BY EPHREM ANDARGACHEW
The US recently has been putting pressure and sanction on Ethiopia. The US harsh treatment of Ethiopia has been confusing not only Ethiopians but also academics, states of the world, activists, and so on.
By citing various pretexts particularly alleged human rights abuses, the U.S. has been moving to the extent of putting sanctions on Ethiopia. Hoverer, Ethiopia has been working with international and local human rights organizations to investigate the allegations. Ignoring this fact the U.S. current administration has been making lame excuses to put undue pressures on Ethiopia under the pretext of human rights violation.
This compels some to ask questions like “what is wrong with U.S. foreign policy orientations towards Ethiopia?” The grand U.S. foreign policy orientation revolves around the issues of democracy and democratization. Democracy is part and parcel of the US agenda across the globe.
Cognizant of democracy as the better form of government, the Ethiopian government, the day after the reform in mid-2018, has been doing various kinds of tasks to transform the nation’s politics into democracy.
According to the Center for Coordination of Democracy Building Chief Coordinator with the Rank of Minister Zadig Abraha said democracy-building does not come all at once but thrives on long-term process and practice.
It is also very difficult to build democracy in developing countries; however, he said Ethiopia is currently in a state of transition from TPLF-led administration into democracy and consolidation democracy.
A lot of work has been done to build democracy in Ethiopia since the political reform of the country has taken place in mid- 2018. Nevertheless, The West, especially the U.S. couldn’t be on the same page with Ethiopia.
For instance, the current government revised the press, civil society, and anti-terrorism laws which obstruct the democratization process and released political prisoners. The administration also widened the media landscape and invited the ex-exiled outlets to freely operate and report from the country whilst unblocking several websites.
The government also has tried its best to separate the security apparatus and organs from the executive influence and bringing individuals involved in crimes to justice is among the major tasks being executed by the incumbent, he added. Noting the U.S. and its Western associates had been supporting Ethiopia’s democracy.
So, the issue of democracy should not be a point of contention between Ethiopia and the United States. In the process, the politician highlighted that now the West is not ready to see and welcome the government’s efforts and convinced themselves that TPLF best fits with their hidden agenda. This West’s trust in TPLF; however, has been drastically vanished after the government’s success in building a democratic culture and crushing the criminal faction militarily.
“More importantly, the TPLF, the U.S.- backed terrorist group, has now reached a point where it can no longer defend itself, let alone assume political power in the country.”
The recent developments in world politics whereby China’s emergence as a superpower status coupled with the U.S. internal political rift since President Trump’s Administration, have made the U.S. foreign policy driven by few powerful individuals. Hence, the U.S. unwarranted pressure on Ethiopia’s reform government has been caused by a few power cliques that have a strong affiliation with the terrorist TPLF, Zadig further claimed.
“Notwithstanding the above, the majority of the international community supports Ethiopia in various forums. The West, who criticize Ethiopia’s democracy and want to interfere in its internal affairs are dismayed by our transformation agenda and firm diplomatic stance,” he remarked.
The U.S. confidence, after understanding Ethiopia’s diplomatic position, diasporas continue to protest to echo Ethiopian stances, and Ethiopian security forces’ military victory over TPLF, has been eroded in the terrorist TPLF group, he underlined.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen reiterated that the Ethiopian government, apart from building democracy and searching for alternative peace-making mechanisms, has decided not to continue its military operations against the terrorist group TPLF in the Tigray region. Many welcomed the decision, as it provides an opportunity to consider other options outside of war.
But the US administration was “strong” in opposing Ethiopia and has made some hasty decisions. “We are sorry for that,” he noted. He also said that the US administration and the legislature should be aware of the serious socio-economic damage caused by sanctions and measures imposed on various countries, including Ethiopia.
It has been a long time since Ethiopia rejects the TPLF terrorist group idea and intention. If the international community should understand this properly, all these diplomatic conflicts would not have erupted against Ethiopia. He said Ethiopia strongly urges the United Nations to reconsider its position on the current situation in Ethiopia.
It is true that democracy is not the issue of the disagreement between Ethiopia and the US. Although efforts have been made to transform the country’s politics into democracy, there are misconceptions on the side of the US. Accordingly, the U.S. Administration is causing not only diplomatic problems between the two countries but also socio-economic damage to Ethiopia. The US, therefore, should open its eyes to understand the democratization process of the country and lift the various sanctions and other measures that cause vulnerable the nations, the citizens, and the economy of Ethiopia.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The
The January 2/2022
