Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday dismissed allegations of ethnic cleansing of people in the Tigray region by US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken as unfounded and spurious verdict against the government in Addis Ababa.
Blinken’s accusations came during his testimony to the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on 10 March 2021.
The federal government undertook the law enforcement operations in the Tigray region with utmost precaution to avoid as much as possible collateral damage on civilians and civilian institutions, the statement indicated.
The ministry said during or after the end of the main law enforcement operation in Tigray can not be identified or defined by any standards as a targeted, intentional ethnic cleansing against anyone in the region.
“Over-blowing things out of proportion while the Ethiopian government has made its position unequivocally clear on the need for thorough investigation in collaboration with regional and international partners does not serve the purpose of justice other than unnecessarily politicizing the issue”, the statement said.
“The Ethiopian government attaches particular importance to its longstanding and strategic relations with the United States. It is committed to work closely with the current US administration in further strengthening and boosting this important bilateral relationship over the coming years.” statement added.
The Ethiopian government is certainly appreciative of the support by the US to the ongoing reform agenda and it always stands ready to continue holding frank exchange of views on bilateral and regional issues of common interests and concerns,it claimed.
MG/as/APA