Ethiopia’s PM Sworn in for Second Term as War Spreads

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrives to address members of parliament on the current situation in the country at the Parliament buildings, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tuesday Oct. 22, 2019. (AP)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrives to address members of parliament on the current situation in the country at the Parliament buildings, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tuesday Oct. 22, 2019. (AP)
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Ethiopia’s PM Sworn in for Second Term as War Spreads

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrives to address members of parliament on the current situation in the country at the Parliament buildings, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tuesday Oct. 22, 2019. (AP)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrives to address members of parliament on the current situation in the country at the Parliament buildings, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tuesday Oct. 22, 2019. (AP)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been sworn in for a second five-year term running a country in the grip of a nearly year-long war.

Abiy’s Prosperity Party was declared the winner of parliamentary elections earlier this year in a vote criticized and at times boycotted by opposition parties but described by some outside electoral observers as better run than those in the past.

The prime minister, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner for restoring ties with neighboring Eritrea and for pursuing sweeping political reforms, now faces major challenges as war in the Tigray region spreads into other parts of the country, deadly ethnic violence continues and watchdogs warn that repressive government practices are on the return.

Abiy is expected to made a speech later on Monday.

The 11-month war is weakening Ethiopia’s economy, once one of Africa’s fastest-growing, and threatening to isolate Abiy, once seen as a regional peacemaker. Just three African heads of state — from Nigeria, Senegal and neighboring Somalia — were attending Monday’s ceremony.

Ethiopia’s government last week faced condemnation from the United Nations, United States and several European nations after it expelled seven UN officials it accused of supporting the Tigray forces who have been battling Ethiopian and allied forces.

The government is under growing pressure as people begin to starve to death in Tigray under what the UN has called a “de facto humanitarian blockade.” Last week the UN humanitarian chief told The Associated Press that the situation in Ethiopia is a “stain on our conscience.”

The US has threatened further sanctions if humanitarian access to Tigray isn’t granted soon and the warring sides don’t take steps toward peace.



ICC Warrants are Binding, EU Cannot Pick and Choose, EU's Borrell Says

23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
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ICC Warrants are Binding, EU Cannot Pick and Choose, EU's Borrell Says

23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)

European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, the EU's foreign policy chief said on Saturday.

The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged crimes against humanity.

All EU member states are signatories to the ICC's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute.

Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.

"The states that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It's not optional," Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.

Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said.

"It would be very funny that the newcomers have an obligation that current members don't fulfil," he told Reuters.

The United States rejected the ICC's decision and Israel said the ICC move was antisemitic.

"Every time someone disagrees with the policy of one Israeli government - (they are) being accused of antisemitism," said Borrell, whose term as EU foreign policy chief ends this month.

"I have the right to criticize the decisions of the Israeli government, be it Mr Netanyahu or someone else, without being accused of antisemitism. This is not acceptable. That's enough."

Israel's 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed about 44,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly all the enclave's population while creating a humanitarian crisis, Gaza officials say.

In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".

The warrant for Masri lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Israel says it has killed Masri.