Massive Anti-foreign Intervention Protest in Ethiopia

October 22, 2022

Ethiopians reject move by western power to resuscitate TPLF again as it is losing militarily anti-foreign intervention protest 

Protestors at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa (Photo : Public Domain)

Borkena

Ethiopians across the country on Saturday took to the street to protest western power’s intervention in the internal affairs of the country.

In the capital Addis Ababa, millions are marching to Meskel Square chanting slogans. 

“Respect our sovereignty,” “TPLF is a mercenary group,” “TPLF is the cause!,” “End proxy war on Ethiopia,” “People in Tigray are our compatriots ; Junta [TPLF] is our enemy,” and “TPLF should not be given a chance to prepare for the fourth round of attack” are some of the slogans that protestors chanted while marching to Meskel Square. 

The rally is taking place in many other cities and towns across Ethiopia. 

Man in a wheelchair waives Ethiopian Flag during the massive rally in Addis Ababa on October 22, 2022 (Photo: Public Domain)

Ethiopians increasingly tend to think that the western powers are primarily interested in reviving the TPLF – a rebel group that the Ethiopian parliament designated as a terrorist group in 2021. 

By the end of 2021 TPLF took control of most parts of Afar and Amhara regions of Ethiopia. It was about 200 kilometers to reach the capital Addis Ababa from the northern direction. 

Western powers, at that time, were preoccupied with setting up political conditions internationally by creating an impression as if the TPLF forces were about to control the capital city – Addis Ababa. There was no call for an end to the cessation of hostility. 

Renewed pressure against Ethiopia in connection with the war against the TPLF rebel groups is on the rise as the TPLF forces are losing ground militarily.  

The Ethiopian government confirmed earlier this week that the Defense Forces controlled three key towns (Shire, Alamata and Korem) in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.  

Local sources also indicate that the Ethiopian government has already started distributing food aid in the areas recaptured recently. Work to restore power to the aforementioned towns is also underway. 

Earlier this week, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, made claims that the war in Ethiopia is “spiraling out of control.” 

His call was echoed by the United States and some of its western allies. They are advancing “there is no military solution to the conflict,” while at times adding voice to the TPLF’s unsubstantiated claims about “genocide” and “human rights” violations.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director General, Tedros Adhanom, is also leveraging his position to create the impression about the inevitability of genocide in Tigray. This week, he claimed that there “is a narrow window” to reverse genocide in Tigray. 

Ethiopians are rejecting foreign interventions and proxy wars. TPLF, for the majority of Ethiopians, indulged in an unnecessary war with the illusion that it would restore the power it dominated for nearly three decades. Foreign intervention is meant to facilitate that. 

Ethiopians and Eritreans in the United States and Europe are stagging protests this weekend against western support for TPLF and infringement on the sovereign rights of Ethiopia.