#No More: Ethiopian and Eritrean Rally at CAPITOL HILL. Denver Rally. December 21, 2021. Personal Message of Solidarity

Colorado’s contribution to national actions

Hello friends – Ethiopian and Eritrean!

Because of health issues – surgery yesterday – I cannot be with you physically, only in spirit.

As I write, there are several developments I want to mention – and would have done so in person if I could have – the first a cause for celebration, the second a note of warning, caution.

• The first, a significant military victory, is the total defeat of the TPLF forces in Afar and Amara Provinces and their withdrawal to Tigray Province and this coming after the U.S. (and other) media yelled from the rooftops that the TPLF was about to march on Addis Ababa and seize the government, an announcement meant to create fear and chaos in Ethiopia.
• The second is the announcement on November 29 that Washington is sending 1000 national guardsmen to the Horn, the second of such deployments in a couple of months. There is the danger that these troops will enter Ethiopia under the guise of humanitarian intervention supposedly “to protect U.S. citizens” – an old imperialist trick (think Grenada, 1983).

On a more local note, several months ago, four Ethiopian women from the Denver-Aurora area, entered into a dialogue with members of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, in Boulder, Colorado – an important local peace organization with a long and honorable history but who had been initially influenced by some TPLF types. Here is the statement that this organization issued last week:

“The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center strongly opposes any United States military intervention or economic sanctions upon Ethiopia or elsewhere in the Horn of Africa.  The disastrous consequences of United States military interventions in Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Somalia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Serbia, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, and other countries should convince any objective observer about the futility and immorality of such actions.

We are particularly incensed by information that the United States is giving propaganda and covert material support to the TPLF in the current civil war within Ethiopia.  The TPLF has a confirmed record of oppressive rule and terrorist initiatives in Ethiopia.  The grim history of Western colonialism in Africa and elsewhere provides further reason for opposing any U.S. military intervention or economic sanctions upon the Horn of Africa.”

– No more U.S. intervention
– Respect Ethiopia’s Democracy
– No More Support for TPLF Insurrectionists

Cheers,

Rob Prince. Retired Senior Lecturer of International Studies. University of Denver, Korbel School of International Relations