COPENHAGEN, Denmark
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, on Thursday issued a very rare admonition to the 2019 winner, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, over the war and humanitarian crisis in his country’s Tigray region.
“As
prime minister and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Abiy Ahmed has a special
responsibility to end the conflict and contribute to peace,” the Oslo-based
committee said in a statement.
Abiy
won the prize, in part, for making peace with neighboring Eritrea after one of
Africa’s longest-running conflicts.
The
committee said that “it must be emphasized that Abiy Ahmed’s prize was awarded
on the basis of his efforts and the justifiable expectations that existed in
2019,” adding that “the historical backdrop included an authoritarian governing
system and widespread ethnic conflicts.”
But
in November 2020, Abiy’s government allowed Eritrean forces into Tigray as they
together pursued the Tigray leaders after political tensions erupted into war.
Some tens of thousands of people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands
now face famine as Ethiopia’s government has kept almost all food and medical
aid from Tigray since late June.
“Nowhere
in the world are we witnessing hell like Tigray,” WHO Director-General Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Tigray official, told reporters on Wednesday,
saying the WHO had approached Abiy’s office for permission to send medicines
into Tigray, in vain.
“The
humanitarian situation is very serious, and it is not acceptable that
humanitarian aid does not emerge to a sufficient degree,” the Norwegian Nobel
Committee statement said.
There
was no immediate comment from the prime minister’s office.
Ethiopia’s
conflict entered a new phase in late December when Tigray forces retreated into
their region amid a new military offensive and Ethiopian forces said they would
not advance further there. But aid workers have said airstrikes continue to
kill civilians in Tigray, with a weekend strike killing more than 50. Another
airstrike killed 17 on Monday, the day President Joe Biden, in
a call with Abiy, raised concerns about them.
The
Norwegian Nobel Committee also said that its deliberations are confidential.
“Furthermore, it is not our role to provide continuing commentary on Ethiopian
developments or to assess the position of a Peace Prize laureate after the
prize has been received.” - AP
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