ADDIS ABABA – Sudan’s unfair claim for the land of a sovereign Ethiopia is a futile attempt to exaggerate the current Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) stalemate and to create havoc on the completion of the dam, so remarked Prof. Yacob Arsano.
Political Science and International Relations Instructor Prof. Yacob Arsano, told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that the recent Sudanese claim for the land of Benishangul Gumuz is a conspiracy to baffle Ethiopia’s endeavor to complete the construction of the dam within the scheduled time.
Prof. Yacob, who is also a Researcher on Nile Waters, underscored that Sudanese claim over the land of Ethiopia is a trivial attempt to divert the Ethiopians’ attention from completing the construction. The plot was orchestrated by the Sudanese and Egyptians hopping to trigger boundary dispute among the people of Ethiopia.
He further noted that the government is thoughtfully following up the progress of the construction and all possible deeds to carry out the second Dam filling as per the set plan. All the preconditions for the filling have thus been fulfilled.
Sudanese and Egyptians have been engaging in trilateral agreement hopping that Ethiopia would sign a binding agreement that could prevent it from utilizing the water resource. Ethiopia would never enter into such an agreement as it is a sovereign country possessing the right to utilize its natural resource without causing significant harm to the neighboring countries, he confirmed.
The countries have been trying their best to hinder Ethiopia’s ambition of completing the project thereby generating power supply, he emphasized. Sudanese ambitious claim over the land of Ethiopia would generate a lasting enmity between the people of Ethiopia, and it would also affect the fraternity and regional cooperation between the two people.
The claim, as well, violates the UN’s charter which urges the member states to refrain from threatening the territorial integrity or political independence of any state by the use of force. Ethiopia will complete the developmental projects despite the countries attempt to standstill them. The violence may backfire to Sudan, as to him. Ethiopians have discerned the fact that Sudan will regret for doing this crime in the long term, he stressed.
BY GETAHUN LEGESSE
The Ethiopian Herald may 11/2021
