Ethiopia’s Twin Challenges: Misinformation and Water Politics
Tigray’s landscape. Creative Commons photo.
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(OPINION) As a nation, Ethiopia is facing twin challenges. First, the impact of misleading and negative information about the nation following the war in Tigray; and second, the long-standing imbalance in the international water politics of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The aim of this article is to call for veracity, justice and compassion.
The context and evolution of the war
The current conflict has evolved over decades and needs be seen within the wider context of events during the reign of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) led Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), It is puzzling, to say the least, that events in the last three years leading to the current war are absent from most of reports critical of the Ethiopian government. These critics are either unbelievably misguided or intentionally blinded by mutual interest.
It is unjust and immoral to deny the historical reality of the TPLF’s major share of the responsibility for human rights violations, atrocities, nepotism, election manipulation and systemic corruption during the TPLF-dominated 27-years reign of the EPRDF. The cries of victims compel us to be truthful to this reality. The TPLF has brought about its own downfall by repeatedly rejecting open arms stretched out for dialogue, peace and reconciliation. The Ethiopian government had been extremely patient to TPLF’s constant defiance and incitement for war. This was to the point that many in Ethiopia felt insecure and considered the federal government too weak to lead. TPLF’s actions, direct and indirect, began to surface behind sporadic ethnic-based violence in various parts of the nation.
Prior to the armed conflict, many efforts for peace were made by the federal government that included sending to Tigray’s capital Mekelle various ambassadors of peace: the nation’s Mothers for Peace, the nation’s Elders’ Representatives and the Interfaith Leaders. All mediation efforts were nonetheless rejected by TPLF leadership. TPLF continued to be confrontational against the federal government, culminating in its attack and massacre of unsuspecting federal troops in the region in November 2020. TPLF confirmed that they preemptively struck federal troops. This shook the nation with disbelief and was terribly disheartening.
The federal government had but one choice: enter into war to defend its army and uphold the rule of law. Any government would do the same if the peace and existence of its own nation was threatened by a minority which had closed every avenue for peaceful dialogue. This consequently led to TPLF’s own destruction in the avoidable war it initiated. The war, sadly, has caused death and displacement of thousands of innocent civilians for which our hearts, as a nation, bleed with grief.
The ugly reality of the war—and the truth that should transcend geo-political interest
The U.S, E.U. and the U.K. along with many groups within the United Nations have all, wittingly or unwittingly, come to adopt a biased view as to what has transpired in the war, what is happening at the moment and what should be done in Ethiopia. Truth and morality should transcend geo-political interest. All innocent and violent deaths, regardless of where they occur, are abhorrent. The desire to discover the truth and to condemn human rights violations—if driven out of true humanity and compassion—call for comprehensive and indiscriminate assessment.
There are many clear examples when the media and the Global North powers remained passive, in light of overwhelming evidence. The most recent example is the Nov. 9–10 ethnic cleansing and mass murder of the Amhara people in Maikadra, Tigray. The massacres in Benishangul-Gumuz region (Dec. 22–23, 2020), the Guliso District of West Welega Zone (Nov. 2, 2020), the Konso Zone of Southern Nations (in which nearly 1,000 houses were burnt down in at least nine villages) and the Burayu massacre (Sept. 14-16, 2018) are additional examples. Many more cases of sporadic ethno-centric massacres have occurred over the years. The brutal massacre of 424 Indigenous Anuak in Gambella (Dec. 13, 2013), was one of the deadliest.
So what is my point? Succinctly, all lives matter! Our outrage, our demand for investigation and our call for compassion and help should not be selective. The suffering of the least, the marginalized and the media-unworthy should deserve equal attention.
War is ugly. That is the bitter reality of Ethiopia’s last half century. War has exasperated human suffering and worsened our acute poverty. My heart goes out to the victims on both sides. Now we have heard, for the first time, from the federal government about the presence of the Eritrean troops in the Tigray region. Nonetheless, we need to keep this in a broader context that Eritrea was repeatedly provoked as rockets were fired at Asmara, Eritrea’s capital. Gondar and Bahir Dar, in the Amhara region, were also targets of similar attacks. Nonetheless, Martin Plaut, Journalist and Visiting Senior Fellow at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, who is known for bias towards TPLF, that “the federal government, in close collaboration with the Eritrean government, had been making military preparations to launch an attack on Tigray.” He is too careful about his analysis by inserting phrases such as, “There have been early claims” . . . “It was reported” . . . “evidences have emerged” . . . He has appeared on Tigray Media House concurring with the host that Abiy was an opportunist who came to power with no credible process who wanted to “eliminate the TPLF at all cost . . . and the Nobel Committee has some explaining to do”. How, then, is this an honest and impartial journalism? It is now confirmed that Eritrea had eventually crossed the border in self-defense as the border security was compromised. Tibor Peter Nagy Jr., U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs at that time, condemned the attack saying: “The United States strongly condemns the TPLF’s unjustifiable attacks against Eritrea on Nov. 14 and its efforts to internationalize the conflict in Tigray.”
Dr. Abiy has recognized violations of human rights abuses committed by some soldiers—including hate killing of civilians, rape and looting. He has fully condemned the acts and has promised a thorough and transparent investigation, including bringing perpetrators to justice. In fact, his openness and willingness for the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to investigate allegations as early as mid-February hasn’t been adequately recognized or covered. We now know that the EHRC was deployed from Feb. 27-March 5, 2021 to Axum to investigate the allegations. It released its initial findings on March 23, confirming a “widespread human rights violations committed by the Eritrean soldiers who were present in Aksum city, November 28 and November 29, 2020.” There will also be a joint investigation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which could take about three months. There are many actors and unknowns at this stage—one significant factor being the damage caused during the reign of anarchy following the release of thousands of criminals from prison just days before TPLF left the city of Mekelle.
Discrepancies on accounts and the extent of the violations will be inevitable. In addition, there might also be irresolvable disputes concerning parties involved. Nonetheless, Dr. Abiy has vowed to bring culprits to justice regardless—whether Eritrean, Ethiopian or TPLF militias hiding among the people. On March 25, he flew to Asmara to meet with President Isaias Afwerki and has managed to get an agreement of Eritrean Troops’ withdrawal from Tigray. The latter has indicated that border security had been compromised following the outbreak of the war and the rocket attacks by TPLF. It is very important that the relationship between Tigray and Eritrea heals as it is very vital to peace in the Horn of Africa.
It will be inevitable that the joint investigation by the EHRC and OHCHR will reveal violations of human rights. Nonetheless, isolated incidents should not be translated to represent the behaviors of the overwhelming majority of law-abiding and decent troops. It is a sad reality that a few barbaric and sadistic soldiers are present in any given war. The U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya are obvious examples. Reports have documented the killing of the innocent, violations of human rights, sexual abuses and torture—committed by American, British and other soldiers. Most notorious are the reports concerning the Abu Ghraib prison and the Guantanamo Bay detention centers. I am not suggesting these wars and violations are justified. Rather, I am pointing out that those isolated incidents did not come to represent the overall behavior of the armies in these nations.
The impact of misguided information
We live in an age when what is true and media-worthy is decided by the power of money, politics and sensationalism. The war in Tigray is having a heyday on various mainstream outlets and social media. From the safety and comfort of the Global North, provocateurs are fueling hostility between people groups and furthering the current crisis. Ethiopia’s image has been disfigured by false and misguided information.
I hear with incredulity that many in the international mainstream media are rushing to disseminate news before fact-checking their sources. The ethics of journalism compel honesty. Media discernment is a global challenge, and certainly it is the case in Ethiopia. There is an embedded innocence to accept at face value whatever is said, whether in mainstream or social media. It is a great injustice to the country and millions of its poor. There is a crying need for fairness and objectivity on all sides.
In redressing the balance, it is incumbent upon the Federal Government of Ethiopia to continue its cooperation for an effective investigation of war crimes and bring perpetrators to justice in due time. Opening its door to collaborating with independent human rights groups and expanding its transparency is a right step forward. Truth is always liberating!
What Ethiopia has already done and is doing in this direction has not been adequately appreciated and covered by powers in the Global North and the international media. Countries that are demanding full access for humanitarian aid are yet to prove their concern and support by providing the much-needed relief aid and helping to rebuild Tigray’s basic infrastructures, some of them intentionally damaged by the TPLF.
The international politics of water: a call for fairness
The second challenge is intentional resistance to the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Egypt is in the forefront. Sudan is being manipulated to the point of invading Ethiopia to forcefully settle an old border dispute at this time of the nation’s vulnerability. The position of the U.S. has been ambivalent. The Trump administration supported Egypt while Biden’s administration is vague, perhaps intentionally. The U.S. appears to be weighing its options, exploring the best platform to assert its dominance in the region as a counterweight to China and Russia.
Regardless, for millions of Ethiopia’s poor, it is not a political game. The GERD has been one of the nation’s biggest dreams for many years as part of its long battle against acute poverty. The mix of internal conflicts and external influences in the Nile’s political history have long deterred the realization of this dream. In recent years, however, the country has united its efforts to build the GERD.
Ethiopia’s effort is very considerate of its neighbors’ needs, consistent with international laws. The Nile is Ethiopia’s God-given resource; Ethiopia has a rightful sovereign share over the river in a fair and equitable manner. The Nile has many tributaries. The Blue Nile, which flows from Ethiopia’s Lake Tana, contributes about 85% of the Nile’s flow.
In spite of Egypt’s absolute claim over the water, its geo-political manipulation and the Global North’s hypocrisy, primarily from the U.S, E.U, and U.K, the people of Ethiopia are sacrificially committed to completing the construction of the dam. Ethiopia’s prolonged fight against acute poverty and the absence of international funding may slow down its progress. Nonetheless, the GERD will be completed. We will continue to fight for fairness and equity; and we will also continue to pray for righteousness to prevail. God is just, compassionate and attentive to the cry of the poor and the marginalized.
A pastoral plea
More than ever, we Ethiopians, in the four corners of the land, need to be united. We must overcome mutual alienation. Let us break the cycle of violence and poverty by working for a lasting peace, reconciliation and healing. The way forward requires respectful dialogue. We can solve our problems if can see beyond our own ethnic enclosure and otherness—because democracy and ethnocentrism are mutually exclusive.
Our struggles are wide-ranging, complex and beyond the region of Tigray. When one particular group of people in our nation suffers, we all suffer, for we are knitted together as a nation with many common identities, histories and dreams. The current tension in the country calls for a renewed unity—a unity that transcends the country’s legacy of bitterness and mistrust, fear of domination, paternalism, revenge and ethnic otherness. Identifying the peaceful people of Tigray with the TPLF or a blind ethnic loyalty to TPLF are two extremes views that we must resist.
At the heart of our national political discourse, the sovereign unity of our nation should take precedence over individual political ambition. This is particularly important at this trying time in our history when the Global North appears to stand against us with misguided information.
To the powers in the Global North, both political and the media: Ethiopia needs to heal. It must be reiterated that a quick or biased judgment, feeding on false or unverified narratives from a few minority elites, is an injustice to our nation. Ethiopia’s multifaceted challenges require a nuanced understanding of the last 30 years’ political evolution. We ask that you listen with empathy!
Ethiopia is in the midst of what could become the most transparent, fair election in its political history. At the same time, the country is confronted with the fear of mass death if COVID-19 continues with the current alarming rate. The country simply cannot absorb unfair external pressure which only further divides the nation and exacerbates human suffering. The nation needs partners in peace-building as it struggles to lay a solid foundation for a democratic Ethiopia for all. It needs compassionate hands in its continued fight against acute poverty.
May victims and those who are in the midst of suffering in our nation find grace and renewed hope in the unfailing love and faithfulness of God. May God keep our nation safe in His peace!
Girma Bekele, PhD, is a consultant in Christian Mission Studies and Visiting Professor of Missional Leadership in Postmodern World Tyndale University College & Seminary, Toronto as well as Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis.