Egypt’s persistent ambitions
As the new Khedive, Ismail Pasha, turned his full attention to annexing part or all of Ethiopia to the Egyptian Empire, with a particular focus on the Abay River basin. The Egyptian presence on Ethiopian soil intensified during his regime.
In 1856, Egyptian forces began to plunder the residents of the Tekeze area, and in 1865 they plundered the Gondar provinces. That same year, Egyptians under Sheriff Pasha invaded and occupied Bogos. In 1872, a Swiss adventurer named Werner Munzinger occupied Massawa on behalf of the Khedive of Egypt, and two years later, in 1874, he led the Egyptian army and occupied Keren. Ismail then made Munzinger governor of Massawa. Munzinger was eventually killed in the Battle of the Rift Valley, when Ethiopians wiped out the entire Egyptian expedition force.
Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, Ismail was bent on annexing Ethiopia and bringing the Abay River basin under Egyptian control, thus fulfilling Egypt’s dream of creating a Greater Egyptian Empire. Concerned with the Egyptian campaign against Ethiopia, Emperor Yohannes IV wrote to the British Secretary of State, describing the situation: “Ever since Emperor Tewodros died until my time, Egypt has not stopped trying to take away my country, district by district.”
He added that Egypt “is determined to reign Ethiopia by force and to destroy the Christian religion.” Yohannes’s letter, like the one sent by Emperor Tewodros to Queen Victoria, was ignored.
Knowing that Yohannes IV had inherited a nation weakened by internal conflicts and external invasions, Egypt saw an opportunity to conquer and annex Ethiopia while it was weak, divided, and without strong leadership.
In 1875, Egypt dispatched well-armed invasion forces to occupy Ethiopia. Ill-armed and ill-trained Ethiopians met the Egyptians on the battlefield at Gundat and virtually wiped out the entire Egyptian forces, along with their many mercenaries of European and North American background. Angered by the humiliating defeat suffered by the Egyptian army at the hands of the Ethiopians, Egypt sent another contingent, superior in numbers, to Ethiopia.
The Egyptian army was given a twofold mission: to avenge the defeat at Gundat and to occupy Ethiopia at any cost. Again, Ethiopians fought gallantly at the Battle of Gura, as they did at Gundat, and defeated the Egyptians with their European mercenary forces in 1876.
Examining centuries of Ethio-Egyptian relations, one is led to conclude that Egyptian leaders, from Muhammad Ali Pasha to Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, are blinded by their hatred of the Ethiopian people and their dream of conquering Ethiopia. Even today, before the ink on the Memorandum of Understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland dried, Egypt began sharpening its tongue, mobilizing other states to stand with Somalia against Ethiopia to prevent Ethiopia from acquiring access to the sea.
Egypt has rarely stood up in defense of Africa. On the contrary, it is known to conspire, weaken, and attack or help others attack African states. Sudan, Ethiopia, and Libya stand as examples of Egyptian conspiracies against African states and people.
Egyptian leaders need to stop telling bald-faced lies, such as claiming the Nile River belongs to Egypt or insisting that Somalis are Arabs. Moreover, el-Sisi’s declaration to stand with Somalia against Ethiopia to prevent Ethiopia’s access to the Red Sea reflects Egypt’s everlasting hatred of Ethiopia rather than any love for Somalia. Our Somali brothers and sisters need to understand the political game Egypt has been playing. Egyptian leadership needs an extended period of counseling to understand that Egypt will not stop Ethiopia from pursuing and fulfilling its national security interests or allow anyone to interfere with its sovereign rights.
Furthermore, to maintain national security and economic growth to meet the needs of its growing population, Ethiopia needs access to the open sea, like plants need air and water to grow.
Egypt and the GERD
Egypt has been warning Ethiopia “not to take a cup of water from the Abay River without its consent.” However, every Ethiopian knows that Egypt did not ask Ethiopian permission to build the Aswan Dam using the water of the Abay River to ensure its people’s food and water security, modernize its economy, and gain unlimited access to hydroelectric power. It has been stated that more than 70 percent of Ethiopians live in darkness for lack of electricity, while more than 90 percent of Egyptian households enjoy access to electricity.
What Egyptians need to know and accept is that as long as the Abay River starts in and flows from Ethiopia, Ethiopia has every right to use the river to improve the social and economic lives of its people without seeking anyone’s consent, let alone that of the Egyptians. Moreover, as long as the Dam is not designed to endanger the lives and property of downstream countries, no international law will ask Ethiopia not to build the GERD.
It is clear that the social, economic, and political well-being, as well as the industrialization of Ethiopia, hinges on the full utilization of the hydroelectric power that the GERD is expected to generate. With a growing population, Ethiopia’s needs for essential resources like food, water, and shelter will increase significantly.
To meet and sustain these needs, Ethiopia must not only complete the construction of GERD but also build as many dams as required to support its people. This would allow Ethiopia to stop importing food, break the cycle of dependency on food aid, and transition from being a receiver to a provider nation.
Why maintain diplomatic relations?
Diplomatic relations are established between nations based on mutual respect, shared interests, and a genuine desire to develop and maintain a positive and enduring friendship. Key ingredients for such relationships include a commitment to non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, rules governing diplomatic relations, including the acceptance and refusal of diplomats and staff of diplomatic missions, are well established.
With a history dating back to biblical times, Ethiopia understands the importance of diplomatic relations and the value of good diplomacy. Despite encountering numerous military and diplomatic crises, Ethiopia has long recognized the need for diplomatic relations and the role of diplomats in maintaining peace between nations.
Diplomatic relations should be maintained unless they threaten national security. No African state has proven to be a continuous threat to Ethiopia’s national security and existence more than Egypt. For centuries, Egypt has conspired against Ethiopia, supporting internal and external enemies intent on dividing and weakening the country.
Egypt’s persistent dream of creating a Greater Egyptian Empire by controlling the Abay River underscores this threat. This dream endangers Ethiopia’s national security, social, economic, and political development, and its existence as an independent nation.
Ethiopia and Egypt have long fought over the use of the Abay River. Today, tensions over the construction of GERD have led many observers to predict that war between Egypt and Ethiopia seems inevitable. However, if logic and reason prevail, a peaceful resolution of the dispute is possible. This requires Egypt to stop demonizing Ethiopia, cease its war rhetoric, and halt its efforts to mobilize neighboring countries against Ethiopia.
Given the continued war-like rhetoric of Egyptian leaders and their calls to bomb the dam to protect Egypt’s so-called “acquired rights” over the Abay River, it is worth questioning the point of maintaining diplomatic relations with Egypt. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s threats against Ethiopia underscore this hostile stance. The term “open options” has been repeatedly used by Egypt and its supporters to intimidate Ethiopia, and recent joint military exercises between Egypt and Sudan have only heightened tensions.
Breaking diplomatic ties
Considering the centuries of conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia, Egypt’s continued threats to Ethiopia’s national security, and its recent campaign to mobilize international opinion against Ethiopia’s rights to the Abay River, Ethiopia is justified in breaking diplomatic relations with Egypt.
This should remain the case until Egypt agrees to respect Ethiopian national sovereignty and territorial integrity and recognizes Ethiopia’s rights to the Abay River and other rivers originating in Ethiopia. For peaceful coexistence and a lasting relationship, Egypt must cease its conspiracies against Ethiopia and stop supporting religious and ethnocentric movements aimed at dividing and dismantling the country.
Alem Asres earned a doctoral degree in the Philosophy of Social Foundations of Education from the University of Maryland, College Park. He has an extensive background, having served as a Professor of International Relations and Director of Multicultural Affairs at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. Furthermore, he held the position of Director of College Diversity and Teacher at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College until his retirement in 2014.
Contributed by Alem Asres (PhD)