AGAINST ALL FOREIGN MILITARY PRESENCE ON ETHIOPIAN SOIL

AGAINST ALL FOREIGN MILITARY PRESENCE ON ETHIOPIAN SOIL

February 19, 2011

The recent report that the US Air Force is currently upgrading the Arba Minch airport has raised the issue of foreign military presence and bases in Ethiopia. The issue at this time mainly concerns Washington.

For the EPRP, the sovereignty of Ethiopia concerns more than the principle of non alignment to which Ethiopia as a country has adhered to since the fifties. The sovereignty of Ethiopia is a non negotiable fundamental principle and the existence of  foreign military bases or armies on Ethiopian soil are a negation of this principle and a violation of the rights and dignity of Ethiopians. This being the case, the EPRP, since its formation, has opposed the existence of any foreign military base in Ethiopia and in this respect had opposed the Kagnew US military base in Asmara, the Soviet military bases on Ethiopian territory and is now opposed to this glaring mortgaging of the country to a foreign power. In this line, the EPRP has also strongly opposed the ceding of Ethiopian land to the Sudan and the leasing or ill disguised sale of Ethiopian land to foreign firms that not only destroy forests but are also taking away their produce to their own lands or for sale abroad. 

The EPRP calls on the USA to remove its military presence/bases in Ethiopia and vigorously condemns the traitorous regime of Meles Zenawi for letting Ethiopia’s sovereignty be violated in several ways.