Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town intervenes to prevent Rwanda-like g***cide in Ethiopia
Posted: 07 Mar 2021, 19:00
Thabo Makgoba, the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, has mobilised the church and reached out to the South African government in an attempt to halt the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ethiopia.
With both Pretoria and the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa largely turning a blind eye to the bloody conflict in Tigray, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba has taken up the cudgels, demanding action to prevent another Rwanda-like genocide.
This week, Makgoba wrote to International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor, urging her government to put pressure on the AU to take a stronger stand.
Makgoba – who is the Anglican Church’s most senior archbishop in Africa – has also urged the South African Council of Churches and the Council Of Anglican Provinces of Africa to take up the cause, a church spokesperson said.
“He’s also urging an “African solution” – that the AU should broker talks involving all parties in Ethiopia to sit down, as we did in South Africa, and work out a long-term solution which balances federal and regional interests in Ethiopia,” the spokesperson said.
Makgoba launched his appeal for intervention in the conflict last week, calling for SA faith groups and civil society to intervene.
“A quarter of a century ago, the genocide in Rwanda occurred under our noses, with the world failing to stop it. What is happening in Tigray must not be allowed to deteriorate even further,” he said.
“Access should be allowed to all parts of Tigray to enable aid to flow. Journalists and independent human rights experts need to be allowed in.
“Foreign troops should leave Ethiopian soil and the tensions between Sudan and Addis Ababa [should be] defused. And the Ethiopian people need to sit down with one another and work out a broadly acceptable resolution which balances regional autonomy and federal power.”
There has been no sign of any response yet from Pretoria or Addis Ababa to Makgoba’s heartfelt appeal and this week, he followed it up with a letter to Pandor.
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With both Pretoria and the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa largely turning a blind eye to the bloody conflict in Tigray, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba has taken up the cudgels, demanding action to prevent another Rwanda-like genocide.
This week, Makgoba wrote to International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor, urging her government to put pressure on the AU to take a stronger stand.
Makgoba – who is the Anglican Church’s most senior archbishop in Africa – has also urged the South African Council of Churches and the Council Of Anglican Provinces of Africa to take up the cause, a church spokesperson said.
“He’s also urging an “African solution” – that the AU should broker talks involving all parties in Ethiopia to sit down, as we did in South Africa, and work out a long-term solution which balances federal and regional interests in Ethiopia,” the spokesperson said.
Makgoba launched his appeal for intervention in the conflict last week, calling for SA faith groups and civil society to intervene.
“A quarter of a century ago, the genocide in Rwanda occurred under our noses, with the world failing to stop it. What is happening in Tigray must not be allowed to deteriorate even further,” he said.
“Access should be allowed to all parts of Tigray to enable aid to flow. Journalists and independent human rights experts need to be allowed in.
“Foreign troops should leave Ethiopian soil and the tensions between Sudan and Addis Ababa [should be] defused. And the Ethiopian people need to sit down with one another and work out a broadly acceptable resolution which balances regional autonomy and federal power.”
There has been no sign of any response yet from Pretoria or Addis Ababa to Makgoba’s heartfelt appeal and this week, he followed it up with a letter to Pandor.
Continue reading
