Ethiopia government is working with United States’ government to have Embassy stormier prosecuted, said Ambassador Dina Mufti, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that: “The United States’ government has the obligation to protect Ethiopian embassy, as we do the same in Addis Ababa”.
The remark was in reference to the September 29 storming of the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington D.C. by a group of people who managed to take down the flag and occupy an office in the Embassy for a few minutes. The incident led a security attaché of the Embassy to fire a gun to the air.
American officers briefly detained the individuals and registered their names, according to Ethiopia’s Ambassador to United States’ Girma Biru. The sec6rity attaché, on the other hand, subsequently left United States refusing to waive diplomatic immunity.
Dina Mufti claimed that the incident was in contravention of international law, adding that the Embassy stormers are affiliated to outlawed groupings that receive marching orders from the Eritrean regime and al-Shabaab.
Precautionary measures are being implemented at Ethiopian Embassies and Missions across the world, he disclosed.
United States’ officials have not provided updates on the matter since October 2, when State Department Spokesperson evaded the question as follows:
Question: Is there also an investigation concerning the protestors who are out near the embassy, trespassing, or anything along that line?
Ms. Psaki: I would point you to the U.S. Secret Service on that. That would not be the State Department.
In a related development, Ethiopians and Ethiopian Americans in Washington held a demonstration in front of the State Department on Tuesday denouncing the storming of the Embassy and claiming that “those people who trespassed and destroyed Embassy property are given a free reign to threaten and intimidate visiting dignitaries, diplomats and Ethiopian Americans deemed to be supporters of the government”.
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