Addis Abeba — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken once again spoke with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressing US concerns "about the situations in the Amhara and Oromia Regions" in a phone call on Thursday night.
This is the second time the US has expressed concerns about the ongoing security crisis in Amhara region since militarized violence griped the region as of April this year. Despite the State of Emergency declaration and leadership changes in the Amhara region, the conflict continues with reports of violence against civilians including extrajudicial killings by the federal army, and severe human rights violations including mass identity-based detentions targeting Amhara civilians.
According to the readout, Blinken has "underscored the need to promote peaceful resolution through political dialogue and protection of human rights," in his call to PM Abiy.
He has in the past raised concerns about the five-years conflict in the Oromia regional state involving the federal and regional forces and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA). During his first visit to Ethiopia, and subsequent meeting with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Blinken has "expressed concerns about the situation in Oromia and the need for a resolution through dialogue."
In late January this year, Blinken said he had "discussed the need to bring an end to ongoing instability in the Oromia region" during a phone call with PM Abiy.
In the latest phone call, the two have also "discussed security challenges in the Horn of Africa and the shared goal of a unified, peaceful, and prosperous Ethiopia," the readout says, but offers no specifics on the details.
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The office of PM Abiy has not published official statement on the topics of the discussion either.
"Improved humanitarian oversight to allow for the resumption of food assistance," is the other topics discussed between Blinken and Abiy, which comes six months after the USAID and WFP suspended food aid delivery to Ethiopia, prompting grave concerns on the sharp uptick in the death by starvation of civilians, especially in the Tigray region.
On transitional justice
Despite widespread concerns including from the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) on the inadequacy of the government's draft "Ethiopia Policy Options for Transitional Justice," policy, Secretary Blinken said he "welcomed ongoing work to establish a genuine, credible, and inclusive transitional justice process."
"When we observe current transitional justice initiatives in Ethiopia, it is hard not to be struck by evidence of 'quasi-compliance' - deliberate Government attempts to evade international scrutiny through the creation of domestic mechanisms and instrumentalization of others," ICHREE said. "This has served primarily to alleviate international pressure and prevent stronger international engagement or investigation. For the hundreds of thousands of victims of atrocities across Ethiopia, this cannot be allowed to continue," ICHREE warned.
