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GENEVA: Ethiopia’s army on Thursday accused the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, of supporting and trying to obtain weapons and diplomatic backing for the dominant political party of the state of Tigray, which is fighting against the forces. federal.
“He himself is a member of that group and is a criminal,” Army Chief of Staff General Birhanu Jula said in a televised statement, before calling for his removal. Birhanu did not offer any evidence to back up his allegations.
There was no immediate comment from the WHO on the accusation against Tedros, who is an Ethiopian of Tigrayan ethnicity.
The allegations came at a time when the WHO is under considerable pressure trying to coordinate global efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic after the United States, its largest donor, froze funds over a dispute involving China. Cases and deaths are on the rise again in many countries around the world.
Tedros served as Ethiopia’s health minister and foreign minister from 2005 to 2016 in a ruling coalition led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The TPLF effectively ruled Ethiopia for decades as the most powerful part of the coalition, until Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy took office in 2018.
Since then, Abiy has united the other three regional parties into his own national party, but the TPLF refused to join.
Birhanu accused Tedros of using his international platform to try to get diplomatic support and weapons for the TPLF.
“It has been doing everything possible to support them, it has campaigned for neighboring countries to condemn the war. It has worked to provide them with weapons (the TPLF), ”he said.
“He tried to pressure people using his international profile and mission to get support for the TPLF board.”
Birhanu did not elaborate.
Ethiopia’s unverified accusations are not enough to remove 55-year-old Tedros from office.
He was elected in May 2017 as the first African Director-General of WHO on a platform promoting universal healthcare.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the WHO in July 2021, in accordance with US law requiring a one-year notice, after accusing Tedros of not doing enough. to hold China accountable for what Trump described as initial hedging attempts. until the COVID-19 outbreak.
Tedros has dismissed the suggestions, saying: “We are close to all nations, we are color blind.”
The United States was the largest overall donor to the Geneva-based WHO, contributing more than $ 400 million in 2019, about 15 percent of its budget.
