Pope Tawadros II: Church not asked to arbitrate in Nile crisis
Coptic Pope Tawadros II has said that the president’s office did not ask him to address the Ethiopian Church to resolve the Nile water crisis after Ethiopia began to divert the course of the Blue Nile on Tuesday.
Egypt fears this measure will reduce its water supply.
In a phone conversation with Anadolu News Agency, Tawadros said that he has not received a phone call from President Mohamed Morsy or any other government official regarding the issue.
Some in the Egyptian media have said that Morsy asked Tawadros to capitalize on the historical relations between the Egyptian and Ethiopian Churches and that he had agreed and had invited the Ethiopian Pope to an urgent visit to Egypt.
Meanwhile, a source from the papal headquarters said that, "The pope will not hesitate to help resolve the Nile water crisis if asked," and added that Tawadros will meet with Ethiopian Church leader Abune Mathias in Cairo on 19 July and that they may discuss the issue then.
In statements to Anadolu, the same source emphasized that "the Ethiopian Church has no role in the Ethiopian decision-making process; it can give advice only."
The Ethiopian Church has long-standing relations with the Egyptian Church, but it cannot actually intervene to stop the construction of the dam, the source added.
The last meeting between the former Ethiopian pope and the late Pope Shenouda III in November 2012 did not tackle the Nile Basin crisis, added the source.
Former Egyptian commander: Striking Ethiopia dam 'impossible'
General Mohamed Ali Bilal, commander of Egyptian forces during the Gulf war, said that it is “impossible” to strike the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam because such a decision would be issuing a challenge to the entire world.
Bilal told al-Arabiya satellite channel on Wednesday that such an attack would bring Egypt into conflict with those countries, such as China and Israel, whose citizens are involved in the construction of the dam. Egypt is not in a position to stand up to all those countries, he added.
He also said that, when the US launched Desert Storm and invaded Kuwait, it did so under the auspices of the UN. Besides, he added, there seems to be international consensus that Ethiopia has the right to build the dam.
He emphasized that the US had planned its construction and that Israel is providing technical support. In Bilal’s view, the only way to tackle the crisis is to persuade the US to intervene on Egypt's behalf and convince the Ethiopians to mitigate the impact construction of the dam will have.
Major General Ahmed Abdel Halim, a security and strategic expert, said that a diplomatic solution is the best way of handling this issue, while adding that striking the dam would not bring the aspired results.
He also said that, as a last resort, Egypt could present its case to the International Court of Justice, the Security Council, and the International Criminal Court.
Listen Al Jazeera Inside Story - Bereket Simon discusses the impact of Abay Dam on Egypt and Sudan
My question is that, what are the expecting from Government, Politicians/Opposition parties/, Non Government organizations, Diasporas and every Ethiopian regarding this issue???
Coptic Pope Tawadros II has said that the president’s office did not ask him to address the Ethiopian Church to resolve the Nile water crisis after Ethiopia began to divert the course of the Blue Nile on Tuesday.
Egypt fears this measure will reduce its water supply.
In a phone conversation with Anadolu News Agency, Tawadros said that he has not received a phone call from President Mohamed Morsy or any other government official regarding the issue.
Some in the Egyptian media have said that Morsy asked Tawadros to capitalize on the historical relations between the Egyptian and Ethiopian Churches and that he had agreed and had invited the Ethiopian Pope to an urgent visit to Egypt.
Meanwhile, a source from the papal headquarters said that, "The pope will not hesitate to help resolve the Nile water crisis if asked," and added that Tawadros will meet with Ethiopian Church leader Abune Mathias in Cairo on 19 July and that they may discuss the issue then.
In statements to Anadolu, the same source emphasized that "the Ethiopian Church has no role in the Ethiopian decision-making process; it can give advice only."
The Ethiopian Church has long-standing relations with the Egyptian Church, but it cannot actually intervene to stop the construction of the dam, the source added.
The last meeting between the former Ethiopian pope and the late Pope Shenouda III in November 2012 did not tackle the Nile Basin crisis, added the source.
Former Egyptian commander: Striking Ethiopia dam 'impossible'
General Mohamed Ali Bilal, commander of Egyptian forces during the Gulf war, said that it is “impossible” to strike the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam because such a decision would be issuing a challenge to the entire world.
Bilal told al-Arabiya satellite channel on Wednesday that such an attack would bring Egypt into conflict with those countries, such as China and Israel, whose citizens are involved in the construction of the dam. Egypt is not in a position to stand up to all those countries, he added.
He also said that, when the US launched Desert Storm and invaded Kuwait, it did so under the auspices of the UN. Besides, he added, there seems to be international consensus that Ethiopia has the right to build the dam.
He emphasized that the US had planned its construction and that Israel is providing technical support. In Bilal’s view, the only way to tackle the crisis is to persuade the US to intervene on Egypt's behalf and convince the Ethiopians to mitigate the impact construction of the dam will have.
Major General Ahmed Abdel Halim, a security and strategic expert, said that a diplomatic solution is the best way of handling this issue, while adding that striking the dam would not bring the aspired results.
He also said that, as a last resort, Egypt could present its case to the International Court of Justice, the Security Council, and the International Criminal Court.
Listen Al Jazeera Inside Story - Bereket Simon discusses the impact of Abay Dam on Egypt and Sudan
My question is that, what are the expecting from Government, Politicians/Opposition parties/, Non Government organizations, Diasporas and every Ethiopian regarding this issue???
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