@YemaneGirum This picture illustrates the power that your nation has.
REMINDER!
It was taken a year prior to the year where you were returned back to your landlocked status.
❐ ETHIOPIA ― PM Abiy Ahmed's Diplomatic Tour of Rejection
So, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, recently went on what can only be described as the most awkward Euro-trip, but more of a “let’s see what happens if I just show up” kind of trip.
Armed with nothing but his Schengen visa, he set off, apparently under the impression that European leaders would welcome him like royalty just because he showed up.
First stop: France and Italy. He was expecting red carpets, marching bands, and long diplomatic talks. What he got instead was ... a 15-minute meet-and-greet and a quick photo op. In, out, done.
He pretended to stay overnight like he was doing something important, maybe hit a museum or two, shopping spare socks, etc. He even met the new Pope, possibly trying to bless his empty schedule with some divine relevance. And yes, there was an attempt to charm the pope with coffee beans and a jar of honey like it was a political strategy.
Then he hit Germany. He showed up, assuming he could just walk into the Chancellery like it’s a hotel lobby. Unfortunately, Germany responded with a polite but firm “Yeah, nobody’s home. Try later. Or never.”
Not to be outdone, he tried the UK, but Britain, in its usual bluntness, didn’t even open the door - just looked through the peephole and pretended not to be there. Brutal.
Apparently, PM Abiy forgot the part where you actually plan diplomatic visits, like, tell people you’re coming? Arrange meetings? Maybe send an email? Instead, he showed up like a party crasher at a royal gala, expecting red carpets and finding locked doors.
Now imagine being an average Ethiopian, watching your head of government fumble through Europe like a lost tourist, mistaking sightseeing for diplomacy.
But wait ... there’s more. Because why stop at one international embarrassment when you can have two?
Back home, Abiy decided it was a good time to send an envoy to Sudan, a country he’s been, let’s say, not so friendly with lately, thanks to his alliance with the UAE to destroy it via a trojan horse called RSF (Janjaweed) rebels.
Unsurprisingly, Sudan’s leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declined to meet the envoy. Instead, he sent some junior staffer to greet them using a doormat instead of a red carpet. No ceremony. Just a polite, “Thanks for coming. Now kindly say whatever you came to say and see yourself out.”
For Ethiopians watching this diplomatic circus play out, the secondhand embarrassment must be next-level. This is not the kind of representation they were hoping for, but hey, when your country is led by Abiy Ahmed, maybe this is the gold standard. @AbiyAhmedAli@gdrarr@hidmonatv
RED LlINE warning ⚠️
"For some political groups in Ethiopia these days, their perilous obsession continues to revolve around futile packaging - sometimes too crass and couched in aggressive sabre-rattling; at other times advocated with seemingly historical/legal sophistry - to rationalize the toxic agenda of coveting and grabbing the sovereign territory of a neighbouring nation."
"Let us stress, for the umpteenth time, that this is a political blashphemy of the highest order, and a red line that should not never be contemplated or crossed."
Yemane G. Meskel Minister of Information
@hawelti@hawelty1@AmbStesfamariam@andemaria2@gdrarr@GhideonMusa@_Giusymic@Sharronyemane @TBEphraim @TemesgenTiru@mamamesay@lualawi2000