The Manufactured Crisis: Why Ethiopia’s Ruling Party Is Waging a War of Narratives, Not Facts

By ALULA FREZGHI

For weeks now, Ethiopia’s ruling Progressive Party has unleashed a coordinated disinformation campaign against Eritrea. The themes are familiar historical revisionism, fabricated security threats, and conspiracy-laden accusations, but the delivery has shifted. What was once the domain of fringe blogs and hired propagandists has now migrated to official platforms, including the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation and the Foreign Policy Institute. The escalation is not accidental; it is strategic.

History Is Not a Negotiable Commodity

Attempts to rewrite Eritrea’s ancient, medieval, and modern history are not only futile, they are intellectually unserious. The archaeological and historical record is clear. The Kingdom of Punt (1500–500 B.C.) encompassed territories that include modern Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, and parts of Egypt. The Adulis Civilization (300 B.C.–700 A.D.) predates and overlaps with the Axumite Kingdom, with documented interactions but distinct political identities.

Ethiopia’s only meaningful presence on the Red Sea occurred during the unlawful Federation and subsequent Annexation both imposed through the denial of Eritrea’s right to decolonization. No historical, legal, security, or commercial rationale exists for the Potemkin Party’s reckless agenda of “sovereign access to the sea.”

A Manufactured Threat to Justify an Illicit Agenda

The latest narrative shift accusing Eritrea of “perennial subversion” is a transparent attempt to reframe Ethiopia’s expansionist ambitions as “self-defense.” This rhetorical pivot is not coincidental. On the 25th anniversary of the Algiers Agreement, the United Nations, the European Union, and numerous states reaffirmed the foundational principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Unable to challenge this consensus, the Potemkin Party is now attempting to circumvent it through manufactured grievances.

Normal Diplomacy Is Not a Conspiracy

Eritrea’s diplomatic and economic cooperation with regional and global partners is grounded in symmetry, mutual respect, and national interest principles that guide all sovereign states. Speculative claims about Eritrea’s cooperation with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or others are designed to stoke paranoia, not inform the public.

Eritrea’s longstanding support for Red Sea littoral cooperation—aimed at ensuring the safety and security of one of the world’s most vital maritime routes is well documented. To distort this into a threat is to weaponize normal diplomacy for domestic political ends.

Cohesion Cannot Be Fabricated, Nor Can Fragmentation Be Hidden

Eritrea remains an oasis of national cohesion, where ethnic and religious diversity is treated as an asset rather than a fault line. The Potemkin Party, presiding over spiraling internal conflicts and a deep governance deficit, is in no position to disparage Eritrea’s social fabric.

The Real Crisis Lies in Addis Ababa, Not Asmara

At its core, the current crisis is manufactured. It is the product of misguided policies, expansionist fantasies, and a refusal to confront internal failures. The solution does not lie in scapegoating Eritrea. It lies in abandoning the reckless agenda of “sovereign access to the sea” and returning to the principles of international law and regional stability.

The region deserves peace. It deserves truth. And it deserves leadership grounded in reality, not mythology.