They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The haunting pictures of children dying of hunger and starvation in Ethiopia have told the world just how deeply the drought and famine have impacted them under the leadership of the TPLF with a war agenda for a priority. At times of crisis those who come to help serve as no less than God of mercy in the face of a painful tragedy that couldn't be contained within one's means. The international community and Ethiopia's dying children perhaps thought wrongly that the UN representative's tour was that of God's mercy to help alleviate the sufferings of those who already have helplessly fallen victim to death by starvation, and where 16 million people are said to be at risk of famine and starvation. Such fan fare of a visit was the last hope for those helpless children dying in silence, and for the parents who have been burying them on the road sides to feeding centers where the God of mercy would tell them, "this is not famine". In the swollen bellies of children, the UN concluded today, there is no famine.

Someone, please ask Ms. Bertini the WFP representative who have made such assessment at the conclusion of her tour, what exactly would she say is killing Ethiopia's children with the swollen bellies, laboring for their last breath, bones wrapped in skin, and pleading eyes for mercy in silent agony? While at it, please ask, how is it that even for humanitarian offices of the UN such as the WFP, the connection between war, misplaced governmental priority and policy, famine and starvation could not be part and parcel of the humanitarian concern that should speak for the truth ?

The UN, specifically Ms. Bertini of WFP have failed the dying children of Ethiopia, and the population of the region who are at risk of starvation with her neglectful and yet official assessment. It is true that her office, the WFP and her tour didn't have the mandate to address political issues, and yet the care and concern with which she was to take the task of assessing the magnitude of the crisis and the assessment of necessary relief efforts to combat it effectively should have lend her the courage to speak the truth, and only the truth. There is drought induced famine in the region, and children by the hundreds are dying of starvation in Ethiopia while the government has taken the priority of directing its budget on conducting an expensive and meaningless border war with Eritrea at the cost of one million US dollars per day.

The dignity of dying Ethiopian children in the last moments of their sickly lives, and the expectation of their parents who courageously paraded them in front of western journalists camera in exchange of hope and mercy have been badly misused and abused mandated by a political correctness of the UN's corrupted stand on the Ethio-Eritrean border crisis. So, what now? More children with swollen bellies in Ethiopia will go on dying, the rest of the Horn will struggle with meager food aid, and Ethiopia's TPLF once again will flinch its war muscle to undo Eritrea's aggression. The UN Security Council will pass another resolution to press on the peaceful settlement of the Ethio-Eritrean war Eritrea will affirm its stand for peaceful negotiation, and more children's belly will swell again. WFP will say those swollen bellies of your children, it is not famine, and political issues are not the mandate of our office to address.

It is long over due that the OAU, UN, EU, USA and the international community to assess the TPLF's performance and accountability of their leadership. The TPLF have neglected and failed its people by making war its priority and the only objective of power and government. The TPLF have failed to create and focus on developmental programs that can combat hunger, disease, poverty and ignorance for the Ethiopian people. The only highly prioritized development projects that take place in Ethiopia these days are the ethnically divisive project Development of Tgray, home of the TPLF minority leadership. The three million people infected with HIV and other easily treatable diseases such as malaria and TB, high unemployment rate, lack of medical treatments and schools, the potholes in the streets and sun scorched farmlands are not a priority for the TPLF to address and devise developmental programs. That is why the drought induced famine turns into starvation, and yes, there is famine in the swollen bellies of Ethiopian children that speaks of TPLF's neglect at the darkest hour of their need.