No reconciliation without justice: French, German foreign ministers tell Ethiopia

France’s Catherine Colonna and Germany’s Annalena Baerbock’s trip began a day after Tigray rebels announced they were starting to hand over their heavy weapons, which was reached on Nov. 2 The deal to silence the guns in the north of Africa’s second most populous country is an important part of the deal.

Colonna said she welcomed the “good progress and we encourage the continuation” of the peace process between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

“Hostiles have ceased, aid has been able to reach areas that have not received it … (the insurgents) have begun to return weapons,” she told a news conference with Bel Bock.

But ministers urged the establishment of a transitional justice mechanism to punish abuses committed during the conflict.

“We Germans and French know from our own experience that reconciliation does not happen overnight. But reconciliation and lasting peace are not possible without the prospect of justice for victims of crime,” Belbock said.

“The issue of accountability is important to us from the perspective of Ethiopia’s future and the peace process and the strengthening of international law,” she said after talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Addis Ababa will ensure that crimes do not go unpunished, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen told a news conference.

He said Ethiopia had asked the UN Human Rights Office and Ethiopia’s own rights commission to deploy monitors in war-affected areas.

– ‘Manipulated loans’ –

The devastating conflict that broke out in November 2020 has killed countless civilians, displaced more than 2 million and left millions more in need of humanitarian assistance.

Aid deliveries have resumed limitedly in Tigray, which has long faced severe shortages of food, fuel, cash and medicines since the peace deal was signed in the South African capital Pretoria.

Basic services such as communications, banking and electricity are slowly being restored to the devastated region of six million, which was cut off for much of the war.

In Washington, a senior US official said there had been “gradual but significant progress” in restoring humanitarian access to Tigray, but only 1.5 million of an estimated 5.2 million people in need had been helped.

Asked why ministers had excluded Tigray from their itineraries, Belbok opened the door for future visits.

“This is the start of re-engagement for us, and it means visiting other places in the future — including places where accountability issues play such a big role,” she said.

While the TPLF announced it had begun disarming, local residents and aid workers said Eritrean troops and troops from neighboring Amhara remained in parts of Tigray, accusing them of murder, rape and looting.

According to the agreement, the disarmament should take place “simultaneously” with the withdrawal of foreign troops not part of the Ethiopian National Army.

The Horn of Africa, and Ethiopia in particular, is one of the EU’s priorities as Beijing seeks to boost its influence in the region – as illustrated by China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang’s visit to Addis Ababa earlier this week a little.

Qin, who was appointed in December, is on a week-long tour of Africa that also includes Gabon, Angola, Benin and Egypt.

In Ethiopia on Wednesday, he said: “Africa should be a platform for international cooperation, not great power competition.”

While China was not named, Belbook issued a veiled warning about Beijing’s proposal.

“We want to work together fairly and transparently with clear rules, with fair rules that serve our mutual interests, not rigged lending,” she said.

Beijing has been accused of indebting developing countries with loans for infrastructure development.

“Because other countries want Africa to be a supply market for their raw materials. Europe wants Africa to be a good neighbor and a good friend,” Belbook said.

“We will stand by their side as they try to break away from their old dependence on authoritarian regimes.”

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