Africa-Press – Ethiopia. e Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Redwan Hussien met at his office on Thursday with a Norwegian delegation led by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway, Henrik Thune, and discussed bilateral issues and current situations in Ethiopia.
At the outset, Ambassador Redwan spoke on the long-term diplomatic
relations and cooperation between Ethiopia and Norway further appreciating
support for Ethiopia’s green economy and the reform agenda.
Norway has been vocal in expressing concern and putting pressure
on Ethiopia especially on human rights and humanitarian access issues during
the law enforcement campaign in the Tigray region.
Speaking on the conflict
in the north, the state Minister underscored that had there been efforts to
understand the inherent nature of the TPLF and the context in which the
conflict took place, the conflict would have concluded a long time ago.
Explaining the genesis of the conflict, Redwan wondered why some
forces of the international community preferred to echo the victimhood
narrative of the TPLF which actually was the belligerent group that attacked
government troops driven by greed and superiority complex.
Ambassador Redwan walked the Norwegian delegation through the
steps taken to resolve the conflict in the Tigray region, mentioning the
release of prominent political figures from prison, the lifting of the state of
emergency, and commitments to have an inclusive national dialogue.
He said the federal troops did not enter into Tigray region and
the government scaled up efforts to address the challenges of humanitarian
access issues in the region.
Overturning all the positive measures by the government, the TPLF
chose to launch new attacks in the Northern Afar Region, affecting the
humanitarian corridor and the aid supply process.
A viable solution to end the conflict in the north is to squarely
condemn the TPLF for committing atrocities and failing to reciprocate the peace
overtures of the federal government, he said.
Unless
the international community holds the TPLF accountable for its crimes and
ceases to embolden the group’s intransigence through deliberate silence, there
would be no peaceful conclusion to the conflict, the State Minister
underscored.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway, Thune, on his part, said
his country encourages all the recent positive steps taken by the Ethiopian
government toward peace.
He also thanked Ambassador Redwan for addressing his concerns
candidly and reiterated that his country, as a principle, is concerned over the
humanitarian and human rights issues related to the conflict in the North.
He said the Ethiopian government’s concern over the international
community’s partial treatment of the conflict that favored the TPLF is
understandable.
The discussion between
the two sides also included the peace efforts of Olusegun Obasanjo which they
noted should be supported to conclude the conflict peacefully under the
auspices of the African Union.
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