News in Brief
Finding an Amicable solution for the Ethiopia-Sudan boundary
The latest developments on the GERD talks
The start of trading under The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
The Geneva Press Club and Ethiopians in Geneva co-organized Press Conference on current situations in Tigray
Africa and the African Union
German diplomat Volker Perthes has become the new head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), the United Nations and the Sudanese government said. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres informed the Security Council about the appointment in a letter to the 15-member council on Wednesday, according to a statement by the National Executive Committee for coordination with UNITAMS. “Perthes brings to this position over 25 years of experience in academia, research, international relations and diplomacy, including with the United Nations, as well as deep expertise in conflict resolution and regional geopolitics,” said the UN spokesperson office in a statement released on Thursday (January 07).
Ethiopia
The Ethio-Sudan border dispute can be resolved legally based on the existing treaties and international law as the issue of the boundary is bilateral that cannot be resolved unilaterally. This was related during a briefing organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, on Wednesday (January 06), by a Member of Ethio-Sudan Joint Boundary Commission at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Idris. He said the northern boundary of Daglish Mountain between Ethiopia and Sudan can only be demarcated after the governments of the two countries reach amicable solution. The two countries have signed Exchange of Notes constituting an agreement between the countries to re-demarcate their border in 1972 as repeated disagreements occurred with regard to the border, he added. According to him, both parties agreed to maintain the status quo until a lasting solution is found to the problem of agriculture and settlement in the northern part of the border and a joint special committee was set up for this purpose. Until then, the current situations and realities will remain in place, which means that the Exchange of Notes required that the status quo be respected by both countries, the boundary commission member elaborated.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced plans to launch a campaign which focused on prevention of COVID19 pandemic. The six-month campaign will begin as of Monday (January 11), said the Ministry during a consultation it held with members of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR). The campaign will be carried out at higher education institutions and schools, service institutions, bus stations, market places, religious institutions, and public spaces. Members of the House will join the awareness raising campaign that focuses on how to effectively prevent the spread of the pandemic, including wearing facemasks, according to the Ministry.
U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Michael Raynor has expressed his gratitude to Ethiopians for supporting the US after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday (January 06). “Our heartfelt gratitude to the many citizens of Ethiopia who sent messages of support during yesterday’s difficult hours,” Ambassador Raynor said in a statement issued yesterday. “The enduring friendship and partnership between the United States and the people of Ethiopia will endure and thrive as we recommit to supporting and living up to our democratic ideals,” he added. Ambassador Raynor stated that “The criminals who committed acts of violence and insurrection against our democracy yesterday will be held accountable in accordance with the rule of law in the United States.”
Political parties, representatives of civic organizations and religious institutions discussed on Tuesday (January 05) a draft National Human Rights Action Plan prepared by the Federal Attorney General. The third action plan aimed at developing strategies to improve human rights in a coordinated manner at national level and in line with other national plans will run for five years, it was learned. National Human Rights Action Plan Office Head, Medhanit Tamene told the stakeholders that the plan would improve protection of human rights, develop problem-solving systems, improve laws and institutions, and improve the implementation of regional and international human rights treaties.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen discussed on Monday (January 04) with Ambassadors and representatives of members of Human and Resilience Donor Group (HRDG) on the current humanitarian situation in Tigray. Attending the meeting were also Minister of Peace, Mufarihat Kamil, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Redwan Hussein, Commissioner for National Disaster Risk Management, Mitiku Kassa and Director for Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA). The Deputy Prime Minister said food items, commodities, and medical supplies are being provided in the region to address the needs of the beneficiaries. Ministers and other officials of the Ethiopian government present at the meeting also provided detailed information on the work that is underway to address the humanitarian situation in Tigray. An understanding was reached to continue the engagement with the Group to work together to further scale-up humanitarian activities in the region.
Following the successful plantation of five billion trees during the 2020 greenery campaign, Ethiopia announced to supply six billion seedlings, five billion to be planted at home and the rest one billion seedlings to be distributed among neighboring countries. According to Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission, it plans to distribute 91 million to South Sudan, 356 million to Sudan, 29 million to Eritrea, nine million seedlings to Djibouti. It also plans 129 million to Somalia and 386 million seedlings to Kenya.
Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt resumed talks on Sunday (January 03) over the first filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The three countries reopened their years long negotiations just six weeks after Sudan boycotted the last round of discussions. It had urged continental body the African Union to play a greater role in reaching a consensus over the disputed dam on the Blue Nile. The three Nile Valley countries held a fresh round of talks by video conference in the virtual presence of South African officials, as well as other international observers. South Africa is the current head of the African Union’s rotating council.
The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy said that the tripartite negotiation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) should not compromise the development interest of the next generation. A press release on the tripartite meeting of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan issued by the ministry water Affairs and Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia on Sunday (January 03) stated that Ethiopia will not negotiate on the right of the next generation in using Abay (Nile) river for development. “Ethiopia won’t agree to a GERD deal that in any way restricts its right to use the Nile waters,” the statement stated. The release indicated that the nation is committed to continuing the negotiation but not in a way that binds its right to use the river anymore. “The GERD is a non-consumptive hydroelectric generating dam. Any agreement over the dam, which is being negotiated in the absence of a comprehensive water treaty and the prevalence of an unjust status-quo, shall be considerate of these fundamental factors.”
Sudan fails to attend planned virtual meeting of Ministers of Water Affairs of Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan scheduled for Monday (January 04), Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy said. Sudan on its part says it received no response to its request to “hold a bilateral meeting with the African Union experts and observers” in the evening of the same day the January 03 meeting ended, prompting it to “reserve participation in Monday’s meeting.” In related news, the trilateral meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will resume on Sunday (January 10) when experts from the three countries are expected to present identified common positions and differences, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia urged the media to focus on peace-building reporting by refraining from disseminating information that might jeopardize the wellbeing of individuals and national security. The Council made the remark during a half-day consultative meeting held on Tuesday (January 05) on the role of media towards peace building. During the occasion, the council urged media professionals to be aware of the fact that erroneous and exaggerated information could endanger the instability of the nation, and act accordingly.
Eritrea
Eritrea’s delegation composed of FM Osman Saleh and Presidential Adviser Yemane Ghebreab met in Khartoum on Wednesday (January 06) with Vice President of the Sovereign Council Mohammed Hamdan Duglo and Prime Minister Abdella Hamdock. The Sudanese senior Government officials applauded growing bilateral ties between the two countries and joint efforts for regional cooperation. The Vice President of the Sovereign Council, Mohammed Hamdan Duglo, and, Prime Minister Abdella Hamdock further called for regular exchange of visits and consultations between the two countries. Eritrea’s delegation composed of Foreign Minister Mr. Osman Saleh and Presidential Adviser Mr. Yemane Ghebreab on 5 January delivered a message from President Isaias Afwerki to Sudan’s President of the Sovereign Council, General Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan.
Forty three patients have been diagnosed positive for COVID-19 in tests carried out on Monday (January 04) at Quarantine Centers and OPD Services in the Central and Anseba Regions. Out of these, forty two patients are from Quarantine Centers (19) and OPD Services (23) in Asmara, Central Region; while one patient is from OPD Services in Anseba Region. On the other hand, eighteen patients who have been receiving medical treatment in hospitals in the Central Region have recovered fully and released from these facilities. The total number of recovered patients to-date accordingly stands at 694 while the number of deaths is three. The total number of confirmed cases in the country to-date has risen to 1363.
Somalia
At least three people were killed and seven others injured in a bomb attack targeting the Somali prison chief in the capital Mogadishu on Thursday, police said. Mahad Ibrahim, the prison chief, survived the attack carried out on the busy Abdi Qasim Road in Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack follows a spate of bombing in recent times mostly targeting security officials and civilians. Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a UK-based research institute that has followed explosive devices’ attacks in Somalia for decades, on Wednesday released a report on the rising use of explosives in Somalia. The report said that 93% of civilian deaths in Somalia in 2019 were caused by explosive devices used in populated areas. The report warned of more bomb attacks by al-Shabaab in the Horn of Africa country. The militants have frequently attacked hotels, restaurants and cafes in Mogadishu.
Turkey is providing special commando training to 150 Somali soldiers as part of a military cooperation deal between the two countries, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Tuesday (January 05). The training of the Somali Armed Forces soldiers is taking place at Turkey’s Counterterrorism Training and Exercise Center in the southwestern province of Isparta, according to a ministry statement.
At least three members of the Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group were killed and half a dozen buildings used by the militants were destroyed in U.S. airstrikes on New Year’s Day, U.S. Africa Command said. The twin airstrikes launched in coordination with the Somali government targeted al-Shabab compounds near the town of Qunyo Barrow, AFRICOM said in a statement released on Saturday (January 02). In related news, five people believed to be al-Shabaab members, including one leader, were killed in a joint U.S.-Somali airstrike in the vicinity of Saaxa Weyne, Somalia, on Thursday. According to AFRICOM, no civilians were injured or killed as a result of the operation.
A car bomb targeting workers of a Turkish company killed five people including two Turkish citizens on Saturday (January 02) in Somalia, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said. The company’s staffers were working on the construction of a road between Mogadishu and Afgoye, northwest of the capital, the ministry statement said.
South Sudan
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Thursday has called on the Sudanese government to reach a negotiated settlement to the border dispute with Ethiopia. President Kiir received Chems al-Din Kabbashi, a member of the Sovereign Council and Omer Gamar Eldin the acting foreign minister who briefed him about the recent border clashes with Ethiopia and the peace implementation process. “President Salva Kiir Mayardit urged Sudan Sovereign Council to resolve their issues with Ethiopia peacefully through diplomacy and dialogue,” reads a statement issued by the South Sudanese presidential media service after the meeting.
Sudan
The U.S. and Sudan signed a $1 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a bridge loan to pay Khartoum’s arrears to the World Bank (WB). The Sudanese Minister of Finance Heba Muhammad Ali signed the MoU with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin who arrived on Wednesday (January 06) for a one-day visit. “The ministry signed an MoU with the U.S. Treasury to provide financing facilities to pay Sudan’s arrears to the World Bank,” said a statement by the Ministry of Finance. The ministry pointed out that clearing these arrears will enable Sudan to obtain multi-billion dollars in loans annually.
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Finding an Amicable solution for the Ethiopia-Sudan boundary
Apart from their historical relations, Ethiopia and the Sudan share a very long boundary that was delimited based on the 1902 boundary treaty signed between the Government of Ethiopia and the then colonial master of the Sudan, British. Although the 1902 boundary treaty declared the establishment of Joint Boundary Commission for the demarcation of the common boundary, the representative of British (Major Gwynn) unilaterally carried out the demarcation process in 1903 without the presence of the representative of Ethiopia or the authorization of the Ethiopian Government. As a result, the Gwynn demarcation particularly in the area North of Mount Dagleish remained controversial and disputed.
In order to solve the long overdue boundary dispute between the two countries, in 1972 the Government of Ethiopia and the Sudan through their Foreign Ministers Exchange of Notes agreed to proceed the re-demarcation process from Mount Dagleish southwards and to study the problem resulting from settlements and cultivation by nationals of either nation in the territory of the other with a view to finding an amicable solution. Two months after the signing of the Notes, the Foreign Minister of Sudan wrote a letter to Ethiopia informing the later that the government of the Sudan had written a letter to the then Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) informing that the conclusion of an agreement governing the longest frontier between the two African countries. In addition to this, they informed us that the government of the Sudan had ratified and deposited the 1972 Exchange of Notes in accordance with article 102 of United Nation Charter.
As it is clearly envisaged under the 1972 Exchange of Notes, which stated finding of an amicable solution for the problem resulting from cultivation and settlement is a prerequisite for the re-demarcation of the Gwynn Line north of Mount Daeglish.
Immediately after the signing of the 1972 Exchange of Notes both countries set up a joint boundary commission to re-demarcate the boundary south of Mount Dagleish but due to change of government in 1974 in Ethiopia the agreed upon re-demarcation project did not materialize. In early 2000, both Ethiopia and the Sudan decided to implement the 1972 Exchange of Notes and establish a Joint Special Committee that was mandated to find an amicable solution for the problem resulting from settlement and cultivation in the area north of Mount Dagleish.
Moreover, both countries agreed and set up Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) and Joint Technical Boundary Committee (JTBC) to re-demarcate the boundary line between the two countries, based on the amicable solution of the Joint Special Committee, particularly for the boundary sector north of Mount Dagleish.
The Joint Special Committee, even though it held eight meetings, it did not complete its task given to it under the 1972 Exchange of Note and its Terms of Reference adopted by the agreement of our two countries. In this regard, the reactivation of the Joint Special Committee to reconvene its meeting and submit its final report recommending an amicable solution to the appropriate body is crucial. It is, therefore, essential that the finding of an amicable solution has to be accomplished prior to the re-demarcation of the Gwynn line in the sector north of Mount Dagleish.
According to the 1972 Exchange of Notes, the re-demarcation of the boundary from Mount Daeglish southwards will be carried out first. In this sector, minor rectification of the Gwynn Line is required to make the line pass through the crest of the mountains designated by the Exchange of Notes. Moreover, Ethiopia and Sudan, now South Sudan must invite the Government of Kenya for the purpose of determining the point of tri-junction on the frontiers of Ethiopia, the Sudan and Kenya.
On the other hand, while negotiation was on going the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2005 to give temporary solution to a specific challenge until a final agreement is reached on the amicable solution that the two countries will agree on. It must be underlined that the MoU reasserted the status quo holdings of Ethiopian nationals by agreeing not to displace them and prohibited new penetration.
Thus, the 2005 MoU is a supplementary and temporary solution, which supports the 1972 Exchange of Notes. Therefore, it is by no means intended to replace the mandate entrusted to the Joint Special Committee by the 1972 Exchange of Notes.
The boundary line between any two or more countries are not a point of separation wall, rather it is contact point that would enhance and cement cooperation and collaboration among nationals of both countries. It is an international norm and practices that boundary issues are resolved by negotiation and dialogue between the concerned parties. Any type of unilateral exercise is not helpful in finding a lasting solution. What the Sudan is doing at the moment is unprecedented and it did not reflect the interest of its people.
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The latest developments on the GERD talks
Following the first Extraordinary African Union (AU) Bureau of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government virtual Meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on 26 June 2020, a series of trilateral negotiations at ministerial and technical levels have been organized in order to find a negotiated solution on outstanding matters. The Bureau of the Assembly of the AU agreed to augment the Tripartite Committee dealing on the GERD. Accordingly, the parties have been engaged in the AU led trilateral negotiation and bilateral consultations with augmented technical experts to reach a win-win outcome. In consequence, the negotiating countries are able to negotiate on their interests instead of endorsing their positions. In addition, the three parties have managed to reach convergence and understanding on a number of important issues.
However, recently, the negotiation was interrupted repeatedly due to the absence of Sudan by bringing procedural matters rather than focusing on substance. On January 3, 2021, the Minister of International Relation and Cooperation of South Africa, H.E Dr. GNM Pandor convened a meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Water Affairs of Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan to encourage the parties to exchange views on the continuation of the trilateral negotiation on the GERD. The Ministers instructed to convene the trilateral negotiation of the experts of the three countries to identify agreed and outstanding issues with the oversight of Ministers of Water Affairs in a week time and present it to the meeting of Foreign Affairs and Water Affairs Ministers scheduled for 10 January 2021. Nonetheless, the negotiation failed to continue as instructed by the meeting of Foreign Affairs and Water Affairs Ministers mainly due to the failure of the Sudan to attend the trilateral meeting.
Before the ministerial meeting, a draft text produced by AU assigned experts was submitted to the three Parties to assist the negotiation process. Ethiopia, despite its reservation on certain elements of the text, agreed to use the AU initiated draft text as a working document. Similarly, Sudan also recognized the draft as a workable document. However, Egypt that claimed to have initialed a text “drafted by the United States Department of Treasury” without any authorization and disregarding Ethiopia’s objection, refused to accept the text of AU assigned experts to use as base for the trilateral negotiation.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, on his remarks informed the ministers attending the meeting, to view the GERD negotiation and its outcome as a simple guideline for operation of a single non-water consumptive project. He further emphasized, the GERD negotiations are arduous not because of the subject of the negotiation but because of the unjust status-quo on the Nile Waters. It is for this reason that the ongoing GERD negotiation and the resulting outcome should never be expected to serve as a water allocation agreement or an instrument to affirm the so called “water quota” over the Nile. Thus, it is very important to have a fully inclusive water treaty that involves all Nile Basin Countries.
In this regard, it is crucial to recall the understanding reached between the three countries to conclude an agreement on the utilization of the Blue Nile during the second Extraordinary Meeting of the Bureau of African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government held on 21 July 2020. The draft text prepared by the AU assigned experts and submitted to the three parties suggests concluding the GERD instrument for a period of ten years, within which the three countries should settle a comprehensive water treaty. The draft text also offers if the countries for any reason fail to conclude the comprehensive treaty, any country should have the right to withdraw from the GERD instrument by giving a prior notice to the others.
Nevertheless, the whole process of the negotiation is dragged only because of lack of political commitment and unwillingness of the downstream countries to finalize the ongoing trilateral negation process with clear Guidelines and Rules on the First Filling and annual Operation of the GERD.
Ethiopia as always is ready to reach a win-win agreement that respects its sovereign right to use the Nile water for the current and future generation. Thus far, the AU led process has achieved a lot of progress and there is a conceivable hope to reach in to an agreement with in the AU led platform in the near future. Ethiopia is confident on South Africa’s continued leadership and facilitation of the tripartite negotiation process and reiterates its firm commitment to make the AU led process successful.
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The start of trading under The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
The vision of establishing the African Common Market was encapsulated in the provisions of the Abuja treaty, better known as the treaty establishing the Economic Community, which came into force in 1994. According to the Abuja Treaty, Africa was projected to achieve an Economic Community within 34 years passing through six landmark phases. Based on this phased approach, Africa was supposed to reach a common market by 2020 and an Economic Community by 2024.
It was this process which motivated the establishment of the AfCFTA which has just become operational on 1 January 2021 approximating the time line of the Abuja treaty for the establishment of a common market. It should be recalled that AfCFTA was identified as a flagship project of Agenda 2063 during the 50th anniversary celebration of OAU/AU in 2013.
The historic process establishing the AfCFTA was initiated in Johannesburg in 2015 and the agreement was adopted in Kigali in 2018. It came into force in May 2020 after ratification by 28 member states. As trading under AfCFTA started in earnest on 1 January 2021, ratification reached 34.
Three phases of negotiations were conducted prior to the start of trading. phase one dealt with trade in goods and services; phase two dealt with Rules of origin, investment and intellectual property; phase three was concerned with e-commerce. Commendable progress has been made and phase one negotiations were successfully completed. In this regard, over 40 countries either individually, or in the framework of regional trading blocs, have already submitted their tariff offers.
The start of trading under AfCFTA was officially inaugurated, at a virtual ceremony with inspirational remarks by the Current Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of South Africa, President of the Republic of Ghana as host to the AfCFTA secretariat, President of Niger as a Champion of the AfCFTA, Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary General of AfCFTA. It was a landmark occasion that passed a strong message that Africa is committed to realize the vision of continental integration and its readiness to start trading with each other.
The AfCFTA aspires towards deepening the integration of the African continent beyond just a free trade area. The vision embodies the objectives of creating deeper market liberalization through successive rounds of negotiations; lay the ground for the establishment of a Continental Customs Union; contribute to Africa’s industrialization and expand the production capacity of member countries; contribute to intra-regional infrastructural development; and contribute to the free movement of people, goods and services.
This is the first time in history that Africa has started trading as one single Free Trade Area, which embraces almost all member states. The AfCFTA secretariat was established in Accra, Ghana, and it is now fully engaged in the process of operationalizing the AfCFTA institutions.
Ethiopia as a founding member of the OAU/AU and a forefront contributor to the establishment of African Union Institutions and instruments, has embraced the establishment of AfCFTA as one of the pivotal African Integration instruments. Ethiopia has actively participated in all the discussions and negotiation forums with a view to enabling the agreement to benefit all African peoples in a fair and equitable manner without leaving anyone behind in the continent.
Ethiopia has already established a national task force and a strong negotiating team comprising of the Ministry of Trade and Industry as coordinator and the Customs Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as members. The team has successfully completed the operational phase negotiations and continued to negotiate the remaining issues.
Currently, Ethiopia has internally finalized the draft initial Schedules of Tariff Concessions for consultation with stakeholders. It is also in the process of undertaking all the necessary legal and administrative measures to domesticate the provisions of the agreement and to facilitate the implementation of AfCFTA. It should be noted that the recently prepared ten years national development plan of the country has taken full account of the AfCFTA. Various initiatives to familiarize enterprises, the Chambers of commerce and Trade Unions and other stakeholders are being worked out. Ethiopia as usual is committed and ready to do its part for the success of this great Pan-African venture.
In the meantime, the Ethiopian Airlines group is busy prepositioning itself to facilitate the movement of goods traded under the AfCFTA. The Ethiopian Airlines Group, which operates extensive Pan-African network of routs for transportation of cargo, has launched a partnership arrangement with DHL and the African Electronic Trade Group on 1 January 2021, demonstrating the readiness of Ethiopia to fully embark on active trading under the AfCFTA.
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The Geneva Press Club and Ethiopians in Geneva co-organized Press Conference on current situations in Tigray
The Geneva Press Club and the Network of Ethiopians in Geneva for Action Taskforce (NEGAT) in collaboration with the Ethiopian permanent mission in Geneva have organized an online press conference on Wednesday (January 06). Journalists and individuals attended the conference. According to Ambassador Zenebe Kebede, Ethiopia’s envoy in Geneva, the conference aimed at putting Developments in Ethiopia in the right perspective and correcting the misinformation circulating in social and mainstream media outlets regarding the law enforcement operation in the Tigray regional state.
At the panel, which was Moderated by Ambassador Minelik Alemu and in the presence of Mr. Kitaw Yayeh Yirad representing the Network of Ethiopians in Geneva, Ethiopia’s Attorney General Dr. Gedion Timothewos, Chief Commissioner of Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Dr. Daniel Bekele, and Berhanu Nega (Prof) from Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (Ezema) have reflected on several issues surrounding the measure taken against the TPLF clique.
Dr. Gedion Timothewos recalled that the TPLF clique dominating the security and military apparatus was adamant to undermine the reforms initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He said, the decisive measure against the TPLF has saved Ethiopia from the chaos and disintegration that the TPLF wanted to inflict upon Ethiopians. “The existential threat posed by the group has been neutralized.”
Chief Commissioner of Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Dr. Daniel Bekele, on his part talked about the situation in Tigray focusing on civilian casualties, the ongoing humanitarian assistance and the Mikadra massacre. “We are yet to do a full assessment of the civilian implication of the overall military operation,” but he said, “based on the information we have so far, it is comforting to learn that the military operation did not result in as severe consequences as it was originally feared to be.” “There was a much-hyped bloodbath, civilian casualties, breaking up of the country …. that did not happen at least to the extent that it was anticipated to be,” he added. But he cautioned that what he said does not in any way imply that there was no civilian causality here but it was not at the scale and extent it was feared to be.
Regarding the Humanitarian assistance in the region, he said it has considerably improved. According to Dr. Daniel, over the last few weeks, there has been considerable improvement in terms of resumption of basic social services including, power, water supply, telecommunication, transport, and so on.
The commissioner has also covered about Mikadra massacre and his offices report on the incident. He said, as part of their human Rights investigation, his staffers have travelled to Mikadra, to look into what exactly has happened and have investigated, documented and “gathered evidence about serious human rights violation which may amount to crimes against humanity or even war crimes in which the perpetrators killed hundreds of people with full intent, plan and preparation to commit such atrocities and it was conducted and committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against civilian populations that were identified on the basis of ethnic identity.” According to the Commissioner, the Mikadra massacre was perpetrated by an informal youth group called Samri which was aided and abated by the security structure that was in place at the time. Based some questions from the audience regarding the impartiality of his office, the Commissioner underscored that the institution that he leads is an independent one and there is no any undue interference from the government.
Berhanu Nega (Prof) from Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (Ezema) briefed the audience about his party’s analysis of the law enforcement operation in Tigray on the basis of some basic questions. He said his party forwarded four basic questions to arrive at viable conclusions on the matter. Before the conflict started, did the government exhaust all options to resolve differences peacefully with the TPLF? If the TPLF had started the conflict, what would it benefit out of it? How did the government handle the operation so that civilians would not bear the brunt of the operation? And finally, did the measure taken against the TPLF take us towards or away from building a democratic order?
Recalling his experience and how all the attempts of the government in cossetting the TPLF had failed, he said, “The government has proved that it had given the TPLF clique enough opportunity to resolve differences peacefully.” According to Professor Brehanu, who started the conflict is not a question of interpretation since the TPLF had already trumpeted its ‘pre-emptive attack’ against government forces. Whatever was deriving the TPLF, he said, “its reasons for triggering the conflict was not motivated by democratic causes.” He also appreciated the way the federal government handled the operation with the utmost care to the lives of civilians. He said, “It was quite interesting to see how careful the government was in ensuring that there was no collateral damage whether it is in terms of civilian deaths and injuries, but also in terms of infrastructure.” He finally concluded that the measure against the TPLF has taken us a step closer to a meaningful and democratic political order.
