<
https://theconversation.com/tigray-war-two-years-on-the-au-has-failed-to-broker-peace-and-silence-the-guns-192420>
"The African Union pledged in 2016 to “silence the guns” by the end of 2020, an
ambitious agenda of ending armed conflicts on the continent. Just two months
before that deadline, the deadliest war in years erupted in Ethiopia. On 3
November 2020, the armies of the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the State
of Eritrea attacked the region of Tigray. Since then, the guns have not been
silent. Instead, it is the African Union that has been silent.
That war is now two years old. Crimes against humanity and war crimes have been
committed during this time. Some estimates show that over 500,000 civilians
have been killed. Rape, displacement and starvation have been prevalent. Tigray
has been under a complete siege with no access to land and air transport,
telephone and internet access, banks and all kinds of humanitarian supplies.
The AU has shown itself to be of no use or consequence since the conflict
started. During the first year of conflict, it failed to even acknowledge that
there was a war. Instead, it adopted the Ethiopian government’s narrative of a
“law enforcement operation” by a legitimate government against a rebellious
entity. It was not until August 2021 that the AU took the first steps at
mediating.
The chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki, appointed the former
Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, as his “high representative” to promote
peace, security, stability and political dialogue all over the Horn of Africa
region. This was a welcome development. But it soon became evident that the AU
was not impartial. And the peace initiative was a non-starter."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
