by Teshome Borago
borkena
Rebel spokesman in northern Ethiopia revealed Thursday the United States wanted TPLF to enter Addis Ababa, in an exclusive Tigray TV interview. Getachew Reda of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said the US “and some European countries” openly expressed their intention for the Tigrayan rebels to overthrow the newly elected Ethiopian government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
According to Mr Reda, the Americans told his TPLF rebels to “forge an alliance with different groups” beforehand, to reduce violence during the much-trumpeted rebel takeover of Addis as well as to avoid the bad optics of another Western backed regime change. This bombshell account by Getachew Reda mirrored the recent US-UK coordination with Western media outlets to promote pro-TPLF groups including Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which recently melted away from their strongholds in Bati and Kemise towns. In November, the US State Department also promoted a “new alliance” to create a “transitional government” in coordination with Western media outlets like Reuters, which organized a press conference for TPLF supporters and their allies in Washington DC. The scene became a subject of mockery among Ethiopians after some top leaders of the new “transitional government” – nicknamed the “uber alliance” – were reportedly late to the Reuters-State Department press conference due to lack of appropriate clothing and getting lost in traffic.
The Getachew Reda revelation will likely add more embarrassment for Western officials who faced controversy when several diplomats were caught on a leaked video colluding with TPLF representative Berhane Gebre-Christos, including US ambassador Vicki Huddleston who wished “military success” for the rebels.
With US already accused of downplaying numerous atrocities by the TPLF rebels, this controversy comes also as the Biden administration attempts to draw new lines against US foes by introducing an obscure “summit for democracy.” However, in this region, the US has a long rap-sheet of supporting abusive regimes, pushing the mantra of pro-West “stability over democracy.” After decades of arming the TPLF tyranny, the Americans helped pro-US General Sisi overthrow the democratically elected Egyptian government of Morsi in 2013 while Biden’s top diplomat Jeffrey Feltman recently green lighted the military takeover by Sudanese General Al-Burhan, an ally of el-Sisi. When America is not overthrowing democratically elected governments, it has been destabilizing unelected stable regimes who opposed US geopolitical interests, most notably the catastrophic destruction of Gaddafi’s Libya by US-armed rebels.
Despite facing US-backed rebels in northern Ethiopia, the current Nobel Prize winning administration of Abiy Ahmed is credited for domestic reforms and establishing independent institutions at the federal level, while holding a relatively free election with a historic first independent election board.
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