ADDIS ABABA- (HAN) May 7. 2021. Public Diplomacy and Regional Stability Initiatives News. Monitoring Regional Issues. BY: LEULSEGED WORKU. In his recent response to the joint letter of the five U.S. Senators on the current issue of Ethiopia, Ambassador Fitsum Arega said the upcoming 6th general elections would be a historic milestone in the political transformation of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Ambassador to the U.S. Fitsum reiterated that the June 5th election would be a defining moment in Ethiopia ‘s transformation into a genuine multiparty representative democracy.
In his letter , he also called on the U.S. to support the Ethiopian government in its efforts of meeting international electoral standards. Currently, 47 political parties, 8,209 party candidates and 125 independent individuals are registered to participate in the upcoming election, it was learnt.
Accordingly, the Ethiopian National Electoral Board -an independent electoral body-is taking all the responsibility to organize, conduct and election related
activities. The Board would administer the electoral process neutrally and impartially and, the Judicial Institutions would operate independently to address election related disputes.
Regarding to the current situation in Tigray State of Ethiopia , he recalled that the crisis in the state started when the junta launched a devastating attack on Ethiopian National Defense Forces of the Northern Command on November 3,2020. Ethiopia adheres all international humanitarian and human rights obligations with utmost seriousness. As part of this effort, the government is unceasingly supporting the effort of international relief organizations in the Tigray State, Amb. Fitsum said.
He said that some isolated bands of TPLF combats have attacked relief workers. However, the Ethiopian government did not sit idle for smooth allocation of relief aid. It has taken action to ensure greater mobility, safety and security for aid workers. In his letter, Fitsum said, even if international organizations have been providing humanitarian assistance to the state , Ethiopian government has so far maintained the lions’ share (70 percent) of the aid .
Appreciating the generous humanitarian support from U.S government the Ambassador said, “It is our hope that international community will increase its humanitarian contributions to match the level of concern it has repeatedly expressed.”
Regarding humanitarian right abuse, Fitsum said that Ethiopian government takes seriously any allegations of human rights abuse in the region and the government is committed to bring into justice all individuals suspected of human right violation. “UN High Commission for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Right Commission are currently working to investigate human right abuses.”
BYLEULSEGED WORKU
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