BY MENGESHA AMARE
Ethiopia had successfully and peacefully hosted two magnificent national and continental events: a range of holidays demanding the participation of thousands and millions of people and the 35th AU Summit, which was long conspired not to be held in Addis Ababa as part of the scheme to make Ethiopia fragile, respectively.
Anybody has to peculiarly praised the commitment and righteous stance of African leaders who decided to gather in their political capital—Addis Ababa amid the regimented defamation and topsy-turvy utterances about the peace and security in Ethiopia. Their sound decision has attested the buoyancy and trust with which they themselves and the international community provided the Ethiopian government and its security setup.
The ill-intended attempt of the terrorist Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) along with the so called Oromo Liberation Army to drive Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed out of power by storming Addis Ababa was effectively aborted and peppered in vain thanks to the pooled effort of all citizens at home and from abroad.
Needless to state, Addis Ababa is often referred to as the political capital of Africa as it is home to the headquarters of the African Union and representatives from nearly every foreign embassy from around the universe.
The country in general and the capital in particular has been entangled as a result of a number of conspiracies merely targeting at establishing lapdog administration which is willing to wag its tails to masters as the TPLF-led administration did for close to three decades.
The good thing is Ethiopians take their history very seriously, and they do have convincing reasons for this. In the first place, Ethiopia is one of the two African counties which have never been colonized. Second, it is widely accepted since the first human race came from the Rift Valley running through Ethiopia as the nation is a cradle of mankind.
Third, the country is quite rich in various tangible and intangible heritages as well as innumerable wealth and untapped resources. Though the terrorist group and its allies have left no stone unturned to defame, weaken Ethiopia and if possible to dismantle it for good, their fake news, mere propaganda and misinformation has now been proved treacherous. As a result, many have come to the right track to well comprehend Ethiopia’s reality and start supporting its comprehensive move towards growth and prosperity. More importantly, the international community has now changed their mind following their understanding the reality on the ground about Ethiopia.
It is well remembered that the U.S. and some European countries were urging their citizens to leave Ethiopia as fighting between the federal government and the forces of the terrorist group moves closer to the capital, Addis Ababa. The U.N. also announced evacuation flights for family members of its staff in the country following CNN’s report that read ‘Addis is under siege.’
Surprisingly, it is not even a week since the U.S. government urged citizens to leave Ethiopia citing armed conflict and civil unrest would be exacerbated, a team of American missionaries called on peace-loving fellow citizens to come to Ethiopia.
The team arrived in Ethiopia four days before the issuance of a travel warning by the U.S. State Department in a bid to attend church service and visit various places in Addis and some parts of the country like Arbaminch and its environs.
The missionaries told The Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that the situation in the country is quite opposite to what is portrayed by some international media outlets and the U.S. embassy’s statement.
Flame of Fire Missionary Director Eliana Mikylesh said that she was alarmed by media reports and the U.S. travel advisory but during her visit, she found it all untrue. “If you go in the embassy website, it says don’t go. It is in red. It says don’t travel at all. It is absolutely not true. It is very safe very peaceful nothing to worry about. I would tell anyone with plans to visit Ethiopia to come without security concerns. It is very safe to come here.”
Flame of Fire Missionary CEO Andrey Shapoun on his part said that there is a misunderstanding around the world about Ethiopia. I am a witness. I came here with fifty more people to Addis. I can testify there is peace here, so welcome and enjoy this country.”
The organized march against Ethiopia indicates that there has been a deliberate action orchestrated to help the effort of terrorists beef up, but what has been taking about Ethiopia, Addis Ababa and the reality on the ground are diametrically different. Yes, either Ethiopia or its capital is quite peaceful except the disconcerted north conflict.
Taking the serenity of the country into account, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Amina J. Mohammed called for provision of more humanitarian aid and assistance to the war affected communities in Ethiopia.
As peace prevails in the country, she visited the conflict affected regional states including Afar, Amhara and Tigray as well as Somali Regional State—a drought stricken region.
Noting that she had an extraordinary visit to Ethiopia, the Deputy Secretary-General underlined that she has witnessed the efforts, which have been made by the government and people in Ethiopia for peace.
“I have visited the regions like Amhara, Tigray, Afar and Somali to hear from the leader there, to hear from the people and to hear really what they hope, so how they will engage to peace.”
Pastor Andrey Shapoval told South Television that the situation in Ethiopia is safe, and invited everybody, including American citizens, to come to the country as everything here is very peaceful.
He also said that the country is not as some Western media are trying to portray and the current situation is extremely the opposite.”
Travel blogger, Jay Frank said Addis Ababa is a beautiful city that is geographically located in the center of Ethiopia it is one of the biggest cities in Africa not as chaotic as Lagos or with a high crime rate as Johannesburg and so it’s pretty much safe.
Speaking at 35th AU Summit Abiy Ahmed (PhD) said, “Despite the African Union’s intensive engagement in-addressing peace and security challenges of the continent, guided by the maxim “African Solutions to African Problems”, new and complex problems that undermine our unity and sovereignty continue to emerge.”
In an exclusive interview with The , Ghana’s most beautiful pageant Setor Abra Norgbe (MD), who once represented Ethiopia in the ‘week of Africa, said the successful conduct of the 35thOrdinary Session of the AU Assembly has portrayed to the world that Ethiopia has returned to normalcy and increasingly becoming a peaceful nation.
Approached by local media, International Relations and International Mass Media Expert Prof. Brook Hailu stated that the effective handling of the Summit in Addis has helped the nation record a great political victory.
As to him, the successful completion of the Summit is also the end effect of peace and stability and the event confirmed Ethiopia’s regaining of peaceful life, three months onwards. Earlier, some Embassies in the city frequently issued travel advisories and warnings to their citizens in connection with the situation in the country.
Defying all these adverse notices, Ethiopia hosted the continental Summit without an issue thereby boosting its credibility and peaceful gesture among the global community. The successful conduct of the grand event has also enabled the country to repulse the coordinated and well-funded smear campaigns of the Western media. Moreover, it is an assurance for the federal government’s capability to ensure law and order in the country.
Apart from their confidence in Ethiopia’s peace and stability, the great attendance of African leaders showcased the emphasis they attached to the Summit agenda in particular the pursuit of securing a permanent representation in the United Nations Security Council, Brook noted.
In sum, Ethiopia today is completely different from twenty nine to thirty years ago. More specifically, three years down the line the nation has achieved a number of meaningful transformations in terms of social, economic and political spheres including the issues of peace and security.
It has been suggested that patterns of conflicts will not remain unchangedif root causes are going to well addressed and made well sterilized. Thus, Ethiopia needs to be proactive in how all the challenges and ups and downs are addressed and in looking for alternative sources for lasting solutions like the national inclusive dialog, which is going to be hold in near future.
The February 13/2022
