So long as the seven UN officials have been caught red- handed meddling in internal affairs, Ethiopia has every right to expel them citing Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, said scholars.
It is to be recalled that the Ethiopian government has declared seven senior UN staff working in the country persona non grata for intervening in the internal affairs of the country, and ordered them to leave the country within 72 hours since last Thursday.
Commenting on the issue, the scholars told The Ethiopian Herald that these officials have been supporting the terrorist TPLF group under the guise of humanitarian aid and should be held accountable for such unethical behavior .
University of Gondar Global Journalism Assistant Professor Menychle Meseret said that the Ethiopian government has been accusing and warning some humanitarian organizations that have engaged in activities out of their humanitarian mandate.
Some humanitarian agencies caught red-handed in arms trafficking andwere providing satellite communications equipment to the terrorist TPLF group, he restated. “These individualshave engaged in activities that would definitely prolong the war. They do not want the war to end soon.”
He further stated that the Ethiopian government has decided to expel these individuals because they could not stop their wrongdoings and involved in rescuing the terrorist group.
He also opined that these individuals have involved in activities that seriously jeopardize the country’s national interest. Though the decision is overdue, it is absolutely the right decision to protect the national interest of the country,” he indicated.
Bahir Dar UniversityPolitical Science and International Studies Assistant Professor Yayew Genet on his part stated that these individuals have committed grave crimes sympathizing with the TPLF terrorist group that has publicly vowed to destroy Ethiopia paying any costs.
“ We do not expect the government to take up arms against these individuals ,but they have to leave the country based on the international law.”
Dire Dawa University Researcher and Political Science and International Relations Lecturer Surafel Getahun also noted that these individuals have been working as agents of the terrorist TPLF fighters.
As to him, what the Ethiopian government is saying now is “You are no longer diplomat and immune. Please leave the country.” He also stated that everyone knows how the United States expelled about 1,000 Chinese students accused of spying.
The activities of the UN staffin Ethiopia are against the 1961’s Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, he said, adding that the aforesaid Convention gives a right to expel individuals who pose a threat to national security.
Article 9 (1) of the 1961’s Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations stipulates that the receiving State may at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or that any other member of the staff of the mission is not acceptable. In any such case, the sending State shall, as appropriate, either recall the person concerned or terminate his functions with the mission.
The Ethiopian Herald October 3/2021