To
Oromo Protests Question from
Inner City Press, Ethiopia
PR Calls Social Media
Dangerous
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Photos
and video
UNITED NATIONS,
September 1 – With the UN
Security Council presidency
for September being taken over
by Ethiopia's Tekeda Alemu,
Inner City Press on September
1 asked Ambassador Alemu four
questions, the answers to
which sketch out the Ethopian
government's worldview. In
response to Inner City Press
asking for an update on the
Oromo Protests - and crackdown
on them - Alemu said the
question should have been
asked privately. Video here,
on (social media) Patreon. He
said there are issues to be
sorted out. He said there are
"a lot of hands... the role of
the social media has been
extremely dangerous, there are
radio stations which have been
fanning conflict. That's why
I'd like to have a private
discussion with you. But for
now, this will suffice." Video
here. In response to Inner
City Press asking asking why
Burundi, where even the UN
says there is a risk of
genocide, is not on his
September Program of Work nor
on the agenda of the Council's
visit to Addis Ababa, Alemu
said that you can't compare
Burundi to Central African
Republic, that Burundi has
“strong state institutions.”
But it is that very
“strength,” which some say the
country shares with Ethiopia,
and with until recently
military-ruled Myanmar about
which Inner City Press also
asked, that has led to the
human rights violations. In
this context, Inner City Press
asked Alemu about the Oromo
protests - and crackdown - in
his country.... On the other
hand, when Inner City Press
asked Alemu at the end about
the murders of two UN experts
Michael Sharp and Zaida
Catalan, he replied that while
the DR Congo is due to
sovereignty the one to
investigate the murders, the
gruesome nature of the
killings put a “great
responsibility” on the DR
Congo. We'l have more on this.
Alamy photos here.
Earlier on September 1 in
Alemu's briefing to countries
not on the Security Council,
Bangladesh specifically asked
that the Council remain seized
of the situation in Myanmar.
When Inner City Press asked
Alemu about this, he said he
still had to inform himself
more about that situation. The
Security Council is traveling
to Addis from September 5
through 9, when alongside
African Union consultations
the Council's member will meet
for an hour with Prime
Minister Hailemariam Desalegn,
Alemu said. The Council will
receive the “maiden briefings”
late in the month of the new
Under Secretaries General of
OCHA and on Counter-Terrorism.
There will be peacekeeping on
September 20, during the High
Level week of the UN General
Assembly, and Yemen on
September 26. But tellingly,
there will not be Burundi.
Watch this site.
***
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