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The Addis Ababa City Administration admits “error” for not consulting the Ethiopian Church about the Meskel Square project. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church Tewahdo apologizes for ignoring the Church property on Meskel Square.
Borkena
May 1, 2020
Last week, the Addis Ababa City Administration launched what it called the “Meskel Square-Municipality” project, a major construction project. Shortly before that, the city approved the decision to move the fruit and vegetable market to Janmeda on the pretext of preventing coronavirus transmission.
Both the construction project and the relocation of the market center affected the property of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church that it uses for major religious holidays, including Timkat and Meskel, which are registered as UNESCO World Heritage.
The Ethiopian Church has been using these properties for the Meskel and Timkat celebrations since the establishment of Addis Ababa as the capital of Ethiopia.
The City’s project on Meskel Square involved some demolition work, but the Ethiopian Church was not consulted about it.
With the intention of obtaining clarifications, the Church wrote a letter (which is shared in Adebabay Media) to the Mayor’s Office. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Prime Minister’s office.
“The Church is disappointed that the City administration is working on an unclear project without consulting the Church,” says the translation of the letter written in the official language of Ethiopia.
The letter also noted that the two religious festivals of the Ethiopian Church, which now has more than 50 million followers in the country, have meaning beyond religion and culture. Intangible heritages registered by UNESCO generate income for the government, as the events attract tens of thousands of tourists.
“In consideration of the seriousness of the matter, we would like the Mayor’s Office to pay special attention to the letter and respond appropriately and urgently.”
On Thursday night, Takele Uma, the acting mayor, sent delegates to the patriarchate in response to the church’s letter, as reported by Wazema Radio.
Nebiyu Baye, adviser to the mayor, led the delegation made up of the city’s architectural adviser, the head of the construction office and the head of the Plan Commission, according to the Wazema Report.
During the meeting between the delegates and the Ethiopian Church represented by Abune Yared, the latter asked delegates why the City administration ignored the church as it embarked on its “beautification of the Addis Ababa project”. The church also demanded to know the fundamental purpose of the project.
City officials reportedly admitted that the administration made a mistake in launching the Meskel Square project without having a discussion about it with the church.
City representatives also stated that “the purpose of the project is to make the venue attractive so that it can be used for the upcoming Meskel celebration. The decision on Janmeda was made, delegates said, in emergency mode due to the COVID 19 situation.
The Church of Ethiopia demanded an official apology from the city administration for the mistake they made and also a written guarantee that the law of the Church of Ethiopia will not be violated in the future regarding the use of the two places with religious purposes.
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