Ethiopia calls Abiy’s portrayal in Time 100 list ‘character assassination’

Ethiopia
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks at a news conference at his office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

NAIROBI (Somaliguardian) – Ethiopia said it was outraged at the way the US magazine, Time, portrayed its Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in its 100 list of the influential people of the year amid conflict raging in the Horn of Africa nation that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions from their homes.

The Ethiopian government said it was “dismayed” with the depiction over who started the country’s civil war, describing the portrayal as a “character assassination” that echoes the narrative of TPLF whose forces have been fighting government troops for more than a year.

Time magazine added Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Ethiopian-born US citizen and computer scientist in its list of 100 most influential people of 2022.

The US magazine said Abiy and Eritrea’s leader “launched a military campaign against” TPLF leaders in control of the northern region of Tigray, adding that a peace treaty signed by both leaders prior to the war “planted the seeds for an Ethiopian civil war”.

Contact us: info@somaliguardian.com