Addis Ababa, May 15, 2024 – Today marks the inaugural visit of United States Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin J. Massinga to the American Gibbi in Addis Ababa, where he delivered a significant policy speech on human rights and national dialogue. During his address, the Ambassador paid tribute to the victims of the Yekatit 12 Massacre of 1937, emphasizing the importance of remembering the tragic event in which numerous Ethiopians lost their lives. He also praised the courageous actions of Chargé d’Affairs Cornelius Van Engert, who provided refuge to hundreds of Ethiopians within the Gibbi’s premises, showcasing a strong dedication to upholding human rights.
The Ambassador highlighted the relevance of current challenges by drawing comparisons and emphasized the importance of safeguarding human dignity and promoting peace through dialogue instead of resorting to violence. In his address, he specifically called upon the authorities governing Ethiopia and various regions within the country to make sincere endeavors towards achieving peace and fostering reconciliation.
The Ambassador emphasized the importance of the global community, which includes the United States, in advancing human rights and fostering communication. Despite recognizing the obstacles encountered, he expressed a dedication to correcting previous mistakes and working towards achieving justice.
In concluding his address, he underscored the crucial significance of Ethiopia as a nation that upholds rights, stability, and vitality, and its pivotal role in shaping the African continent. He emphasized the need for inclusivity, transparency, and consultation in effectively tackling the challenges at hand. Ethiopia, being the headquarters of the African Union and a source of inspiration for Africans, holds immense influence that extends far beyond its borders. A thriving Ethiopia is essential for the progress and prosperity of the entire African continent.
The United States Embassy in Ethiopia is dedicated to collaborating with Ethiopian counterparts to advance human rights, enhance democratic structures, and encourage inclusive discussions within Ethiopia.
For further information regarding the 120-year partnership between Ethiopia and the United States, please visit the official website of the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia and stay updated on the latest developments.
Great speech by H.E. Ambassador Ervin J. Massinga. It needs to be heeded and as usual it shows Good Ole USA at its best. He emphasized the three cardinal steps to be taken in order to tackle the problems that have been bedeviling that gem of the colored: inclusivity, transparency, and consultation. We who still hold those noble people close to our heart have been pushing for the same for decades now. I hope and pray that it will be a reality. Insha’Allah!!!
Well said, Brother Ittu. The history of the US-Ethiopian diplomatic relationship is over 120-years old! Despite the ups-and-downs in the world order, this relationship has remained functional. We are thankful for the memorable speech the US Ambassador to Ethiopia, H.E. Ervin J. Massinga, during his inaugural visit to the American Gibbi! As a black American, I expect his speech to have special meaning for ordinary Ethiopians.
Today we live in a dangerous world where the risk of escalating hostilities may engulf nations internally and globally. Ethiopia repulsed the attempt of colonization by a powerful nation when she had bare minimum of weaponry, but a powerful determination to use her God-given talents to resist colonization and remained the only independent nation on the continent of Africa.
It is sad that today, in the 21st Century, Ethiopia depends on the advice and counselling by friends from outside about her potential to guide the entire continent of Africa, based on her history of resilience, integrity, culture, and support for the rest of the continent in their struggle to throw off the yoke of colonization!
As I mentioned earlier, every nation across the globe today has problems of their own! International entities like the United Nation are becoming less and less influential in their interventions in conflicts around the world simply because nations have to prioritize their own survival before thinking about helping others. So, Ethiopia must wake up and clear the self-manufactured mess she has been creating for the last several decades. Ethiopia must not expect a powerful friend to come and sort out the mess she is creating for herself. Leaders who care about the country and are themselves ineffective or destructive, must step aside and help the election of effective leaders for the nation. That way, they will be contributing to the future of Ethiopia’s survival at this difficult time!
Yes sir, Brother Said, yes sir!!!
Let’s all hope and pray that the children of that gem of the colored will wake up to their Allah gifted senses and come together with a spirit of ‘I got your back’ to everyone. During the last 50 years bigots and extremists have done everything in their arsenal to create mistrust among those noble people. They sowed mistrust that led to hatred and animosity which led to the demise of millions. Enough is enough.
Blessings to you and your family!
Wow His Excellency,
Is he an Ethiopian minister ? or an Amercian ambassador ?
የክቡር አምባሳደሩ ንግግር የዛሬ 6 ዓመት መጥቶ ቢሆን ኖሮ፣ ከዚያም የሚሻለው የዛሬ 32 ዓመት ቢሆን ኖሮ፣ ደግ ነበር። ነገር ግን የአሜሪካ ታላላቅ መሪዎች ጎሣ-መር መንግሥታችንን እየተመላለሱ ሲያደንቁ፣ ለ83 ጎሣዎች 9 ጎሣዎች ብቻ የሚገዟቸው 9 ክልሎች በሕገ መንግሥቱ ተፈጥረው፣ የቀሩት 74 ጎሣዎች የዘጠኙ ጥገኞች ወይም ተገዢዎች መሆናቸውን እያዩ፣ ከፍተኛ ሹሞች በመጡ ቁጥር መንግሥትን ሲያወድሱ፣ ይህን ያህል ከወደዱት ከአውሮጳ፣ ከአሜሪካ፣ ከእስያና ከአፍሪቃ 100 በላይ አገሮች የመጡትን ዘሮች ሁሉ ለምን 100 ክልል ፈጥረው ማስተዳደር ሲመርጡ፣ America is a melting pot ይሉ የነበረው ለምን ነበር ብሎ መጠየቅ አግባብ ነው። ምስጋናቸው ሁሉ የአሜሪካን ሕገ መንግሥት ተጻራሪ እንደነበር በ19ኛው ክፍለ ዘመን ያካሄዱት የእርስ በእርስ ጨካኝና አውዳሚ ጦርነት አንድ ምስክር ነው።
ፖለቲካ ተከታታይነት ሲያጣ እንደ እኛ ያለ አሜሪካን እጅግ የሚያደንቅና ጠንቅቆ የሚያውቅ ኢትዮጵያዊ ዛሬ በክቡር አምባሳዶር የተነገረው አካታችነት፣ ግልጽነትና ውይይት ባይሟላም ለምን ዘገየ የሚል ጥያቄም ያነሳል። ዛሬ፣ ከዚህ የክቡርነታቸው አስተያየት ጋር፣ “ተጠያቂነት” አለመኖሩም፣ ማን በዳይ፣ ማን ተበዳይ እንደሆነ በመለየት በደሉንም በግልጽነት መርህ መሠረት መዘርዘሩና በዳይ ምን ሊያደርግ እንደሚገባው፣ የተበዳይም ድርሻ ምን እንደሆነ፣ መነሻውንም ለይቶ፣ ግልጽ መፍትሔ አቅርቦ፣ ያን መፍትሔ ለመተግበርና የተበዳይን መራር ችግር ለማስወገድ ሁሉንም አግባቢ እርምጃ መጠቆም ከሚከበርና አዋቂ ዳኛ የሚጠበቅ ፍትሐዊና አሳማኝ ተግባር ነው። የችግሩን መነሻ ያልገለጸና የተበዳይን ቁስል ያላከመ አስተያየትና ተጠያቂነትንም ያላካተተ ምልከታ ብዙ ርቀት አይሄድም።