The Eritrean opposition is displeased that Ethiopia has accepted the appointment of Girma Asmerom as Ambassador to the AU in Addis Ababa”
The former ambassador to the Organisation of African Uity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, who was declared persona non grata by the Ethiopian authorites in 1999, is back in the Ethiopian capital.
Girma Asemerom Tesfay presented his letters of accreditation there to the president of the African Union (AU) Jean Ping, on 17 January, as the new Eritran permanent representative to the AU.
Given his personality, this appointment is not to the liking of the Ethiopia-based Eritrean opposition, which is annoyed with Crime Minister Meles Chenawi for not opposing it.
Girma Asmerom Tesfay was a member of the Ethiopian national football team in the 1968 Olympic Game in Mexico city and so is accustomed to stating privately that he is “more Ethiopian than Meles Zenawi“.
For his part, the Ethiopian Prime Minister holds him responsible for the degradation od his relations with the Eritrean Head of State, Issayas Afeworki, after Eritrea achieved independence in 1993.
Girma Asmerom knows Ethiopians and Addis Ababa well, which raises concern among the Eritrean opposition that he might form a pro-Eritrean network of influence in the Ethiopian capita.
(Source: Indian Ocean Newsletter, #1301 01/22/2011, https://www.eastafricaforum.net/2011/01/22/an-ambassador-who-makes-waves/)
