EU calls on Ethiopia to reconnect Tigray region to the world

  

Members of the Ethiopian Tigrayan community in South Africa protest against the Ethiopian government for what they call a civil war in Tigray and genocide on Tigray people, outside the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) in Pretoria, South Africa, 25 November 2020. [Yeshiel Panchia/EPA/EFE]

In light of a year-long partial blockage that has left food supplies for almost 1 million starving people trapped in warehouses without the gasoline to transport it, the European Union demands that Ethiopia's government reopen the northern Tigray area to the outside world.

 

The recent increase in aid convoys arriving in Tigray is a positive development, but Janez Lenarcic, the EU commissioner for crisis management, told reporters on Tuesday that "more needs to be done" before the EU normalizes relations with the 115 million-person country. Tigray is the second-most populous country in Africa, next to Nigeria.

 

“I do not see the rationale for keeping the blockade of banking services, electricity and telecommunications in place,” Lenarcic said, adding that the “partial blockade” of the Tigray region is hampering humanitarian efforts while 5.2 million people need aid after 19 months of conflict.

 

Tigray has been mostly cut off from the rest of Ethiopia after Tigray forcesre-captured the regional capital a year ago and federal forces withdrew. A truce declared by the government in March has led to a significant increase in aid reaching Tigray by road after months of deprivation.

 

Lenarcic urged Ethiopia's government to remove barriers preventing fuel and money from entering Tigray and suggested "monitoring systems" be set up to alleviate government concerns that Tigray troops would divert petroleum for military purposes.

 

The United Nations this month said enough food to feed 950,000 people is currently stuck in warehouses in the regional capital, Mekele, because there is not enough fuel to distribute it within Tigray after several fuel tankers were refused access to the region.

 

“We have a situation where the warehouses are full, but the aid cannot get out into the countryside where needs are highest,” Lenarcic said, and noted that many people in Tigray depend entirely on such aid because they cannot access money in their bank accounts.

 

Last year, amid reports of human rights abuses in the conflict, the EU suspended budgetary support for Ethiopia worth 88 million euros ($107 million).

 

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed this month announced the formation of a committee to handle negotiations with the Tigray forces, who were declared a terrorist group by the government last year.

 

“I do believe it should be possible for both sides to come to an agreement soon,” Lenarcic said. “It is urgent this happens.”

 

 

Source: AP