Haile Gebresilassie Blames Int'l Media for Unbalanced Report on Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, September 9/2021(ENA)   The world-renowned Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebresilassie has blamed some international media for their biased and unbalanced report on Ethiopia’s internal affairs and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Approached by ENA, Haile said “I used to think that the international media, including the big ones, and also their social media were balanced.”

But “when they report about the things I know, I see that they report them in different ways. When I see such news, I ask what is going on,” Haile added.

He commented that they are not reporting as a journalist, the celebrated athlete pointed out that “you have to report the things you have seen and leave the judgment to the people not just yourself.”

Haile is also surprised by the calls of meetings about Ethiopia’s internal issues at the UNSC every two weeks or so by some Western countries and organizations.

He said “we have, of course, problems in the country right now. But the quarrel is among brothers.”

The renowned athlete further said, “I want to say one thing to the international media or community. We are facing lots of problems, but that is mainly because of the dam we are building.”

According to him, the world is unfair with regard to the GERD. Imagine what they would have said, if the water came from Egypt to Ethiopia. They would certainly defend Egypt, he argued.

“What is important to us now is to come together. We need this electricity badly as 60 percent of our population is without electricity. If I tell this fact to the people who live in Europe or America, they will be shocked. They will not even believe me,” the celebrated athlete noted.  

Haile added that there is no any nation in this world with 60 percent of its population without electricity.

In his message to some Western countries and international organizations that are meddling in Ethiopia’s internal affairs, Haile said “please don’t interfere in the internal affairs of Ethiopia. When you touch Ethiopia you will pay the price.”