APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The government in Addis Ababa has rejected a statement by the US Department of State on alleged human rights crimes committed during the two–year conflict in northern Ethiopia as “untimely, selective and inflammatory.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia dismissed the state’s statement saying it ”blanket condemnations and unfairly apportions blame.”
“The government of Ethiopia does not accept the blanket condemnations contained in the statement and does not see any value in such a unilateral and adversarial approach,” the statement said.
The Ethiopian government has accused Washington of becoming a “partisan’ by alleging the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces as well as Amhara militias had committed war crimes during the conflict in northern Ethiopia.
“The Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF), and Amhara forces committed crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and persecution,” the US Department of State said on Monday in statement, without mentioning forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a party of the crimes.
The ministry said considering the report of the Joint Investigation by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the US’ statement does not contain new findings.
“The statement is selective as it unfairly apportions blame among different parties in the conflict. For no apparent reason, the statement appears to exonerate one party from certain allegations of human rights such as rape and other forms of sexual violence despite the clear and overwhelming evidence about its culpability,” the ministry’s statement said.
The government of Ethiopia dismissed the US’ statement as ‘untimely’ and it calls for further investigations into allegations of the kinds of crimes the statement alleges.
“The investigations will consolidate those undertaken by the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce implementing the recommendations of the EHRC and the OHCHR.
Noting that the US statement is ‘inflammatory’, the ministry said whatever the intentions of the US Department of State; its statement will be used to advance highly polarised campaigns pitting one community against others in the country.
“This partisan and divisive approach from the US is ill-advised” said the ministry in the statement, blaming the US for failing to provide support for an inclusive peace process in Ethiopia.
Allegations of Ethiopia against the US came two days after the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Ethiopia aiming at mending bilateral relations.
The government of Ethiopia hopes that despite the US’s statement, the frank discussions held and understanding reached during the Secretary of State’s visit to Ethiopia will help restore the strategic relations between Ethiopia and the United States.
The ministry further said the government of Ethiopia will continue implementing all measures of accountability, including finalising the nationwide consultation on transitional justice and ensuring that justice is done for all victims.
MG/as/APA