Global media’s reports on law enforcement operation purposely biased, negative

The Ethiopian herald 

Not Surprisingly, most major international media outlet’s coverage of the federal government’s law enforcement operation in Tigray state has been biased, negative, and one-sided. Besides the continuous distortion of facts on the ground, these media outlets have been engaged in falsification and negativism in their framing of the issue.

The major fact that gives testimony to this is that the media outlets turned a blind eye to the fact that the operation was successfully completed in three weeks without causing civilian causalities.

Once the government announced that the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) captured the state’s capital, Mekelle, and things have returned to normalcy, the media seem to be ignoring the positive developments.

Observing this bias, Billene Seyoum, Press Secretary at the Office of The Prime Minister recently tweeted that “It’s been 24 hours since PM Abiy Ahmed went to Mekelle. He held talks with key ENDF figures and the provisional administration. Phone lines repaired, electricity restored. Not one global media outlet made these developments news as their “war” narrative continues. Why?”

It goes without saying that from the start of the operation, global media outlets reported in a biased manner as if Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared war on the Tigray. Yet, in reality, they were well aware that it was the Tigrean People Liberation Front (TPLF) junta that declared war on Ethiopia by attacking the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Defense Force on November 3, 2020. Even the junta confirmed this through one of its senior leaders who called the attack on the Northern Command ‘a thunderbolt strike’.

Then after, they bombarded their audience with false reporting and claims about the nature of the operation. One time, they called it a civil war, other time it was a guerrilla war, and other time, it was another. But they have never reported about the lives of the Ethiopian Army members who were treacherously murdered by the junta while they were protecting the people of Tigray.

Prior to the end of the law enforcement operation, these media have been extensively engaged in spreading lies that the country was engaging in a perpetual war whose conclusion was not in sight. Yet, contrary to their expectation and war mongering, the Ethiopian Defense Forces completed the operation within three weeks and proved them wrong.

It is really unfortunate to witness that prominent media such as The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, and Al Jazeera engaged in fabricating news that would serve their narratives than reflecting the reality on the ground. Their action makes some wonder why are they so much attracted to negativism?

This would confirm the fact that the international media is still biased and are not willing to report positive developments in Ethiopia. Contrary to journalistic ethics and fact-checking, it is tragic to see the respected global media spreading lies about Ethiopia and opt to sensationalize the issue.

The Ethiopian herald