Ethiopia’s Government’s Resolve to Tigray Humanitarian Assistance

wendimagegn — June 8, 2022 

In the present climate, the federal government has been moving heaven and earth to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Tigray residing in the length and breadth of the region. On the heels of the hailed humanitarian truce and its unflinching endeavors, aid is entering Tigray despite the challenges put by the terrorist TPLF group.

The incumbent has been receiving a pat on the back from the international community who also remain largely silent on the belligerent.

Despite the fact that the desperately needed food deliveries have been reaching the people of Tigray via road and air transportation from time to time, the criminal enterprise has been taking part in a smear campaign against the federal government turning a blind eye to the positive development coming to pass on a national scale.

Since the declaration of the government-initiated humanitarian truce, WFP, and other relief agencies have been sending aid to Tigray state via road and air transportation. Strings of convoys of trucks have been arriving at Mekelle, Tigray regional capital carrying the much-need food and life-saving medical equipment. The incumbent has significantly reduced check-points and eased bureaucratic hurdles for the smooth movements of trucks.

The truce is clearly expediting the supply of relief though the TPLF criminal enterprise continues to put grave obstacles and cry foul. Dejectedly, the callous clique also kept on gambling on the humanitarian card for political gains at the expense of the needy population of Tigray.

In spite of its sham outcry, the clique is trying to obstruct the security of the humanitarian corridor into Tigray. TPLF is bent on wreaking havoc contrary to the spirit of the truce declared by the Federal Government.

Instead of coming up with an effective solution that can get to the bottom of the problem at the earliest possible moment, the terrorist TPLF group has been pulling out all the stops to distract humanitarian assistance and lay the blame for the predicament at the federal government’s door.

Notwithstanding the fact that the people of Tigray have been battling with a humanitarian crisis triggered by the terrorist TPLF group action going on behind closed doors, the criminal enterprise has continued making use of humanitarian assistance for lining up its pockets and other infamous mission that can get the situation worse again more than ever before.

In the present climate, in the aftermath of the incumbent commitment and determination, relief agencies have been delivering the much in demand humanitarian aid to the people of Tigray on numerous occasions without a hitch. Albeit the terrorist TPLF group continued closing corridors and engaging in saber-rattling undertakings that cannot help the group attain the sought-after goal, humanitarian assistance is being delivered to the people of Tigray.

It is important to note the criminal enterprise has been making every effort to turn the whole lot surfacing in the region into chaos making use of humanitarian aid to purchase weapons and trigger another round of war by escalating tensions in the areas bordering the Amhara and Afar regions. As a matter of fact, no matter how hard the terrorist TPLF group work around the clock, it failed to achieve the sought-after goal.

In giving the cold shoulder to the federal government’s uninterrupted endeavors to give the green light to food deliveries now and then, the criminal enterprise has been obstructing humanitarian aid under the pretense of multifarious misleading information that does not reflect the unvarnished truth surfacing in the Tigray region.

Following the government’s unwavering stance, humanitarian assistance has been reaching the people of Tigray despite challenges from the terrorist TPLF group’s nefarious deeds. In the same way, in place of taking measures to pave the way for humanitarian crises unfolding in the northern part of the country, the criminal enterprise has set in motion making matters worse in the Tigray region.

Aid agencies have been delivering relief to the Tigray people over the last months with the help of the Ethiopian government.

The World Food Program Ethiopia (WFP) said it delivered 50,000 tons of food on 1,045 trucks in April and May 2022 and reached 350,000 people with lifesaving food in the Tigray State conflict-affected areas.

The information obtained from the WFP official Twitter page indicated that the program continues pushing convoys into Tigray and conflict-affected areas. The WFP of Ethiopia says is working to deliver a continuous flow of supplies on time to communities in need.

Meanwhile, the WFP Country Director also carried out a very productive discussion with Somali State President Mustefie Mohammed this week. The main aim of the discussion is to look at the system that continues collaboration on a timely food and nutrition response to drought and the urgency for long-term durable solutions to build the resilience of communities in the state.

It is evident that the government of Ethiopia has been facilitating ways for the WFP and other donor groups to freely operate and assist the needy people of Tigray.

However, the terrorist TPLF is employing the aid to feed its combatants thereby augmenting war efforts.

Despite the setbacks, the Ethiopian government has vowed to continue facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Tigray state.

Speaking to the media, Office of the Prime Minister (PMO) PMO Press Secretariat Spokesperson Billene Seyoum stated that the federal government has sent 2.1 billion Birr in cash for humanitarian assistance to Tigray State between July 2021 and June 3, 2022 citing data obtained from National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC).

Also, 217, 000 kgs of medicine; 130,000 kg of non-food items; 87,000 metric tons of food, and 783,000 liters of fuel have been delivered to the area. Excluding humanitarian flights, 1,306 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid were destined to Tigray in the months of April and May of the current year.

Billene also reported that 19,000 and 244,000 metric tons of food have been dispatched for war-affected people in Afar and Amhara states respectively. “Within the past four weeks, we have seen rhetoric of gearing up for another confrontation from the other side.”

Unfortunately, this is coming in alignment with the farming season if TPLF is [beating] the war drums again as it has been doing over the past few weeks, this is going to be at the expense of citizens within the Tigray State and farming communities that have been affected by COVID-19 pandemic and missed farming seasons in the past eighteen months because of the war.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen affirmed the government’s commitment to ensure the uninterrupted humanitarian supply to the needy people of Tigray.

The Deputy Premier visited Serdo Checkpoint in Afar State to assess the humanitarian supply activities to Tigray. Demeke was accompanied by Afar State Chief Administrator Awel Arba and other high-level government officials during his visit to Afar.

The DP appreciated the commitment of the people of Afar to facilitate the humanitarian aid operation towards Tigray in spite of the fact that the state is accommodating more than one million IDPs fled their homes due to the terrorist TPLF’s aggression.

Noting the importance of all-out efforts to facilitate the humanitarian delivery, he; however, urged the state government and the people of Afar to vigilantly check items passing through the checkpoint to prevent the smuggling of supplies bound to the T-TPLF. Having all the necessary security checkups, up to 200 aid convoys destined to Tigray from the post in a daily operation.

As to the Deputy Premier, the government understands some groups have made attempts to smuggle supplies and excessive amounts of fuel to T-TPLF in a bid to help the radical element to continue in its belligerence. “This is a clear violation of international norms and humanitarian supply regulation and we will confer with humanitarian agencies on the issue.”

Diverting food aid and blaming the third party has long been the modus operandi of the terrorist group. The international community must say enough is enough. It should not allow the criminal clique to use humanitarian aid as a political card. The question remaining though is how long the international community should be soft on the old tricks which TPLF has mastered on.

BY ADDISALEM MULAT

THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 8 JUNE 2022