Ethiopian government figure says no worries about Eritrean oppositions if
Eritrea forms
ESAT News
April 08, 2014
Getachew Reda, who was the Director General of the Public Diplomacy and
Communications Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before his
current appointment as the Press and Publicity State Minister at the Office
of the Prime Minister, said the Ethiopian government does not have any
problem if the Eritrean government changes its positions and comes to
peaceful deal with us as the Eritrean opposition are under our armpits and
we have no worries.
He said if the Eritrean regime wants to form with us, we will have no chip
on our shoulder against them. Getachew said armed Eritrean opposition forces
are not taking actions because the Eritrean Defence Force is heavily
entrenched around the borders.
Getachew said the reports that Ethiopia teaches 20,000 Eritrean refugees is
an exaggeration, the number is not more than 1800. These students could not
be a security risk as they have started their studies after proper vetting,
he added.
The Minister said the hopeless Ethiopian youth is more risky to security
than the Eritrean refugees and tracking these youth will clear the security
risk, he said.
Although the Ethiopian people have not prospered, we have created a zeal for
prosperity which has succeeded in diverting its attention, Getachew said.
Asked about the Djibouti port, Getachew said "as the families of the
Djibouti's leaders share the rent money we pay for the port, we have no fear
that Djibouti will deny us access to the port."