To expedite sustainable prosperity and holistic development, the country has been exploring various initiatives. The recent accord between Ethiopia and Somaliland that awards the former a sea outlet is the grand one. In contradiction to the very essence of the landmark deal, some entities near and abroad, new or old adversaries have tried to paint a wrong picture of the accord.
The country's genuine and amicable approach to its relations with neighboring nations has been upsetting some entities as they unsuccessfully try to thwart the country's efforts.
From working with their proxies to trying to make a direct intervention, the foes have been switching to different tactics to stand in the way of development although to no avail. Since the signing of the agreement, there has been a futile uproar from various actors most notably from Ethiopia's arc enemies.
Leaving aside the greater positive impact the agreement can have on both countries and the regions, the entities try to stir tension and sow discord between nations. The aim is to disrupt cooperation and interventionist policies to advance their goals.
In good faith, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) deal between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and Somaliland is mainly allowing the former to have sea access and for the latter to have major political and economic benefits including some share from Ethiopian flagship projects.
Ethiopia has suffered from not having genuine sea access and the people have faced so many challenges during the past few decades.
It has been calling its neighboring states to free the nation from geographical prison to a state that can access the nearest water part. Ethiopia has also stated that any country that wishes to make a knot will have a mutual benefit through a win-win approach as Ethiopia, more than ever, was open to any negotiation.
In this case, Ethiopia has never asked to return any favor that the country did to its states and the region at large. Answering the call, Somaliland opened its doors to reach an agreement with Ethiopia. Unfortunately, some regional states that Ethiopia was there for in their hard times ignore its call to regional cooperation.
From the get-go, the two parties have faced several formal and informal pressures from various sides as those powers never want to see two parties prosper together. Even, nations whom Ethiopians paid their lives for their existence turned their face and stood with the nation's historic enemies and spoilers.
Besides, those agreement spoilers use their connections together with some blocs to change the direction of the accord. In good truth, those nations and blocs have done nothing to the economic, political and societal integrity of the Horn as Ethiopia did for so many years.
Spoilers and historic enemies of Ethiopia and the ones who are responsible for the unrest in the Horn of Africa are still working to dismantle the region by creating rifts and sowing grudges among the member states. Knowing this, some Horn countries have still been sticking with them and working for a common agenda that particularly hits and weakens Ethiopia. It is important to understand that some nations still have some concern and worry if Ethiopia becomes the powerhouse of Africa, and Ethiopia is working to prove that.
In a previous interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Somaliland Ministry of Information Director General Mustafe acknowledged the external meddling from some entities that tried to besmirch the very intent of the agreement and bewilder the international community with coordinated propaganda.
The Director General said, "Some Arabian entities that have issues with Ethiopia on the Nile are trying to use us as a weapon to attack our brothers in need. But surely, Somaliland cannot serve as a bullet to hit Ethiopia. We believe Ethiopia is the second country for Somali-landers. Ethiopia was there by our side when we were being subjugated and chased by a dictatorial rule."
In a similar vein, those spoilers have left every stone unturned to unhinge the world and other global entities to understand the accord in a much-skewed way. Not only that, those parties have also used religion and regional blocs as their shield to attack Ethiopia and the agreement. In this case, the Arab League could be a textbook example to be manipulated and used by some member states for their political consumption.
Though all the attempts previously tried by those spoilers have not been successful and could not hit the target as they expected, they, now, come up with another tactic in spreading fake news and narratives to the entire world, try to make them confused. The current influx of unreal information in various social media accounts and websites is the perfect illustration of their utmost effort to make the accord obnoxious.
Some reports signing up for fake accounts and using the logo of the Office of Prime Minister, actors are spreading a false press release that seems to be from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia that states Ethiopia's readiness to avoid the agreement as so many pressures have imposed onto the country.
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Such kinds of last-minute show how desperate and unsuccessful those entities are. Ethiopia has been working aggressively to the successful implementation of the agreement, and the same is true from the other side.
On the other hand, the Government of Ethiopia through its responsible stakeholders like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs keeps informing the people and the international community that the current reports circulating on most social media platforms are fake and have no genuine ground.
Accordingly, in its recent announcement, the Office of the Prime Minister advised the people of Ethiopia and the international community to be very cautious about the fake reports and content circulating online about an MOU with Somaliland.
Again, the Office voiced that local, regional, and international matters of official communications of the country are only disseminated through the PMO's official channels, adding "We urge everyone to remain vigilant against such fake content that misuses our official logo."
