Ethiopian officials apply for political asylum in Ireland
April 8, 2006 (DULIN) — Four Ethiopian regional officials applied for asylum in Ireland at the end of an official visit. They were on a visit to launch a partnership between their towns and Dublin County Council, the Irish Independent reported.
Four Ethiopian officials who applied for asylum here after a development aid visit to Dublin have been branded “very selfish” by their own Charge d’Affaires in Ireland.
The men applied for asylum here to receive community assistance which was being offered by an Irish local authority.
The four – all minor regional politicians – were on a week-long visit to launch a partnership between their towns, Werabe and Butajira, and South Dublin County Council.
Last night, Goitom Kahsay, the Ethiopian Government representative in Ireland, said the four had “given priority to their own economic consideration rather than the plight of the people back home”.
He added: “They were given the trust of the local people. You can imagine how their compatriots are living. They are in very poor circumstances.”
The men, Ahmed Kedir, Abdul Bereda, Danil Mulugeta, and another who goes by the single name Shemsu, are believed to be in an asylum seekers’ hostel in North Dublin.
They were due to fly home more than a week ago. Council officials went to meet them at their hotel to accompany them to the airport prior to their flight to Addis Ababa, via London.
“Unfortunately they didn’t turn up for that meeting and we subsequently discovered they had applied for asylum in Dublin,” said council spokesman Abe Jacob.
The partnership programme on which the men were invited to Ireland was designed to build up the skills and experience of government officials in Ethiopia in the provision and delivery of local services.
The four, from the ruling party in Ethiopia, known as the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), had been staying at the Clarion Hotel in Dublin.
The Ethiopian Embassy has expressed its embarrassment and has contacted the council for continued support for the partnership.
Charge d’Affaires Mr Kahsay said: “Their application has nothing to do with the political situation in Ethiopia.
“Ireland is a country that has made great economic progress. They have come out of Ethiopia for the first time in their lives and seen it, and they are being very selfish in trying to get some economic benefit for themselves and not their communities.”
The South Dublin County Council spokesman said: “We’re determined to press ahead.”
No Government monies go directly to the Government of Ethiopia Junior Minister Conor Lenihan said on radio yesterday.
GOAL director John O’Shea said the decision of the four Ethiopians to seek political asylum was a “most embarrassing situation” for the Government.
Lenihan said under international law, the four were entitled to apply for asylum.
(Irish Independent/ST)