Dehai News

Mailchi.mp: The Brief

Posted by: Berhane Habtemariam

Date: Tuesday, 20 April 2021

 

Tuesday, 6th April 2021

 
Translation of a Statement from His Excellency, the Prime Minister, on the attacks on innocent civilians in Western Wollega 

The Government of Ethiopia condemns in the strongest terms the recent attacks on innocent civilians in the Western Wollega zone of the Oromia region and wishes to express its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the wider Ethiopian public. 

At a time when we are collectively battling the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals and groups bent on causing greater suffering and sorrow amongst our people have no place in our country. Our enemies, both domestic and external, are working in tandem to divert us from our journey to create a new Ethiopia by murdering innocents. The sacrifices of these martyrs will only serve to strengthen our resolve to defend Ethiopia’s unity and continue on this journey.

In all areas where these attacks are taking place, I can confirm that federal and regional authorities are working closely to take coordinated action against these entities. Accordingly, the Government, once again, urges all Ethiopians to remain alert so as not to fall into the traps laid by our enemies aimed at inciting further violence, and calls on citizens to work with their local authorities to identify perpetrators so as to ensure they are brought to justice for their crimes.

Ethiopia stands today and will remain standing through our collective sacrifice. In the spirit of unity and cooperation, we will ensure that the enemies of Ethiopia are neutralised, never to return again.

On the Situation in Tigray…

The objective of the intervention by the Federal government in the current phase of the rule of law operations in Tigray remains two-fold:
  1. To rebuild the region by ensuring that humanitarian needs are addressed; damaged infrastructure are repaired, and administrative and governance functions are restored to effectively provide public services to citizens, and 
  2. To complete the process of bringing to justice the perpetrators of crime still actively operating in the region
…Humanitarian update and Rehabilitation

It is to be recalled that the Government of Ethiopia granted unimpeded access to humanitarian agencies and media organisations operating in the Tigray region. With unfettered access to Tigray now in place, over 75 international relief agencies are currently mobilizing support to people in need of humanitarian assistance in the Region. Following implementation of new email notification system to facilitate deployment of international staff to Tigray, several organisations are now scaling up their response to the humanitarian need.

As stated in the Prime Minister’s address to the House of Peoples’ Representatives last week, 1.8 million people in Tigray have been living on safety net programmes over the last two decades whilst Region was governed by the TPLF. Recent events including the locust infestation, COVID-19 and the TPLF’s reckless warmongering have exacerbated the food security situation in the Region.

In light of increasing needs, the Government has thus far spent almost $1 billion dollar to support vulnerable populations and restore infrastructure in the Region. This has resulted in the support being mobilised by the Government and its humanitarian partners reaching 4.2 million people in Tigray. 

Nonetheless, there is a need for international partners to mobilise further funds in order to continue to meet these needs. The Government once again calls upon its international partners and friends to translate their concerns for the people of Ethiopia into the concrete support that can make an immediate difference to the people in need on the ground.

… Human Rights update

In the Prime Minister’s parliamentary address, last week, he affirmed that regardless of the TPLF’s allegations, any soldier, operating beyond the scope of their original mandate, found to have been responsible for rape, looting or any human rights abuses in the Region, will be held accountable for any crimes. He went on to explain that, though reports of violence have been exaggerated and sensationalised, the Government will not tolerate even a single crime or human rights abuse.

Furthermore, following the Government’s discussions with independent international organisations on possible joint investigations into alleged human rights violations, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have agreed to collaborate on a joint investigation. This important collaboration, which will be conducted over a period of 3 months, will be an important step in ensuring accountability and justice for victims of any alleged abuses.

Alongside these activities, teams composed of representatives from the Federal Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Police Commission are continuing their own investigations across various parts of Tigray. The results of which, are expected to be announced to the public in due course.

… On Eritrean troops

Speaking in Parliament, the Prime Minister also addressed the involvement of Eritrean forces in Tigray. Whilst thanking the people and Government of Eritrea for being there for Ethiopia’s National Defence Forces in their hour of need, the Prime Minister affirmed that the two sides had been engaged in intensive consultations on alleged abuses in the Region. While relaying that the Eritrean authorities denounced any crimes targeted against civilians in Tigray, the Prime Minister confirmed that both governments would continue these discussions alongside the ongoing investigations into abuses in the Region.

Furthermore, during the Prime Minister’s working visit to Asmara later in the week, an agreement was reached with the Government of Eritrea to withdraw its forces from the Ethiopian border. 

… On TPLF disinformation 

Since the launch of the Government’s operation to restore law and order in Tigray, a major challenge has been the widespread misinformation and fake news spread by supporters of the TPLF.  

It is perplexing to see how major media outlets and influential figures, including members of Parliaments in the UK, still present biased information about the crisis in Tigray without accessing accurate information from dependable sources.

We call upon the international community to continue to scrutinise the situation in Ethiopia and distinguish the facts from the fictions and stand with the Ethiopian people in their confrontations against those who would seek to prevent the democratisation and development of the country.

On Ethiopia’s 2021 Elections…

Following the postponement of elections last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ethiopia’s national elections, which will appoint members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives and regional state councils, are set to be held on 5 June 2021.

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), an independent institution led by Chairperson Birtukan Midekssa, a former opposition politician, is facilitating pre-election processes ahead of polling day, in coordination with the Federal authorities, regional governments and local stakeholders. In recent weeks:
  • Voter registration has begun with NEBE expecting 50 million voters to be registered to vote at the upcoming elections. To date the Board has deployed 20 lead trainers, 200 principal trainers and 3,500field trainers who have trained almost 250,000 poll workers who are currently engaged in the voter registration drive.
     
  • 49,407 regular polling stations have been established across the country. Additional polling stations are also being formed for special use by internally displaced person, military personnel and university students voting outside their home constituencies. University students, in particular, will be able to register to vote via an online form which NEBE will be publishing.
     
  • Candidate registration has now been completed across the country. This has seen a record number of candidates registered with 47 political parties fielding 8,209 candidates across the country. 125 independent candidates have also registered to compete for seats at the upcoming election.
     
  • It is to be recalled that over 200 international election observers, including the African Union, European Union and USAID, have registered their interest to monitor the upcoming elections. For example, the EU Exploratory Observing Mission was invited to conduct an assessment on the Electoral processes and has now completed its work. The Board, in close consultation with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is expected to come to agreement with other observers in due course.
On the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam…

It is public knowledge that Egypt and Sudan have exerted significant effort to undermine the AU-led tripartite negotiation since it commenced last year. Abandoning the spirit of good faith, they have embraced a hostile approach towards the negotiations, characterised by an increasingly bellicose stance as the anticipated date of the GERD’s second-year filling nears.

The recent ultimatum by the Egyptian president portending “instability in the region that no one can imagine” if filling proceeds this year, without a legally binding agreement, is just another example in a long line of incendiary comments by the Egyptian government. In fact, these inflammatory statements, clearly made with the purpose of misinforming a domestic audience, have no bearing on Ethiopia’s determination to fill the dam this upcoming rainy season. 

The recent proposal of Sudan and Egypt for a formation of International Quartet Committee involving the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States to mediate on the GERD, demonstrates the continued intransigence of the downstream nations. There are proper rules and procedures guiding the negotiation process, yet Egypt and Sudan have deliberately ignored those procedures in their attempts to undermine the AU and promote their own agendas. 

As declared time and again, Ethiopia, while fully embracing its legitimate right to utilise its Nile water resources, has no desire to cause significant harm upon its downstream neighbours. Furthermore, Ethiopia is committed to finding an amicable solution to the technical differences between the three countries through the AU-led tripartite process. This was demonstrated by Ethiopia’s recent proposal for the three countries to sign an interim agreement on first filling and related operation in parallel with continuing tripartite talks on medium to long-term issues. This proposal has yet to be accepted but remains on the table and could serve to allay downstream concerns, were they to engage in these talks in good faith. Alas, the ultimate success in the tripartite talks hinge on the fact that unless Sudan and Egypt fully invest in the process, Ethiopia’s willingness alone will not bring about the positive outcomes desired by all parties. 

It is a well-established fact that the tripartite negotiation is being conducted based on the Declaration of Principles (DoP) signed by the leaders of the three countries in 2015. The letter and spirit of the Agreement requires the three countries to commit to cooperation based on common understanding, mutual benefits, and good faith with a view to finding a win-win solution. The DoP clearly stipulates what needs to happen in case of failure of the three countries to bridge their differences. Article 10, which permits the countries to refer the matter to their Heads of State and Government or resort to mediation, can only be invoked through the agreement of all countries when they have reached a consensus that all available options have been exhausted. Ethiopia remains fully committed to the DoP as a guiding principle for the conduct of the tripartite negotiation. Anything outside this framework, as currently being advocated by Egypt and Sudan, will only serve to undermine the current negotiations and reverse the progress made to this point. 

Over the weekend, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and current Chair of the AU, H.E Felix Tshisekedi, facilitated the resumption of face-to-face talks in Kinshasa. This is another important step in the progress being made in these talks and further proof of the axiom ‘African solutions to African problems’ in practice. It is in this spirit that Ethiopia’s affirms its conviction that the AU-led process remains the ideal platform to facilitate a mutually beneficial outcome for the three riparian countries. 

On Ethio-Sudan Border dispute…

Ethiopia has historically attached itself to the international norm and practice of resolving boundary issues through negotiation and dialogue. The repeated organized attacks by Sudanese military elements along the border since November 2020 run contrary to these norms and offer no vision for finding a lasting solution to our common boundary. 

Thus, the Government once again renews its call for Sudan to evacuate occupied territories, thus restoring the previous status quo with a view to returning to the negotiating table to seek an amicable solution to border demarcation.

6ይ ክፋል: ማዕበል ስርሒት ፈንቅል - የካቲት 1990 - ሰነዳዊት ፊልም| sirihit fenkil 1990 - part 6 - ERi-TV Documentary

Dehai Events