Friday, 21st May 2021
Statement from the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the unfair and unwarranted accusations levelled against Ethiopia...
It is indeed regrettable to note, these days, that there appears to be a concerted campaign to exert undue pressure against Ethiopia. Despite the relentless efforts by the Ethiopian government to engage positively and constructively on issues and concerns raised by partners, it is being given the cold shoulder. That is why the Ethiopian government is being forced to question the motives of some of its partners, particularly given the public statements and pronouncements they have made recently. They seem to be short of showing a genuine desire to understand and help Ethiopia overcome its current challenges; rather, they would only be counterproductive and exacerbating situations. Those statements and pronouncements, as well as the fake news and speculations propagated through the media speak volumes in this regard. It is in this regard that the Ethiopian government finds it absolutely necessary, once again, to make its position unequivocally clear on some of the most important and salient issues.
... On the Humanitarian Response in the Tigray Region
The Ethiopian government has not only demonstrated its willingness and commitment to work with the international community to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, but it has also provided full and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to operate in all parts of the region. There were indeed difficulties in accessing some pocket areas due to security issues, but that has now been addressed. That is why it is absurd for some partners to continue to lament lack of access despite the actual situation on the ground. The challenge at hand is quite to the contrary and is related to issues of capacity and resource. This is well known by humanitarian actors operating in the Region. Therefore, as the Ethiopian government has made it clear time and again, what makes a real difference on the Ground is for partners to make a timely and effective response to the international appeal for support by availing more resources to the relief efforts and not repeatedly calling for access ad nauseum.
... On Allegations of Human Rights Abuses
On several occasions, the Ethiopian government has also made it abundantly clear that it takes any allegations of human rights abuses and crimes extremely seriously. That is why it acted swiftly to undertake the necessary investigation to verify those allegations and bring perpetrators to justice. It is in this context that a team composed of representatives from the Federal Attorney General and the Federal Police Commission had been deployed in the Tigray Region to carry out investigative work. Last week, they have announced the outcome of their criminal investigations and the actions taken thus far to ensure the necessary accountability in this regard.
On the other hand, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has been investigating and reporting on human rights issues, including the Mai Kadra massacre, civilian casualties, sexual violence, and allegations of discriminatory treatment. The outcome of these investigations will certainly enable the Government to bring perpetrators to justice and comprehensively address alleged human rights violations and crimes that have occurred in the Tigray region. The EHRC has already publicized some of its preliminary findings and recommendations from its own independent investigations. In addition, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have agreed to conduct joint investigations. Upon the invitation of the Ethiopian government, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights will undertake its own investigative work. Hence, continuously lamenting about human rights abuses, while the Ethiopian government has shown its unreserved commitment to get to the bottom of the issue and apply the full force of the law in ensuring accountability and justice, serves no other purpose than unnecessarily politicizing the issue to exert undue pressure.
... On Calls for a Ceasefire and National Dialogue
The Ethiopian government has been consciously working to promote national dialogue and build the necessary national consensus in the country to chart a better way forward. In this regard, it has organized series of discussions to engage with wider sections of Ethiopian society, including opposition political parties, academia, civil society organizations, and various representatives of the society, including women and youth groups, with a view to promoting a culture of peace and reconciliation, and building a civic political culture. The significance of these discussions, as the country gears up to hold national elections, cannot be over-emphasized.
In addition, the Ethiopian government has also shown its readiness to engage with legal opposition parties, members of civil society, the private sector, elders, scholars, prominent personalities, and others in the Tigray region to promote dialogue. High-level engagement has already started based on a roadmap developed by the relevant Ethiopian authorities. However, it should be clear that the push by partners to involve the TPLF in this national dialogue process is unacceptable. TPLF is an outlawed group, which endangered the country’s sovereignty and its constitutional order. The Ethiopian parliament recently passed a decision designating it as a terrorist organization. That is why the Ethiopian government utterly rejects the repeated call by partners to cease hostilities and negotiate with the TPLF.
... On Allegations of a Clampdown on Dissent
The unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegations on the stifling of dissent and a crackdown on journalists that some media outlets propagate these days, while the country gears up to hold national elections, has no other purpose than to tarnish the government’s image and undermine the electoral process. Nothing can be further from the truth. This is indeed a government, which has rescued the country from the abyss and opened up the political space to safeguard greater peace, freedom, and democracy. Its reform credentials have also been well recognized not only domestically, but also internationally.
This said, the Ethiopian government is the first to acknowledge that its reform efforts have not been without challenges. However, it is determined to redouble these efforts with all the necessary vigor. That is why it is doing everything possible to make sure that the upcoming elections are conducted in a peaceful, transparent, and credible manner. The expectation is that this will usher in a new era of democratic dispensation to meet the hopes and aspirations of the Ethiopian people for lasting peace, freedom, and democracy.
One thing is for sure, building and nurturing a fully-fledged democracy and political culture is essentially a homegrown process, and it cannot be achieved through external pressure. The fundamental basis for the promotion of democracy is indeed the respect for constitutionality and the rule of law. And the primary responsibility of ensuring the necessary compliance in this regard certainly rests with the Government.
What needs to be made clear, here, is that the Ethiopian government has no desire to clamp down on dissent. Otherwise, it would not have invited most of the opposition groups and politicians, as well as journalists, activists and others, who were in exile, to return to their country and operate freely. It knows full well that this approach has been tried and tested in the past but failed.
The Government does not believe that there are journalists or politicians jailed because of their political views and opinions. Those behind bars are accused of violating the law. Therefore, they will have their day in court and justice will be done. As far as foreign journalists are concerned, the government believes that it is not too much to ask them to strictly abide by the Law of the land in carrying out their journalistic work. Those who do so have been operating without any difficulty. But it should be clear that the Government is duty-bound to take the necessary legal action on those who are not willing and ready to comply with the Law.
... On Attempts to Meddle in Ethiopia's Internal Affairs
There have also been repeated attempts to make unwarranted pronuncements on Ethiopia's internal affairs, particularly in relation to Amhara regional forces. Ethiopia is a sovereign nation, and it cannot accept any dictates from outside on how to manage its own internal affairs. The Ethiopian government wants to make it abundantly clear, once again, that deploying the necessary security structures and means available in ensuring the rule of law within all corners of its borders is its sole responsibility. It is mandated by the Constitution to ensure peace and security against any threats to the Constitutional order of the country. It is in this context that the Federal government has been undertaking the rule of law operations in Tigray.
While it remains the desire of the Ethiopian government to readily and openly engage with partners on issues of mutual interest and concern, it will be forced to reassess its relations if these attempts to interfere in its internal affairs continue unabated. It is indeed unfortunate that some partners chose to dwell on internal matters of Ethiopia. One can’t be indifferent when Ethiopia is flagrantly invaded while purporting to have too much concern about and trying to unduly delve into its internal matters; for doing so simply bears duplicity. That is why the Ethiopian government rejects those statements, which are not only inappropriate, but also completely unacceptable.
On Ethiopia's 2021 Elections...
Yesterday, the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced a 2-week delay to the upcoming national elections citing logistical challenges linked to delayed opening of some polling stations and ballot printing. The decision to delay the original 5 June polling date was reached following the Board’s meeting with competing political parties over the weekend. Furthermore, the Board also confirmed the decision to conduct the vote in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa on the same day as the rest of the country.
Therefore, the 6th national elections will now take place on Saturday 21 June 2021.
Thus far, significant progress has been made in anticipation of the first free and fair elections in the country’s history, including:
- The conclusion of voter registration, which has seen 36,245,444 citizens register to vote, of which 16.5 million are women.
- Representation of political parties in these elections have seen 46 of 49 registered political parties fielding more than 9,000 candidates in federal and regional constituency races.
- The engagement of over 190 domestic civil society organisations in the provision of voter education
- 34 domestic civil society organisations are deploying over 100,000 Ethiopians in the observation of the vote and other electoral activities across the country
- In addition to domestic observers, international observer groups from the African Union, United States, European Union and Russian Federation, as well as diplomatic staff from embassies located in Ethiopia, are set to observe the upcoming polls.
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| For further information on this brief, please contact the Embassy directly on political_diplomacy@ethioembassy.org.uk. |
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