Addis Ababa, January 06, 2022 (Walta) – “The war in Ethiopia is not a civil war. It’s a war on Ethiopia by the United States, the proxy partner of TPLF,” a Canadian international criminal law expert said.
In an exclusive interview with ENA, John Philpot said “I consider this not an academic or intellectual discussion. I think that the war in Ethiopia is not a civil war. It’s a war on Ethiopia by the United States, the proxy partner of TPLF. And this is not resolved by everybody.”
The Canadian international criminal law expert noted that diplomats of Europe and the US favor the TPLF.
“I consider proxy wars which are directed from outside or forms of aggression in the same way that Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. It was a form of aggression.”
This aggression on Ethiopia is a form of aggression; and it should be treated as such — just like a proxy war in Syria, Philpot stated, adding that these are issues in international law that are going to be resolved in the next 10 or 20 years.
Further elaborating about the situation in Ethiopia and colonialism, the expert stressed that the country was never colonized. But Africa freed itself from 1950 to 1975 more or less.
“Now there aren’t that many full colonies; but there’s neo-colonialism, which is just about as damaging. In the present, the fight is quite largely against neo-colonialism and it’s a challenge being met by your country. It has answered the challenge extremely well than other countries,” he underscored.
Commenting about the recent resolution of the UN Human Rights Council, the legal expert said the UN now wants to have a new investigation on Ethiopia, and the Government of Ethiopia has refused.
The government is right to do so, Philpot stated, adding that if you look at the vote in the council the great majority of them are from white neo-colonial countries and their close allies. It was a Western attempt to intervene because human rights are “our political tool.”
According to him, “ the sovereignty of Ethiopia and others come before human rights. This, of course, doesn’t mean that a country can kill its own people. I’m not saying that is all right.”
The criminal law expert underlined, “I am convinced that your country has to defend itself within its own borders. You have a country that has a tremendous potential to be a shining light in the entire African continent.”