UN Deputy Chief Visit to War Torn Areas: Opportunity to Face the Truth
For over a year, UN officials including the Secretary General Antonio Guterres have been criticizing the government of Ethiopia on various counts including obstruction of relief supply, violations of human rights and a host of accusations that were based on the information they have continued to receive from terrorist TPLF media itself, or from its paid lobbyists and so called activists who claim to be the custodians of the last bits of truth about the situation in Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions.
It is a well recorded fact that terrorist TPLF has been denying all its savage activities it committed in Amhara, Afar and in Tigray as well.
In gross violation of the sovereignty of a member state and in total disregard to the UN Charter that prohibits non-interference into the internal affairs of states, the UNSC held 12 sessions on the situation in Ethiopia and issues related to GERD in a bid to provide diplomatic and political support to the terrorist organization.
A couple of days back, a UN delegation led by Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed, paid a working visits to Amhara, Afar and Somali regions in which she said the visit opened her eyes to the severity of the drought, which needs all-rounded support.
Apart from the UN team, President Sahelework Zewede, AU special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo also visited the regions devastated by the terrorist TPLF.
Acknowledging the capacity of the Ethiopian Government to resolve the conflict, the Deputy Secretary General said that Ethiopia is in ‘much better place’ to resolve the conflict in Tigray
During her visit, the deputy chief met people living in the regions of Tigray, Amhara, Somali, and Afar, where she witnessed the tragedies of the conflict first-hand, but also learned of the efforts made by the Government and people in Ethiopia, to end the fighting.
She noted how important it was “to hear from the leaders there, to hear from the people, and to hear really what their hopes are, and how they will engage with this pathway to peace.”
“There is never a winner in conflict”, Ms. Mohammed said. According to her, what became obvious was that “the biggest losers of this conflict are the women and children.”
“The tragedy that has happened to women and children, is one that I hope that the men of Ethiopia will lead the recovery”, she said.
The UN deputy chief called for the immediate end to sexual and gender-based violence, among other atrocities, and cited the need for comprehensive physical and mental health support.
She also urged the authorities to involve women meaningfully in all recovery and reconstruction efforts.
But what is the significance of the visit the Deputy Secretary General made to Ethiopia?
In the first place, the eyewitness account by the UN Deputy Chief has exposed the misinformation campaign, lies and misrepresentation by terrorist TPLF regarding the extent to which civilians, particularly women and children experienced atrocities by the crimes terrorist perpetrated during its invasion of the areas.
It is to be recalled that through its false propaganda assisted by doctored videos and pictures, the terrorist organization was busy misinforming the international community and global organizations including the UN.
Furthermore, the visit paid by the UN Deputy Chief has exhibited not only the damage done by the terrorist group but also the need to solicit the necessary fund to conduct swift relief, rehabilitation and rural and urban reconstruction of towns and facilities totally demolished by the terrorists.
In addition, the UN team has been able to clearly verify the authentic reports that were periodically issued by the federal and regional government on the nature of the war and its aftermath. Now, it must be assumed that the UN will be conscious of the difference between the rhetoric and reality, the truth and the falsehood as well as propaganda from the objective reality in the country.
Besides, although long overdue after the damage is done, this visit indicates the moral and legal obligation of the UN to accent the truth instead of being overwhelmed by the propaganda of the terrorist organization and its supporters. The lesson here is quite vivid. The UN needs to base itself on officials declarations and reports of the federal government or even its own satellite imaging systems to get facts on ground instead of being bogged down by unreliable sets of information that have led the UN to wrong conclusions and might even be so in the future.
Before the Deputy Chief”s visit to Ethiopia, the established fact was clear. The UN systems and officials had been categorically denying statements made by the Ethiopian government based on solid facts and explaining the barbaric acts inflicted on civilians in Afar and Amahara areas. Regrettably enough, the UN systems and officials remained nonchalant and indifferent to the plights of Ethiopians who suffered from wanton invasion, devastation, assassinations of civilians and destruction of public and private infrastructure facilities and service delivery units across the two regions.
The federal government of Ethiopia has no desire to hide the facts or disseminate unverified information to gain a simple diplomatic success but will continue to accent the truth in the most transparent and objective manner.
The visit paid by the UN Deputy General Secretary to Ethiopia is expected to mend some misconceptions and misunderstandings between the global organization and the government of Ethiopia. Ethiopia still continues to work with and count on the UN and its systems to consolidate the efforts underway to rehabilitate the IDPs and accelerate the reconstruction activities.
Source: Ethiopia News Agency