Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama told Ethiopia’s leaders on Monday that allowing more political freedoms would strengthen the African nation, which had already lifted millions out of a poverty once rooted in recurring famine.
Obama was speaking after talks with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on the first trip by a U.S. president to Ethiopia, one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies, which is often criticised for its rights record.
He gave a similar message in Kenya last week at the start of his Africa tour, stressing the importance of human rights amid economic progress.
Ethiopia’s opposition failed to secure a single seat in a May parliamentary election, drawing scepticism from Washington, which has also criticised Ethiopia’s detention of bloggers and journalists. The government insists that those detained have committed crimes.
“The governing party has significant breadth and popularity and, as a consequence, making sure to open additional space for journalists or media or opposition voices will strengthen rather than inhibit the agenda that the prime minister and the ruling party have put forward,” Obama told a news conference.
Hailemariam, speaking at the same briefing, acknowledged his country was a “young democracy” that had more to do, but said he had “minor differences” with America about the speed of that process. He said Ethiopia needed journalists to be ethical and not have ties to violent groups.
Obama’s careful phrasing, noting economic progress amid political restrictions, drew some criticism from opponents.
“The Americans know (the situation) but they are cautiously looking away,” said Merara Gudina, vice chairman of the Medrek opposition coalition. “They choose to wine and dine with dictators instead.”
Maya Foa of the rights group Reprieve criticised Obama’s reference to “a democratically elected government”, saying this was “woefully misplaced.”
“STANDING BY YOU”
Ethiopia, run by Hailemariam’s ruling party for a quarter of a century, is on track for 10 percent growth this year, helping transform a nation that was brought to its knees by communist purges in the 1970s and famine in the 1980s.
Obama praised Ethiopia’s development
record that had pulled “millions of people” out of poverty in the past 15 years in the nation of 96 million, although he said there were still too many people struggling.
“My message to the people of Ethiopia is: as you take steps moving your country forward, the United States will be standing by you the entire way,” he said.
Obama discussed closer security cooperation with Ethiopia and praised its role in an African force in Somalia that was helping shrink the area controlled by al Shabaab militants.
Obama’s Africa tour, which began on Friday in his father’s homeland Kenya, also aims to boost trade and business with a continent where China overtook the United States as the biggest trade partner in 2009.
The Ethiopian prime minister noted a century of diplomatic ties with the United States but said the U.S. “investment flow doesn’t match”. He noted that America was a leader in science and technology, which could help Africa.
Ethiopia’s breakneck economic growth has been driven largely by state-led investment, which economists say is squeezing out private business. Hailemariam said the country had to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks to avoid deterring investors.
The government has often turned to China to help build new roads, railways and dams in its bid to expand the industrial base in the largely agrarian economy. The new metro line that snakes through Addis Ababa was built by a Chinese firm.
(Additional reporting by Drazen Jorgic and George Obulutsa in Nairobi; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
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U.S. President Barack Obama (L) takes part in a welcome ceremony with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (R) at the National Palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 27, 2015.
REUTERS/TIKSA NEGERI
BBC
US President Barack Obama has praised Ethiopia as an “outstanding partner” in the fight against militant Islamists.
Its troops had played a key role in weakening the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group in Somalia, Mr Obama said.
He was speaking after talks with Ethiopia’s PM Hailemariam Desalegn, during the first ever visit by a US president to the East African state.
He also called on Mr Hailemariam to improve Ethiopia’s record on human rights and good governance.
“I don’t bite my tongue too much when it comes to these issues,” he said at a joint press conference in the capital, Addis Ababa.
BBC Africa Live: Obama in Ethiopia updates
Some rights groups have criticised Mr Obama’s visit, warning that it could lend credibility to a government accused of jailing journalists and critics.
A legal case currently being fought through the US courts alleges that agents of the Ethiopian government eavesdropped on the internet activities of a man in the US state of Maryland.
The man, born in Ethiopia and now a US citizen, works for a political opposition group outlawed in his home country.
Addressing the media, Mr Obama described the Ethiopian government, which won all parliamentary seats in May’s election, as “democratically elected”.
Opposition groups have said the poll was rigged.
‘Democracy commitment not skin-deep’
Mr Hailemariam said Mr Obama’s visit had taken a century-long relationship with the US to a “new height”.
“Our commitment to democracy is real, not skin-deep,” he added.
Answering a question about press freedom, Mr Hailemariam said Ethiopia wanted “civilised journalism”, and not reporters linked with “violent terrorist groups”.
On the security threat by al-Shabab, Mr Obama said there had been a “shrinkage” of the group since the deployment of regional troops to Somalia, its main base.
However, the killing of 15 people in a bomb attack on a hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday was a reminder that “we have to now keep the pressure on”, he said.
“We don’t need to send our own marines in to do the fighting: The Ethiopians are tough fighters and the Kenyans and Ugandans have been serious about what they’re doing.”
Mr Obama flew to Ethiopia after a two-day visit to Kenya where he had discussed trade and security but also called for greater human rights and warned of the dangers of corruption.
At the scene: Karen Allen, BBC News, Addis Ababa
Compared to the Kenyan leg of his tour, President Obama’s arrival in Ethiopia has signalled a more sombre mood. After talks in the ornate setting of the presidential palace, Mr Obama sought to highlight the areas of agreement with his host and tread cautiously over the delicate issue of democratic rights.
He praised Mr Hailemariam for the country’s contribution to peacekeeping efforts in the region, and said the US wanted to help “sustain momentum” on Ethiopia’s impressive rates of economic growth. Addis Ababa has undergone a massive building boom, thanks in part to substantial Chinese investment
But on the thorny issue of press freedom, much still divides the pair. Mr Obama said it was a “significant topic of discussion”, and insisted that a vibrant and free press would strengthen rather than inhibit Ethiopia’s development. For his part, the prime minister called for “civilised journalism” and said Ethiopian journalists needed training.
Mr Obama also referred to the civil war in South Sudan ahead of talks with regional leaders on the issue.
Government and rebels leaders were “extremely stubborn”, and other “tools” would have to be considered if there was no breakthrough in ending the conflict, he added.
The 19-month war in South Sudan has left thousands of people dead and displaced more than two million.
On Tuesday, Mr Obama will also be the first US leader to address the 54-member African Union in Addis Ababa.