Ethiopia’s Indelible Mark in Somalia’s Path to Stability

February 11, 2024

At the recent Q and A between the members of parliament and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D.) there were several crucial questions the MPs posed to the premier. He gave answers and explanations on the issues underlining Ethiopia’s stance clearly. There were questions that related to several regional problems that the representatives wanted to know about and what his government’s stance was. There were issues that related to the ever present crucial questions that had at the core the economy of the country and its future trajectory. There were also issues of security and peace that have been a source of many controversies on the various private media as well as social networks. The MPs wanted the view of the premier and what the government was doing to address them.

The recent diplomatic request that Ethiopia made to the international community to help it earn a commercial arrangement which would guarantee it access to sea because a country of more than 120 million people could not be condemned to live landlocked when there are various options to get rid of this problem diplomatically and legally without harming any other nation has also been raised.

Curiously the recent agreement signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland has been a focus of attention not only with the countries that are directly implicated in the arrangement but also others who have little to do with the issue. The typical stance taken by the Arab League on the issue is one of these surprising reactions as the League has no right in mingling in the affairs of Ethiopia and Somaliland and even Somalia for that matter. Ethiopia has made it clear that the MoU signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland is an affair that concerns the two entities and as it is done to help Ethiopia have a say in the security and safety of the Red Sea area, there is nothing unnatural on the part of Ethiopia’s diplomatic move.

The premier explained Ethiopia’s position on the issue in an elaborate manner. To begin with he said Ethiopia’s diplomatic moves are always based on the national interests of the country as is the diplomatic moves of any country in the world. No sovereign country would put itself at a disadvantage when it comes to diplomatic negotiations and policies and the same is true of Ethiopia. The premier insisted that access to sea for ‘landlocked Ethiopia’ is a key priority especially now that the Red Sea area is becoming a hot bed of uncertainties and potential dangers.

Ethiopia has a huge and vital interest in what is going on in the Red Sea area because all its international trade relations are carried out through the ports located on the sea. For the moment 95 % of Ethiopia’s transactions are carried out through the port of Djibouti and anything that happens around that port and near it affects inevitably Ethiopia’s security and existence. Ethiopia has the right to have a say in whatever may happen there because it is a matter of life or death for its economy and for its survival as a sovereign nation. That is why the recent MoU between Ethiopia and Somaliland has been sealed in a diplomatic ‘give and take’ process.

The reaction that came from Somalia is unusual because Ethiopia has always been a friend of Somalia and Ethiopia’s soldiers have sacrificed their precious lives to defend the integrity and sovereignty of Somalia the premier recalled and any allegation that Ethiopia is aiming to hurt Somalia or undermine its sovereignty is absurd. The premier said that Ethiopia more than any other country in the world has been caring for Somalia’s integrity and peace and contributed thousands of Ethiopia’s troops in the efforts aimed at guaranteeing Somalia’s peace and stability and the Somali government officials as well as the Somali people are aware of this. Ethiopia is indeed the closest country to Somalia in many ways and the fate of Somalia is intertwined with that of Ethiopia. Anything that is bound to harm Somalia is unacceptable for Ethiopia and so should it be for Somalia. The peoples of the two countries are brothers and sisters with similar stock of people living on both sides of the artificial border that separates the two. If there are countries that try to instigate enmity between the two countries they can only be enemies of both and do not want the two nations to prosper and grow together. Trying to incite a war or hostilities between the two brotherly countries however cannot succeed according to the premier.

Ethiopia and Somalia will always resolve any issues or misunderstandings with negotiations and talks and not through shooting at one another to the delight of certain forces that want to make the most out of such conflict. Those days are gone because no African country can benefit by jumping to armed conflicts while peaceful diplomatic negotiations can resolve every issue. The experience of the past has shown that no resort to guns has resulted in durable peace other than creating further problems and an interminable cycle of violence and destruction.

Ethiopia has made its position clear to all. It has the right to have access to sea in a peaceful and diplomatic manner without using any threats or resorting to military might. It has international law behind it because no country should be condemned to remain landlocked when nearby there are thousands of miles of sea coasts that could be offered in exchange for mutual benefits. In the case of Somaliland Ethiopia will have access to the sea around Berbera where it could build the necessary infrastructure not only to use it commercially but also to protect the safety of the area with its marine corps because the geopolitical position of the sea has been attracting various forces not all necessarily with peaceful or positive intentions. Ethiopia’s sovereignty is at risk and it cannot sit idle and accept similar situation developing when it can reach a diplomatic, reasonable and legal deal with any one of the entities around the coastal area and provide for the safeguarding and protection of its national interests. In doing so Ethiopia has made it clear that it won’t encroach in any country’s sovereignty nor territorial integrity and the result of such arrangement is a give and take process whereby all parties benefit economically.

The fact that Ethiopia can continue to grow and prosper by taking full advantage of the access to sea via the arrangement made with Somaliland will only be a catalyst for the economic growth of the entire region because the exchange of trade would multiply and each of the nations in the region would benefit. The very idea of the integration of Africa not only economically but also politically in the long run is by engaging in similar deals and not by discouraging them or dismissing them as dangerous specially when they are orchestrated by distant and foreign countries that do not feel comfortable to see a stronger Horn of Africa countries capable of defending their interest in the area and more integration for Africa as a whole. Such moves must on the contrary be encouraged because in the long run they do comply with the Vision of Africa 2063 and not condemn such moves as an encroachment of others’ rights.

Ethiopia the premier said has paid every sacrifice possible for Somalia and it has even tried to mediate between Somaliland and Somalia so that their differences and disputes could be resolved amicably. Moreover, Ethiopia has trained thousands of law enforcement officials in Ethiopian Military Academies and just recently hundreds of Somalis graduated at Hurso Military Academy and joined their compatriots back home. Is this something that a country with ill intentions would do to another? the premier wondered. Prime Minister Abiy insisted that the diplomatic moves of Ethiopia are never intended to hurt the interests of other nations while even trying to pursue its legitimate national interests but using the diplomatic rules and international laws that regulate nations. Ethiopia has no record of invading other nations and at the same time would never let others invade her and least of all succeed in subduing it because it has never happened throughout its history. Rather its record of contribution to international peace and security can be testified by bodies such as the United Nations Organization. Hence the rhetoric that Ethiopia is being hostile to Somalia while sealing a deal with Somaliland is farfetched and is the stance of countries that are not necessarily friendly with neither Somalia nor Ethiopia.

Besides the premier told parliament that Ethiopia is always ready to negotiate peacefully with any force that opposes its foreign policy not only with regards the access to sea but also with the issue of the GERD that has created not simple disputes with Egypt primarily and to a certain extent Sudan. Furthermore, Ethiopia is also ready to negotiate with any forces even within Ethiopia that have been creating havoc and destruction in certain localities in desperate attempt to come to power through violence.

The premier underlined that this was impossible and the government cannot let this happen under its watch even being always ready at any given time to sit around a table and discuss the issues with any of these forces if they respect the laws and constitutional order of the country. The premier said the military establishment of the country is so strong that there is no way of subduing to these irregular forces that create only havoc here and there.

BY FITSUM GETACHEW

THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 11 FEBRUARY 2024