Ethiopia’s National Interest Would Never Contravene That of the US

September 13, 2022

BY SOLOMON DIBABA

When Ethiopia started to defend the nation, the US and major international media companies started once more to blame Ethiopia for exercising its legitimate right to defend the country and its citizens against a terrorist group that has a massive record of killings, rape and destruction of infrastructure facilities in the country.

There is no sense in thinking or assuming that Ethiopia’s efforts to defend the nation would be a threat to the US interest in the Horn of Africa unless the US has decided to support the proliferation of terrorism in the region.

Under no conditions could Ethiopia which has fought for peace all along become a threat to US security in the world. This country is governed by a responsible government that firmly abides by the UN Charter and that of the AU. However, Ethiopia is not expected to forego her national interest to please any country.

The truth is US foreign policy on Ethiopia is not in the interest of both the US and Ethiopia because terrorist TPLF-triggered war in the country is not expected to benefit any one of the two countries. If the US firmly believes in the unity and territorial integrity of the country, why did it allow the terrorist group to destabilize the country and displace millions of citizens who were prevented from living their own peaceful life? Why did the so-called democratic western countries fail to condemn the repeated massacres of innocent citizens in the two regions neighbouring Tigray?

Ethiopia and the US pioneered in the battle against terrorism over the last several years but now due to the sanctions made on the country such cooperation is no more there and apart from enlisting her peacekeepers in AMISOM, Ethiopia has successfully kept the Al-Shabab terrorist group at bay. Ethiopia should not have been punished for fighting against international terrorism.

Regrettably, the US has put the entire blame on Ethiopia for the war that has been going on in northern Ethiopia for the last two years and refrained from making terrorist TPLF which is the culprit and accountable for the crimes it has committed in Ethiopia.

The western powers and the US put the sovereign government of Ethiopia on equal footing with the terrorist group and call upon the country to come to negotiations for which Ethiopia has pleaded for months.

The whole world knows that terrorist TPLF started the third round of war on August 24, 2022, as it was officially declared by the terrorist group. The US and Ethiopia have enjoyed strong diplomatic relations for over a century and both countries cannot throw out such a historic relationship that dates back to 1903.

The contributor of this article believes that both the US and Ethiopia have global and regional responsibility not only to ascertain peace in the Horn of Africa but also to cooperate on the urgent issues of climate change and the battle against poverty. There are several potential areas of cooperation which could include various sectors of mutual economic development, culture, tourism, science and technology. These areas of cooperation based on mutual respect and understanding could set an example for the rest of Africa.

The US and Ethiopia could further develop their current and future cooperation in the education sector with particular emphasis on quality education in the spheres of science and technology, health, medicine and other areas.

The US hopefully recognizes Ethiopia’s interest in developing its natural resources without harming any neighbouring country but strives to promote mutual development through joint ventures. This is particularly relevant to Ethiopia’s efforts to light up the houses of 65% of the rural and urban population with hydroelectric power from the current dams and future ones to be constructed in the country.

Millions of Ethiopians and citizens of Ethiopian residents live and work in the US contributing their part to the development of the country, On top of that, the people-to-people relations between the two countries could be scaled up through cross-cultural exchange programs from which the youth in Ethiopia and the US could benefit.

Ethiopia’s foreign policy with any country including the US is based on mutual respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every country. The US has repeatedly announced that it is committed to the peace and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. The real test for this is what we see today and hope to observe in the future.

In the latest development, a report from the AFP issued on September 12, 2022, indicates that the terrorist group, in an automatic summersault and U-turn has claimed in its statement to accept the terms and conditions set for negotiations for which Ethiopia has laboured for months. To date, there is no official response from the Ethiopian Government but the coming several days and weeks will have a lot to reveal.

Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald

The Ethiopian Herald September 13/2022