abraham Lincoln’s  campaigns to preserve the Union, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s reaction to the attack on Pearl  Harbor, George W. Bush’s war on the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and, most fittingly, Barack  Obama’s mission to kill Osama bin Laden. 

History reminds us that in June of 1936 the West ignored the appeal of Emperor Haile  Silassie for justice in the face of unprovoked aggression by fascist Italy, and sacrificed  Ethiopia to appease Benito Mussolini. Now, almost a century later, the West has rallied  again to restore the fascist regime of the TPLF against the will of the people of Ethiopia. It  may be recalled that Herman Cohen in 1991 brokered Meles Zenawi’s assumption of  power, laying the foundation for the institution of an apartheid-style constitution that is now  tearing the country apart. Later on, a cadre of diplomats, including Susan Rice, cemented  the power of the TPLF under Meles Zenawi. Leaders like Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Barack  Obama celebrated the glory of TPLF’s dictatorship, as millions suffered under Nazi-style  repression, while the tyrannical TPLF regime made a mockery of democracy declaring  100% election victory. 

The criminality of the TPLF has been well documented: 

•  The iniquitous group has been labelled as a terrorist organization, in recognition of  its subversive activities before and after it assumed power.  
• The terrorist organization is known for exposing our fellow citizens in Tigray as  military targets for propaganda purposes, as was the case with the bombing of the  town of Hawzen in June of 1988. 
• Over the years, the TPLF has looted the wealth of the people of Ethiopia, including  aid money intended for famine relief. As reported widely, as a guerrilla group, the  leaders even “ tricked aid workers into giving them the money, which was meant to  buy food for the starving.” 
• While in power, the TPLF’s atrocious crimes have been extensively established by  humanitarian organizations and government institutions, including the US State  Department. 
•  After it was dislodged from power, it coordinated genocidal violence in various parts  of the country, in collusion with ethnocentric regional leaders in Oromia and  Benshangul Gumuz. 
• Following its treasonous attack on the Northern Command, it exposed the people of Tigray to horrific humanitarian disaster for political gain, unleashing over 13,000  criminals from prison into the population, disguising its militia in locally manufactured  military fatigues of the Eritrean army, destroying infrastructure to create humanitarian catastrophe, and coordinating genocidal massacres against Amharas in Mai-Kadra and other towns. 

Sadly, thanks to the debauched zeal of the West to be a partner in crime with the TPLF, as  Jeff Peace recently noted, “… the TPLF is unfortunately still winning the PR war. No wonder  that many Ethiopians, both at home and in the diaspora communities of Europe and North  America, are disgusted.” 

Vision Ethiopia, therefore, calls upon the West to desist from spreading hypocritical and  disingenuous propaganda to provide cover for TPLF’s crimes, and  

• Calls upon the government of Ethiopia to ensure the safety and well-being of the  people of Tigray and to open safe corridors for legitimate donors and human rights  organizations to operate freely in the region 
• Condemns the genocidal violence across the country that is especially targeted at  Amharas, Orthodox Christians and other ethnic minorities in the Oromia and  Benishangul-Gumuz regions and calls upon the Ethiopian government and the  international community to make genuine efforts to stop the bloodshed immediately  and to bring those responsible, including regional officials, to justice as swiftly as  possible. 
• Demands the government of Ethiopia to extend the law enforcement campaign to  the Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz regions to stop the genocidal violence with the  same determination and gusto the ENDF heroically demonstrated against the TPLF. 
• Urges the Biden administration to refrain from following the discredited and  misguided policy of its predecessors, and to formulate and implement instead a  viable strategy aimed at establishing true democracy in Ethiopia that will guarantee  the protection of the long-term interest of the United States and the stability and  prosperity of the people in the region. The people of Ethiopia have been encouraged  by the thoughtful position expressed by the current ambassador of the US to their  country. 
• Appeals to the EU to re-evaluate its biased and uncritical support to the TPLF and  engage in a constructive manner to help rehabilitate our fellow citizens in Tigray who  have been victims of the atrocities of the criminal organization for over four decades. 

The Board of Vision Ethiopia 

February 1, 202

Vision Ethiopia is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Washington, D.C. EIN 81-0729204. http://visionethiopia.org.  Email: VisionEthiopia@VisionEthiopia.org 

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