Andrew Korybko
The Government of Ethiopia, civil society (especially Tigrayans), and their supporters abroad must prepare for defending against this impending scenario, though if the latest conflict is anything to go by, then theyâll certainly succeed.
âEthiopia Had A Good Reason To Vote Against The UN Resolution On Ukrainian Reparationsâ, namely to preemptively defend itself from the âlawfareâ scenario of further US meddling in its domestic affairs through the creation of similar mechanisms as those thatâll be created against Russia on that pretext. That sequence of Hybrid War events is no longer the realm of speculation after an unnamed senior State Department official told the media on Tuesday that the US might sanction Ethiopia yet again.
That figure threatened to wield these economic weapons if non-ENDF forces like Afar militias, Amhara special forces, and Eritrean troops donât withdraw from the Tigray Region per their commitment as enshrined in this monthâs peace agreement between the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) and the TPLF. They also added that this could be pursued to âhold actors accountable for human rights violations or for the purposes of trying to ensure that this agreement is respected and abided.â
On that topic, the unnamed source said that while the US hasnât yet made a determination on the atrocities allegedly committed throughout the course of the Northern Ethiopian Conflict, itâs still âabsolutely committed to ensuring that those who are responsible for gross violations of human rights are held accountableâ. This very strongly hints that sanctions could be wielded against those that it determines are supposedly responsible for committing war crimes.
It should also be pointed out that âThe US Continues To Disrespect Ethiopia By Playing Word Games With The TPLFâs Nameâ after the unnamed official referred to that group as the âTigrayan Defense Forcesâ and its TDF acronym a total of three times. State Department spokesman Ned Price had earlier done the same and even doubled down upon being challenged about this by a journalist, thus confirming that itâs the USâ unofficial policy to provocatively use these terms interchangeably.
By contrast, that same unnamed official only used the proper TPLF terminology twice, meaning that the improper one that isnât mentioned anywhere in the recently signed peace agreement was employed one time more. Considering this tacit signal of support for that group as well as its sanctions threats that it plans to wield as a Damoclesâ sword over the heads of the GOE, irrespective of whether theyâre implemented on a similar pretext as the Ukrainian reparations one, itâs clear that the US is meddling.
This illegal interference in Ethiopiaâs domestic affairs amounts to a violation of both conflicting partiesâ will with respect to the part of their joint statement calling on everyone across the world to support their fledgling peace process. Provocatively employing wartime terminology and preparing to wage another form of Hybrid Warfare against the GOE is unfriendly to the extreme and suggests that America plans to complicate the peace process as revenge for the very fact that it was agreed to in the first place.
The US planned to fight the GOE to the last Tigrayan as punishment for the formerâs independent foreign policy and attendant decision to remain neutral in the New Cold War between that declining unipolar hegemon and its vassals on one side and the rising multipolar Great Powers of China and Russia on the other. Ethiopiaâs defeat was supposed to serve as a powerful example deterring all other Global South countries and especially those in Africa from following in its footsteps.
Instead, Ethiopiaâs victory resulted in the opposite outcome in the sense that all other Global South countries and especially those in Africa now see that itâs possible to win against seemingly insurmountable odds so long as society remains united and stands in solidarity with their armed forces. The powerful example set by Ethiopia therefore works against the USâ hegemonic interests, hence why itâs once again conspiring to destabilize that rising African leader through âlawfareâ.
Raising awareness of this plot, the existence of which is unquestionably confirmed by the unnamed State Department officialâs own statement of intent with respect to once again sanctioning Ethiopia on human rights and military pretexts, is meant to ensure that it fails. The GOE, civil society (especially Tigrayans), and their supporters abroad must prepare for defending against this impending scenario, though if the latest conflict is anything to go by, then theyâll certainly succeed.