Ethiopians, Eritreans Protest EU, US Intervention in the Horn of Africa

March 10, 2021

Protest by Eritreans and Ethiopians in Washington DC condemned dissemination of false information and European Union and the US intervention in Ethiopia and the region 

Borkena

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians and Eritreans in the United States protested European Union and the US intervention in the  Horn of Africa. 

The protestors also opposed what they say is a well-funded misinformation campaign by remnants of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and their supporters in the Diaspora.

They carried placards saying “New York Times, CNN, Reuters  stop disseminating fake news for money!” 

The protest was staged in front of the US State department in Washington DC chanting slogans that call for an end to political intervention in Ethiopia. 

There was a similar protest in London, Ontario, Canada. 

“America ! Get your own house in order first and stay out of Ethiopia and Ethiopian Politics”, and “USA & Europe Stop interfering in Ethiopian/African internal problems. We can solve our internal issues,’ were among the slogans that protestors chanted in front of the US state department in Washington DC. 

State and non-state actors, including Human Rights Organizations, in the west have been issuing statements based on false information from TPLF supporters blaming the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments for the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.  Last week, the government of Ireland initiated a discussion within the United Nations Security Council under the guise of “Humanitarian Situation in Tigray region.”  The meeting, which aimed at producing a statement according to a diplomatic source, ended in disagreement after two permanent members of the Security Council and one non-permanent member voted against it. 

There have been claims of a massacre in the historic city of Axum that was allegedly committed during the war between TPLF forces and the Ethiopian Defense Force. Abiy Ahmed’s government stated recently that it is investigating the claims and invited international expertise to take part in the investigation.  

The protestors supported what the Ethiopian government is doing in the Tigray region of Ethiopia to enforce rule of law, the government also calls it that way, and addressed humanitarian issues in the aftermath of the defeat of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). 

There were also claims by entities in the west about the presence of Eritrean troops in the Tigray region, and in fact the alleged massacre in Axum, for which there does not seem to be any concrete evidence so far. Last month, a senior military officer within the Ethiopian Defense Force disclosed that no Eritrean troops were in the Tigray region. 

Ethiopia and Eritrea have forged a strong political and security partnership, among other things, after ending two decades old state of enmity in July 2018. 

The war between the Ethiopian government and TPLF forces was completed within a little over two weeks after  the latter attacked the northern command of the Ethiopian Defense Force on November 4, 2020. 

About 21 top TPLF leaders were captured following the war, and they are being investigated for the massacre at Maikadra in early November 2020, and for the attack against the Ethiopian Defense Force. 

TPLF supporters in the United States had organized their own protest in Washington claiming “massacre” in Tigray region.