Tampere University of Technology of Finland withdrew PM Hailemariam Honorary Degree — COME ON, NOT AGAIN. Tampere University of Technology of Finland withdrew PM Hailemariam Desalegn’s nomination for honorary degree.

The Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in Finland rescinded the honorary doctorate degree it was scheduled to award to Ethiopia’s prime minister Halemariam Desalegn following a relentless campaign by Ethiopians in the Diaspora who believe a man at the helm of a brutal regime does not deserve such recognition.

A campaign by the Ethiopian community in Finland and all over the globe has forced the University to remove the announcement of the award from its website.

The University simply informed the Ethiopian community that PM Hailemariam will not attend the event.

The Ethiopian community representatives in Finland last month wrote a letter saying the Prime Minister does not deserve such an award as he is part of regime that terrorizes its own people.

An alumnus of TUT, Hailemariam Desalegn graduated in 1992 with MSc in Sanitation Engineering.

In 2014, Azusa Pacific University (APU) withdrew the honor bestowed upon Hailemariam following a relentless campaigned by activists. The University said it withdrew the honor after thorough consideration of the human rights violation perpetrated by the Ethiopian regime to which Hailemariam is a key player.

>> MUST READ : Ethiopian PM Humiliated after APU Revokes Honor

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Today, Wednesday March 29, 2017, President Mika Hannula of Tampere University of Technology (TUT) has confirmed in an email to the Ethiopian Community in Finland the decision of the TUT Academic Board, which states:

“It is the decision of the Academic Board that PM Hailemariam Desalegn will not be conferred an Honorary Doctor at the 2017 conferment ceremony.”

The Board does not speak anywhere in this message of any decision to award the honorary degree to Hailemariam Desalegn at a future date.

However, the first part of President Hannula’s email notes:

“Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has notified TUT that he will be unable to attend the Conferment of Doctoral Degrees on 20 May and has proposed that his conferment be conducted at a later, undefined date.”

Conferment of doctoral degree by TUT occurs every fifth year. Is the university to keep for Hailemariam Desalegn the said award for next five years until the next conferment cycle? Such questions have persuaded the members of the Community that the University authorities are protecting the actors in this exercise from present and future blames.

As any analytical mind could see, the two sentences by the TUT Academic Board, reflecting its decision and Hailemariam’s desire, cannot naturally go hand in hand.

Let this situation not hide from memory at any moment.

– The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)