Thread by @althecat

It is not acceptable for the EU @eaas_eu and the U.S. @StateDept to simply look away from the upcoming imperiled Ethiopian democratic transition due to prejudice and personal views.
addisstandard.com/news-joint-int…

The circumstances of what is happening in Ethiopia, and Tigray, make the presence of election observers simultaneously difficult (for the observer missions) and vital.

The @eaas_eu and @JosepBorrellF decision to withdraw was clearly premature. addisstandard.com/news-alert-eth…

The decision of the @eaas_eu in the very complex circumstances leading up to this extraordinarily important election smack of hand-wringing and cowardice. I very much doubt that this decision would have been made under the former special representative.

https://twitter.com/josepborrellf/status/1378295632415313920

The United States is also in a precarious moral position in relation to what is happening in Tigray - due to the absurd interventions by disgraced former @POTUS Donald Trump in the #GERD dispute. timesofisrael.com/full-text-trum…

And in light of this latest report on clandestine foreign Ethiopian Diaspora involvement in a plot to instigate violence through assassination inside Ethopia in the lead up to the election one can easily wonder whether the U.S. position in the conflict is neutral.

The report from Ethiopian Security forces in relation to this plot [ See original here >> facebook.com/EBCzena/posts/…] specifically identifies plotters involved in this conspiracy as residents of Europe and the United States.

Ethiopia is a Sovereign State, famously & jealously so. The responsibility of the international community to protect human rights of those caught up in the Tigray War should not be used as an excuse to step away from this election.

For now Tigray is enveloped in the fog of war.

It is inconsistent to welcome the EHRC and OHCHR investigation into this war (See today's G7 statement) and to simultaneously take actions which give an impression that Ethiopia is a guilty party.

The correct course of action for both the EU
@eaas_eu and the U.S. @StateDept is to put aside any preconceived notions, announce they will actively support Ethiopia's efforts to protect their election against violence, and to do so willingly by investigating this plot.

The time for justice in relation to events in Tigray will come in time. But that time is not now.

Principled actions to support a free and fair Ethiopian Election are not an endorsement of the current PM or his Govt. They are a act of solidarity with the people of Ethiopia.

/ENDS