Biden’s Leadership Striving Hard to Revive Terrorist TPLF through Sanctions: Scholars

Addis Ababa, September 22/2021(ENA) Joe Biden’s Executive Order, which seeks to impose harsh sanctions against Ethiopia, intends to pressurize the government to negotiate with the terrorist TPLF, according to scholars.

An executive order signed last Friday by U.S. President Joe Biden authorizes sanctions against parties "that are prolonging conflict in northern Ethiopia."

The order undermines Ethiopia's sovereignty and it denies the crimes committed by the TPLF to dismember the country, scholars told ENA.

Hawassa University Political Science lecturer, Negus Belay said that the executive order puts the government and TPLF on equal footing and “this is unacceptable to any one country.”

According to him, “the Biden Administration is trying to convey the message that there are two equal governments in Ethiopia and they have equal power. This is an insult to the Ethiopian people who casted their votes last June 2021 for the current government.”

He noted that the US Executive Order to pressurize Ethiopia came at a time when the terrorist TPLF suffered great losses in the Afar and Amhara regions it invaded, and the country is preparing to establish a new government.  

The timing has clearly exposed the real intention of America that has been striving to save the TPLF and obstruct the establishment of a new elected government, Negus added.

“Now the president has signed an Executive Order with precondition that the Ethiopian government negotiate with the terrorist TPLF. Beyond that, I think the Americans want to disrupt the establishment of a new government and empower its puppets.”

Moreover, the executive order does not take into account the crimes committed by the TPLF since November 4, 2020 when  the terrorist group unleashed attack on the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF).

Kotobe Metropolitan University Law and History lecturer, Almaw Kifle said this is a desperate effort to save the terrorist TPLF which is considered an agent for Western powers not only in Ethiopia but also in the Horn of Africa.

“This executive order is an attempt by the current US Administration to throw lifeline to the terrorist TPLF, which has been serving the interest of Westerners in the East African region. Therefore, the American government is pushing economic, political and cultural pressures against the government in power.” 

According to Almaw, Ethiopians should not be surprised at the U.S has been doing. This is part of the effort to threaten the Ethiopian government and revive the conflict enterprise that has  long been serving the interest of the West.

The lecturer also appreciated Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Open Letter to President Joe Biden that reflects the position of the government to defend the national interest and sovereignty of the country.

In his immediate response to the executive order, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed wrote: “As a long-time friend, strategic ally and partner in security, the United States’ recent policy against my country comes not only as a surprise to our proud nation, but evidently surpasses humanitarian concerns.”