ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopians and their government should move in unison to cope with the negative impacts of House Foreign Affairs Committee bill H.R. 6600 presented by Representatives Tom Malinowski and Young Kim regarding the northern conflict, a renowned political-economic analyst said.
The Political-Economic Analyst for Africa Lawrence Freeman told local media that H.R. 6600 the House Foreign Affairs Committee bill, has various negative impacts that need to be condemned by all Ethiopians. Ethiopians, especially Ethiopian Diasporas residing across the globe, should play a significant role in deploring the bill.
As to him, the U.S., under the name of genocide, and a crime against humanity, wants to implement various harsh sanctions that would include the involvement of the UN and NATO, holding funds provided by IMF and WB, U.S. development, and other forms of assistance.
Besides, it is imperative to have a strategic understanding of the geopolitical motivation to use H.R. 6600 as a means to force Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to submit to U.S. demands in the Horn of Africa. “For the Bill to reach this level, the President Joe Biden Administration has implicit and explicit support. Therefore, Ethiopians shouldn’t fool themselves and need to cooperate against the bill.”
The analyst further highlighted that compromising Ethiopia’s interest and trying to work with the U.S. government emanates from poor understanding as the latter all the time seeks solely its strategic situations and benefits. Besides, the Biden Administration uses trade especially, removing Ethiopia from AGOA as a weapon that could be taken as unprecedented measures.
“The U.S. should act to hold TPLF accountable for committing an atrocity in the Amhara and Afar states instead of accusing the Ethiopian government that has been striving to bring political transition in the country. Furthermore, the U.S. has never had a development policy that shows what Ethiopia should do in the next five or ten years to eradicate poverty and development challenges, instead, America uses various sanctions as a tool to force the government and weaken the country.”
Freeman claimed that the Ethiopian Constitution has to be re-written and well altered eliminating ethnicity, which has been used as a regional political force in government and it is essential for Ethiopia to chart its own course for economic development. Most importantly, Ethiopia should look for more supportive alliances with countries that are capable of supporting the nation’s ambition to bring about development and prosperity.
Many factions, including external forces, have been utilizing ethnic federalism to their own political advantages. Consequently, Ethiopia should keep apart from actions that promote the TPLF federalism concept that weaken and expose the country to external power. Also, Ethiopia must take lessons from the Victory of Adwa and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which unite and boost solidarity in the country, the scholar emphasized.
BY EPHREM ANDARGACHEW
The Ethiopian March 6/2022
