An American man running a “charitable organization” who is said to have known Abune Mathias for several years took the video says AP but it was not published.
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A report published on Friday by the Associated Press claims that Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Church Abune Mathias lasted “Genocide in Tigray.”
The Associated Press quoted him as saying “They want to destroy the people of Tigray.” The source claimed that Abune Mathias remarked about “Tigray genocide” in an alleged video message that was shot some time last month, but it was not published along with the report.
It is Dennis Waldley, said to run “U.S.-based Bridges of Hope Organization,” who shot the video “In an impulsive moment,” says the report by AP. And the report about the video came after he returned to the United States on Friday.
Explaining how the video message shot, Mr Waldly said, as reported by the AP, “I just pulled out my iPhone and said if you want to get the word out, let’s do it,”
“He just poured out his heart. … It’s so sad. I actually hugged him; I never did that before.” he added.
The report is not yet confirmed by Ethiopian sources.
Abune Mathias has been repeatedly making headlines in state media condemning widespread ethnic based violence in Ethiopia.
Before the start of what the Ethiopian government calls law enforcement operation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia after Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked the Ethiopian Defense Force, Patriarch Abune Mathias was one part of an elders and religious fathers’ delegation sent to Tigray to lure TPLF leaders to make peace with the Federal level of government.
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the United Nations Human Rights Commission have signed an agreement last month to investigate the alleged human rights violations in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
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The post Abune Mathias video “blasts genocide in Tigray” says AP report appeared first on Borkena Ethiopian News.