"Would things be easier if the tplf agreed to my plan?" I asked. Of course. Will they agree? "Oh.." I haven't agreed yet. They put forward some preconditions. "Look, am I right?" Dr. Avandi sighed. The result was clearly in his expectation. "You're wasting your time." I asked, "Can you submit my visa application to Khartoum?" The press counsellor laughed easily and spread his palms up in a clear expression of heartfelt apology: "I would like to do this, but I can assure you that it will not do any good." Throughout the month, I kept in touch with Dr. Avandi by phone. He has no news about me. After my first discussion with the tplf on November 2, I went to the tplf office again on the 19th, this time to meet with the head of their mission, teward goblu. During the meeting, I had a feeling that this clever negotiator was skilfully probing my motives; he wanted to find out whether my visit to Axum was a cover and whether my real reasons had nothing to do with the military ambitions of the Addis Ababa regime. Of course, I do know that my interest is in the Ark of the Covenant and nothing else. But it also occurred to me that my so-called "investigation" could easily be seen by the tplf as a cover for espionage. At the end of the conversation, tward told me that he would contact the thlf office in Khartoum to ask them to approve my visa and travel permit. After listening to these words, I really do not know whether to feel elated or nervous. Transaction For the next three weeks, I heard nothing from tplf or the Sudanese embassy in London. Things were going nowhere and seemed to be on hold,x56 line pipe, so I began to feel that something had to be done to speed things up. The idea I finally came up with was very simple. In Ethiopia, a fierce propaganda war has been going on with the war. The government accuses the thlf of ransacking and burning churches (but the accusation may be wrong) as part of a propaganda campaign. So I decided that if I could provide the tplf with a television news report stating that there was freedom of religion in their province of Tigray, then perhaps I could get the cooperation of the rebels. On that TV news, the tplf will have a chance to refute the charges against them. I had no intention of openly supporting the tplf in the media — partly because I still had a lingering loyalty to those government officials, including Shmelis Mazenga, who had been helping me for years, and partly because I found the prospect of that kind of retrogression just not to my taste. It is true that my views on Ethiopian political issues have changed and are still changing, x60 line pipe ,x56 line pipe, but the fact that I came out in support of the tplf just because I wanted to go to axum is the most disparaging thing I've done in recent months. But the solution I devised to solve this problem was almost equally perverse. I don't want to report this TV news in Tigray, and I don't want to appear in the TV news. I want someone else to do it for me. The person I'm thinking of is an old friend, a BBC producer named Edward Melner, who has been producing independently for the past few years. Edward recently returned from the South American country of Colombia, where he filmed a special report for British television's Channel 4 News. So I thought he might be interested in filming the story of Tigray province and providing it to the TV channel. Of course, there is no problem in directing his interest in any direction. I knew he had integrity; I also knew he would insist on editing the film entirely by himself and on reporting truthfully what he saw there. Still, I think the tplf would be more interested in my application to axum if I could rely on this strategy to link my research trip to an important television news report. In my experience, all anti-government groups are obsessed with propaganda, so I think it will turn out that thlf will be no exception. So, on Wednesday, December 10, I called Tward Gobroux again. When I met him on 19 November, he had told me that he would ask the tplf office in Khartoum to approve my visa and travel permit, and I asked him if there was any progress on this. "No progress," he replied. "Our people in Sudan are very busy, and your business is not on their agenda." "If I could provide you with television coverage, would it make a difference?" "That depends on the content of the report." It will provide comprehensive coverage of religious freedom in Tigray province and the relationship between tgy and the church. You may have won on the battlefield, but in the propaganda war, you are being defeated. "What is the basis of your statement?" I can give you an example. The government recently accused you of ransacking and burning churches, right? "Yes." "Is that a kind of harm to you?" "To be honest, this has caused great harm to the people and has spread internationally." "Are the government's allegations true?" "No.". Not at all. "Even if it's not true, the charges are brought.". Once that mud is thrown into your road, your car will sink into it. "I continue to play my trump card." Obviously, this is a well-planned propaganda war launched by the government against you. I want to read you a story in the Times of October 19th. In front of me was a clipping clip that my research assistant had prepared for me. I read: "The Ethiopian government especially needs the support of the church in its struggle to stop the situation from deteriorating further.". President Mengistu said recently: Our country is a product of the historical process,347 stainless steel, and it has existed for thousands of years. This is confirmed by the existing historical sites. Ironically, the president also wants to contrast the situation in the areas he is liberating with the constant destruction of communism and anti-religion, which are seen as separatist movements.. 。 lksteelpipe.com