By Getahun Tsegaye @GetahunTsegay12
Addis Abeba – Ambassador Dina Mufti discussed the S.3199 bill at today’s biweekly press briefing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The spokesperson noted that the S.3199 bill has not been suspended and underlined that efforts to stop the passing of both S.3199 and H.R.6600 bills should continue.
The spokesperson explained that reports that claimed the suspension of the S.3199 bill are unfounded and called upon all Ethiopians to not be distracted by such news.”Ethiopians and concerned stakeholders should continue their efforts to stop the ratification of these two bills which will hurt our country,” Ambassador Dina said.
S.3199-11th Congress (2021-22) bill was introduced in the Senate on April 11th of 2021 to address U.S. efforts to support a peaceful, democratic Ethiopia and bring an end to the conflict in northern Ethiopia.H.R.6600-117th Congress (2021-2022) bill was introduced in the House on April 2nd of 2022 to impose sanctions and to address other issues related to the conflict in Ethiopia.
The media house asked the spokesperson if Olusegun Obasanjo, the High Representative of the Horn of Africa, has come up with any resolution in connection with the ongoing war in Ethiopia to which replied,” Obasanjo is still investigating and has not officially reported any solution yet,” adding,” it does not mean he’s not doing anything but the nature of peace talks and reconciliation is very complex and it will take time for him to wind up.
Ambassador Dina also discussed the border conflict between Ethiopia and Sudan. “The border conflict between these two countries has been so erratic and we cannot say exactly when but efforts will continue to resolve the matter diplomatically once Sudan’s internal instability is handled,” he said.
The Spokesperson further discussed the U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa David Satterfield. He stated that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonnen met the special envoy and held talks regarding the Ethiopian government’s efforts to address the unhindered humanitarian crisis in the country and all possible peace resolutions in connection with the ongoing war in the country. The media house asked Ambassador Dina if he knew that the special envoy would step down from his role. “I have no idea how true this news is,” he replied.
Ambassador Dina was asked by the media house if Ethiopia had any particular reason to vote against the UN General Assembly adoption of a resolution on April 7 calling for Russia to be suspended from the Human Rights Council. “Ethiopia does not have any special interest in voting against the resolution. We strongly believe that ousting Russia from the Human Rights Council will not help end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We strongly recommend the two countries resolve their differences peacefully,” he explained.
It is to be recalled that the resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting, minus abstentions, in the 193-member Assembly, with 93 nations voting in favor and 24 against. Ethiopia was among those 24 countries that voted against the resolution.
Before winding up the presser, Ambassador Dina discussed the repatriation of Ethiopian citizens to Saudi Arabia. He said that among the 750,000 Ethiopians that are residing in Saudi Arabia, 450,000 of them are illegal migrants. “The Ethiopian government has started repatriating its citizens by conducting three flights in a week and efforts shall continue to bring them all home,” he said. AS
