The Ethiopian government has been endeavoring to resolve quandaries that have been surfacing in the northern part of the country going the extra mile. Notwithstanding the fact that the blame lies with the terrorist TPLF group, westerns have been turning a blind eye to the unvarnished truth.
Since a couple of years ago, the policies of the US and its allies towards Ethiopia have been getting off track. Fed wrong information by the media and misled by some paid activists and politicians, Washington has been adopting adverse policies against Ethiopia.
It is to be recalled that the US has imposed sanctions on Ethiopia’s and African Growth, and Opportunity Act that have already made low-income employees for the most part women jobless.
Even worse, in the present climate, the US has been working on the HR6600 resolution against Ethiopia that would result in direct fallout on the Ethiopian people.
Nowadays, regarding the issue, scholars, experts, Diasporas, media, and other influential people have been tossing a number of ideas around. Washington’s act has been drawing sharp condemnation.
H.R. 6600 bill has various negative impacts that need to be condemned by all Ethiopians. Ethiopians, especially Ethiopian Diasporas residing across the globe, should play a significant role in deploring the bill, said Lawrence Freeman, Political-Economic Analyst for Africa.
“The U.S., under the guise of genocide, and a crime against humanity wants to implement various harsh sanctions that would include the involvement of the UN and NATO, holding funds provided by IMF and WB, U.S. development, and other forms of assistance. Besides, it is imperative to have a strategic understanding of the geopolitical motivation to use H.R. 6600 as a means to force Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to submit to U.S. demands in the Horn of Africa,” he added.
He went on to note that for the Bill to reach this level, President Joe Biden’s Administration has implicit and explicit support. Therefore, Ethiopians shouldn’t fool themselves and need to cooperate against the bill.
Compromising Ethiopia’s interest and trying to work with the U.S. government emanates from poor understanding as the latter all the time seeks solely its strategic situations and benefits. Besides, the Biden Administration uses trade especially, removing Ethiopia from AGOA as a weapon that could be taken as unprecedented measures, he stressed.
He further stressed that the U.S. should act to hold TPLF accountable for committing an atrocity in the Amhara and Afar states instead of accusing the Ethiopian government that has been striving to bring political transition to the country. Many factions, including external forces, have been utilizing ethnic federalism to their own political advantages. Consequently, Ethiopia should keep apart from actions that promote the TPLF federalism concept that weaken and expose the country to external power.
In a similar way, the Ethiopian Diaspora community slammed the United States Congress H.R.6600 bill. Appearing in a YouTube-based Hermela TV, leaders of the Ethiopian diaspora community denounced the bill as it will target to sanction the economy, development, and security of Ethiopia.
The American-Ethiopian Public Affairs Committee Chairperson Mesfin Tegenu said that enacting the bill would be against the progressive democratic measures in Ethiopia. “TPLF and its affiliated entities have refused to do anything close to do what would make sense to bring peace. And then, the bill comes here by the U.S. officials, which actually puts further flaming.
The chairman further noted that prisoners have been released and several activities that are supposed to be taken were requested by the West.
Be that as it may, a member of Social Justice Advocate from Denver, Colorado, Nebiyu Asfaw also described the bill as a tool for sanction. It is not a bill that will bring peace and stability. If it is put into practice, it will seriously baffle Ethiopia’s effort for civilization and democracy.
“Over the past five decades, U.S. sanctions (in many countries) have caused more deaths than creating peace zones. So this bill against Ethiopia is extremely dangerous.”
Glean Global Ethiopian-Americans Advocacy Nexus member from Virginia, Gennet Negussie said for her part that the bill is absolutely critical for Ethiopians. H.R. 6600 has just mentioned none of the violations by TPLF; which is just not even a balanced one and is punitive.
“Moreover, the bill is about revoking economic development and opportunities to make loans or financial gains and technical assistance. It will further let other allies block or limit from support; which would create another problem,” she elaborated.
In a similar way, a number of media outlets have been condemning the action of the US on Ethiopia over and over again.
EriStaruk Media has called for a coordinated effort of the members of Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali Diasporas in the U.S. to successfully defend their respective countries against H.R. 6600 bill passed by House Foreign Affairs Committee, and U.S. aggression as well.
The bill has directed the U.S. government to limit development aid and visa issuance specifically targeting the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea and passed based on the mistaken conviction taking the countries’ aid need, as a weak side, into account, media said.
As the bill would like to get Ethiopia imposed in many aspects, the government, citizens, and the Diasporas of the Horn of Africa have to move in unison to well avert the move.
The three countries have the right to pursue their own political vision for the Horn of Africa since they bring better collective peace prosperity and growth to the region and refuse to talk with the terrorist organization, the media stated.
Biden’s administration and the sponsors of H.R. 6600 ignore terrorist TPLF’s severe atrocities and its stubborn stance to accept the ceasefire in June 2021 and offensive acts in Afar and Amhara states.
The U.S. administration has deliberately been mute about the terrorist TPLF’s association with terrorist Shene forces and their targeted mass executions of ethnic Amhara and Afar.
By the same token, appearing in a local media, a member of the U.S.-based EThub Taskforce Yosef Biru said, Diaspora Ethiopians need to understand the consequence the bill would put on Ethiopia’s financial transaction, purchasing of conventional weapons, and flow of international aid. Ethiopians should actively participate in denouncing the bill by making phone calls and sending emails to members of Congress.
The task force has been carrying out various activities to inform the community about the negative impact the ill-conceived bill would put on Ethiopia’s economy. Some Ethiopian Diasporas are pushing the U.S government to accept the draft bill as law so as to achieve their narrow-minded and greedy motives.
Noting that the ill-intended individuals are working in tandem with enemies of Ethiopia, he stressed that the former are misleading the people by saying the Ethiopian government is pressuring them. The activity of these people is far from the normal way of expressing discontent and it endangers the wellbeing of the people of Ethiopia.
“If the draft bill would leave its name ‘Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace and Democracy’, the idea would have been acceptable but it would only harm the people of Ethiopia and distract its economic growth.” To counter the situation, the task force is undertaking several activities including informing the U.S. lawmakers of the negative impact the bill brings on the low-income Ethiopians who have no direct relations with politics.
By the same token, members of the task force held discussions with Zimbabweans who have similar experiences learned that the bill hugely affected the latter’s industries and sank Zimbabwean people into deep poverty.
The bill’s entitlement of the U.S government, a ‘right’ to meddle in Ethiopia’s internal affairs would damage the two countries’ longstanding diplomatic ties.
Cognizant of the H.R. 6600 stands at the 8th position to be enacted by the U.S. Congress, Ethiopian Diasporas should actively participate and oppose the bill in every way possible, Yosef pleaded.
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 9 MARCH 2022
