AFP reports says during Ethiopian President Sahle-Work’s visit to Mekelle, when soldiers providing security came to inspect the facility before her arrival, rape survivors gathering in the television room cried out in horror, fearing they would be assaulted again. “When she (the President) came, we cried, we screamed, we didn’t want to talk to her,” recalled another rape survivor, who told AFP that Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers raped her for eight days in a military camp after pulling her off a bus near the Tigray town of Wukro. “We never want to talk to her (the president),” she added.
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The following note is taken from an article by professor Jan Nyssen published on Mondale
“The president insisted on visiting survivors of sexual violence at the local hospital. Despite being warned by doctors, Ethiopia’s first female president, accompanied by military personnel, stormed into the hospital room. According to those present, there was great panic among these women, who suffer from post-traumatic stress. Few photos or images have been made public about this visit, probably because the atmosphere was so hostile. The Ethiopian news agency published a photo of Sahlework chatting with the displaced people. The sad face of the displaced woman in the photo speaks volumes.”
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The following note is taken from an article published on Saba’s Diary
“Four months into this war, The President decided to travel to the war torn region. Part of her photo-op visit was to include a stop at a hospital were rape victims were also being treated. At the entrance, the President was politely asked by doctors and other stuff members to not go in with military men who accompanied her. The victims were traumatized & the sight of men in uniforms was additional trauma. The president took a personal offense to being morally lectured. So she refused. She demanded that the military men be allowed in with her. The hospital stuff reported that on catching sight of the soldiers, the victims began screaming, crying and shaking with fear. The president had to remove herself from the spot immediately since no amount of comforting or assurance could calm the victims down. She left — leaving the victims a little worse than she found them. Her office then released statements & pictures. Showing her interacting attentively & kindly with locals. This would surely get her boss the good PR he very much needed. Still no mention of rape allegations. Continued silence. The president warned at the beginning of her term that she will exhaust the men by speaking up for women issues. Two years into her seat & tested with real life challenge, the world could see she has no intention of delivering on that promise.“
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የዴቪድ ቢዝሊ እና የፕሬዚዳንት ሳኅለወርቅ የትግራይ ጉብኝት | VOA Amharic | 8 Feb 2021
ፕሬዚዳንት ሳኅለወርቅ ዘውዴና የመንግሥታቱ ድርጅት የዓለም የምግብ መርኃግብር ዋና ዳይሬክተር ዴቪድ ቢዝሊ ትናንት ትግራይ ክልልን ጎብኝተዋል።
መቀሌ — ፕሬዚዳንት ሳኅለወርቅ ዘውዴና የተባበሩት መንግሥታት የዓለም የምግብ መርኃግብር ዋና ዳይሬክተር ዴቪድ ቢዝሊ ትናንት በትግራይ ክልል ባደረጉት ጉብኝትና በተደረጉ ስምምነቶች ላይ የከልሉ ጊዜያዊ አስተዳደር የኮምዩኒኬሽንስ ቢሮ ኃላፊ እቴነሽ ንጉሠ ለአሜሪካ ድምፅ ማብራሪያ ሰጥተዋል።
ፕሬዚዳንቷ የመቀሌ አይደር ሪፈራል ሆስፒታልንና ሌሎችም ተቋማትን መመልክታቸውንና የሃገር ሽማግሌዎችን ማነጋገራቸውን ኃላፊዋ ገልፀዋል።
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EBC
Role played by Sahle-Work Zewde in worsening gender-based violence against women and girls in Tigray
Statement by Sahle-work Zewde following her visit to Mekelle
Sahle-Work Zewde was rebuffed by Tigrayans she met in Mekelle for bombing, raping and starving the people of Tigray. It is to be remembered that Sahle-Work had praised ENDF/ Ethiopian forces who committed heinous atrocities in Tigray. Sahle-Work talking about how much she cares about Tigray is like rubbing salt into the wounds of every women in Tigray.
