Premier Urges Ethiopians to Evade Resentment, Deepen Unity

ENA,January 13/2020 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on Ethiopian Diasporas to get out of resentment and deepen national unity.

Addressing Ethiopians in Johannesburg who turned out in large numbers on Sunday, the Prime Minister noted that Ethiopia has a glorious history in Africa saying “we need to take a lesson from our past experience and work cooperatively to develop the nation.”

Prime Minister Abiy who spastically addressed the overwhelming influx of Ethiopians from around the country gathered in the Imperial Wanderers Stadium said his government has made successful diplomacy that would enable the Diaspora community to live securely in South Africa.

Abiy noted that a fruitful deliberation has made with the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, to cooperate on issue of Ethiopians residing in South Africa and reached various agreements in this regard.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the government of South Africa has agreed to give a legal document to Ethiopians residing in the country and protect their rights under any circumstance.

Furthermore, President Ramaphosa has given a positive and encouraging response to resolve such challenges to Ethiopians residing in South Africa, he added.

“In this regard, the South  African government has pledged to establish a national committee at its Department of International Relations and Cooperation that could investigate any problem against Ethiopians and it will take a swift measure in case of incidence,” Premier Abiy revealed.

In the recent years, there was a wave of attacks across South Africa against refugees and migrants including Ethiopians that led to the death of many migrants and thousands displaced, it was indicated.

Those Diaspora community representatives coordinated by Ethiopian Embassy in South Africa are scheduled to hold a meeting with resident Cyril Ramaphosa, Abiy indicated.

In South Africa, Ethiopians are amongst the largest group of African immigrants, sprawling after Zimbabwean, Nigerians, Malawian and other neighboring countries.

According to the Migration Data Portal run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in 2017, South Africa was home to four million immigrants.