Addis Ababa University (AAU) hosted a panel discussion organized by College of Social Science with collaboration of Office of the Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer of the University at Nelson Mandela Hall today 16^th of December 2021.

The theme of the discussion focussed on Western Interventions in Affairs of Non-Western Countries with emphasis on Ethiopia: Historical, Political, Legal and Media Perspectives.

Emebet Mulugeta (PhD), Academic Vice President of AAU, representing the University’s President, made an opening speech and stated that AAU has recently got the chance to play its role in national issues after had been in years of silence and resignation due to lack of academic freedom.

According to Dr. Emebet, AAU has now the opportunity to discus important and timely ideas and has been vocal by conducting discussions on national issues like the GERD matter, peace and security and COVID-19.

“AAU has been a source of movements that changed Ethiopia and brought about so many transformations in its nearly 72 years of existence. It is an institute that produced prominent people in the academia, business, politics and other respected professions. It is also the springboard for great ideas that brought about revolutions and transformations,” she said.

Today’s discussion is very timely not only for Ethiopia but also for all African countries and other developed countries that have been going through negative influences of Western and powerful countries in the world, Dr. Emebet stated.

“Today’s topic of discussion will going to highlight the historical patterns of the interventions and their negative impacts, their political motives and processes, the legal perspective internationally, regionally and nationally, how the media is playing out exaggerating issues and bringing about negative impact on Ethiopia and other developing countries,” she stressed.

Doctors and Professors of various disciplines from AAU, presented their papers based on historical overview of foreign interventions in Ethiopia, the international law of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, interventionism as aspect of international relations surrounding recent developments in Ethiopia and Western media’s symbiosis with their respective governments in advancing their governments’ foreign policy imperative implications for Ethiopia.

Manipulation of border treaties followed by unilateral demarcation, creating sources of disputes and taking Ethiopian’s instability as a guarantee of safety for others, the Nile matters, divisive ethnic and religious propagations, Western powers manipulating the League of Nations, violating conventions of non-intervention agreements, disseminating fake news and others were the main pressures enforced on Ethiopia, as raised in the panel discussion.

In her closing remarks, Mitike Molla (PhD), Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer of AAU, acknowledged the offices, individuals and the panellists who have played the vital roles for facilitating the panel discussion to happen, and finally informed that a series of such discussions on current issues will continue.

Photo: Fikremariam Beyene

Editor: Abraham Girmay