Objective of Pressure on Ethiopia Controlling Africa, Not Concern for Human Rights, Says Journalist, Historian

December 21/2021 /ENA/ The aim of the sustained pressure on Ethiopia by some Western countries is to control Africa, especially the Horn of Africa, and maintain strategic benefits, but not concern for human rights, the journalist and historian Thomas C. Mountain said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the journalist and historian who studied African issues with a specialty in the Horn of Africa for the last 40 years, noted that Ethiopia was historically the strong partnership for the United Sates in the Horn of Africa in the effort to make sure that the United States controls the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb, a gateway between the Red Sea and Indian ocean, in which passes all the shipping between Asia and Europe ― which are the two largest trading partners in the world.

According to him, the US has used Ethiopia to control Bab-el-Mandeb for many years. With the destruction of the terrorist TPLF presently, however, they have lost control over Bab-el-Mandeb.   

Therefore, America will no longer be that big economic powerhouse like they used to be, he added.

Mountain believes that some Western countries do not intend to control Bab-el-Mandeb, but they have critical investments in South America and Asia that have fallen out of their direct control.

So, “the only place that the EU and Americans can come in and plunder is Africa.  For example, Anglo Americans own one of the biggest gold mines in the world located in Tanzania for decades. And they pay the Tanzanian government only 4 percent,” he explained.

The Western countries know that 4 percent is not partnership rather exploitation; and that is how Europe is maintaining the wealth of Africa, by paying 4 percent instead of 40 percent, he noted.

The journalist and historian further said that some of these countries know that if they lose control over Africa, they will no longer be able to benefit from the wealth of Africa.

Now Ethiopians are telling the West “this is my land and get off.'' Due to this, some Western countries are really panicking because if African governments say no, then the EU cannot come in and all the big mining companies and all these big companies exploiting Ethiopia can no longer say this is our land, Mountain elaborated.

The other Western countries have got much greater direct investment in Africa than the US, he stated, adding that for the US it is a matter of critical strategic question and the control of Bab-el-Mandeb is a critically strategic thing for the US.

The historian, who has been studying African history for about 40 years, pointed out that Africa has been controlled by neo-colonialists.

They put TPLF under the leadership of Meles Zenawi and then they turned Ethiopia into a new colony of the West through, he stated.

In 2018, however, the peaceful revolution in Ethiopia broke out and the TPLF had to retreat to Tigray and that was the end of neocolonialism in Ethiopia.

“The west is very alarmed about the direction Ethiopia is taking, because it is becoming truly independent by breaking with neocolonialism. ’’

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is moving Ethiopia towards true independence and a new society, Mountain said.

He underscored, Ethiopia is one of the largest and potentially most powerful countries in Africa with over 100 million people and becoming the role model for Africa in defending foreign intervention the US and Western countries cannot ignore.