Crisis In Ethiopia: Breaking Through the Propaganda, w/ Eugene Puryear

The U.S. and EU have accused Ethiopia of every atrocity imaginable and now they’re preparing sanctions. The Ethiopian government insists that it’s legitimately fighting a separatist group, the formerly ruling TPLF, which is attempting to regain power through violence and terrorism.

Who’s telling the truth? What explains the one-sided media coverage? How do Eritrea and Sudan fit into it all? What’s driving Washington’s destabilizing policies in the Horn of Africa, which have alienated a longtime U.S. ally?

To help cut through the fog of war, Rania Khalek was joined by Eugene Puryear, a journalist for Breakthrough News and host of The Punch Out podcast.

TIME CODES

0:00 Intro
2:19 Eugene gives a general summary of the conflict, with maps!
9:10 Who’s blocking humanitarian aid?
16:19 TPLF using humanitarian crisis as a weapon of war
30:19 Stealing humanitarian aid trucks and hoarding fuel
36:40 Ignored TPLF human rights abuses and child soldiers
42:12 How the TPLF vs Ethiopian govt responds to abuse accusations
45:13 How the international media is manufacturing consent for sanctions on Ethiopia
51:18 The new Ethiopian government vs how the TPLF ruled the country
1:05:00 Is Abiy Ahmed a neoliberal
1:14:37 Why is the US alienating and destabilizing Ethiopia?
1:19:05 The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
1:25:25 US imperialism’s antagonism towards independence
1:30:45 The Ethiopia-Eritrea peace deal
1:33:00 A bad liberal argument
1:36:43 Why Eritrea is demonized
1:42:13 How Eritrea compares to its regional counterparts
1:48:20 Predictions for where the war is headed
1:56:03 Rania’s electricity goes out

You can watch an earlier interview with Eugene Puryear on the war in Ethiopia here:

Crisis In Ethiopia: What the Media Isn’t Telling You About the War In Tigray