Washington DC
The rules of disinformation dictate that real issues are avoided and
side issues are highlighted. Rules and regulations are discarded when
convenient; and maintained when subservient. Drama is depicted and truth is
restricted. Scary images are projected and information is fabricated. The
propaganda machine is selected and coerced statements are extracted. The public
is intimidated and fear mongering is initiated. The picture is complete when
the government plan is concrete.
The Ethiopian government’s incessant and abusive predatory tactics
strike fear into the hearts of its citizens by constantly besmirching and
demeaning the peaceful mass movement of Ethiopian Muslims and voraciously
attacking the incarcerated Arbitration Committee members. The first part of
this dramatic episode was fully revealed yesterday when the grossly distorted
video called “Jihadawi Harekat”, which literally means “Jihadi Movement”, aired
on national TV in Ethiopia.
The government’s production of this scripted and amateurish video drama
clearly shows an arrogant attitude and an impenetrable ego. The video camera
was slicing and dicing a tapestry of images plucked from different countries
and woven together to look whole and one and the same. But the constant
movement of the goalpost in the interrogation procedure supports the conclusion
that the government’s act of eviscerating the testimony foiled their grand
plan. It was evident that the oral utterances of the prejudicially incarcerated
Muslims were forcibly extracted under duress for public consumption and
self-incrimination. Verbal incoherencies in the statements they gave and some
signs of mistreatment were visible on the bodies of the prisoners who might
have been subjected to harsh and extrajudicial interrogation techniques to
yield false information to the exact specifications of the interrogators and
their bosses. The highly dubious nature of their confessions lends credence to
their visit of the torture chamber. This was a classic case of misinformation
and disinformation campaign. This entails the mantra that the fear of every
minority is the majority being in hysteria. The video illustrates vividly that
intimidation has overtaken solicitation as the modus operandi of the government.
Sadly, the fallout over this video debacle will also have long lasting
repercussions for Ethiopia and its citizens.
Fortunately, the fabricated video that doubles as a “documentary” film
was a total fiasco as it produced the opposite effect of the outcome that was
expected. The Ethiopian government that has been publicly claiming for some
time that it is practicing the rule of law and adhering to democratic
principles of governance was caught bare-footed practicing the exact opposite
of that principle. This is a watershed moment for the constitution, which is
literally being abandoned as a museum piece of erudite collection. The
government is embarking on the autocratic method of absolute authority, which
has reached fever pitch. Where there is fever, delusion is right behind.
Yesterday’s public airing of the video that was disguised as a
“documentary” film has been universally discredited for its premeditated and
prefabricated plots. The public showing of the video by the government, which
controls all media outlets, seems destined for planting the seeds of hatred and
animosity within the Muslim community as well as to create division within the
larger Ethiopian population. The official act of publicly demonizing and
disparaging the prisoners before their trial in the court of law was highly
deceptive and misleading. This demonization tactic also follows the rules of
disinformation and suppression of the truth. This method works especially well
with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts is
through the rumor mill. The government amplifies the trumped-up charges against
the “Prisoners of Conscience”, fabricates it and then feeds it into its
propaganda machine to avoid discussion of the real issues of law and order. Therefore,
the smear campaign levied against the Arbitration Committee members and other
Muslims that are languishing in prison is preposterous and prejudicial and
would never see daylight in the common courts of genuinely democratic
countries.
To be sure, if this was a real case of terrorism inside Ethiopia or
anywhere else for that matter, Badr and all decent Ethiopian Muslims would have
been first in line to condemn it and chase it out of town. But those depicted
in the crude video are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. They
managed to conduct a very peaceful and exemplary protest against callous
infringements on their basic rights to worship freely. They were never a threat
to Ethiopia or the government. They were genuine patriots concerned with the
condition of their fellow country men and women who were suffocating from the
lack of freedom to practice their religion. They also worked hard and were
instrumental as partners with the government a few years ago to get it
re-elected by the majority of the Muslim population. But these prisoners of
conscience instead have become shooting targets for dirty political games.
Again, borrowing from the disinformation handbook, one can clearly see that
sidetracking protesters or opponents with name calling such as “terrorists” and
ridiculing their time-honored mission by calling them “jihadists” smacks of
their good record as statesmen and as peaceful negotiators. The video’s
disparaging message was designed to make others shrink from supporting them out
of fear of gaining the same label, and thus the government gets away with
slander once again by avoiding dealing with real issues concerning freedom and
worship.
The contents of the film also stem from falsehood and were intended to
plant the seeds of division within the Muslims and between the two prominent
religious traditions in Ethiopia. This will also damage Ethiopia’s reputation
for the time-honored exemplary tolerance and peaceful co-existence between the
Christians and the Muslims. In the final analysis, this crude and defamatory
film failed to deliver the message that the propagators intended for it. To the
contrary, it further alienated the people from the government.
At any rate, Badr Ethiopia strongly denounces and condemns the airing
of this video and the fabrication of its contents. The message that Badr would
like to send to those infuriated by this video and are upset or distressed at
the despicable condition of the Muslim men they saw on the TV screen is: Keep
them in your Du’a. This will pass and the truth will bear fruit for their
sacrifice. The fabricated video is just a window dresser, which will collapse
on its own. Please do not worry, this drama just shows the head wind of a
plummeting mass distortion campaign and is a sign of desperation. You can fool
some people some time but you cannot fool all the people all the time. Remember
to separate the wheat from the chaff. So, was the video a hatchet job or a
smear campaign? It will behoove you to catch some points of inflection.
Fabricated videos like managed news are double-edged swords. The smooth
edge can entertain by delivering a stage show. But the jagged edge can increase
fear and hatred by delivering a scary show. So, which side of the auditorium
were you sitting when you watched the video: The imaginary side or the reality
side? Please, do not burn the midnight candle to discover the truth.
Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. Calamities
are a checkbook for the reality of belief.
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