Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
BY HAKU YIHENEW
The stormy wind of lies blowing from the west in the name of human rights looks like to have the ill intention of destroying thriving peoples in non-western part of the world but it has also far-reaching ramifications of limiting humanity’s potential of creating a better world that affords quality life to its dwellers.
The thing is either one should be wearing a western blinder not to see alternative growth and development trajectories and embracing only the western and yet alien lifestyles instructed by institutions that serve this very purpose or facing the consequence of perishing from the face of the earth. Worse even, lopsided historians would tarnish the high caliber brains as “tyrants,” “totalitarians”, “oppressors,” or what have you. The west’s media, cinema industry, scholarship and the like do campaign against the people and their leaders painting a laughable caricature on their nature, actions, and the like.
The numerous films on Africans that present the people as savage, the mockery against the Arabs, the abusive narrative against China, the books on Ethiopia including ‘Abyssinia: The Powder Barrel’ had been deliberate actions to reduce civilizations that are non-western constructs. Still, a similar pattern is being witnessed.
Many would agree on the fact that it has been after enduring and winning these exploitative and perilous situations that our world transformed from unipolar to bipolar and to the present multipolar order. Any observer may understand that still, the fight to backpedal the current scenario has continued getting more intensified.
One can see how the venomous instruments that speak loudly but say nothing and operate under the cover of rights and media organizations target economies that are on the rise with intention of slowing down the pace of the growth and development of these economies to ultimately putting the economies under a perpetual subjugation.
The recent propaganda war being waged against the east African country, Ethiopia, which is flickering hope of all-round development after positioning itself on the right track, and the long-running allegation against the Southeastern Asian shining star, China, can give us lots of lessons that must be learned particularly by developing world.
In Ethiopia, the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had been tolerant of the antagonist forces of the Northern region, Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The front had been usurping not only the country’s wealth but it had also been torching, disappearing, and massacring own brothers and sisters. Hence, Abiy’s administration is supposed to usher the country in a new era ending the three decades of suffering. The past three reform years in Ethiopia have, however, brought both hopes and perils. The latter emanates from the conspiracies of the now-defunct TPLF.
Close to three million people were internally displaced on the eve of the reform, and during the reform days, countless citizens were brutally killed and displaced in almost all parts of Ethiopia. There is no doubting that all the atrocious crimes committed during these days have umbilical cords connected to the acrimonious TPLF.
Despite the bad records of TPLF during its 27 years of iron-fist ruling, the TPLF oligarchs were given leeway to get onboard the reform vehicle under Prime Minister Abiy’s philosophy of “Medemer” but that had been to no avail.
They attacked the northern command of the National Ethiopian Defense Force (ENDF) and named it a “pre-emptive lighting attack” which persuades the government to enforce the law in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. And the TPLF operatives were turned to ashes only in three weeks. Their top civilian and military leaders are killed and arrested while some groups have remained fugitives.
The west cannot accept the defeat of the group in the hands of the gallant Ethiopian forces. Why? The answer is clear. The elites in the west are sure that it is the TPLF that can prolong poverty in Ethiopia, and it is this force that even hate to death the nomenclature “Ethiopia”. A senior official once epitomized this saying: “TPLF was a party that ruled a country that it hates.” By the way, most TPLF officials had never talked about “Ethiopia” which also serves as insignia to independence movements across Africa and the Americans. It was taboo for TPLF high-ranking officials to call Ethiopia by its name and had consistently used “the country” in their speeches.
By the same token, the Chinese people have shown the world that there is another alternative to development and to extricate multi-millions of people out of poverty. Over the past 70 years, the Chinese government has taken around700 million people out of the abyss of poverty.
The Chinese presence in Africa and all over the world has become a game-changer. For instance, in Ethiopia, massive infrastructural development activities ranging from roads, rails, industrial parks, and the likes have become possible over the last 20 years after the Chinese set investment foot in an Ethiopian soil. It is up to governments and the elite part of the society to use the opportunity that China has availed to a good use. With a far-sighted government in power, China could offer an opportunity to a fast growth.
The Chinese pace of growth in all aspects including in technological advancement is a miracle to say the least. And China wants this development to be interlinked and shared among the global community. That is what the belt and road initiative is all about. The author of this article had been in Chinese towns, suburbs and even rural areas. To cut the long story short, and unlike the broadcasts in the western lens, the well-disciplined Chinese people have been doing miracles in their country as well.
The lens perceives developments in a distorted way. That is why their media bluff unfounded claims of human rights’ abuse, genocide, crime against humanity and what have you. The attempts to mislead the world about the issue in Xinjiang are no different from these.
On February 22, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the high-level meeting of the 46th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Beijing via video link and delivered a speech titled “A People-centered Approach for Global Human Rights Progress” where he elaborated the issue this way: “Xinjiang-related issues are in essence about countering violent terrorism and separatism. The Xinjiang region of China is taking de-radicalization measures in accordance with law, which is consistent with the requirements raised by the United Nations.”
He continued: “China supports more exchange and cooperation on human rights in the principle of mutual respect. But we oppose using double standards to make slanderous attacks on other countries, and we also opposed to using human rights as an excuse to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs,” he said.
He also touched up on the facts that workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang can choose professions based on their own will, and enjoy labor rights and interests. The freedom of religious belief for all ethnic groups is also protected in accordance with law. There has never been so-called “genocide”, “forced labor” or “religious oppression” in Xinjiang.
“Such inflammatory accusations are fabricated out of ignorance and prejudice. They are simply malicious and politically-driven hypes, and couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Of course, as a sovereign country, China knows how to improve lives of its citizens, and how to ensure law and order. Similarly in China, according to Wang Yi over the past four decades and more, the Uyghur population in Xinjiang has more than doubled from 5.55 million to over 12 million. In 60-plus years, Xinjiang’s economy has grown by more than 200 times, and the average life expectancy has increased from 30 to 72 years.
Many foreign friends who have been to Xinjiang have spoken up, stressing that the Xinjiang in their own eyes is totally different from what certain Western media have depicted. A French author Maxime Vivas wrote a book entitled Uyghurs: To Put an End to Fake News. Based on his two trips
to the autonomous region, Vivas tells a real Xinjiang that enjoys prosperity and stability. He expressly pointed out in his book that those who have never been to Xinjiang are the ones fabricating fake news and piling up lies about Xinjiang.
Their unsacred interference in sovereign countries’ internal affairs has destroyed countries, civilizations, and have brought despicable mayhem to peoples. You may count the governments collapsed in Africa and Middle East. And what they describe today as migration crisis is their own creation.
In Ethiopia, the government executed the law enforcement operation professionally, avoiding innocent civilians’ death. And now it is rebuilding Tigray while providing the necessary humanitarian supports to the people. But the lie factory of the west is producing and broadcasting lies after lies. But no matter what, they cannot bring the people and government of Ethiopia to their knees. Of course, thanks to partners like China, attempts to internationalize the issue of Tigray using the UNSC were curtailed.
Wang Yi has once raised as he spoke about a genocide that: When talking about some Western countries claim that China’s actions in Xinjiang constitute what they call “genocide”, Wang Yi said that speaking of genocide, many people would have in their minds the native Americans of the 16th century, African slaves of the 19th century, the Jewish people of the 20th century, and the aboriginal Australians who are still struggling even today.”
The media, NGOs and other western organizations that make noises in the name of human rights never walk the talks. For instance, in the current situation of Ethiopia, their trumpet has been playing what they call it “concern”. But after getting full access to the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the humanitarian aids they managed to supply is insignificant. Over 70 percent of the aids are still provided by the government. This is the truth.
The Ethiopian Herald
