Ethiopia PM Receives Nobel Peace Prize

Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, received the Nobel Peace Prize in a ceremony in the Norway’s capital, Oslo yesterday.

He received the prize for helping forge a peace agreement with Ethiopia’s embattled neighbour, Eritrea, bringing an end to the border conflict that raged for 20 years, claiming around 100,000 lives on all sides.

Alongside this, Abiy has been recognised for attempting to democratise the East African country, spending his first 100 days in office bringing an end to the state of emergency installed by his predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn. 

This involved the release of all political prisoners, the legalisation of opposition groups, and relaxing the restrictive press restrictions that had been in place, including the release of journalists.

Delivering his Nobel lecture, Abiy called for peace in the Horn of Africa, pleading to those that wish to make the region a “battleground”.

“We do not want the Horn to be a battleground for superpowers nor a hideout for the merchants of terror and brokers of despair and misery”, he said.

In acknowledging that the path to peace is not one that can be undertaken by a single actor, the Prime Minister accepted the prize “on behalf of my partner, and comrade-in-peace, President Isaias Afeworki, whose goodwill, trust, and commitment were vital in ending the two-decade deadlock between our countries”.

The Nobel Peace Prize is never far from controversy, and this year’s recipient is no exception.

Eritreans protested outside the Norwegian Parliament building as Abiy delivered his lecture, brandishing signs such as, “Nobel Prize is for concrete peace, not rhetoric”.

The peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea is yet to be implemented, and the Eritrean government have unilaterally shutdown the border crossings that were opened just months ago.

He’s also been embroiled in a media row, refusing to hold a press conference the day before the ceremony, as has become customary for Nobel laureates, saying he would rather get back to Ethiopia to deal with domestic issues.

Officials from the Nobel committee said this was “highly problematic”, reminding Abiy that “some former Nobel peace laureates have received the prize in recognition of their efforts in favour of [press freedoms]”.