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@_SJPeace_ Hello! I’ve been following you for a while and I really appreciate your dedication to justice around the world. It’s for this reason that I am hoping that you can use your platform to highlight an increasingly urgent issue in #Tigray #Ethiopia.
I want to start off by saying that Ethiopia’s conflicts are complex and usually ethnically based. This is important to understand because no matter the conflict, there is usually an ethnic group that is led to believe through propaganda that these conflicts are necessary.
If you search hashtags about the conflict on Twitter for example, you will see many supporters of the government defending the Prime Minister. I think that this confuses many outsiders who want to know more about the ongoing situation, leading them to stay quiet.
I want to be clear that the government’s version of facts is not at all supported by the international media or by experts on the region.
So what is happening in Ethiopia? Essentially, the northern region of Tigray is being attacked by the federal government for political reasons. The government says that the conflict is over but there is no evidence that fighting has stopped.
Most of Tigray, which has a population of roughly 5 million, is on a total communication blackout, meaning no phones or internet. Journalists have been kicked out, locked up, or killed. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/world/africa/Ethiopia-Reuters-journalist.html
Power and water have also been shut off for most of the region. The federal government has also blocked the delivery of food and other essential items. The region is being silenced and starved to death. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/extreme-urgent-need-starvation-haunts-ethiopias-tigray/2021/01/17/3d219faa-589e-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html
There are also many allegations of violations of human rights. Holy sites have been destroyed and looted including many churches and what is believed to be the oldest mosque in Africa. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ethiopia-tigray-nejashi-mosque-conflict-damage
CBC- Human rights violations committed by Canadian mining company, Nevsun Resources, with the support of the Eritrean government https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/nevsun-resources-mining-eritrea-1.4980530
NPR - Sanctions On Eritrea https://www.npr.org/2018/11/14/667828294/security-council-votes-unanimously-to-lift-sanctions-on-eritrea
Al Jazeera: Does Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed deserve the Nobel Prize for Peace? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/9/does-ethiopias-abiy-ahmed-deserve-the-nobel-prize-for-peace
This is all important because Eritrean soldiers are in Tigray killing, raping, and looting with the PERMISSION of the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. This is verified by reports from the US State Department, which has evidence of Eritrea’s presence in Tigray.
Reuters - Exclusive: U.S. says reports of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia's Tigray are 'credible' https://www.reuters.com/article/ethiopia-conflict-eritrea-usa-exclusive-idUSKBN28L06R
Rather than a peace deal, what our Prime Minister agreed to in 2018 was to collude with a foreign nation to kill his own citizens and to decimate the region of Tigray.
The Economist - Evidence mounts that Eritrean forces are in Ethiopia https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/01/02/evidence-mounts-that-eritrean-forces-are-in-ethiopia
The Economist - Evidence mounts that Eritrean forces are in Ethiopia https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/01/02/evidence-mounts-that-eritrean-forces-are-in-ethiopia
Eritrea has also brought in troops from Somalia, which has sparked protest from Somalis demanding to know why their sons were sent to die in Tigray.
MENAFN - Somali Troops in Ethiopia https://menafn.com/1101465449/Somalia-180-Survive-of-4000-Army-Trainees-Farmajo-Fed-to-the-Ethiopia-Tigray-War-MP
MENAFN - Somali Troops in Ethiopia https://menafn.com/1101465449/Somalia-180-Survive-of-4000-Army-Trainees-Farmajo-Fed-to-the-Ethiopia-Tigray-War-MP
AP - Attack on Ethiopia refugee camp https://apnews.com/article/eritrea-africa-ethiopia-united-nations-kenya-581d0134f204f89e9c63fb72972a9521
It is now Day 77 of the War on Tigray. If access to humanitarian assistance is not restored, many will starve to death. The UN Security Council is meeting tomorrow (January 21, 2021) to discuss the situation in Tigray.
The EU has already suspended their aid budget to Ethiopia due to the governments violations of human rights throughout this conflict, but more needs to be done. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-conflict-eu/eu-suspends-ethiopian-budget-support-over-tigray-crisis-idUSKBN29K1SS?il=0
A humanitarian corridor must be established, Eritrea must be expelled from Ethiopian territory and communication lines must be restored in Tigray. #UNSC #UNSCActNow #HumanitarianCorridor #EritreaOutOfTigray #StopWarOnTigray
*** Please encourage your followers to sign this petition and demand that the UN Security Council help the people of Tigray and get Eritrea out of the region.
https://omnatigray.org/petition-unsc/
https://omnatigray.org/petition-unsc/
If you want to know more about the build up to the conflict this is an excellent interview with an expert on the region.
Another update: The @UN Secretary General is concerned about serious allegations of sexual violence in Tigray.
https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/db210121.doc.htm
https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/db210121.doc.htm
For more context on the political situation that got us here: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2020/12/7/abiys-efforts-to-unify-ethiopia-could-lead-to-its-disintegration
Life in Afwerki’s Eritrea https://twitter.com/onedayseyoum/status/1351255644435849225
