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Esat, Zehabesha, Meraja, 360, Landafta, and many more Rhetoric of Deception Ethioobserver
editorial The few self-appointed noisy Ethiopian Diaspora opposition, who are bent on
violence and terrorism are responsible for the thousands of lives lost and
they deserve nothing less than unconditional condemnation for their
continued attempt to wreak havoc and instability by engaging to
megalomaniac dreams of unitary vision. Defeatists normally deploy
themselves to destructive ploys by generating desperate acts. The vast
spectrum of lies and deception that have been deliberately infused to the
public by ostracized individuals who are deeply resentful and have become
fathers of all lies by undermining the ongoing civil war waged against the
people of Tigray. It is perhaps sad to say, but nonetheless true that the
hate mongers helped to create the conditions in which the current war to
be ignited. As the French philosopher Alain Badiou put it, the truth is
“indifferent to difference” and in its essence universal in nature –
it is not impressed by ethnicity, nationality, or race: truth is “the
same for all.” It is difficult to verify any information regarding attacks and casualties
because of the ongoing blackout on most forms of communication in the
Tigray region. What we are hearing from those who escaped the horror and
living in the Sudan is tantamount to crimes against humanity. In addition,
the government broadcasting authority in Addis Ababa has suspended the
media credentials of all international outlets. What could be the motive
of those self-appointed cyber dogs is to orchestrate genocide on the
people of Tigray. These individuals spend most of their time by falsely
misleading You Tube watchers and their false “breaking news”, smearing
TPLF elected officials and foaming ethnic and racial tensions in Ethiopia.
These people should not be allowed to operate under the guise of free
speech as this is regarded as a travesty of justice. Their propaganda machine has doggedly worked to suppress the truth and they
are waging an ill-fated assault on Tigreans with their bogus and
pathological lies. Their footprints of lies and deceptions in the cyber
world must be challenged. If we fail to thwart it, then we run at the risk
of allowing the idea of freedom to be hijacked by cowards like them. It is
obvious to report such horrendous and concocted news falsely distorting
the invasion against Tigray by the joint dictatorial forces of Abiy and
Isaias. Abiy is an authoritarian who has already has incarcerated a lot of
opposition politicians and restricted the freedom of the press, as
witnessed by the arrest of journalists who were covering the invasion. He
thinks to have successfully stoked the flames in a false populist array of
a unitary Ethiopianism based on the dismemberment and discrimination of
Tegaru, though Ethiopia without Tigray is a total mess for its existence. What does freedom of speech and truth mean to decent people? Shall we allow
such hate-mongers to ravage the bright future and hope of our people? It
is a duty of all Tegaru to shoulder responsibility and unmask individuals
like them who perpetuate injustice and violence armed with such spiteful
and cold-blooded rhetoric. In the age of spin, Esat and the likes of them
precisely as Mohammed Saeed al–Sahaf (Baghdad-Bob), former Iraqi
Minister of Information under Saddam, have this in common: no matter
whatever the evidence is on the ground they stand superior to the truth
and detach themselves from reality by creating their own version to the
ridicule of all. They lack ethical standards in reporting balanced news
and their contempt for our elected officials under the guise of freedom of
speech and expression is nothing more than a gambit to cover their main
intentions to submit to chauvinistic and power hungry maniacs. Their
half-baked truths might only impress Mohammed Saeed al–Sahaf
(Baghdad-Bob) and the false gospel preacher Abiy. For those of us, who cherish free and fair elections and value democracy,
given the circumstances and the large turnout, we think that the Tigray
people’s total engagement and exercise of their rights was a great leap
forward and must be encouraged. Since this crisis began, the greatest
failure of the regime is not the denial, the lies, the lack of
preparedness, but the inability to rally and unify the nation. Ethiopia is
in a verge of a total collapse as a failed state. The sacrifices and
struggle against tyrannies and dictators was meant to the avail of
democracy, equal rights and opportunities to individuals and nations and
nationalities of Ethiopia. The silence of the Ethiopian public bears a large share of the blame for the
current affairs in Ethiopia. We do hope the die-hard supporters of the
newly created Prosperous Party (PP) by Abiy refrain from an aggressive,
out of touch and disproportionate hate campaign and instead dwell on
issues of paramount significance to Ethiopians and become constructive and
effective citizens to reckon with for the betterment of the life
conditions of all our compatriots. Otherwise the Ethiopia, which some
adherents of the old guard espouse might end up at the end into fragmented
mini states. After all, Ethiopia is not for the few or for those who consider themselves
as the “chosen” or “God elected” people. It is a huge multi-ethnic
country whose people have diverse languages, cultures, and religions. The
only uniting and equalizing force that makes each individual citizen feel
proud as an Ethiopian is when his/her own culture is respected by all and
has the freedom to exercise his/her legitimate right to use any language
and follow any religion of his/her choice. Peace and democracy will not be
alien to Ethiopia, only when each Ethiopian citizen would affirm that
he/she is a proud Ethiopian without anyone telling him/her of his/her
identity. The Human Rights Watch report is a positive step in the right direction, and
I wish that Amnesty International and other human rights organizations are
also involved in investigating the crimes against humanity in Tigray by
Abiy’s forces. However, the Human Rights Watch requesting access to the
illegitimate former PM Abiy’s regime is like asking Hitler to help to
stop killing. The regime is part of the problem and unless it is forced by
the United Nations, it will not come up with the proper legislation to
protect civilian Tegaru. Thus, the only feasible strategy is that all the Human Rights Organizations
should collaborate and collect evidence about, torture, killings and
bombardments in Tigray. United Nations can impose economic sanctions and
bring the former PM to International Court of Justice. We need to continue
our resistance by every means at our disposal, lest Abiy drags this
country into the abyss. At the same time the gutter of the Earth such as
Esat, Mereja, 360, Zehabesha and all others disseminating as the Radio
Television Libre des Mille Collines did in Rwanda the same propaganda of
extermination against Tigrians and are responsible for any genocide
perpetuated by the extremists and Abiy’s illegal government.
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