Egyptian Media Trying to Fuel Conflict in Ethiopia: Arab Affairs Experts

Addis Ababa November 12/2021 (ENA)  Some media outlets in Egypt are deliberately fueling the current conflict in Ethiopia with a view to disrupting the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) by destabilizing the political and economic security of the country, Arab affairs experts said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the renowned Ethiopian activist on GERD and Head of the Nile Kings Channel in the US, Jemal Bashir said Egyptian media outlets, Al-Ahram and Daily News Egypt in particular, are reporting speculations on the disintegration of Ethiopia on an average of five reports each day.

Most of the contents of these media reports focus on the conflict in the northern part of the country with fabricated information depicting that Ethiopia is on the verge of disintegration, he added.

Jemal stated that the current regime in Egypt is one of the closest allies of the West, notably the US, which supports Egyptian stance over the GERD and provides huge amount of military aid to Egypt annually.

According to him, “there is no free lunch in the politics of this world. The U.S has its own national interest in enhancing bilateral relations with Egypt and fulfilling its interest in the Middle East.”

Any political event in the Middle East involves Egyptian intervention and the aid that Egypt receives from America is not free of charge, the activist noted, adding that the Egyptian media are now engaged in the internal affairs of Ethiopia as part of this collaboration.

The Egyptian media which are trying to fuel the conflict in Ethiopia have also another objective, Jemal underlined.“They want to disrupt the construction of GERD by destabilizing the political and economic security of the country.”     

Ethio-Arab Relations Expert, Professor Adam Kamil said on his part that instability in Ethiopia has a negative impact in the entire region, including the Middle East.  

The purpose of disinformation about Ethiopia by some Western nations, including the U.S and Egyptian media outlets, is to tarnish the image of the country and create chaos and disrupt Ethiopia from using its natural resources by building GERD, the professor stressed.

Professor Adam Kamel called on Egypt to cooperate with Ethiopia as this is the only way to solve the dispute over GERD and ensure mutual benefits.

The expert pointed out that everything which is happening in Ethiopia’s politics and the ongoing pressure by the Westerners is one way or another linked to the issue of the dam.