Ethiopia Claims Renaissance Dam Matter of Survival

Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
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Ethiopia Claims Renaissance Dam Matter of Survival

Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

Ethiopia presented on Sunday a new defense to justify its conflict with Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), asserting that the project goes beyond development by being closely related to the survival of Ethiopia.

Zerihun Abebe, a member of the Ethiopian negotiating team said that completing the dam is not just a matter of development, but is more a matter of survival for Ethiopia.

Elaborating on his point, Abebe said Ethiopia’s total surface water resource is about 112 cubic meters per annum.

“Six of the nine regional states of Ethiopia are within that river basin system,” Abebe said, adding that up to 50 million people in those regions directly depend on the Nile river basins.

The Ethiopian official noted that more 65 million Ethiopian people do not have electricity.

He said the dam is framed as a prestigious power project in the Egyptian narratives. “This is a misrepresentation,” Abebe explained, noting that the dam is a question of survival as far as Ethiopia is concerned.

Mahmoud Abu Zeid, President of the Arab Water Council, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that the “Ethiopian practices and its building of dams without consulting with neighboring downstream countries conflict with norms and violate international laws.”

He said that Ethiopia is considered rich in water with 12 rivers and 22 lakes and groundwater, almost entirely originating from its territories.

“Egypt has a water share of 55 million cubic meters based on historic international agreements, which Ethiopia considers as an unfair sharing of the river resources,” Abu Zeid explained.

Last week, social media platforms in Ethiopia began sharing forums and articles, promoting the dam and belittling Egyptian fears.

This came following the end of a series of international tours conducted by diplomats from the two countries over the past month, after the failure of a US-sponsored agreement at the end of February and Addis Ababa’s announcement of its intention to begin filling the dam reservoir in July.

A final agreement was to be concluded between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan regarding the rules for filling and operating the dam, under the auspices of the US Treasury and the World Bank, last February, but Ethiopia withdrew before the last meeting, refusing to sign, and accused the United States of bias in favor of Egypt.



Sudan's RSF, Allies Sign Charter for Rival Government

The Sudan war has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises - AFP
The Sudan war has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises - AFP
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Sudan's RSF, Allies Sign Charter for Rival Government

The Sudan war has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises - AFP
The Sudan war has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's worst hunger and displacement crises - AFP

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces and its allies have agreed to form a parallel government, they said Sunday, despite warnings such a move could further fragment the war-ravaged country.

"The charter has been signed," Najm al-Din Drisa, spokesman of the United Civil Forces, one of the signatories, told AFP.

The parties to the agreement, inked behind closed doors in Nairobi, said the charter establishes a "government of peace and unity" in rebel-controlled areas of the northeast African country.

The move comes nearly two years into a devastating war with the regular army that has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.
Among those who agreed to it was a faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which controls parts of the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in the country's south.

Abdel Rahim Daglo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- who was notably absent -- also signed.

The charter, seen by AFP, calls for "a secular, democratic, decentralized state based on freedom, equality, and justice, without bias toward any cultural, ethnic, religious, or regional identity".

It also outlines plans for a "new, unified, professional, national army" with a new military doctrine that "reflects the diversity and plurality characterizing the Sudanese state".

The proposed government aims to end the war, ensure unhindered humanitarian aid and integrate armed groups into a single, national force.

The war, originally triggered by disputes over integrating the RSF into the military, has killed tens of thousands, with both sides accused of atrocities.

Last month, the US determined the RSF had committed genocide in the western region of Darfur.

The conflict has torn the country in two, with the army controlling the north and east and the RSF holding nearly all of Darfur and swathes of the south.

The army is currently on the verge of recapturing the capital Khartoum, after surging through central Sudan and regaining territory this year.

In its alliance with the SPLM-N, the RSF side now controls more of the south and has border access to Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Ethiopia.

A spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the move could "increase the fragmentation of the country and risk making this crisis even worse".

But the charter's signatories denied any intentions to divide the country.

Alaa El-Din Nuqd, a signatory representing professional unions, said the proposed government would benefit people in RSF-held areas "who have been cut off from essential services".

Nuqd said the charter was a step toward "protecting the dignity" of war-hit civilians.

Analysts say the move is aimed at strengthening the RSF after their recent battlefield setbacks.

Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair said the RSF's ultimate goals were to acquire an air force, facilitate humanitarian aid to areas under its control and secure a stronger negotiation position.

"They want to go into mediations as a government, not a militia," she told AFP.

However, any arms sales to the potential government would still be in violation of a Darfur embargo which the United Nations has recommended expanding to cover all of Sudan.