Martin Plaut is Giving Journalism a Black Eye

Martin Plaut (Credit: Tesfanews)

Amanuel Biedemariam

Eritrea’s existence as a sovereign nation, and a full member of the UN, is a product of the hard-working, independent, resilient, and self-reliant people that overcame all odds and came out victorious.

Martin Plaut, is a western agent of death, propagandist that claims to be a journalist. He has been on the quest to undo hard won independence and to see the endless suffering of the Eritrean people

Martin Plaut is accustomed to get in-and-out of African countries in pursuit of western agendas with specific missions. In other words, he is an agent of the US and UK foreign services. Per his biography, he “has advised the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the US State Department.’ Globalinitiative.net

No more proof is required to show that he is an agent of destruction who operates as a journalist. In most cases his primary focus is the regime change agenda in countries which the powers to be have deemed them as being non-compliant. For example, from his twitter feed,

“RT @BBCAfrica : As Gambia's President Jammeh refuses to stand down”

“RT @Smith_JeffreyT : #Gambia's security forces are the only institution supporting Jammeh right now. Chamber of Commerce joins list calling…”

Eritrea is his full-time obsession. His writing is always a campaign that aims to achieve regime change. It is impossible to find an individual with the kind of persistence and determination as he has shown for so long. It has been 18 years since he targeted Eritrea. His biased, vitriolic venomous blubbers, writing, organizing, tweets and related social media campaign is unprecedented.

In short, he has destroyed all norms and standards of journalism. It is irresponsible activism the like of which we have never seen. It is a targeted attack that aims to demean Eritrea and her achievements. It is harassment of Eritrean Diaspora population. It is incitement that aims to pin Eritreans against one another.

Martin Plaut is an agent who lies about Eritrea consistently. He makes outlandish statements that have no foundation on truth. 1:16 PM - 29 Nov 2012, he twitted,

Eritrea votes against a Palestinian state at the UN. What does this tell us about Eritrea's foreign support from Israel?

— Martin Plaut (@martinplaut) November 29, 2012

In disbelief, The Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations in New York Mr. Nebil Seid was compelled to respond,

@martinplaut as a distinguishd journalist you hav 2 check facts before tweeting how could Eritrea votd aganst before the voting tak place

— Nebil Said (@nebilsaid) November 29, 2012

This is the rubbish that the self-anointed anti Eritrea propagandist spreads regularly without reservation or fear of repercussion. That is because journalism has lost its ways. There is no accountability for what he writes and it is impossible to determine whether it is opinion piece or well researched verifiable news.

The Guardian, Washingtonpost, New York Times and the like are in the forefront. They embrace the agendas and methodology that the likes of Plaut exercise and use to further greater agendas of the west. If one follows New York Times and Washington Post regularly it is easy to see that they mirror each other.

It is agenda driven campaign under the banner of journalism. It is vicious, and relentless. A few days before the Eritrean Minister of Information, Yemane Gebremeskel addressed the European Union recently, the propagandist Plaut started a petition drive to stop the Minister from attending the EU. He wrote,

“We strongly urge the EP to not allow itself becoming a forum for a campaign of misinformation waged by a high-ranking official of a tyrannical regime, accused of committing crimes against humanity. We are calling for this meeting to be cancelled based on the following major concerns.” And went on with his lies.

The author of this article had considered responding to the petition-drive. However, knowing how impotent his campaigns have become, decided to ignore the petition. And sure-enough the petition failed to raise significant signatures. The petition speaks loud to the fact that Plaut is not acting as an independent, unbiased journalist.

Similarly, on Jan 11, 2016 in a piece that headlined, “The World’s Next Crisis: Drought and Famine in the Horn of Africa,” he wrote,

“These warnings cover only Ethiopia. There is every indication that the situation in neighbouring Eritrea (as well as tiny Djibouti) is just as severe. The difference is this: the Ethiopian authorities have had the courage to call for help. The Eritrean government has not.” Emphasis added

The government and people of Eritrea have been building dams everywhere in the country for decades to ensure food and water security. In Eritrea, food security is a national security issue and as such it is the number one priority. The quoted statement highlights Plaut’s intention to demonize Eritrea without proof, facts and by insinuation.

The reality is the situation in Eritrea cannot and should never be compared to Ethiopia for the simple fact, despite all defamation and vilification, the people of Eritrea are educated & capable to manage their needs without resorting to foreign aid. If left alone to be, Eritrea will be by far the greatest nation in Africa. After World War II, Eritrea and South Africa were the most advanced countries in Africa. However, US and UK’s ambitions dashed the hopes and aspirations of the people to ensure their larger strategic interest in the region and Africa and to that end they placed Ethiopia in the center.

Everything the biased, agent-of-death, fraud Martin Plaut does is part of a greater agenda that aims to vilify, demonize Eritrea, and justify their punitive measures as dictated by his paymasters. However, regardless of what he and his ilk try, they were met by a feisty Eritrean resistance that is exposing them daily.

This raises the greater question on what journalism is and what is the criteria that distinguishes a journalist? How is it possible to call someone who advises government entities, organizes and campaigns in collaboration with known regime change advocates, to be referred to as a journalist? He is playing the accuser, prosecutor, and the judge all at the same time.

For now, I will leave-out the bizarre fact where various government departments and authorities consult with someone they refer to as an “expert on Eritrea”, when he has not set foot in the country for more than a decade. It can be a subject for another day.

Furthermore, where can the public and the victims of rogue journalism find justice particularly in an international arena where there exist no uniform standard or laws to protect the aggrieved? As it stands now, Martin Plaut is free to harass Eritrean communities with impunity under the banner of journalism sponsored by globally known media conglomerates such as the Guardian.

Conclusion

The people of Eritrea have faced and keep facing the most organized vilification and demonizing campaign in the history of Africa. Amazingly, buttressed by decades of experiences, in ways the world has never seen, Eritrea managed to challenge and defeat their destabilization agendas. Eritrea managed to survive the wars they ignited, international legal hurdles they erected, illegal sanctions, unfounded rights allegations, and incessant lies. Diaspora Eritrea has played incredible role by challenging the falsehoods and their organized campaigns. The world could learn from Eritrean Diaspora communities on how to challenge organized western campaigns that are used to destabilize countries in the name of human rights.

One thing that ought to be clear to the blood thirsty masked white supremacist Martin Plaut is that paper tigers will never bring down Eritrea!

Awetnayu@hotmail.com

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