The Ethiopian Government accuses Western countries and entities of spreading TPLF propaganda for political purposes

Oct. 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Government of Ethiopia has accused this Friday Western countries and entities of spreading the propaganda of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF) to promote a “sinister” campaign for political purposes against Addis Ababa.

“The Government of Ethiopia is forced to weigh its options and consider its relations with some States and entities that are making unfounded and politically motivated accusations of such gravity,” he said in a statement collected on his official Twitter profile.

In this sense, he has pointed out that this is an “orchestrated campaign” by the TPLF rebels. “Some Western entities publicly admit that they are pushing this rhetoric because Ethiopia refuses to succumb to their instructions,” he added.

The Government of Abiy Ahmed has stressed that it is “irresponsible” and “shameful” that these types of allegations are used for a political purpose, while indicating that the accusations against Ethiopia “do not change the facts on the ground”.

These statements come in the context of growing calls from international human rights organizations and institutions, such as the NGO Amnesty International (AI), about the fear of new atrocious crimes in the Tigray region.

“Tigrayan civilians fear that widespread abuses, such as murder and sexual violence, could happen again,” Muleya Mwananyanda, AI director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said on Monday.

The war has worsened in recent weeks after the outbreak of new fighting in August after five months of humanitarian truce agreed between the parties. The TPLF has also denounced a large-scale offensive by the Eritrean Army in support of the Ethiopian forces.

To this we must also add that on October 14, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, wrote a letter to the Irish Government threatening to cut off diplomatic relations for “undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia”, as he has remembered ‘Addis Standard’.

This is not the first time that relations between Ethiopia and Ireland have been strained. The Government expelled in November 2021 four of the six diplomats who worked at the Addis Ababa Embassy for the “positions that Dublin expressed at the international level on the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia.”

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney “deeply” regretted this decision, as “Ireland has had a diplomatic presence in Ethiopia since 1994, working in partnership with the Ethiopian government and people to support the development of their country.”

Ireland joined countries like Germany, France or the United States in asking its citizens to leave the African country in the face of escalating violence due to the conflict between Ethiopian government forces and TPLF rebels, which is getting closer to consume the territory.

The conflict in Tigray broke out in November 2020 after an attack by the TPLF against the main Army base, located in Mekelle, after which Abiy ordered an offensive against the group after months of political and administrative tensions. A “humanitarian truce” is currently in force, although both sides have accused each other of preventing the delivery of aid.

The TPLF has accused Abiy of stirring up tensions since he came to power in April 2018, when he became the first Oromo to take office. Until then, the TPLF had been the dominant force within the ethnically based coalition that had governed Ethiopia since 1991, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The group opposed Abiy’s reforms, seeing them as an attempt to undermine his influence.