Ethiopian scholars, general society and successive governments have been and continue to be suspicious of the Arab World, including Qatar. This is because of strong perceptions and evidence that they are “inimical” to Ethiopia’s national unity, territorial integrity, access to the sea, rapid growth and development and stability. There is a strong perception that Arab support to the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) led by Isaias Afewerki was instrumental in the secession of Eritrea and in the loss of Ethiopia’s legitimate and rightful access to its seaports, especially to Assab. This is one of the areas of contention that will persist regardless of diplomatic overtures. In this connection, the strong and close tie between the Qatari and Eritrean governments has been a source of concern among Ethiopian policy makers for several years. Rightly or wrongly, the question had persisted whether or not Qatar was using its substantial financial wealth to promote stability and peace in the Horn or whether its considerable monies and other support to the Eritrean government, opposition groups stationed in Eritrea as well as to fundamentalist groups in Somalia were intended to for the purpose of promoting instability in the region? Ethiopian and other African experts feel that the Qatar model of pouring millions of dollars in conflict prone and ridden regions such as Eritrea, Darfur, Somalia, Mali and others does not address the fundamental social, political and economic causes of conflict in these places. They also contend that oil and gas rich Arab Muslim countries finance fundamentalism in the Horn, including Ethiopia; a point of view on which there is anecdotal evidence. On the other hand, they contend that the fundamental objectives of fairness, justice, equity, political and social pluralism and sustainability within countries are often overlooked by outside stare actors and powers such as Qatar, China, the West and others. In 2008, the Ethiopian government led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi broke diplomatic ties with the government of Qatar accusing it of “being a major source of instability in the Horn of Africa,” meaning supporting the Eritrean government and Al-Shabaab ( an extremist and terrorist group) in Somalia. Eritrea’s first and only President, Isaias Afewerki and a major adversary to the Ethiopian government had befriended Qatar and was a frequent visitor of the country. His government benefited from Qatar’s largesse and diplomatic clout, arguably at the ‘cost of Ethiopia.’ The tense and dangerous relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea to which Qatar and others contribute persist and will most likely continue until new and genuine modalities of peace and reconciliation between Ethiopia and Eritrea take place. Many Ethiopians find it ironic that, the Qatari government that opposed and helped to topple dictators in North Africa, most notably, Gadhafi of Libya, would at the same time support such dictators as Afewerki of Eritrea. It is this seeming inconsistency in foreign policy on the part of the Qatari government that makes its diplomatic initiatives in Africa rather questionable and, as one African expert put it, “unreliable.” The Ethiopian government’s decision to break diplomatic relations with Qatar reflects long-held suspicions among Ethiopian policy-makers and civil society that the Arab world has ‘consistently’ tried to undermine Ethiopia’s unity, territorial integrity and sustainable development. At the center of this accusation and suspicion is the long war with Eritrea; the support offered by the Egyptian, Iraqi, Sudanese, Gulf State and other governments that ultimately led to Eritrea’s secession and Ethiopia’s loss of access to the sea.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:59:51 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015