Eritrean Troops in Tigray & more –28th Sep 2023

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 28th of September twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

Let’s kick off this edition with some news on the Eritrean forces that refuse to leave Tigray.

Ten months ago, the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (or TPLF) signed the Pretoria Peace Agreement ending a two-year-long war. During the war, the federal government received support from Eritrean armed personnel, who entered Tigray and attacked the TPLF. According to the peace agreement, since the war was over, Eritrean forces would leave Tigray. However, for the past ten months, there have been consistent allegations that Eritrean forces haven’t left. The most recent allegation came last week on Friday the 22nd from the deputy governor of the Tigray region’s eastern zone. He said that Eritrean soldiers have taken full and partial control of seven sub-districts in the zone. The deputy governor called on the federal government to enforce the provisions of the Pretoria peace agreement.

The TPLF held a closed meeting last week and released a statement on Monday the 25th saying that although the Pretoria peace agreement has brought about many positive changes, there’s still a long way to go if the agreement is to be implemented in full. In the statement, the TPLF also requested that political discussions begin immediately, resettle internally displaced Tigrayans, and asked for a budget that could help rebuild places and infrastructure the war has damaged.

Still in Tigray, its president Getachew Reda said in a press release that a mourning day will be declared next week throughout the region as a tribute to all those who were killed and injured during the war. President Reda said that if Tigrayans want relative peace to be brought about, they must not forget the sacrifices of the thousands that have fallen.

Moving on, The US Agency for International Development (or USAID) halted donations to Ethiopia and refugees are at risk.

The country hosts a high number of refugees. In fact, the country consistently makes the world’s top 10 list of hosts, with over nine hundred thousand refugees. Ethiopia relies on the donations of government and non-government organizations to help these refugees. One of these organizations is the USAID. After widespread allegations of aid diversions, the USAID stopped sending donations to Ethiopia. The Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs said that the lack of these donations is putting many refugees at risk. The Agency also said that concerned parties must take action immediately or the situation could deteriorate, adding that talks are underway and there’s hope that donations will resume soon.

In some good news, the country has retrieved various historic artifacts from the Brits.

In the middle of the 19th century, Emperor Tewodros the Second ruled Ethiopia. Before his ascension to the throne, the empire was divided into several kingdoms. Tewodros considered himself a Godsend, waged war on the chieftains, and united what is present-day central, northern Ethiopia. During his reign, the British invaded Ethiopia to try and free English missionaries that Tewodros arrested. Emperor Tewodros, refusing to surrender to the British, killed himself on the spot. After their incursion, the British took the Emperor’s son and other valuable artifacts. The prince died in England and the artifacts remained there as well.

Fast forward to Friday the 22nd, the Ethiopian Embassy in London announced that it had retrieved various artifacts the British stole during the invasion. These artifacts include a replica of a sacred tablet: the Tablets of Law, known in Amharic and Ge’ez as Tabot. The country has also retrieved shields that were used in wars, and a lock of hair of the prince. Ethiopia’s ambassador to the UK said that these artifacts cannot be considered lightly as they are the representation of the history, culture, and identity of an ancient nation.

Next up…The UN Security Council has five permanent members with veto power and ten rotating members. However, none of the five permanent member states are African states. The continent has consistently called for a permanent seat in the council and at the forefront of these calls has been Ethiopia. At a meeting held on Thursday the 21st, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen made this call again saying that it is time for a fair, democratic, and representative security council.

In more medical news, The Ethiopian Cancer Society has urged the public to pay attention as cancer in the country is reaching a critical stage. The Society’s medical director said that more than sixty thousand people are being diagnosed with cancer every year, with a significant number passing away. He explained that the number of cancer patients has increased because of inadequate physical exercise, unhealthy diets, exposure to dangerous chemicals, and increased consumption of alcohol. He also said that seventy percent of people diagnosed with cancer only consult doctors after the disease has reached a severe stage.

Moving on to the business world, Russia’s ambassador to Ethiopia has revealed that Russian carmaker Lada will manufacture cars in the country. The cars assembled in Ethiopia aim at getting into the African market. The country recently got admitted to the BRICS bloc, a group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. This move illustrates the benefits Ethiopia gets from joining the group.

Algeria’s Air Algerie has announced that it has begun operating direct flights to and from Addis and Algeira’s capital Algiers. The company made its inaugural flight on Friday the 22nd. Ethiopia’s ambassador to Algeria said that the flight opens a new chapter in the bilateral relations of the two African countries.

However, that wasn’t the only news concerning the aviation industry. On Tuesday the 26th, Ethiopian Airlines announced that it is going to increase the number of flights to Guangzhou, China to ten flights a week. This plan will take effect next month, on the 11th of October. The airline currently has six destinations in China. Fun fact, Ethiopian Airlines is the first aviation company that has flown to China. That’s right! The Ethiopian Airlines flew to Shanghai for the first time, more than fifty years ago, in February nineteen seventy-three.

And now, some sports news. Ethiopia is world famous for its world-class long-distance athletes. The Berlin Marathon was held on Sunday the 24th and Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa won. She had already won the competition last year, however, this time, she also broke the world record by a staggering two minutes. After the race, she said that even though she’d always wanted to break the world record, she didn’t think she would do it that day. When asked about representing her country in next year’s Paris Olympics, she said that the decision rests with Ethiopia’s Olympic Committee.

To close this edition, the finding of the True Cross of Jesus Christ is one of the major national holidays in Ethiopia. This year, it was celebrated on Wednesday the 27th and Thursday the 28th. On Wednesday, when celebrations began, Christians in Addis flocked to Meskel Square, the biggest square in the capital city, and attended the ceremony. This event is a reproduction of the process of finding the True Cross, which was lost for about three hundred years until Queen and Saint Helena, an empress of the Roman Empire, burned a large bonfire and followed the smoke that led to the Cross. In Ethiopia, every year, mainly at the Meskel Square and in Churches and neighborhoods, bonfires are burned to commemorate how the True Cross was found.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

This Ethiopia Rorshok Update is one of the country-specific podcasts we do.

But we've been experimenting with other topics, and we have a new show about the Arctic, where we update you on everything going on North of the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Update is the third of the new series, along with the Ocean and Multilateral Updates.

You can look for them in your podcast listening app of choice or follow the links in the show notes! Tell your friends!

Ciao!