webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2010
All rights reserved
From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Nov 23 2010 - 18:16:31 EST
INTERVIEW-Ethiopian PM warns Egypt off Nile war
Tue Nov 23, 2010 2:19pm GMT
* Meles says Egypt backs Ethiopian rebels
* Says Egypt could not win Nile war
* Scheduled November talks cancelled
By Barry Malone
ADDIS ABABA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Egypt could not win a war with Ethiopia over
the River Nile and is also supporting rebel groups in an attempt to
destabilise the Horn of Africa nation, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
said in an interview.
Egypt, Ethiopia and seven other countries through which the river passes
have been locked in more than a decade of contentious talks driven by anger
over the perceived injustice of a previous Nile water treaty signed in 1929.
Under the original pact Egypt is entitled to 55.5 billion cubic metres a
year, the lion's share of the Nile's total flow of around 84 billion cubic
metres, despite the fact some 85 percent of the water originates in
Ethiopia.
Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya signed a new deal to share the
waters in May, provoking Egypt to call it a "national security" issue.
Meles said he was not happy with the rhetoric coming from the Egyptians but
dismissed the claims of some analysts that war could eventually erupt.
"I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia," Meles
told Reuters in an interview. "Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell
the story. I don't think the Egyptians will be any different and I think
they know that."
The five signatories of the new deal have given the other Nile Basin
countries one year to join the pact before putting it into action. Sudan has
backed Egypt while Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi have so far
refused to sign.
"The Egyptians have yet to make up their minds as to whether they want to
live in the 21st or the 19th century," Meles told Reuters in an interview,
referring to the fact the original treaty was negotiated by colonial
administrators.
"So the process appears to be stuck."
"FISH IN TROUBLED WATERS"
Stretching more than 6,600 km (4,100 miles) from Lake Victoria to the
Mediterranean, the Nile is a vital water and energy source for the nine
countries through which it flows.
Egypt, almost totally dependent on the Nile and threatened by climate
change, is closely watching hydroelectric dam construction in the upstream
countries.
Ethiopia has built five huge dams over the last decade and has begun
construction on a new $1.4 billion hydropower facility -- the biggest in
Africa.
Meles accused Egypt of trying to destabilise his country by supporting
several small rebel groups but said it was a tactic that would no longer
work.
"If we address the issues around which the rebel groups are mobilised then
we can neutralise them and therefore make it impossible for the Egyptians to
fish in troubled waters because there won't be any," he said.
"Hopefully that should convince the Egyptians that, as direct conflict will
not work, and as the indirect approach is not as effective as it used to be,
the only sane option will be civil dialogue."
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in July called for a scheduled November
meeting of the nine countries to be attended by heads of state. Meles said
that would not happen now.
The last meeting of all sides ended in stalemate and angry exchanges between
water ministers at a news conference in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
"Ask the Egyptians to leave their culture and go and live in the desert
because you need to take this water and to add it to other countries? No,"
Egyptian Water Minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam told Reuters at that
meeting.
(Editing by Giles Elgood)
(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues,
visit: <http://af.reuters.com> af.reuters.com)
C Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved
Egypt says "amazed" by Ethiopia's Nile remarks
Tue Nov 23, 2010 7:22pm GMT
* Ethiopia said Egypt would not win a war over Nile
* Nile-dependent Egypt says wants cooperation
* Egypt dismisses charge that backing Ethiopia rebels
By Amena Bakr and Dina Zayed
ABU DHABI/CAIRO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Egypt said it was "amazed" by Ethiopia's
suggestion on Tuesday that Cairo might turn to military action in a row over
the Nile waters, saying it did not want confrontation and was not backing
rebels there.
Egypt, Ethiopia and seven other countries through which the river passes
have been locked in more than a decade of contentious talks driven by anger
over the perceived injustice of a previous Nile water treaty signed in 1929.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told Reuters on Tuesday that Egypt
could not win a war with Ethiopia over the River Nile and that Cairo was
supporting rebel groups in an attempt to destabilise the Horn of Africa
nation.
"I'm amazed ... by the language that was used. We are not seeking war and
there will not be war," Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told Reuters
during a visit to Abu Dhabi.
His ministry said in a statement issued in Cairo: "The charges that Egypt ..
is exploiting rebel groups against the ruling regime in Ethiopia are
completely devoid of truth."
Egypt, almost totally dependent on the Nile and threatened by climate
change, says the Nile waters feed a farm sector accounting for a third of
all jobs. Cairo is wary of dam construction in upstream countries that could
affect flows.
Ethiopia has built five huge dams on the Nile in the last decade and has
begun work on a $1.4 billion hydropower facility.
Under the original pact Egypt is entitled to 55.5 billion cubic metres of
water a year, the lion's share of the Nile's total flow of around 84 billion
cubic metres, despite the fact that some 85 percent of the water originates
in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya signed a new deal to share the
waters in May.
In the statement that was e-mailed to Reuters, Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hossam Zaki said it was "regrettable" that Ethiopia and other states had
sought a new agreement.
"Egypt is firmly behind its legal and political positions on the issue of
the Nile water," Zaki said, adding that Egypt had pursued dialogue and
cooperation on the use of the Nile's water.
The five signatories of the new deal have given the other Nile Basin
countries one year to join the pact before putting it into action. Sudan has
backed Egypt while Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi have so far
refused to sign.
The Egyptian spokesman added "We understand the frustrations of the
Ethiopian party over the difficulties facing the Nile Basin agreement and
initiative."
Egyptian Water Minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam held talks in Cairo on
Tuesday with Burundi officials on irrigation and other cooperation, his
ministry said in a statement.
The Arab world's most populous nation fears population growth may outstrip
water resources as early as 2017. (Editing by Tim Pearce)
C Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----