By Berhane Kahsay
Abiy Ahmed is not a peace maker as the Noble
Peace Committee would like us to believe Abiy is a dangerous and
double-faced individual who is threatening the Horn of Africa.
It was unbelievable to witness the despot
Ethiopian Prime Minister receiving a Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, for allegedly
ending the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea. This is a fallacy and
very far from the facts on the ground.No peace accord has been signed between
Ethiopia and Eritrea, and their armies are still facing each other along the
disputed borders. Inother words, militarisation of the conflict zone is the
same as it was when hostilities kicked-off in May 1998.
There is no peace in Eritrea and Ethiopia. The
tiny Read Sea nation is still governed by a totalitarian regime, and the people
are abandoning their country in droves because of the sever repression and
endless military service. In February 2019, ‘’Helprefugees.org’’ reported that
the average wage during a national serviceis equivalent to 52 Euro a month, and
the number of Eritreans living outside their country is approaching a million
and shows no sign of coming to an end.In fact, the exodus and repression will
continue as usual as the Eritrean despot has been emboldened by Washington and Riyadh
despite his terrible records on human rights and respect for the rule of law.
As we speak, Eritreans residing in neighbouring Sudan are being rounded up and
deported to their country and it is certain that they would either be killed
outright or locked up in shipping containers for an indefinite period.
In Ethiopia, the situation is even worse and unless
immediate action is taken to pacify the situation, balkanisation of the country
is inexorable. Since the Laurette of 2019 came to power in April 2018, over 3
million people have been internally displaced because of ethnic conflicts. Carnages
are taking place in Qemant with complete latitude, and recently there have been
gruesome killings of innocent people in Metekel, Gumuz by the special forces of
Amhara administration and no measures have been taken by the federal government
tohold the perpetrators accountable for the heinous crimes they committed. Large
swathes of the country including Western Oromia, Sidama and Amhara Zones have
been placed under military command on the orders of the PM.In today’s Ethiopia,
maintaining law and order is becoming increasingly difficult and lately the Military’s
Chief of Staff was assassinated in the metropolis in broad day light.
Abiy Ahmed is not a peace maker as the Nobel
Peace Committee would like us to believe. On the contrary, the Ethiopian Prime
Minister is being accused of ‘’ fanning instability in Somalia and South Sudan’’
by theUN on the eve of the award ceremony. Many Somali politicians have accused
theso-called peace makerof interfering in their domestic politics. Obviously,
the PM of Ethiopia was awarded the Peace Prize for 2019 because his powerful
friends in Washington lobbied the committee on his behalf. And based on this
assessment it is safe to conclude that the honour was not on merit but purely
political.
How was it possible for Abiy to beat the world famous
16-year-old climate change crusader, Great Thunberg, without the support of the
US? Abiy in return will be expected to reciprocate by opening the market of
over 100 million people, and by selling the very profitable public assets such
as Ethiopian Airlines, Ethio-Telecom, sugar factories and others possibly to
American multi-nationals.The US will do its best to ensure Abiy remains in
power so that her economic and geo-political interests would be best served now
and in the future by creating a satellite state in the Horn region.The overall
strategy is to check and minimize Chinese influence and economic hegemony in
Africa and beyond.
There have been several world opinions
expressing their dissatisfactions with the Peace Committee’s decision to award
the prize toAbiy and to add insult to injury, the winner of the 1991 Pace
Prize, Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, is being accused by the UN’s highest court of
genocide against Rohingya Muslims.It is
to be recalled that an estimated 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh after
the military’s cleansing operations sanctioned by none other than the previous ‘’
darling’’ of the West who is now facing the International Criminal Court (ICC)
in the Hague, Netherlands.
Abiy Ahmed is a dangerous and double-faced individual
who would say something you want to hear in your face and do something
completely different to realise his ambitions.The adulation he received when he
became PM is dissipating fast and at present he is at his most dangerous state.
Because of the backing from Washington and others, he seems to be under the
impression that he is at liberty to do whatever is necessary including bullying
and the use of force to change the prevailing political system and perpetuatehis
hold on power. His foreign supporters are only concerned in furthering their
own interests and could not care less the political implications of their
actions.
It is visible that Ethiopia is in an extremely
volatile situation and can explode at any time leading to intractable civil
strife. In pursuit of their political and economic benefits,
the US and its allies play dirty politics notwithstanding the human fatalities
and utter destructions it may leave behind. Look no further than Iraq where
because of their involvement 600,000 people have been killed, in Syria, 570,000
and in Yemen 100,000. After causing so much deaths and annihilations, they move
on to their next target without blinking an eye.
(Courtsey of Tigrai Online))
