BY ADDISALEM MULAT
In another attempt to cow Ethiopia into submission, the US is bracing for another foreign policy failure working on imposing the H.R.6600 and S3199 bills that would carry unprecedented ramifications on Ethiopia and beyond.
The bills that are now on the pipeline target the victim and embolden the criminal group that opened the salvo in the conflict in the northern parts of the country.
In the face of heightened tensions and massacres, many rights groups paid activists and others have been partaking in whitewashing the honest truth and mystifying the international community. Albeit the US and western nations understand what is at stake, they have been persistently skipping the huge elephant in the room and retracting the unembellished fact by showing sympathy to the criminal TPLF group.
From a moral standpoint, the US should endeavor to look inwards to see outwards the situation being upended by the terrorist group. It is no secret that many have been stunned by the chaos and misery caused by the terrorist TPLF group. In a number of instances, the amnesty international and other groups have laid bare atrocities perpetrated by the group despite the inappropriately named international media outlets remain tight-lipped and cry crocodile tears.
Instead of pulling out all the stops to impose the H.R.6600 bill on Ethiopia, the US should be able to recalibrate its policy in a way that helps resolve predicaments in an atmosphere of calm.
Turning a blind eye to the veracity will play a significant role in rupturing the longstanding relations of the two nations. It should be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and the sheep from the goat. Above and beyond, rather than upping the ante, the US should make an effort to turn the tide in the shortest possible time.
Regarding H.R.6600 a number of scholars have been expressing their disappointment over the US and its allies’ mischief over their sought-after goal.
“The two bills are very harsh and uncalled for imposing sanctions on Ethiopia. In fact, both bills would infringe on Ethiopian sovereignty and set up Ethiopia essentially to be a government controlled and monitored by branches of the US government,” the American analyst told Ethiopian News Agency.
The draft bills are very draconian on the Ethiopian government and threaten to withhold money from even the World Bank and IMF.
Freeman strongly believes that the ongoing threat is a result of geopolitical establishment to weaken the Ethiopian government.
According to him, “these bills are part of a policy which is ongoing by the United States geopolitical establishment to weaken the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed” because they want to control the internal politics of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
The analyst cited, for instance, an article published in the Washington Post calling for harsher sanctions aimed at the prime minister himself.
“My concern is that the geopolitical establishment wants to weaken the prime minister and wants to promote the TPLF so that the Government of Ethiopia cannot carry on its own independent sovereign policy.”
In this regard, Freeman stressed that Ethiopia need to understand that the manipulation is being used against the prime minister and his government.
“The manipulation is being used by playing the resolutions in the House and Senate as the harsh hard cap and then trying to appear to have Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that the state department really wants to cooperate with him.” The truth is both are going on at the same time to manipulate the Government of Ethiopia, he added.
Acknowledging that Ethiopia and America have been showing a positive gesture to elevate the historical diplomatic ties, the analyst expounded that this could be a great step when the Biden Administration and Antony Blinken’s State Department were promoting a policy of regime change earlier.
However, he expressed his suspicion that regime change has been replaced by regime castration, that is to weaken the central government by playing up the ethnicity group TPLF.
The unwarranted intervention efforts of the U.S. and some western nations in Ethiopia’s domestic affairs are the major challenge the country has been faced with after the Tigray War.
“Supporting the premises of H.R. 6600 and S3199 is considered as the modern Wuchale Treaty targeting at hurting Ethiopia tilting down to the guilty terrorist TPLF. After the northern conflict, some six resolutions have been formulated, presented to the U.S. Congress, and even discussed as hearings. Americans stance on Ethiopia depends on their own interest,” said EACC Chairperson Deacon Yoseph Teferi stated that the elaborated.
“Surprisingly, the US expounds the issue of Tigray human rights violation and other issues rejecting all that is exercised in all other parts of the county by the terrorist TPLF group. It has shown bias and partisan stance. This is not a new approach, of course, for it as it has one this all in other countries of the world, too, to put administration it would love that satisfies their interest, a lapdog administration to intervene in countries at ease.
Sadly, Congress members and other officials are not willing to see the grave destructions of the terrorist TPLF group as their mission is not protecting human rights, ensuring peace and security, and providing citizens with relief, instead they always run to keep their own interest. If they had entertained a balanced move and rotated on the right trajectory, they wouldn’t have overlooked the terrorist TPLF’s untold atrocities, among others, war crimes, grave human rights violations, child soldier recruitment.
“The U.S. State Department and even the Congress have seen the fundamental premise of S3199, which was deliberately orchestrated to hurt Ethiopia saying, ‘Gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, war crimes, crime against humanity, genocide, and other atrocities in Ethiopia,” he added.
A senior political analyst Ephrem Madebo told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that H.R. 6600 and S.3199 resolutions would not bring what the U.S. claimed-peace and prosperity in Ethiopia, it would rather immensely disrupt the livelihoods of the low-income community.
After a telephone conversation between U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D.), it was hoped that the two-year-old diplomatic strain between the two countries would be improved and understanding would be created.
Notwithstanding this positive gesture, the U.S. democrats tabled controversial and malicious bills namely H.R. 6600 and S. 3199 that immensely affect Ethiopia’s economy and the wellbeing of its people, Ephrem added.
“As it has happened elsewhere, the new resolutions would harm the people of Ethiopia, but could never generate what the U.S. wants to achieve. H.R. 6600 intends to crush Ethiopia’s economy by forbidding loans and assistance from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other international organizations. The draft law even bars Ethiopian Diasporas from sending money to home through legal channels.”
The analyst recommended that the Ethiopian government has to execute meticulous diplomacy considering the seriousness of the bills and make the approach to the U.S. lawmakers with a view to convincing them not to pass the resolutions.
The government has to expose the lies of TPLF lobbyists with concrete evidence and nullify the faction’s trademark habit of presenting itself as the victim of the conflict to the global community.
The draft bills HR6600 and S3199 infringe Ethiopia’s sovereignty and are intent on setting up Ethiopia controlled by the US government,” Africa political-economic analyst Lawrence Freeman noted.
It is to be recalled that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen called on Ethiopians in the Diaspora to protest HR6600. He made the call during his virtual discussion with the Ethiopian Diaspora Community leaders and representatives based in the U.S, according to information obtained from MoFA.
He said HR6600 and S3199 are drafted to nullify the struggles and regress achievements of Ethiopians all over the world in protecting the sovereignty of their country.
The resolutions are designed to make the country dependent on the goodwill of others to advance its political, economic, and security interests, besides severing the relationships between the Ethiopian Diaspora with the homeland, he added.
The Deputy Prime Minister appreciated the multifaceted support of Ethiopians in the Diaspora extended to Ethiopia during its fight against external intervention in its internal matters further calling the Diaspora to demonstrate the same kind of support in protesting against the proposed resolutions.
He also explained the government’s measures taken to ensure lasting peace and stability in the country. Ethiopia and the US should strive to further cement their historical and longstanding ties, but Ethiopia would not accept hand-twisting attempts stressing that the protection of the country’s sovereignty is non-negotiable.
Ethiopian Ambassador to the US, Fitsum Arega, on his part, stressed the need to employ all forms of communication to contact senators and members of the congress to make them understand the dangers of the resolutions to the relationships between the two countries and the people of Ethiopia in general.
The Ethiopian Herald March 29/2022
