Ethiopia’s Unwavering, Same Stand to Pan-Africanism Under Different Regimes

January 19, 2022   

BY DESTA GEBREHIWOT

Since time immemorial, Ethiopia has been a staunch advocate of pan-Africanism. It has continued to be the nucleus of the modern-day pan-Africanism movement fighting the new version of imperialism.

Despite government changes, Ethiopia’s stance towards Africa has been the same at different times because all Ethiopian governments that came to power give priority to the issue of pan-Africanism. Their stance towards pan-Africanism is unchanged. Above and beyond, as Ethiopia is the advocate and linchpin of Africa, it gives its all to Africanism with determination.

Whenever something that poses a threat to one of the African nations takes place, Ethiopia does not hesitate to take the bull by the horns.

In the present climate, Africans from various parts of the world have been fighting the unwarranted foreign pressure imposed in Ethiopia in the spirit of Pan Africanism.

The main interest of the west these days is creating client regimes and lapdog administrations in Africa, though; the pretext is the promotion of democracy, humanitarian aid and protecting human rights and the like.

Even though Africa is decolonized, it still continues to languish under imperialistic influence economically and politically. The ongoing pressure against Ethiopia mirrors the West’s ambition to babysit the continent.

“The current Pan-Africanism movement is a struggle being carried out to liberate the continent from economic dependency”, said Atlantic Council Gebriel Nigatu, a researcher on African affairs.

The researcher, who is also an adviser at the World Bank, stated that the ongoing Pan-Africanism movement aims at ensuring the economic independence of Africa, ENA reported.

Ethiopia is the foundation of the Pan- Africanism Movement, the beacon of African freedom, and one of the key countries that played a role in the realization of a unified continental institution.

Emperor Haile-Selassie of Ethiopia had played a leading role to unite Africa and was able to establish the former Organization of African Unity (OAU) by bringing together African countries that had been divided into the Casablanca and Monrovia groups.

Ethiopia had also played a key role in the struggle against colonialism and supported several African countries in various ways for their independence, he said, adding that Ethiopia is still a guardian of Africans that always raises the African flag and never compromises with African interests.

The researcher further noted that fellow Africans have been spreading the Pan- Africanism movement following the footsteps of Ethiopia.

Indicating that the main goal of the Pan-Africanism movement of the 20th century was to achieve political unity and freedom that has relatively been successful particularly in bringing some level of political independence and self-determination in African countries, however, he said the struggle for economic independence has not yet been realized.

Hence, the goal of the 21st century Pan- Africanism movement should dominantly focus on achieving economic independence, he underscored.

Lauding the fact that, Ethiopia has embarked on a new initiative to ensure the food security of the nation in order to liberate itself from economic dependency; Gebriel noted that there are a number of enabling opportunities in Ethiopia to successfully implement this initiative.

The researcher suggested that beyond taking the Pan-Africanism movement as a struggle for political independence, Africans should stand together and need to take the current Pan-Africanism movement as an important instrument to achieve the common goal of economic independence in the continent.

In this regard, he stressed the need to strengthen cooperation and eliminate regional political differences among members of the continent as well as implement the free trade agreement as soon as possible.

The expression ‘Ethiopia is a symbol of African unity’ is not merely out of the blue as Ethiopia’s heroic victory over white supremacists and colonialists in the 19th century have been the major historical evidence in that regard. As a result, Ethiopia is seen as a unifying symbol in the struggle of black people for freedom and equality, said scholar from the University of International Business and Economics, School of International Relations, Biruk Kedir.

It is a clear fact that black movement activists and political leaders such as Marcus Garvey, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, and others have repeatedly affirmed the legacy of Ethiopia in the fight against colonialism, Biruk added.

He further said that Ethiopia became wrongly portrayed by the Western world and has been a target of the misguided policy of interference. The most inhumane war crime committed by the terrorist TPLF has deliberately been devoid of media coverage.

Instead of reporting the plain facts, there has been a lot of pressure to make repeated allegations against the government, based on false information. Accordingly, the U.S. imposed repeated economic sanctions. The unilateral imposition of sanctions on Ethiopia is unjustified for a number of reasons, he added.

According to Biruk, Ethiopia could be tomorrow’s African reality. Following the # No More campaign emerged from Ethiopia; other African countries mainly from Western Africa such as Niger, Mali, Guinea, and others are marching against the foreign interference.

Ethiopia has confronted the spirit of neo-colonialism and fighting an African war as a hybrid war has been waged against it in a bid to African sovereignty and territorial integrity in danger, so said the expert.

“To strengthen the struggle against neo-colonialism, the African Union should stand together with the people of Ethiopia and support their effort. The African elites should also join the movement,” he underlined.

Ethiopia has renewed its commitment towards the ideals of Pan-Africanism, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

In her keynote speech to a Pan-African Symposium held here recently, Foreign Affairs State Minister Ambassador Birtukan Ayano said changes in leadership in Ethiopia have never changed the country’s commitment and loyalty to African causes.

The state minister further noted that Africans should celebrate their success for meeting some of the ideals of Pan- Africanism, citing resistance movements against racial discrimination, colonialism, and neo-colonialism.

She also appreciated Africans and people of African descent for the solidarity that they have continued to show to Ethiopia in times of its needs, citing the 1935 mistreatment of Ethiopia by the League of Nations. “Although Ethiopia was frequently dragged to the Security Council almost every month by some forces, it was the Africans and friends of Africa that rescued her from unjustified attacks.”

For the Ethiopian World Federation President, Ambrose R. King, keeping the momentum the Ethiopian government demonstrated in discharging its responsibilities of leading the black Consciousness Struggle was worth due priority.

“We have been fighting against Racism since the Battle of Adwa and it is continuing today, the United Nations is following the bad example of the League of Nations in practicing racism. The largest bloc in the UN family in Africa, 55 members of the UN yet we don’t have a say on the Security Council which is unfair.”

As to him, Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia both at home and abroad are currently condemning the ill-advised and unjust interference of the U.S. and some Western countries in domestic affairs and helping Ethiopia fight an African war against colonialism.

He said: “Now is the critical time for all African elites and political leaders to stand together to get this new form of colonialism aborted. The #No More Movement which can be the most telling campaign is spreading across the continent against the emerging threat of Neo-colonialism in Africa.”

The Ethiopian Herald January 19/2022