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26 November 2006
Addis Ababa, (WIC) - Ethiopia's response to the repeated declaration of war by the UIC should not be considered as a declaration of war against the jihadist elements of Somalia since the country is committed enough to patiently exhaust all the peaceful means of solving the problem, Prime Minister Meles said.
Briefing foreign journalists at his office today, Meles said his report to the parliament during the regular question time was only a response to the repeated declaration of war by the jihadists and clearly stipulates that Ethiopia doesn't rush into declaring war.
He further noted that the great concern of the parliament was to avoid any misrepresentation and misinterpretation of the report as has already happened and pointed out that a carefully worded resolution is expected to get ratified with consensus by the parliament next week.
Meles stressed that Ethiopia has already been attacked by the jihadists, but said it has not yet reached the level where it feels it has to respond in kind. After exhausting all the peaceful options, Ethiopia may find it important to respond in kind, but stated that it is difficult for him to predict when and what exactly will be the last act.
Ethiopia is not going to wait for the permission of anybody to take the necessary defensive measures for the respect of its sovereignty when it is at stake, the PM underscored.
Asked on why the IGAD peacekeeping forces is not yet deployed, Meles said it was mainly due to the reluctance of the Un Security Council to lift the arms embargo on Somalia for unknown reasons.
Commenting on his country's relation with Egypt, Meles said Ethiopia has been striving to keep relations with Egypt on an even keel and added that whatever differences may crop up as a result of the perceived support of Egypt to the jihadists, as has been reported in the UN Security Council finding, the fundamentals of the changes achieved in the relations of the two countries ought to be protected.
Source: Walta Information Center