BY ADDISALEM MULAT
As tension continues to mount in the Horn African region, last week, Egyptian President Al-Sisi has stopped in Khartoum for a brief time visit; many Sudanese people took to the street to protests his arrival though. His visit came amidst the upping of the ante along Ethio-Sudan border.
Prior to Sisi’s visit, previously, the two countries held joint military training in what many described as a show of force.
Sudan is which usually patronized by Egypt according to experts is taking a miscalculated course as it continues to dig its heels beating the drums of war against its longtime ally and neighbor, Ethiopia. Sisi’s recent visit is no different and on the subject of their discussion according to various media was Ethiopia. The two countries have been engaged in unholy alliance to destabilize not only Ethiopia but also the entire region. Lately, Egyptian media outlets said that Sudan and Egypt have warned Ethiopia against unilateral second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in response to the growing military alliance between the two countries
said that Ethiopia is unconcerned about the cooperation as long as it is their
sovereign matter. But the spokesperson did not hide the fact that the country
closely follows developments in the region to protect its interests.
In an interview The Ethiopian Press Agency MoFA’s spokesperson Ambassador Dina Mufti said that Ethiopia understands both Sudan and Egypt are sovereign states having ultimate right to forge any sort of agreement and it will not be concerned in the alliance unless the move posing a threat to its national interest.
“Ethiopia carefully follows and examines the development in the Sudan- Egypt overall relations and the military cooperation the two countries have recently inked in particular.”
He went on to say, “As the agreement was made between the two sovereign countries, there is no point we should be worried about their collaboration. However, if the alliance aims to harm and destabilize Ethiopia, it will be counterproductive for both signatories,”
Ambassador Mufti further highlighted that the situation in the Ethio-Susn border has not been improved due to the defiance of the Sudanese army to refrain from the provocation and unconditionally leave the occupied Ethiopian territories. Ethiopia is ready to solve the border dispute through negotiations and in a diplomatic manner in a moment the Sudanese Army returned to where they were before November 6, 2021.
Seconding the Ministry’s position, experts whom The Ethiopian Herald approached for comment said that the country must continue counting on its internal strength.
Bamlak Yideg, Head of the Department of Political Science and International relations at Gondar University said , “From my standpoint, what matters most is not the military alliance of Sudan and Egypt, but the unity of the people of Ethiopia.
During this critical time, Ethiopians should be united more than ever before. The military cooperation of the two nations does not hold water and bring any consequences by every possible means.
He stressed that aside from refraining from blaming one another, Ethiopians should place emphasis on living in peace and harmony. By hook or crook, they do not have to give room for Ethiopia’s opponents and expose their motherland to danger. Instead, they should resolve their differences in an orderly fashion through discussion.
In the current stage, Sudan and Egypt will not take the plunge to take up arms with Ethiopia despite the former beats the drums of war every once in a while. But the latter may get itself engaged in a proxy war. According to my way of thinking, in one way or another, the two nations will not open fire on Ethiopia to resolve the border dispute.
He further stressed that as the two nations know the fact that they cannot realize their dreams by taking up arms, they will move to stoke unrest in the country. Moreover, Sudan and Egypt will bring into play people who detest the wellbeing of the country and do not believe in Ethiopianism with a view to destabilizing the nation and causing political stability throughout the nation.
Needless to say, Ethiopia has the right to use its resources as it wishes for various development undertakings. However, against this background, the international communities have been getting off track for the love of keeping their interest. Notwithstanding the fact that they know the truth, most nations are not abided by the law, and endeavor persistently to stand by the side of Egypt and give priority to their advantage. One can understand from this the fact that international conventions are turning out to be fake ones.
“At the present time, it is patently obvious that Sudan is full of problems. More often than not, the county is stormed with protests and uprisings by reason of political and economic problems. Be that as it may, when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Sudan, most people embarked on protesting against him. Nowadays, on account of various reasons, the civilian government and the military ones in Sudan have been drifting apart,” he added.
“Nowadays, Ethiopia is leaning over backwards to resolve the border dispute in a peaceful manner and a civilized way. This shows the patience of the government. If the tension between the two nations continues, third parties would endeavor to get to the bottom of the problem. As we are living through tough times, all and sundry should stand by the side of the government,” he wrapped up.
Dr. Eng. Tilahun Erduno a commenter in current affairs of the country said for his part, “Egypt and Sudan know the fact that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will not cause any significant harm to downstream riparian countries. They know the truth more than Ethiopians do. If truth be told, Egypt has never endeavored to get to the bottom of its internal problems in a peaceful manner with Ethiopia. Since time immemorial, the issue of the Nile and Ethiopia has been used as first aid to their internal problems.
He elucidated that had our enemies thought about Ethiopia and its neighboring countries’ peace they would have urged Sudan to withdraw from the occupied Ethiopian territory almost immediately. But they did not do so. Even worse, they are heard saying Ethiopian peacekeeping forces should withdraw from the area where the law enforcement operation is being taken.
“The tension along Ethio-Sudan is covertly driven by vested interests in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD); we should keep on defending our territory without giving an inch of land to Sudan. Besides, we should attach importance to strengthen the security of GERD, consolidate the law enforcement operation and other related aspects. Most of the time, Ethiopia is invaded by foreign invaders when the country encounters internal problems.”
In spite of the ongoing smear campaigns and unholy alliances, the tripartite talks on GERD are expected to be resumed in the coming weeks, the spokesperson remarked.
The Ethiopian herald March 11/2021
