In the last several days, it has been widely reported in the Ethiopian news media that the historic Itegae Taitu Hotel at the heart of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Abeba, was destroyed by fire beyond repair. This hotel was built in 1898 (EC) and named after the late Empress Taitu Bitul who was the wife of Emperor Menilik II. Menilik was one of the greatest kings of Ethiopia who contributed significantly to the consolidation and modernization of Ethiopia and to its protection against foreign aggressors, including Italian fascism. The association of the hotel particularly with Empress Taitu and his husband, Emperor Menilik II, therefore, signifies its important role in Ethiopian history. Besides the recreational and hospitality services it used to provide to visitors, authorities consider the hotel to be one of the important historical treasures of the country that reflects its glorious past. According to earlier reports from different sources, many of the hotel’s rooms, its historic collection of pieces and a bank were completely burned down along with the city’s famous Jazz Club, Jazz Amba, that used to be frequented by foreigners and local visitors. Consequently, this tragic incident can be considered a loss of a piece of Ethiopian history and, to some extent, benefits that could be obtained from tourists and other visitors.
It is a fact that, currently, Ethiopia is ruled by a secessionist mafia-like terrorist organization called Tigrian People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). As implied in its own documented plan of action and from what it has been observed in practice consistently, during the past 23 years in power, the TPLF has been actively engaged in undermining Ethiopian history and the weakening the country in a number of aspects in preparation for its goal of separating Tigrai from the rest of Ethiopia. Accordingly, there is a widespread agreement among the general Ethiopian public that TPLF is responsible for the reported burning of Itegae Taitu Hotel in Addis Abeba. Below are some of the justifications for going along with this idea.
• This hotel was administered by a department overseen by the TPLF “government”, giving every authority to the TPLF to do whatever it wanted regarding the fate of the hotel, including the implementation of its wicked intentions against the priceless cultural and historical treasures of the Ethiopian people. Consistent with this, it was stressed in the initial news report that the hotel was left to burn “… beyond repair (sustaining 75% damage) while fire fighters stood idly until it was too late….” Additionally, mention was also made that, despite the claim by the TPLF regime that the fire was controlled quickly, ”… it took firefighters over 1 hour to arrive even though they were stationed only 5 minutes away.” This clearly indicates that the TPLF had something to do with the burning of the iconic Itegae Taitu Hotel.
• Since the day it took power over the Ethiopian people, the evil TPLF regime has made every effort in numerous occasions to undermine and destroy anything that symbolizes the greatness of Ethiopia and the present incident can be considered one such measure. Among the many other examples in this regard mention can be made of the dismantling of the statue of Abune Petros in Addis Abeba, the destruction of the Waldeba Monastery in northern Gonder, the burning down of the Ziquala Monastery in Shewa near Debre Zeit, and the loss of the heritages of indigenous peoples in various parts of Ethiopia in the name of development, through the leasing of their lands to foreign investors, and looting by TPLF criminal thugs.
• More recently, the legendary scholar and human rights activist, Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, reported that TPLF has also been involved in the destruction of recorded history of Ethiopia and its people, which he referred to as an act of evil ignorance. He described that being possessed by greed, ignorance and sentiment of anti-Ethiopianism, the TPLF thugs have looted and sold dirt-cheap priceless ancient books of Ethiopia from the libraries of Catholic Churches, the Municipality of Addis Abeba and other less prominent organizations, and the Ethiopian National library. Ancient books of historical importance have also been looted only to be destroyed. Professor Mesfin implied that this act of the TPLF thugs against recorded history of Ethiopia is something that can be considered as a crime against humanity and a war against knowledge and progress, among other criminal acts.
The aforementioned information collectively confirm that the evil TPLF regime has been engaged in a systematic act of destroying Ethiopian heritage and the history of the country, as part of its anti-Ethiopia agenda since it took power in 1991, The burning of the Itegae Taitu Hotel should be considered an integral part of this wicked agenda of the regime. Ethiopians should be vigilant of such ant-Ethiopia actions of the TPLF and protect their country and themselves from further destruction. More importantly they should make every effort to consolidate their individual energies to be able to remove this formidable and confirmed enemy their country from power as soon as possible.
Long live Ethiopia, the birth place of the human race on Planet Earth.