Oct. 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Joint Council of Political Parties of Ethiopia has urged the countries of the United Nations and the European Union to correct their position on the sanctions against Addis Ababa and to support the Ethiopian people on their path to peace.
“The position of foreign powers, especially the United Nations and the European Union, to impose sanctions on Ethiopia harms the innocent citizens of the country and it is unacceptable to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign country,” they said in a joint statement collected by the ENA news agency.
Thus, they have “strongly” asked Western countries to “play their role in achieving peace and stability in Ethiopia, providing adequate logistics and professional support to the process without violating the country’s sovereignty.”
The Government of Ethiopia has accepted an invitation from the African Union to start peace talks on October 24. In this sense, the Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, has assured that the country “is ready” for these negotiations that will take place in South Africa.
Before the scheduled meeting of the UN Security Council on Ethiopia for this Friday, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has explained on his official Twitter profile that he supports the statement by the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres.
Borrell was referring to Guterres’ statements in which he warned that the situation in the country “is getting out of control” after the government of the African country has anticipated new attacks to regain control of airports in the Tigray region, in the north.
For Guterres “there is no military solution” to a conflict in this country in which “civilians are paying a horrible price”, since residential areas are, in many cases, the target of these incessant attacks.
For its part, the Ethiopian government questioned these statements by Guterres. Thus, the permanent representative of Ethiopia to the UN, Taye Atske Selassie, explained on his official Twitter profile that this position on the part of the secretary general was “unjustified”.
Parallel to the meeting of the UN Security Council, the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) has also held a session in which the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, has expressed his “serious concern” about the intensification of fighting in the north of the country.
Police in the capital Addis Ababa have announced that roads and paths will be closed on Saturday October 22 due to a scheduled demonstration against the position of the international community and Western powers.
The Government of Ethiopia has announced that it is preparing a new offensive to regain control of airports and other federal facilities in the Tigray region in an apparent escalation of a conflict for which Addis Ababa blames the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF). .
The constant exchange of attacks has ruined the prospects of a ceasefire and peace negotiations. The central administration has accused the TPLF of violating the agreements signed to try to calm tensions on three occasions, the last time in August of this year.
The Government has also defended in its note that the budding offensive will facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid to the local population. More than nine million people need this assistance in northern Ethiopia, but both the UN and other NGOs working on the ground have reported limitations on movement and even attacks on convoys.
