Ethiopia state of emergency has full public backing – PM tells MPs

Ethiopians are fully in support of the current state of emergency which is being observed in the country according to Prime Minister (PM) Hailemarian Desalegn.

This was part of the major highlights of the PM’s address to the Members of Parliament (MPs) when he appeared before them on Thursday to answer a broad range of questions on matters affecting the country.

He reiterated the position of the Command Post administering the 6-month curfew that it had brought about calm and stability to the country. He alluded further that its success was because it earned the full backing of the public across the country.

He added that it helped to foil the plans of anti-peace forces and foreign hands who want to ruin the country’s peace. Ethiopia continues to accuse some of its neighbours of being behind anti-government protests that started late 2015 and continued into 2016.

The PM further disclosed that in the area of political reforms, the ruling Ethiopia Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) was liaising with affiliate parties to make it a national agenda.

On other issues, he touched on the country’s relations with its neighbours, promising to cement already existing ones like that with Kenya and Sudan.

“We have excellent relations with Kenya and Sudan. Our relation with Djibouti is strategic and one step ahead from the relations with other countries. We have also good relations with both South Sudan and Somalia,” he added.

He also touched on the other projects like the Ethio-Djibouti railway, the Addis Ababa light rail and the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam projects. He also touched on agricultural successes and issues with housing, stating that some 30,000 houses will soon be transferred to beneficiaries.