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Geneva (AFP)
In rare personal comments, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, spoke on Monday of his “personal pain” at the “worsening” of the conflict in his home country, Ethiopia.
“In addition to Covid, 2020 has been very difficult for me because my country is in trouble,” Tedros told reporters at the last press conference of the UN health agency on the Covid-19 pandemic of the year.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize last year, ordered troops into the northern Tigray region on November 4, saying the operation was in response to alleged attacks on federal army camps. by the regional ruling party, the Tigray Popular Liberation Front (TPLF).
The fighting in Tigray has left thousands dead, according to think tank International Crisis Group, and has sent tens of thousands of refugees across the border into Sudan.
Tedros, the world’s highest-profile Tigrayan, said at Monday’s press conference that he had many relatives in the troubled region, “including my younger brother, and I don’t know where they are.”
“I have not communicated with them because there is no communication.”
Ethiopia restricted media access to the conflict-affected region, and Tigray was under a total communications blackout for six weeks as the conflict raged between federal and regional forces.
Tedros, who for the past year has been at the forefront of efforts to coordinate a global response to the pandemic, said the additional tension had been tough personally.
– Situation ‘getting worse’ –
“As if Covid wasn’t enough, I also have that personal pain,” he said.
“I care about the whole country,” he said.
“I can’t just worry about my little brother or my relatives because the situation is getting worse.”
Last month, the Ethiopian government accused Tedros, who between 2005 and 2012 served as Health Minister under then-TPLF leader Meles Zenawi, of pressuring and seeking to arm the region’s leaders.
Tedros denied those allegations in a tweet last month, saying he had seen the destructive nature of war as a child and had “used that first-hand experience to always work for peace.”
“There have been reports suggesting that I am taking sides in this situation. This is not true,” he wrote.
“I mean I’m on one side, and that’s the side of peace.”
During Monday’s press conference, Tedros acknowledged that worrying about both the pandemic and the conflict in Ethiopia “has been tough.”
But he ended his comments on an upbeat note, expressing joy at becoming a grandfather two months ago.
“I worry, considering the two difficult situations they are going through, for my granddaughter, but at the same time, looking at her, I see hope.”
© 2020 AFP
