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from The Independent & The Independent on=20 Sunday

Home > = News > = Media > = TV & = Radio=20

Rebels with a grudge and the anatomy of a damning smear

The BBC's claim this week that $95m of aid to = Ethiopia had in=20 fact been spent on weapons was incendiary, threatening to undermine = future aid=20 efforts. But, says Paul Vallely, it does not stand up to scrutiny

Saturday, 6 March 2010

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REX FEATURES

The Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in July 1985 = was seen=20 by millions across the world

enlarge

Live Aid millions spent on arms," headlines have said all over the = world in=20 the past few days after a year-long BBC investigation announced it had = found=20 evidence that millions of dollars earmarked for victims of the Ethiopian = famine=20 of 1984-85 went to buy weapons.

It was, on the face of it, a highly damaging story which could = undermine the=20 extraordinary generosity of the public to give to the appeals launched = whenever=20 a major disaster strikes, as it has in Chile and Haiti in recent weeks. = But=20 examine the BBC report and it slips like sand through the fingers. What = follows=20 is the anatomy of a slur.

The story, by the BBC World Service's Africa analyst, Martin Plaut, = said that=20 in 1985 the rebels of the Tigrean People's Liberation Front diverted 95 = per cent=20 of the aid sent to the north of Ethiopia into its fight to overthrow the = government of the time. He quoted two senior rebel soldiers as saying = that=20 rebels had dressed up as merchants to trick aid agencies into handing = over large=20 amounts of cash, purportedly to buy food. To back up the claims he cited = recently released CIA documents and quoted a senior US diplomat as = saying that=20 at the time they had believed that aid was "almost certainly being = diverted for=20 military purposes". It all sounds incredibly damning =96 until you ask = who is=20 making these allegations.

BBC under fire for Band Aid 'slur'
Search the news archive for more stories =

The most senior rebel is Aregawi Berhe, once a commander in the rebel = army.=20 Or at least he was until the mid-80s when he fell out with the other = leaders of=20 the TPLF, most particularly with Meles Zenawi, the rebel who went on to = become=20 the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and who =96 revealingly enough =96 is = facing a=20 general election in Ethiopia next month.

Aregawi fled to Holland, from where he has for years conducted = vehement=20 attacks on his erstwhile colleagues, Meles Zenawi in particular. "Not = only did=20 he defect under very political circumstances," said one Western aid = monitor who=20 spent years in Tigray at that time, "but he was in a different part of = the=20 country during much of this time." Indeed one partisan Ethiopian website = has=20 claimed, Aregawi left the TPLF before the clandestine cross-border = import of=20 food from Sudan even began.

There are doubts about the good faith of the other rebel official = quoted in=20 the BBC story. Gebremedhin Araya was a senior figure in the TPLF's = finance=20 department. He was photographed dressed as a Muslim merchant counting = the money=20 after selling sacks of grain which were really, he said, filled with = sand. But=20 Gebremedhin too was purged by the TPLF and fled to exile in Australia. =

So the core of the BBC story rests on the claims of two individuals = with a=20 grievance against the current Ethiopian government and a track-record of = attempts to discredit it =96 and it comes at a time when it might do = maximum=20 damage to the Ethiopian prime minister just ahead of elections. That = does not=20 mean they are wrong, but it sets up reasonable doubts. Alarm bells ought = to have=20 begun ringing at that point.

They ought to have rung louder at some of the discrepancies in = detail.=20 Aregawi Berhe claimed that the British aid worker in the photo, Max = Peberdy of=20 Christian Aid, had handed over $2m. But the charity insists that Peberdy = had=20 only $500,000 for his entire grain-purchasing mission. Yesterday Pederby = said=20 that the deal in the photograph involved only $60,000.

"We bought from different merchants each time," said Nick Guttmann, = director=20 of emergency relief operations at Christian Aid . "We paid in Ethiopian = birr,=20 not dollars, which is what international arms traders demand from those = who want=20 to buy guns. We checked the grain =96 not every bag =96 but random = sampling in the=20 techniques used by professional port surveyors. We went to see the grain = distributed. The idea that we just handed the money over and then walked = away is=20 preposterous. We had proper systems in place and we always do."

The BBC report gave added credence to the rebels' claims by quoting a = recently released CIA document which suggested some aid was "almost = certainly=20 being diverted for military purposes". But close scrutiny of the = document shows=20 it is dated April 1985 =96 three months before the Live Aid concert even = happened.=20 A later CIA document, dated July 1985, after Live Aid, makes no mention = of aid=20 cash going on arms in rebel areas.

Finally the BBC programme quoted Robert Houdek, the most senior US = diplomat=20 in Ethiopia in 1988, the year after the TPLF overthrew the Mengistu = dictatorship=20 in Addis Ababa, as saying that the former rebels told him that "some of = the food=20 coming in through the Sudan was being sold for cash". But, again, Houdek = offered=20 hearsay, not evidence. He gave no facts or figures.

So what was the truth?

Ironically, despite the lurid headlines of recent days, the money = from the=20 Band Aid Trust was perhaps the best monitored. "We put so many checks in = place=20 precisely to stop that kind of thing," said Penny Jenden, who was Band = Aid's=20 director, yesterday. "We spent our money mainly on trucks to move food, = in the=20 early stages, and then on seeds, tools and oxen. And we didn't give any = money=20 directly to REST [the Tigreans' own aid agency] till 1986."

Band Aid spent less than half a per cent of all Live Aid money in = Tigray in=20 1985. In the six years to 1991 Band Aid's total spend there was only = $11m of the=20 $100m Live Aid raised. "We knew it was a difficult situation," said = Jenden, "so=20 our accounting procedures were doubly strict. As well as Band Aid staff = we sent=20 in independent monitors to check, and we shared all our info with the = other=20 NGOs."

Oxfam, Christian Aid, Unicef, the Red Cross and Save the Children all = insist=20 that they too had robust on-the-ground monitoring in place. They have = all made=20 similar statements. "The agencies on the ground did some serious = monitoring =96=20 from purchase to delivery to distribution," one high-level independent = monitor=20 said yesterday. "I saw the grain being loaded on REST trucks and then = saw it=20 being distributed," said another.

Only a fool would suggest that it is impossible that some aid may = have been=20 subverted by the military. But ironically the most likely source of aid=20 diversion was from the food aid provided by the US government =96 and it = may well=20 have been done with the connivance of the CIA who were happy at the = thought of=20 the Marxist dictatorship in Addis being overthrown. The CIA was at that = time=20 giving clandestine support to rebels in both Nicaragua and Afghanistan. =

"In any aid operation you work on the basis that 10 per cent of aid = will go=20 astray," said Myles Wickstead, a former British ambassador to Ethiopia. = "It's=20 the price you pay for getting the 90 per cent through. Where lives are = at stake=20 you cut corners and take risks. You make judgements. But I'd give no = credibility=20 whatsoever to the idea that 95 per cent of aid to Tigray was diverted. =

"It was too highly monitored, most particularly that of Live Aid. = Some money=20 may well have gone astray in Ethiopia in 1985. But nowhere nearly on the = scale=20 which the BBC has alleged."

Comments

( Leave=20 a comment )

Alem

alem6=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 02:05 am = (UTC)

dear writer,

i am ethiopian from tigray = and i=20 know the TPLF diverted aid money. why are you trying to defend meles = zenawi who=20 killed thousands of innocent people as Human rights Watch can confirm? = please=20 check amnesty international and HRW to see the ruthless meles zenawi and = TPLF.

also last year, the TPLF paid over 500,000 dollars on DC = lobbysts=20 to have pro-TPLF western articles in europe and north america. so we = will not be=20 surprised if this article is one of those

May God save Tigray and = Ethiopia

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

Re: Alem

alemhassawi=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 07:38 = pm=20 (UTC)

Alem,

Are you sure you are a Tigrean? I = strongly=20 doubt that you are so? Aregawi and Gebremedhim are lying believe it or = not! No=20 matter what the magnitude of the lie they are fabricating,they will = never see=20 Ethiopia,they will be buried in exile! They know it very well because = they left=20 the poor Tigreans at a time of worst hardship.The poor will not let them = enter=20 Home(Tigray/Ethiopia).

With regard to the news,It is completely a = lie!=20 People from the opposition camp can not gain any power by just spreading = lies.Afterall,the so called opposition diaspora(ethiopians) have no = qualms to=20 get power at the expense of the poor.Do they understand that they are = putting=20 their country in black llist by making the donors believe allegations? I = am=20 sorry!

Ethiopia will keep on heading to development as it has = already=20 started it under the current regime.
ALEM......you are a poor = propanga agent=20 from the opposition camp or Eritrea(Shabiaa).

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Parent=20 | Thread

The new year approaching, click in. Let's = facelift=20 bar! =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D http://goph3r.com/0um =3D=3D=3D=3D Air = jord

zitkonlyyou=20 wrote:

Sunday, 7 March 2010 at 01:28 pm=20 (UTC)

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Link=20 | Reply=20 | Parent=20 | Thread

International State Aid is the baddy here, = not=20 piddling Charities.

gulliver055=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 04:02 am = (UTC)

A scurrilous and disgraceful report. = Interesting to=20 compare the burden of proof on this story and Simpson's story from = Fallujah. I=20 only wish people understood the significance of the transformation of = the=20 onetime Commonwealth Development Corporation, now the CDC, from its=20 sustainability background to the profit-seeking, privately owned = behemoth it now=20 is.

Geldof had to relearn all Harrison had to learn. He learnt it = double=20 quick and acted double quick. A part of Geldof's legacy is Gift=20 Aid.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

Jiru

sttrea=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 04:14 am = (UTC)

This is a defense to the ruthless, separatist = Meles=20 Zenawi TPLF Marxist Leninist regime who has been killing innocent = Ethiopians=20 since its inception in Tigray mountains. This is not news for Ethiopians = who are=20 under the yoke of Meles TPLF. This is the government who killed more = than 200=20 peaceful protestors in the daylight in Addis Ababa and imprisoned = thousands of=20 people. Meles is still fooling the generous philanthropists. However, he = cannot=20 fool Ethiopians. The western diplomats are elongating the life of Meles = in power=20 and causing the suffering of millions of Ethiopians by extending their = support=20 to the blood-sucking regime Meles Zeawi.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

Rebels with a grudge?

abraham12=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 06:46 am = (UTC)

T o narrow the issue of diversion to the money = raised by=20 Band Aid misses the point. Peolple engaged in the cross border operation = then=20 had published a book titled 'Without troops & tanks' edited by John=20 Prendergast in 1994 where they were thinking out loud if their efforts = were not=20 contributing to the ferociousness of the civil war by enabling the then = rebel=20 groups with their support financial or otherwise.Under the guise of a = security=20 threat in some parts of the interior some of these groups were = forced/cajoled=20 into offering cash and even depositing in foreign accounts of the rebel=20 organizations. Outside of the two TPLF fighters whose motive one might = question,=20 a book recently published in Ethiopia both in Tigrina and Amharic by one = of=20 TPLF,s founding members and who until he recently left the organization = was a=20 high level functionary by the name of Asgede Gebreselassie titled Gahdi = outlines=20 the same facts with more graphic detail. Today it is understandable for = Meles's=20 group to deny all this , but with the prevailing thinking in their group = at the=20 time ,that they would have defended what they did as a correct tactic is = undeniable for the end would justify the means. As for the donors it = seems=20 difficult for them to think that they could have been had by 'ragtag = rebels in=20 the bushes of far off Africa. But the fact remains the 'rag tag rebel' = leader=20 that fooled them 25 years ago is still doing it, this time wearing an = Armani=20 suit and not ethnic or religious garb.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

Where does your Aid go

taberg40=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6=20 March 2010 at 07:01 am (UTC)

In a Freezing =A8Paris

Assistance or = aid to needing=20 countries always has an impossible dilemma:

Either as donor you = decide=20 what is going to be done with the aid

Or you act according to = rules and=20 let the Government decide how to use the assistance

Let us assume = that=20 you have managed to gather and ship a hundred thousand tons of grain. = Who could=20 criticize such a gift? You cannot make bombs with grain ?

This = does not=20 take into account the fact that if you are helping one budget post, then = you=20 give more freedom to other budget lines.

It is not a secret that = any wise=20 government ensures that the backbone of the country is strengthened, = which means=20 allocating grain, trucks, fuel to the military.

For instance the = buying=20 and maintenance of arms.

Then you have the tiresome question of=20 transportation which also rears its head in Africa. If you have to = distribute a=20 hundred thousand tons of grain, you need trucks and you need = fuel.

If a=20 trucks drives from the port to the distribution area, what will it do=20 afterward?

What will the truck and fuel do once you are = gone?

What=20 will all the =93locals=94 do once you are gone?

Assisting needing = countries=20 is like being a non medical passer buy trying to assist the survivors of = a train=20 crash. Are you doing any good or are you braking the neck of the wounded = when=20 trying to pull them out of the carriage?

The = conclusion:

Do not=20 worry about what is going to happen to your donations. If groups are set = on=20 making war, it does not matter much whether they do it with machetes or = machine=20 guns.

Ambabelle

Un =E9l=E9phant dans mon carburateur

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

Poor Paul

brinksman=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6=20 March 2010 at 07:40 am (UTC)

Poor naive Paul thinks no money went to buying = guns.=20 Wake up and smell the ammo, old chap. Of course it=20 did.
www.millarcrime.com

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

justin

justineet=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 07:46 am = (UTC)

BBC should issue an apology. This is one of = the worst=20 reports ever! The Western media needs to realize the utter depravity and = stunning deceitfulness of the minuscule but very vocal, maniacally = hate-filled=20 Ethiopian Diaspora extremists in Europe and USA. It's about time they = wake up=20 and see that some of these guys wish nothing but evil to befall Ethiopia = just to=20 spite the current Ethiopian government and gain power they believe is = their God=20 given privilege.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

April 1985

iankemmish = wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 08:53 am = (UTC)

may have been three months before the summer = concert,=20 but it was also four months after the Christmas record release. So there = is no=20 reason to believe that Geldof & Co's money was not being discussed = in the=20 CIA memorandum.

If you have a point to make, you weaken it by = clumsy=20 sophistry like this. The BBC's arguments may be weak, but you will never = knock=20 them down if yours are as weak or even weaker.

What gives all = this the=20 ring of truth is that it was obvious even at the time that such a bunch = of=20 amateurs viewing the suffering of foreigners as an opportunity to = rejuvenate=20 their careers couldn't possibly hope to understand how one operates on = the=20 ground in such situations. The preposterous hubris of Geldof's claim = that "we're=20 not like other charities, I guarantee that 100% of your money will end = up where=20 it's needed" alone was enough to convince one of that. Ironic that this = week,=20 the best defence he could muster was that they WERE like other charities = after=20 all!

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

No way!!

mebre=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 10:25 am = (UTC)

the story said by BBC is very well known all = over=20 Ethiopia.We Ethiopians know exactly what was happening and is happening=20 now.Aregawi Berhi is not speaking about the issue now.He told us before = 20=20 years.Practically speaking TPLF did more than this to through Derg.So = don't=20 blame BBC...rather think how to feed the poor correctly Don't support = arming=20 dictators in the name of the poor.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

temesghen=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 05:22 = pm=20 (UTC)

Thank you for the work you did exposing = Aregawi and=20 Gebrhemedhin for being liars. Furthermore thank you for exposing the = Diaspora=20 extremist who often engage in such lies. People like Alem in the comment = section=20 is most likely an Eritrean bitter at his armies humiliation at the Badme = war.

Thanks again for setting the record straight and exposing = Martin=20 Plaught unprofessional work.

Now do a story on how the EPRDF has=20 transformed Ethiopia from the country it was in 1986 to today=92s = unprecedented=20 growth. If need be you can show how opposite Eritrea has gone in this = journey=20 since both parallel each other.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

whereisourtruth=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 06:35 = pm=20 (UTC)

where is our truth?

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

What do Africans say?

camberwick27=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 07:38 = pm=20 (UTC)

As ever in domestic British reporting, the = voices of=20 Africans themselves are never heard.
I'd point to the comments made = here and=20 on the Times Online pages, where every single Ethiopian to post an entry = has=20 backed up Martin Plauts findings, both on the TPLA and on what happened = to the=20 Live Aid cash. Moreover, they seem amazed that British people believe = anything=20 else.

Plaut is the Africa editor at the BBC World = Service.
Hello=20 people???? that means ..he is like...quite senior!!!
He's lived and = worked in=20 the Horn of Africa for years (unlike Geldof) and reported on the Tigrean = famine=20 from Ethiopia in the eighties himself. Would he seriously risk his = reputation in=20 this way were he NOT convinced of what he found out?

A WS=20 listener.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

Rebels with a grudge and the anatomy of a = damning=20 smear

ididada=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 07:57 = pm=20 (UTC)

Over the years, Mr. Zenawi has said more than = once that=20 the NGOs are really in it for themselves. Of course he utters such = nonsense=20 whenever he wants to deflect unfreindly comments from such agencies as = Human=20 Rights Watch, Docrors without borders, etc. But it seems that the = reaction of=20 Mr. Geldof and of Christian Aid to the newest scandal are proving him = right.=20

Both Mr. Geldof and Christian Aid would prefer to sweep the = uggliness of=20 that 25 year history under the rug rather than risk putting in danger = thier=20 admirable institutions. It never occured to them that the principals = here are=20 the Ethiopians and that the Ethiopians might actually place great value = on=20 discovering the whole truth even if it means some charitable donnations = would be=20 witheld from them or their compatriots.

And so they go out of = their way=20 trying to discredit the bearers of true but unpleasant truth. It is an = abolute=20 shame.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

Who is speaking the truth? Geldof or BBC? = Let's=20 bet!

hulet=20 wrote:

Saturday, 6 March 2010 at 08:32 = pm=20 (UTC)

The allegation and counter allegation between = BBC and=20 Geldof are becoming deafening now. Honestly, my instincts are telling me = BBC has=20 done a good journalistic piece and Geldof is trying to save his a**. Any = way the=20 pragmatic test as to where the truth lies can be conducted by = investigating how=20 the aid is presently used. If there is no politicization of aid at = present then=20 we will reasonably doubt the BBC story. But if much politiciazation of = aid is=20 happening in the country, as alleged by some westerners and opposition = parties=20 inside the country, then BBC is hell right. Well history was the test = for the=20 present, for now let's use the present as a test for the past, the = history. Ask=20 Human Right Watch or Amnesty International if TPLF uses aid money to = reward=20 supporters and punish opposition. Their answer is absolute "Hell Yes"A = mosquito=20 net is difficult to get if one supports the opposition in the deep rural = Ethiopia.
Get used to it. We use your money to buy arms from China, = Ukraine=20 and Russia.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

What a shame BBc

shimekt=20 wrote:

Sunday, 7 March 2010 at 12:49 am=20 (UTC)

When are you going to start report good = news about=20 Ethiopia? All you have done is tarnishing other countries image in order = to=20 entertain western influence in developing countries; however, this makes = every=20 Ethiopians to stand together. BBC as always believes that the sun never = set as=20 old empire of England but we call it neo-colonization. Nobody force = western to=20 give their money; even though we are very appreciative of what they had = done to=20 Ethiopia, it should not be a weapon to demoralize what we have achieved. = Ethiopians have fate and great admiration to their government. In a mean = time,=20 any other organization has no right to tell Ethiopians or Ethiopian = government=20 how to exercise their democracy. As the Ethiopian saying goes "while the = Camel=20 is going, the dog barks". After all Ethiopia remains to her own beloved = children=20 not the biased media.

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Shame on BBC

abyssinianman=20 wrote:

Sunday, 7 March 2010 at 02:02 am=20 (UTC)

BBC's despicable reports, this one being the = latest,=20 shows how much it has become a ghost of its former journalistic glory. = BBC goes=20 out of its way to smear the reputation of the Ethiopian government. = Though, the=20 Meles government is one of the best (if not the best) functioning = governments in=20 Africa, the BBC loves portraying this government in a negative image. = From=20 overthrowing fascist Derg to building the New Ethiopia, EPRDF has done a = lot to=20 be proud of.

Shame on BBC for relying on a couple of defectors = who have=20 vested interest in falsely accusing the government of Meles = Zenawi.

God=20 bless Ethiopia and its leaders!

Lou

Toronto

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

How could this arguement????

kezkazaw=20 wrote:

Sunday, 7 March 2010 at 11:29 am=20 (UTC)

I have no reason to believe what stands by the = side of=20 Meles. Yeah, you are right these guys have problem with Meles and thus, = they=20 could be trying to make false allegation against him but this is a story = we here=20 not only from guys like these but also internals to the Meles's regim. = and there=20 is also a book written in Tigrigna by one of the founder of TPLF and = their=20 arguement is backed up by CIA report, let alon others. Apart from this, = what=20 makes Meles's credit at present different from the past? Just nothing, = rather he=20 is doing the same thing similar to this allegation in present day = Ethiopia. With=20 such explanation that looks like sincere, you can mislead externals but = not=20 original Ethiopian for they know the fact. Come on, I am not fun of any=20 politicians for all are stupid just standing by the side of their = personal=20 interest or small group they represent like you. But, I can tell you = this thing=20 surely that I saw by my nacked eye how the aid under the banner of = safetynet and=20 this agricultural extension and other programs are being used rubbishly = by=20 Melese's cadres in the country side. You can't decieve me with such = explanation=20 cause I was there when such things were done. Do you know the story = recently put=20 the pupet Ethiopian parliement members on hot issue with the so called=20 opposition politicians. It was about the woman and her goat which was = given by=20 safetynet program but sadely the cadres took her goats away from the = woman just=20 because she didn't attend EPRDF community meeting in South Ethiopia the = question=20 was where the hell the goat went? How does this sound? How is this = different=20 from the allegations made here? Yes you are right Aregawi and his fellow = are=20 making just because they are counterparts to Melese, (this is the only = thing you=20 got right) but this does not make their story false for their story is = still=20 evident in what EPRDF does today. I would say you are just = instinictively=20 responding just because you are Tigre. Come on friend, let's be honest = and let's=20 see the whole not the part. What happened in the past has already = happened and=20 there is nothing we can do but at least they have to stop from doing = similar=20 wrong and stupid things on those helpless poor citizens in the country = side.=20 Tell them not to do such stupid things and then, yeah we would say they = are=20 improving. They say don't be afraid of making mistake for you can learn = best=20 only from your mistake but don't make the same mistake time and again = for it is=20 mental death, if not physical. Just give value to humanity than = ethnicity and=20 support not because you are in the same ethnic group but the fundamental = values=20 of being human being.

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

Rebels with a grudge?

zenebe=20 wrote:

Sunday, 7 March 2010 at 12:05 pm=20 (UTC)

If the BBC journalist is their East African = expert, then=20 BBC is in big trouble. He doesn't even differentiate between political=20 dissidents and credible sources in a region full of political intrigues. =

What a shame mockery of justice!

Link=20 | Reply=20 | Thread

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