Package: “disloyalty, betrayal”, explains the Larousse. Thus, on Thursday January 13, 2022, the Ethiopian government requested the opening of an investigation for “forfeit” against WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for his comments on the humanitarian situation in Tigray, where he himself is from.
“Nowhere else in the world are we seeing hell like Tigray”, had declared the director of the WHO. He is “appalling and unimaginable in our time, in the 21st century, that a government has denied its own people, for more than a year, access to food, medicine and everything they need to survive”, he added, calling for a resolution “political and peaceful” of the conflict.
People in #Tigray #Ethiopia, living under de facto blockade for over a year, are dying from lack of medicine & food, & repeated drone attacks.@WHO & partners ask for the Ethiopian Government to end the blockade now and allow unimpeded access. pic.twitter.com/8hu3Peb9YV
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 15, 2022
(Translation : “Residents of Tigray in Ethiopia, who have been under a de facto blockade for more than a year, are dying from lack of medicine and food and from repeated drone attacks. WHO and its partners are calling on the Ethiopian government to end now to blocking and allowing free access.”)
Addis Ababa’s response through the voice of its Foreign Minister was no more diplomatic. Dr. Tedros “interfered in the internal affairs of Ethiopia, including Ethiopia’s relations with the State of Eritrea”. Ethiopia therefore asks its illustrious national to “to recuse himself from any subject concerning Ethiopia”, considering that the words of the director of the WHO threaten the integrity of the organization.
The Ethiopian government calls for the opening of an investigation against Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for “forfeiture and violation of his professional and legal responsibility”. According to Addis Ababa, Tedros blamed him for acts of war that were carried out by the rebels of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Neither the WHO nor its director made any comment on the term of “forfeit”. He suggests, however, that Ethiopia could expect better treatment from a national. However, says the WHO, this complaint has not changed his work. “She will continue to ask the Ethiopian government to allow access for humanitarian aid to the seven million people who live in Tigray, Ethiopia, and have been effectively blocked for more than a year”.
Especially since the news that comes from the field is not good. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 108 civilians have been killed and 75 injured in the Tigray region by airstrikes since the beginning of the year. Strikes that Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the OHCHR, attributed to the forces of Addis Ababa. Throssell called on the Ethiopian authorities and their allies to ensure the protection of civilians in accordance with international law. “Failure to respect the principles of distinction and proportionality could constitute war crimes”, she said.
At the same time, the World Food Program announced the imminent cessation of its activities in the north of the country, due to intense fighting nearby. Enough to bring water to the mill of Dr. Tedros.