US envoy urges ceasefire, dialogue in Ethiopia conflict, Abiy Ahmed and OLA Response

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US envoy urges ceasefire, dialogue in Ethiopia conflict, Abiy Ahmed and OLA Response

In a major policy address yesterday, United States Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin J. Massinga called on all parties involved in the ongoing conflict to pursue "a temporary nationwide ceasefire" and inclusive political dialogue. 

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 Massinga addressed the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) in Oromia, stating, "You made a genuine effort to reach a deal at the negotiating table in Dar es Salaam. Don't give up. Make the effort to rebuild trust and seek the peace for which there is overwhelming public support.

" Regarding the Fano militants in Amhara, the ambassador said, "Your rejection of dialogue does not serve you well. As in other parts of Ethiopia, it is innocent civilians who are suffering at the result of the continued fighting in battles.

" Massinga urged the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to resolve issues like the return of internally displaced persons through "an inclusive, orderly, and dignified process" rather than attempting to retake territory by force.

The ambassador stated to the Ethiopian government, "The country has far more to gain through peace than on the battlefield. A security-focused approach will not resolve complex political issues." He suggested releasing key political figures could facilitate productive political dialogue.

Ethiopia Govt Opposed the Ambassador Speech . 

 

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Oromo Liberation Army OLF-OLA  answer

On 15 May 2024, Ambassador Ervin Massinga of the US delivered a brief speech on what they referred to as “Policy Speech on Human Rights and Dialogue.” As usual, Abiy`s MFA responded with a hodgepodge of superlatives. We`ll review this revealing presser sentence by sentence. 1. “On 15 May 2024, the Ambassador of the United States of America in Addis Ababa read a Statement called Policy Speech on Human Rights and Dialogue containing allegations and unsolicited advice to the Government of Ethiopia on how best to run the affairs of the country and mention groups bent on overthrowing the Elected Government by force… ” When a group is nosediving a country of 120 million and destabilizing an already troubled and geo-strategically significant region, it should brace itself for more unsolicited advice. Your actions have consequences not just in Ethiopia but further afield. A group that does not want unsolicited advice halts its sabotage in Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, and the rest of the Horn. It attempts to be a government instead of a coterie of warmongers and park enthusiasts who relish the extermination of political opposition. The other revealing objection seems to be the mention of resistance movements in the Ambassador`s address. A mere mention! When you take issues with a mere mention of the opposition by a third party attempting to mediate, it is clear that you do not recognize the very problem being mediated, without which you couldn’t be interested in genuine dialogue. It is yet another reveal that the regime has no interest whatsoever in resolving the conflict through dialogue and all the rounds of peace talks it conducted have only been a tactical co-optation platform. 2. “The statement is ill-advised and contains uninformed assertions.” If there was anything resembling `uninformed` in the Ambassador`s address, it was building up the regime as if it tried to strike a balance between the protection of the state and respect for civil liberties in its response to resistance movements. The regime is demonstrably protecting neither. The state has become the prosperity party. 3. “It is contrary to the historic and friendly relations between Ethiopia and the US.” The truest expression of friendship between the two countries is protecting the people of the country from the regime`s trajectory to the abyss. Much more is expected in this regard. 4. “The ministry will work with the Embassy of the US in Addis…It will suggest better ways befitting diplomatic decorum.” The only thing the regime is interested in is to have the embassy parrot its talking points.

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