Economist Reporter Discusses Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed

 The Hundred, a political newsletter, posted on 3 December 2024 an interview titled "Ethiopia and Abiy Ahmed" by Tom Gardner, former Economist reporter based in Addis Ababa and now assigned to Nairobi.  

This critical assessment of Prime Minister Abiy helps explain why Gardner was expelled from Ethiopia.  

Nobel Committee Urges Ethiopian Prime Minister to Seek Peace

 Aljazeera published on 13 January 2022 an article titled "Nobel Panel: Abiy Has 'Special Responsibility' to End Tigray War."

The chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on 13 January that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has a special responsibility to end the conflict and contribute to peace.

The Background to War in Ethiopia

 The New York Times published on 15 December 2021 an article titled "The Nobel Peace Prize That Paved the Way for War" by Declan Walsh.

The article asserts that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was planning for war against Tigray with the collaboration of President Isaias Afewerki in Eritrea well before the TPLF attacked the northern command headquarters in Mekelle on 3 November 2020.  

Ethiopian Prime Minister to Join Battlefront

 Aljazeera published on 23 November 2021 an article titled "Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed Vows to Lead Army 'from the battlefront'." 

Beginning November 24, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he will mobilize to the battlefront to lead the Ethiopian National Defense Forces against the Tigrayan Defense Forces.  

Ethiopia: Washington Post Editorial

 The Washington Post published on 27 January 2021 an editorial titled "Ethiopia's Leader Won the Nobel Peace Prize. Now He's Accused of War Crimes."

The editorial concludes that the United States and European Union should withhold further aid to Ethiopia until there is full humanitarian access to Tigray and the government agrees to pursue peace talks.  

Nobel Peace Prize and War in Ethiopia

 The Los Angeles Times published on 6 December 2020 an article titled "In Ethiopia, a Nobel Peace Laureate Goes to War" by Jacob Kushner.  

This article focuses on the background of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his rise to power in Ethiopia.  

Ethiopia: Nobel Peace Prize Does Not Lead to Peace

 The Washington Post posted on 9 October 2020 an article titled "One Year after Abiy Ahmed's Nobel Peace Prize, Ethiopia's Crises Are Multiplying" by Max Bearak.  

The author notes that Ethiopia is more troubled one year after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize.

This week the Nobel Committee awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize to an organization--the World Food Program.  Probably a safer bet.  

Ethiopian Prime Minister's Nobel Peace Prize and the Future

The Institute for Security Studies published on 18 October 2019 a commentary titled "Nobel Gives Ethiopia's Abiy Momentum to Consolidate Sustainable Peace" by Roba D. Sharamo and Anton Du Plessis.

The authors conclude that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, like Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela before him, is another early-term Nobel Peace Prize winner whose record is still being written. After an impressive start, he and his government still face massive challenges at home and in the region. Abiy is now under an African and global spotlight, and expectations on him to deliver are enormous.

Commentary on Ethiopia's Nobel Peace Prize Winner

The New York Times published on 17 October 2019 a letter to the editor titled "Abiy Ahmed Won the Nobel Peace Prize. Now He Needs to Earn It" by Tobias Hagmann, Roskilde University, and Kjetil Tronvoll, Bjorknes University.

Hagmann and Tronvoll conclude that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has cast himself as a transformational figure, promising peaceful coexistence and an end to the government's autocratic ways. But he hasn't delivered either yet. Abiy has won the Nobel Peace Prize; now, he needs to earn it.

Praise and Caution for Ethiopia's Nobel Prize Winner

Brookings posted on 15 October 2019 a commentary titled "Alfred Nobel Catches 'Abiy-mania'" by Zach Vertin.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Abiy has taken the lid off Ethiopia, initiating one of the world's most important political transitions, but also its most fragile. The author argues that the success or failure of Abiy's high wire act will shape not only his country, but the entire region, for a generation to come.