This week, millions of Ethiopian orthodox churches followers celebrated Ethiopian epiphany /timket/ across the nation. Timekt that marks the baptism of Jesus Christ has been colorfully celebrated with foreign nationals in attendance. The UNESCO inscribed religious festival has been celebrated with much religious and mosaic cultural values. The outdoor festival signifies the stunning combination of centuries-old religious and cultural traditions.
But, this year’s Ethiopian epiphany has had far-reaching implications to the country and the whole world. It came as the country confronts with misinformation warfare and unjustified foreign pressure. The colorful and peaceful celebrations of the festival foiled the disinformation campaign waged against the country by some foreign entities and media outlets.
There have been defamatory and fake stories echoed by some discredited media outlets regarding the security of the country. Months back, some foreign missions in Addis Ababa and their partners in propaganda have been claiming that Addis Ababa would fall to the terrorist groups and that it would enter into turmoil. Some countries even ordered their nationals to leave the city. But, the propaganda was cut short and the lies were overturned as truth championed over falsehoods.
Foreign nationals have been curiously attending the Ethiopian epiphany clearly disproving the propaganda of their media outlets. Unlike the coordinated media campaign, Timket has been marked warmly and peacefully. In fact, the celebration is a humiliating blow to the untrustworthy media organizations that toiled so much to destabilize Ethiopia. In a similar fashion, the decision of the African Union to hold its summit in its headquarters, Addis Ababa also exposed the lies of some western media outlets.
The bloc’s latest decision came when Africans continue to stand by the side of Ethiopia in countering foreign pressure. Africans have been engaged in the NoMore movements fighting the modern-day imperialists’ thoughts.
As a matter of fact, the colorful and calm celebrations of the outdoor festival handed Ethiopia a streak of victories over the lie factories. The success also invalidates the misguided foreign policies. These developments can serve as a ground for the countries to reconcile with the truth and adjust their policy towards Ethiopia.
For over a year, the country has been a victim of unfair treatment at the hands of some irresponsible media outlets. In fact, since war broke out in the northern part of the country, the international community has been tricked into putting pressure on the government of Ethiopia by the stooges of the terrorist group, paid activists, and the now low-rated media outlets.
Though the fake media reports have failed, the incident ruined the image of Ethiopia by feeding false information about the country. This is the right time and an opportunity for the media and their paid masters to learn from past mistakes and report nothing but the truth. It should also be noted that the relations between Ethiopia and some countries might have been damaged due to reckless media reports and misguided foreign policies. These countries need to reassess their policies and play a constructive role by helping Ethiopia achieve lasting peace and stability.
FRIDAY 21 JANUARY 2022
