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Ethiopia on Saturday denounced “belligerent threats” over the huge dam that has almost ended on the Blue Nile River, a day after US President Donald Trump said that Egypt downstream “will blow up” the project he has described. existential threat.
Without naming Trump or the United States, the statement from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office came amid a protest in Ethiopia over Trump’s latest comment on the dam. The $ 4.6 billion Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a source of national pride, aiming to lift millions of people out of poverty.
“The man has no idea what he is talking about,” tweeted former Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, calling Trump’s comment reckless and irresponsible.
Ross D. Franklin / AP
Trump’s comment on the dam has been called reckless and irresponsible.
Trump made the comment by announcing that Sudan would begin normalizing ties with Israel. Downstream from Sudan is part of talks with Ethiopia and Egypt over the disputed dam. “They (Egypt) will end up blowing up the dam,” Trump said. “And I said it and I say it loud and clear… they will blow up that dam. And they have to do something. “
The US president earlier this year told the State Department to suspend millions of dollars in aid to Ethiopia due to the dam dispute, infuriating Ethiopians who had accused the United States of being biased during their previous efforts to negotiate an agreement on the project between Ethiopia and Egypt. and Sudan. Ethiopia walked away from those talks.
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“They will never see that money unless they adhere to that agreement,” Trump said Friday.
“Occasional statements of belligerent threats that Ethiopia succumb to unfair terms still abound,” the Ethiopian statement said Saturday. “These threats and insults to Ethiopian sovereignty are misguided, unproductive and clear violations of international law.”
He added: “Ethiopia will not give in to attacks of any kind.”
Ethiopia held the first filling of the dam in August, citing heavy rains, much to Egypt’s dismay. Ethiopia later banned flights over the dam amid concerns about possible military action by Egypt.
Now, with Trump’s new comments, some Ethiopians are urging Ethiopian Americans to help remove him from office in next month’s election.
The statement from Abiy’s office said the talks with Egypt and Sudan have shown significant progress since the African Union stepped in to monitor them. Trump’s statement could undermine that process, said Abel Abate Demissie, an associate member of Chatham House, adding that it shows that the United States was not an honest broker from the start.
Ethiopia says the colossal dam could help it become a major energy exporter. Egypt depends on the Nile to supply its farmers and a booming population of 100 million with fresh water.
Negotiators have said key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how countries will resolve any future disputes. Ethiopia rejects binding arbitration in the final stage.
A military attack on the dam would be disastrous, warned a water expert.
“The dam already has more than 4.9 billion cubic meters of water in its reservoir,” Abebe Yirga told The Associated Press. “It will affect thousands of people along the way if this huge amount of water gushes out of the dam.”
The Blue Nile joins the White Nile in Sudan to become the Nile, and about 85% of the river’s flow originates from Ethiopia. Authorities expect the dam, now more than three-quarters complete, to reach its maximum power-generating capacity in 2023.
