Addis Ababa, June 11, 2022 (Walta) – Higher officials of the Tigray Democratic Party (TDP) revealed that the terrorist TPLF group has been diverting the humanitarian aid being sent to Tigray people to its militants.
The officials urged the international community to closely monitor the humanitarian aid operation being carried out in the Tigray region in order to ensure the aid is properly reaching the people in need.
It is to be recalled that the international community, including UN agencies, has been delivering humanitarian aid to Tigray.
Speaking to ENA, Tigray Democratic Party Deputy Chairperson, Mesfin Desalegn said the effort being carried out by the government of Ethiopia and members of the international community to help the people in Tigray is commendable.
However, there is information coming out of the Tigray region indicating that the humanitarian aid being delivered in Tigray has not been reaching to the target people in need, he stated.
Instead, the humanitarian aid in the region has been diverted to other political purposes by TPLF, he added.
“Donor organizations need to have strong monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure effectively reach out the aids to the people in need. They have to expose the terrorist TPLF group to the international community and make sure the aid is reaching the affected population,” the deputy chair noted.
The deputy-chairperson recalled that TPLF has an experience of diverting humanitarian aid to their militants—the group even had been used to divert humanitarian aid when they were bandits in 1969.
The terrorist group even when it was in power, did nothing good for the people of Tigray State rather the group ruled them in tyranny and oppression, he stated.
Hence, the people in the Tigray region are being held hostage, being oppressed, and continue to suffer at the hands of the terrorist TPLF, the deputy-chair noted, adding that the oppressed people of the region must be organized and fight the terrorist group for the sake of their existence and peace of Ethiopia at large.
“The people of Tigray have to open their eyes to end oppression under TPLF. TPLF is a curse rather than a blessing for the people of Tigray. The group has to either be removed or forced to go in the right ways like peaceful means and negotiation. Hence, the people need to create high pressure over the group.”
The terrorist group since its inception has been a group of criminals who had silenced the voice of the people by mobilizing their own cadres who achieved the goals of the terrorist group through oppressing the people, the deputy chair pointed out.
The party’s head of political affairs, Hagos Gidey, on his part reiterated that the terrorist group does not care about the people of Tigray rather it is a source of all problems for the Tigayan people.
Even, the group alienated the mass affected civilians from getting humanitarian aid.
“Information coming out of the region has proved that those who are getting humanitarian aid are the Special Forces, militants, and families who have given their children to the war. The rest majority of affected populations are seldom getting the humanitarian aid that is being sent to the region,” Hagos said.
Humanitarian aid distribution mechanisms in the region need to be monitored to ensure the humanitarian aids reach the people in need, he stressed.
Hagos stated that the people of Tigray are involved in the struggle against the TPLF to some extent. However, the Government of Ethiopia and Ethiopians at large need to stand alongside the oppressed people of Tigray and support the struggle of Tigrayans against terrorist TPLF oppression.