I just followed the live streamed meeting of the UN Security Council on the GERD. It was a blessing in disguise as the occasion created another global platform for Ethiopia to reassert and reiterate its quest for equitable utilization of the Nile waters.
I would like to wholeheartedly thank Dr. Sileshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation, and Energy for presenting Ethiopia’s case for fair and equitable share of the mighty river, Abay, which we helplessly watched roaring and galloping for the benefit of our neighbors since time immemorial.
Dr. Sileshi convincingly and unequivocally told UNSC gathering that Ethiopia will no longer be a passive bystander and allow Egypt and Sudan assert their colonial era monopoly over the Nile. It is indeed clear that Egypt and Sudan’s desperation and pleas has nothing to do with the so called “existential threats” GERD has supposedly posed. It is all to do with denying Ethiopia, as Dr. Sileshi put it, “the right to drink from the Nile.” He told them that the old saying the child of Abay is thirsty cannot hold true in this day and age.
The time has come to reverse this historic injustice where the country that generates 85 percent of the Nile waters gets nothing while others enjoy a total monopoly of this precious resource. Sudan and Egypt’s unfair and unjust attitude is rooted in preserving the injustice left by Britain in its abhorrent role as a colonial power at the detriment of countries like Ethiopia.
The fact that Ethiopia was forced to stand accused of violations of international law twice in a span of a week is a testament to the fact that internal and external forces are getting more and more desperate as it has risen to defend itself and assert its inalienable right to exist and prosper in a peaceful manner.
For the job well done in defending Ethiopia where it matters the most, we need to thank Dr. Sileshi Bekele and Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie.
Last but not least, I would like to thank PM Abiy Ahmed for his leadership at a time of a very stormy season in our history. We may disagree, shout and cry at times. But the responsibilities he is shouldering to fend off the existential threats Ethiopia is facing from within and without is enormous and onerous.
I am confident that with the helping hands of Almighty God, he will navigate Ethiopia out of the stormy seas into a peaceful and prosperous future.
May God help Ethiopia!
By Abebe Gelaw