Clear Manifestation of Double Standard

Silence Of The International Community Over The Ethiopian Issue: Clear Manifestation Of Double Standard
By Staff


Jan. 31, 2006 - The suffering to which the heroic and steadfast Ethiopian people aresubjected to, enduring every punitive act of the TPLF regime, in itslegal and peaceful protest against the blatant duplicity of the regimeduring the national elections in May and demanding for the reinforcementof law and respect of the people's voice, has been denied everyattention by the international media.

It has received a deaf ear by theso-called Western media, which apparently advocates the rule of law,people's empowerment and democracy and further claiming that the samemedia " stands for the freedom of expression under the rule of law anddemocracy". Moreover, the international associations and institutionswhich define themselves as "defendants of human rights" have preferredto remain silent while the TPLF regime, in a bid to prolong its stay ofpower, is resorting to taking every punitive measure against the unarmedand peaceful people and brutally putting behind bars all those whovoiced the truth.As every one is well aware by now, the TPLF regime which is nearing itsdownfall, is illegal and has been ruling Ethiopia by the use of forcefor fourteen years, formulating a unilateral constitution that has nopopular consent, a constitution which encourages ethnic polarity andsupremacy of a handful clique. Moreover, the United Kingdom and theUnited States, countries that talk with too much pride about democracy,have been branding the TPLF regime as a competent and democraticgovernment. Furthermore, it is to recalled that the British governmentrewarded the TPLF regime with a large amount of funds in the name of aproject to "reinforce the Ethiopian police" after the massacre ofstudents in Addis Ababa during which the regime blatantly described theincident having occurred due to the shortage and lack of a competentpolice force.The intensive care and protection the Western countries are providing tothe TPLF regime could not indefinitely prolong the power mercury of thedetested regime.

The current wave of popular uprising that Ethiopia isengulfed in for the first time in its history is the outcome of therecent third round fake elections drama conducted to please Westerninstitutions and donor government.Despite all of the atrocities the TPLF regime had committed, it did notencountered any real pressure from the so called "defendants ofdemocracy, good governance and advocacy of human rights" in the West ata time when the TPLF regime continues to muzzle people's voices and istrying to consolidate its power through brute force. Some Europeancountries including the UK, embarrassed by the demonstrations conductedby Ethiopians living abroad are warning, though as lip service, thatthey are considering to stop the aid earmarked for Ethiopia.

The factis, however, that of shifting the aid from development assistance into a"humanitarian" one with a view to saving the regime from the extremeinternal turmoil it is encountering.The truth of the matter is that the silence of the international mediaand the "human rights advocates" namely western institutions regardingthe prevailing situation in Ethiopia is that the philosophy of humanrights and democracy is being used to serve as an instrument, withunclear clarification and measurement, so as to safeguard one's interestand hidden agenda and acting with a double standard to maintain thesuppression and isolation of the "disobedient". Out of this experience,the Ethiopian people have been able to identify friends from enemies.

The people of Africa in general have also raised their awareness out ofthe experience of the Ethiopian people. Hence, the silence of theinternational community could not save the TPLF regime, which is in thelast hours of its death bed from its final doom; for the Ethiopiapeople, without expecting the help of others, are bound to expedite thedownfall of the hated regime.
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