May 1991: The leftist government in Ethiopia has been overthrown and “peace talks” are being held in London to chart the path forward; enter Herman Cohen, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. TPLF, he says, this is your chance go in and take over. Ahem, say the rest, what of the “peace conference” and consensus and a representative Transitional Government and all that? Baloney says Cohen, you got your conference didn’t you, what more do you want? But one slight glitch, these TPLF’s, their name is so unsavory -- I mean, Tigrean People’s Liberation Front? How would it look for these guys to run a nation where Tigreans represent only 6% of the population. Ah, but these TPLF guys are a suitably devious lot, they have thrown on a veneer of inclusiveness by cobbling together a coalition of hand-picked ethnic groups (mostly hastily formed by TPLF itself) and called it EPRDF (Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front). But of course, all power resides solely with TPLF … ah now that looks more presentable, says Cohen, we can work with that, full steam ahead!
In 1992 just months after seizing power TPLF rushes to re-draw the map of Ethiopia along ethnic lines. The map bore a suspicious resemblance to one drafted by Italian would-be colonialists when they sought a divide-and rule strategy to conquer Ethiopia. Soon a new constitution followed that legalizes the right of each ethnic region to secede from the nation (thus becoming the only constitution in the world that paves the way for the disintegration of the nation). Now, this is a plan to behold; I mean how else can a group that seeks the advancement of 6% of the population and the brutal subjugation of the remaining 94% succeed if not for a divide and rule strategy? How brilliant these guys are, they must immediately be endorsed as Africa’s “Renaissance Leaders” (Bill Clinton, March 1998). What’s that you say? Ethiopians are complaining that these guys operate more like a mafia mob than a government? Well so what, who asked for their opinion anyway? We declare them Renaissance Leaders so that is who they are. And what are they whining about now? Ethnic-based apartheid style governance is tearing the fabric of this multi-ethnic society? Well, we say it’s a bold experiment… not one we would ever try in our own country, mind you (are you nuts?!) but what is Africa good for if not for experimenting? Just keep the cash flowing to TPLF; those guys are doing great.
“A new constitution followed legalized the right of each ethnic region to secede from the nation.”
By 2017 an estimated $30 billion has been stolen by TPLF, it’s leader Meles Zenawi was worth over $3 billion by the time he died in 2012, his wife is worth even more. Coincidentally total American aid to the TPLF regime by then had been … you guessed it: $30 Billion! Pretty much every former TPLF rebel is now a multi-millionaire. The economy is completely controlled by TPLF and almost all military top-brass are Tigrean. Even the head of the Orthodox Church has been (illegally) replaced by a Tigrean. Ethnic-based massacres target the Anuak (whose land is then seized and handed over to foreign and TPLF investors), Amharas (well, because they are Amhara and therefore the enemy), Somalis, Oromos, and many more.
A good chunk of the stolen loot is diverted to hire fat cat lobbyists in Washington (to polish up their image and keep the money flowing), bribe western journalists, UN officials etc. TPLF members and sympathizers are placed in key UN agencies and human rights organizations, including Tedros Adhanom, the current head of the UN World Health Organization (which is why Teddy is now too busy lobbying for the TPLF to do his day job fighting the global pandemic).
During the TPLF reign US, EU and most of the Western press were raving over Ethiopia’s “double digit” economic growth. An economy that can overnight convert an endless parade of rebel leaders and bush fighters with zero marketable skills into “business men” worth multi-million dollars is indeed a miraculous economy! One that must be celebrated! Never mind that after pumping billions of dollars into it the country food security remains elusive, quality of education has plummeted, and cost of living has sky-rocketed. Details details. Just make sure that every sham election with North Korean style 99% and 100% wins is endorsed by both the US and EU. Congratulations on your “democratic” election guys, I will honor your achievements with a Presidential visit (Barack Obama, July 2015). US National Security Advisor Susan Rice could not help but laugh uncontrollably when asked about the suspicious election results but now why would that stop her from endorsing it anyway?! The leader of TPLF and Prime Minister of Ethiopia (until his sudden death in 2012) Meles Zenawi was a close friend of hers.
“Food security remained elusive, quality of education plummeted, and cost of living sky-rocketed.”
By April 2018 TPLF’s 27-year rule of terror is overthrown after massive protest by Oromo and Amhara youth fed up with being brutalized by TPLF. Dr. Abiy Ahmed takes over as Prime Minister. TPLF retreats to its home-base in the Tigray region and refuses all offers for peaceful negotiation with Abiy’s government. In fact they use the sacks of cash they have stashed in their homes to arm and pay yet another horrific ethnic based terrorist group,
OLF-Shene , to hunt down and execute men, women, children, and babies in the most barbaric manner. Starting in mid 2020 and continuing to this very day, thousands of poor villagers were horrifically killed Al Qaeda style for the cardinal sin of being born Amhara. In addition to ethnic cleansing, the goal was to terrorize the nation into losing confidence in Abiy. This is ethnic politics for you.
On November 4, 2020, after spending over two years rabidly building up and arming an insanely large regional army in Tigray, the TPLF (by its own video-taped admission) launched simultaneous attacks on several bases of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) in the Tigray region. After carefully separating out the Tigrean soldiers, they slaughtered hundreds of non-Tigrean soldiers, some deep in sleep after a hard day helping local Tigrean farmers fight a locust invasion of epic proportions. The Ethiopian government was finally forced to launch a military operation to control this horrific and unprecedented act of treason. Days later a TPLF “Youth Group” known as Samri went door to door singling out and massacring over 700 Amhara day laborers in Mai Kadra. Jemal Countess, a journalist with Getty Images, later conducted extensive interviews with the survivors and photographed them.
“Thousands of poor villagers were horrifically killed Al Qaeda style for the cardinal sin of being born Amhara.”
On the other hand the TPLF trolls were out all over Twitter and Facebook with their chests puffed out bragging about sure victory as war was their “national sport.” The Western press, nicely greased by 27 years of TPLF’s ill-gotten gains, spins into action. Ignoring the heinous crimes of TPLF, the likes of
New York Times,
Washington Post and CNN cheer on the TPLF bandits from the side-lines as a “battle-hardened” lot and the aptly named International Crisis Group gleefully predicts Ethiopia’s descent into civil war.
Sadly for them, Ethiopian Defense Forces crushed TPLF in under four weeks. Drat! Our guys got creamed ….time to re-spin the story. Out goes the “battle-hardened” TPLF narrative, in comes the “poor hapless victim TPLF” narrative which then quickly evolves into the “genocide in Tigray” narrative. Never mind that the only genocide was the one committed by the TPLF itself in Mai Kadra against Amharas, as well as the countless other genocides sponsored by TPLF and implemented by OLF-Shene all over the Oromia region and Benishangul-Gumuz. No no no -- that does not fit the Tigray genocide narrative so never ever mention this very inconvenient fact in any media. If you do at all mention it do try to confuse and obfuscate and imply that it was in fact the Amharas that killed innocent Tigreans in Mai Kadra. Sure, sure, that is flipping the story on its head and making the victims into the perpetrators but it fits in so much better with our narrative doesn’t it? Oh, and don’t mention the TPLF attack on the ENDF bases either, just go straight to the bombing of Tigray. If you must mention it hide it at the bottom of your article and call it an “alleged” attack. So what if TPLF had actually openly bragged about their preemptive attack on ENDF, how many of our readers would know about that? It just doesn’t go well with the victim narrative. Yes, yes I know, this would be much akin to condemning the US campaign against Al Qaeda without mentioning that minor detail of what Al Qaeda had first done to the Twin Towers but you’re not expecting the same level of journalistic integrity as US news coverage are you? Silly you …. how many times do we need to remind you this is Africa we’re talking about. No need to be encumbered by facts, satellite images, data and such! All of us operate this way (when it comes to certain geographies) The
New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Reuters, AP, BBC, you’re gonna get the same story out of us all … it avoids confusion you see ….not to mention it sure makes our work easier if we can copy each other and not have to fact check and all that tedious stuff! And by the way should anyone submit Op Ed pieces or a Letter to the Editor that contradict this narrative, no need to fret … just delete delete delete, it’s simple really. We allow a “poor TPLF” narrative, and “genocide in Tigray” narrative and that’s it. No evidence is required to publish stories that fall within the narrative, but if you so desire we will accept any “evidence” you may choose to provide including staged and rehearsed video testimonials by “witnesses,” mis-represented photos of Amhara victims of TPLF or even victims from other African countries (I mean they all look the same anyway). Our source of truth is Tigray Media House, so if it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for us! They have their trolls out there manufacturing all the evidence we need. In fact, I hear they are out on Twitter right now busy cooking up allegations that the Ethiopian government used chemical weapons on Tigray, because those fake massacre stories just were not cutting it. Hey you never know -- it may stick; imaginary WMD’s were enough to get Iraq bombed so maybe we can get Ethiopia invaded just in time to save what remains of the TPLF. Oh, we so wish they would come back! Keep at it DC lobbyists, earn your handsome paychecks (stolen by TPLF from the mouths of hungry kids, but hey, why would that bother you?), distort and misinform as many Senators and Congress folks as you can so they sanction, bully and if necessary bomb Ethiopia into submission.
