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world news Diahuebs 18 augustus 2022

WHO chief: Lack of help for Tigray crisis due to skin color

(AP) — The head of the veloped world. Anywhere. ments of some medications.
World Health Organiza- Why?” Tedros asked.
tion described the ongo- “Nowhere in the world you
ing crisis in Ethiopia’s Ti- “Maybe the reason is the col- would see this level of cru-
gray region as “the worst or of the skin of the people in elty, where it’s a government
disaster on Earth” and Tigray.” he said. (that) punishes 6 million of
wondered aloud Wednes- its people for more than 21
day if the reason global In April, Tedros questioned months,” the WHO chief
leaders have not respond- if the world’s overwhelm- said. “The only thing we ask
ed was due to “the color of ing focus on Russia’s war in is, ‘Can the world come back
the skin of the people in Ukraine was due to racism, to its senses and uphold hu-
Tigray.” although he acknowledged manity?’”
the conflict there had global
In an emotional statement at consequences. Tedros called on both the
a press briefing, WHO Di- Ethiopian and Russian gov-
rector-General Tedros Adha- The conflict in Ethiopia be- ernments to end the crises in
nom Ghebreyesus — himself gan in November 2020, and Tigray and Ukraine.
an ethnic Tigrayan — said little humanitarian aid ar- for peaceful negotiations ex- nization, accusing Tedros of
the situation caused by the rived after Tigray forces re- “If they want peace, they can cept as delaying tactics.” “misconduct” after his sharp
conflict in his home coun- took much of the region in make it happen and I urge criticism of the war and hu-
try is worse than any other June 2021. Aid has started them both to resolve (these In a sign of just how cut off manitarian crisis in the coun-
humanitarian crisis in the flowing more substantially issues),” he said. Tigray has been, a COV- try.
world. in the past few months but ID-19 vaccination campaign
is widely described as inad- Also Wednesday, Ethiopia’s was finally launched at the The Ethiopian government
Tedros asserted that the 6 equate to meet the needs of foreign ministry said a gov- region’s flagship hospital said Tedros was using his
million people in Tigray es- the millions of people essen- ernment peace committee only in July, an improvement office “to advance his politi-
sentially cut off from the tially trapped there. had adopted a peace proposal from a months-long period of cal interest at the expense of
world have been “under “that would lead to the con- deprivation in which hospital Ethiopia” and said he con-
siege” for the last 21 months. The resumption of basic ser- clusion of ceasefire” and that workers described running tinues to be an active mem-
He described the Ukraine vices and banking remains it would be shared with the out of essential medicines ber of the Tigray People’s
conflict as a crisis that has a key demand of the Tigray African Union envoy work- and trying to treat wounds Liberation Front; Tedros was
the global community po- regional leaders. Journalists ing on mediation. Basic ser- with warm salt water. It was Ethiopia’s foreign minister
tentially “sleepwalking into have not been allowed in. vices would follow a cease- the first COVID-19 vaccina- and health minister when the
a nuclear war” that could be fire, the statement said. tion campaign in Tigray. TPLF dominated the coun-
“the mother of all problems,” Tedros said the people of Ti- try’s ruling coalition.
but argued the disaster in Ti- gray had no access to medi- Tigray forces spokesman Ge- This was not the first time
gray was far worse. cine and telecommunications tachew Reda dismissed the the WHO chief has spoken When Tedros was confirmed
and were prevented from government statement, as- out about Tigray. for a second term as head of
“I haven’t heard in the last leaving the region. However, serting in a tweet that “if any- WHO, it was the first time
few months any head of state the International Committee thing, the Abiy Ahmed re- Earlier this year, the govern- a candidate’s home country
talking about the Tigray situ- of the Red Cross in recent gime has made it abundantly ment of Ethiopia sent a letter had failed to nominate their
ation anywhere in the de- months has reported ship- clear that it has no appetite to the World Health Orga- own candidate.

German leader condemns Abbas’ ’50 Holocausts’ remark

(AP) — Germany’s chan- Munich Olympics. Instead, Germany and Israel for not with him about this incident During the Third Reich, the
cellor said Wednesday Abbas countered by saying rejecting Abbas’ comments as well. Germans and their hench-
that he was “disgusted by he could point to “50 Holo- immediately at the press con- men murdered 6 million
the outrageous remarks” causts” by Israel. ference he held with him on Standing next to Scholz at Jews across Europe.
made by Palestinian Pres- Tuesday night at the Chan- Tuesday’s press conference,
ident Mahmoud Abbas “I am disgusted by the outra- cellery. Abbas explicitly used the On Wednesday, Abbas ap-
in Berlin, accusing Israel geous remarks made by Pal- word “Holocausts” in his re- peared to walk back his com-
of committing “50 Holo- estinian President Mahmoud A spokesman for Scholz told ply, drawing a grimace from ments.
causts” against Palestin- Abbas,” Scholz said. “For us reporters that his office had the German chancellor. Ger-
ians over the years. Germans in particular, any summoned the head of the many has long argued the In a written statement, his
relativization of the singulari- Palestinian mission in Berlin term should only be used office said that “President
German Chancellor Olaf ty of the Holocaust is intoler- on Wednesday. to describe the Nazis’ sin- Mahmoud Abbas reaffirms
Scholz’s statement on Twit- able and unacceptable. I con- gular crime of killing 6 mil- that the Holocaust is the
ter came a day after Abbas demn any attempt to deny The chancellor’s foreign and lion Jews before and during most heinous crime in mod-
refused to condemn a deadly the crimes of the Holocaust.” security policy advisor con- World War II. ern human history.”
attack by Palestinian militants veyed that Scholz expects
on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Scholz was criticized both in the Palestinian president “to While Scholz had earlier re- The statement stressed that
acknowledge the singularity jected the Palestinian lead- “his answer was not intend-
of the Holocaust without any er’s description of Israel’s ed to deny the singularity of
qualification,” Steffen Hebe- treatment of Palestinians as the Holocaust that occurred
streit said. “apartheid,” he did not im- in the last century, and con-
mediately rebuke Abbas for demning it in the strongest
“His gaffe yesterday casts a using the term “Holocaust.” terms.”
dark shadow over Germany’s
relations with the Palestinian Abbas said that “from 1947 Abbas’s remarks drew strong
Authority,” Hebestreit said, until today, Israel has com- condemnation by leaders
referring to Abbas’ com- mitted 50 massacres in 50 across Israel’s political spec-
ments. He added that Scholz Palestinian villages.” trum. Caretaker Prime Min-
has arranged a telephone call ister Yair Lapid called the
with Israeli Prime Minister “Fifty slaughters. Fifty Holo- comments, “not only a moral
Lapid for Thursday in order causts,” he added. disgrace, but a monstrous
to be able to speak directly lie.”