Former Finish Diplomat Urges West to Review Failed Policy on Africa
The Finnish former diplomat, Simo Parviainen said the failed policy of the West on Africa needs to be changed as soon as possible because the policy is escalating violence in countries like Ethiopia by helping insurgents.
In an exclusive interview with ENA, Parviainen stated that the active participation of the US and the European Union on African issues is a complete failure in policy.’
‘Unfortunately the Western countries and America have unacceptably involved themselves in the internal political situation of Ethiopia,” he noted.
According to him, the Brussels and Washington D.C policy that pushes the government for negotiations with a terrorist group since November 2020 has been a complete failure.
”This failed policy can be reviewed and changed as soon as possible because I find this policy of the West helping the violent insurgence in northern Ethiopia.”
The former diplomat, who worked at Finish Foreign Service in the EU told ENA that democracy has really borne fruit in Ethiopia since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018, which is a kind of unprecedented democratization even if the election held in summer was not perfect.
However, Parviainen pointed out that the West has completely failed to support the Ethiopian government with a population of 110 million while freedom and human rights are flourishing.
”I think it is a complete failure of the West not to support the Ethiopian people of 110 million at this very important time when freedom is expanding, human rights are expanding and they are facing very serious threat from insurgency.”
The Westerners are orchestrating a very serious threat on Ethiopia by supporting the insurgency that could have been resolved by discussion and mediation, he noted.
The former diplomat stated that if we don’t know “the situation well, we can’t know what the consequences will be. So we should not involve ourselves.”
The West has been putting pressure, including economic pressure, on the Government of Ethiopia to force it negotiate with terrorists due to their failed policy on Ethiopia.
According to him, policy review can be done very easily if the Western countries just recognize their mistakes and the need to apologize to the millions of Ethiopians.
Parviainen called on the international community to listen carefully to what Ethiopian decision makers are doing and suggested that the Western policy be based on friendly relations between the West and Ethiopia because Ethiopia is the most important country in the Horn of Africa.
” The sudden policy change has contributed to the conflict making it even longer than it is taking. That’s my kind of basic trajectory,’’ he added.
The former diplomat also noted that the UN Security Council met more than ten times to discuss the situation in Ethiopia and meet soon again. But ” I don’t see as an expert that this is the right forum.”
The best forum is the African Union that has been involved in resolving this internal Ethiopian situation, helping the people to resolve the situation which needs to be enhanced based on the principle African solutions for African problems, he said.
Parviainen recalled that IGAD has also been active on the issue and the institutions can generate the African common voice, and help in resolving the situation.
Source: Ethiopia News Agency