Ethiopia says it won't bow to Egyptian pressure over Nile dam
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA | Fri Jun 7, 2013 4:12pm EDT
(Reuters) - Ethiopia's construction of a dam on a tributary of the Nile is
not open to negotiation, the Addis Ababa government said on Friday, as a
confrontation with Egypt over the project escalated.
The Cairo government said this week it would demand the project be halted,
after its southern neighbor began diverting a stretch of the river to make
way for the $4.7 billion dam that will become Africa's biggest hydropower
plant.
Ethiopia said it had summoned Egypt's ambassador to explain comments by
politicians in Cairo advising Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi to take
hostile action to halt the building of the dam.
A spokesman for Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Cairo's
position on the dam was unclear and its concerns were often not based on
science.
"In any case, demanding a halt is simply a non-starter. It's not subject to
negotiation," spokesman Getachew Reda told Reuters.
Countries that share the Nile have argued over the use of its waters for
decades, repeatedly raising fears that the disputes could eventually boil
over into war.
Ethiopia has set out plans to invest more than $12 billion in harnessing the
rivers that run through its rugged highlands and to become Africa's leading
power exporter.
Now 21 percent complete, the Grand Renaissance Dam will eventually have a
6000 megawatt (MW) capacity and is central to Ethiopia's plans to become
Africa's leading exporter of power.
Cairo argues that Ethiopia has not properly considered the dam's impact on
the river, saying that a report put together by experts from Egypt, Sudan
and Ethiopia is inadequate.
The Cairo government suffered embarrassment on Monday when senior Egyptian
politicians called in to discuss the crisis were apparently unaware their
meeting was being broadcast live on television.
One suggested spreading false rumors that Egypt was building up its air
power. Another, Younis Makhyoun, leader of a Salafi Islamist party, was
filmed saying Egypt should back rebels in Ethiopia or, as a last resort,
destroy the dam.
"Whether sabotage will be on menu, that remains to be seen," Getachew said,
adding that past attempts by Egypt under former president Hosni Mubarak to
destabilize Ethiopia through support to insurgents had failed.
"Destabilizing Ethiopia never worked even when we were at our weakest
position in the past," Getachew said. "We are in a far better position to
avoid any negative impacts that may come from Egypt or any another country."
Even so, Getachew rejected the possibility of conflict and said he hoped
Mursi would "be on the side of reason".
(Editing by Richard Lough and Andrew Roche)
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Received on Fri Jun 07 2013 - 17:52:13 EDT