Ethiopia: Failure to Cope With Hunger Crisis
By: Shaebia Staff
October 29, 2004

Instead of extending urgent humanitarian assistance to its people, the Ethiopian regime is busy spending the money donated in support of the starving citizens for the so called “national security” purposes.

This year about 13 million Ethiopians are facing severe food shortages, a UN report disclosed. The report rejected arguments that the food crisis was a result of the existing drought in the country.

The regime, encouraged by the continuous flow of foreign aid, has been engaged in buying military hardware to unleash another round of war against Eritrea, as well as suppress the opposition groups like the OLF and ONLF.

Recently, the president of the World Bank, James Wolfenshon, said that for Ethiopia to get more aid it should peacefully settle its border dispute with Eritrea. Such promises on the part of donors and the guarantors of the Algiers Peace Agreement, who failed to condemn Ethiopia for its wrongdoings and continue to channel financial aid, are giving the Ethiopian regime a green light to stick to its war policy and crackdown on militants.

Earlier, Mr. Martti Ahtisaari, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in the Horn of Africa, had warned that Ethiopia needs to change key policies so as to avert future emergencies.