THE ETHIOPIA OBSERVATORY

Posted by The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)

በመርሃ ጽድቅ መኮንን ዐባይነህ

Cairo’s goal is to make Egypt owner of the Nile waters, while Ethiopia has been contributing 86 percent of the water to the longest river in the world, the Nile River.

The New York Times wallows in confusion, when it falsely portrayed Egypt’s past control of the Nile waters. I feel sorry for NYT, once my hometown paper.  It mis-adventurously wrote: “For Thousands of Years, Egypt Controlled the Nile. A New Dam Threatens That.”

Past Egyptian attempts up until the last quarter of the 19th century, unlike the understanding of The New York Times, was characterized by none of the sorts, possibly save Egypt persistently conspiring against Ethiopia. I am surprised a major newspaper should find itself in such awkward position.

The fact is on November 16, 1875, Ethiopian forces defeated Egyptians at the Battle of Gundet. Those who survived fled for their life. Come March 8-9, 1876, in an act of revenge, Egypt invaded Ethiopian position from its Red Sea post of Gura, according to historical records. Egypt faced the same fate, i.e., its force were routed out.

Given this, if the past is any guide to win-win solution to Egypt’s arid nature, the win-win solution is sharing the waters of the Nile River, in accordance with the 1997 first international water lawand a relief.

Tags: Abiy Ahmed, Dr. Seleshi Bekle, Egypt, ethiopia, Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD), Mediators or Observers?, Sudan, United States and World Bank role, Washington D.C. negotiations