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A28 WORLD NEWS
Monday 15 June 2020
Egypt: Ethiopia rejecting 'fundamental issues' on Nile dam

By SAMY MAGDY that arise.
Associated Press "Any further pause in talks
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt, Sudan would not be welcome as
and Ethiopia on Sunday the only way to resolve this
said talks would continue matter is for the parties to
later this week to resolve remain engaged in negoti-
their dispute over a Nile ations until they reach con-
dam Ethiopia is construct- sensus on the outstanding
ing, even as Cairo accused issues," he said.
Addis Ababa of rejecting "The Ethiopian proposal
"fundamental issues" at the aims to scrap all the agree-
heart of the negotiations. ments and understand-
Ethiopia wants to begin ings reached by the three
filling the dam's reservoir countries during the nego-
in the coming weeks, but tiations spanning nearly a
Egypt has raised concerns decade," el-Sebaei said
that filing the reservoir too Saturday.
quickly and without a deal Ethiopia's Water and Ener-
could significantly reduce gy Ministry on Sunday said
the amount of Nile water el-Sebaei's comments were
available to Egypt. Both "regrettable." It said that if
countries have made clear the ongoing negotiations
in the past that they could failed, it would be because
take steps to protect their In this June 28, 2013 file photo, construction work takes place, at the site of the Grand Ethiopian of "Egypt's obstinacy to
interests, should negotia- Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. maintain a colonial-based
tions fail, and experts fear Associated Press water allocation agree-
a breakdown in talks could ment that denies Ethiopia
lead to conflict. number of points of conten- ous halt in February, after ple. Egypt seeks to protect and all the upstream coun-
The talks resumed last week tion, which "demonstrated Ethiopia rejected a U.S.- its main source of freshwa- tries their natural and legiti-
via video conference after that there are many funda- crafted deal and accused ter for its large and growing mate rights."
months of deadlock, and mental issues that Ethiopia the Trump administration population, also more than Egypt has received the
will start up again on Mon- continues to reject." of siding with Egypt. At the 100 million. lion's share of the Nile's
day, statements from the Irrigation Ministry spokes- time, Egypt's Foreign Min- William Davison, senior an- waters under decades-old
three main Nile basin coun- man Mohammed el-Se- istry said it would use "all alyst at the Crisis Group, a agreements dating back
tries said Sunday. baei accused Ethiopia of available means" to de- Brussels-based think tank, to the British colonial era.
However, the most recent bogging down the talks fend "the interests" of its said the resumption of talks Eighty-five percent of the
negotiations have been with a new proposal he people. was "necessary and posi- Nile's waters originate in
punctuated by strong called "concerning." Construction of the $4.6 tive," however there were Ethiopia from the Blue Nile,
comments from both Egypt A day earlier, Ethiopia's billion Grand Ethiopian Re- still "considerable disagree- which is one of the Nile's
and Ethiopia. deputy army chief had said naissance Dam on the Blue ments" between the par- two main tributaries.
Egypt's Irrigation Ministry his country will strongly de- Nile is over 70% complete, ties on key issues, primar- Ethiopia has said it plans to
said in a statement late fend itself and will not ne- and promises to provide ily how to manage future start filling the dam in July
Saturday that Ethiopia was gotiate its sovereignty. much-needed electricity to droughts, and also how to this year, at the start of the
looking to renegotiate a Talks came to an acrimoni- Ethiopia's 100 million peo- resolve any future disputes rainy season.q
Polish president calls LGBT 'ideology' worse than communism

Duda accused the LGBT party, and Warsaw Mayor neo-Bolshevism."
rights movement Saturday Rafal Trzaskowski, who has Earlier in the week, Duda
of promoting a viewpoint called for tolerance for signed a declaration draft-
more harmful than commu- gays and lesbians. ed for the stated purpose
nism and said he agreed Duda, who is 48, told his of helping families that in-
with another conservative supporters that his parents' cluded language on "pro-
politician who stated that generation did not struggle tecting children from LGBT
"LGBT is not people, it's an to cast off communism only ideology" with a ban on
ideology." to now accept "an ideol- "propagating LGBT ideol-
Duda made his comments ogy" that he thinks "is even ogy in public institutions."
in the small southwestern more destructive to the hu- Many conservative politi-
town of Brzeg as he cam- man being." cians in Poland say they are
paigns for reelection in The president said that dur- not against gay men and
Poland, a predominantly ing Poland's communist lesbians as individuals, but
Catholic nation that spent era, regimes ensured sur- insist they oppose the goals
more than four decades vival by indoctrinating the of a civil rights movement
under communist govern- youngest generation. they claim is imported from
ments. "That was Bolshevism. It abroad and threatens to
Gay rights is emerging as a was the ideologizing of sexualize young people.
In this Feb. 19, 2020 file photo, Poland's President Andrzej Duda
campaigns for his re-election in Warsaw, Poland. key campaign theme in the children," he said. "Today, But gay and lesbian Poles
Associated Press presidential election as the there are also attempts to and liberal Poles say gov-
race grows close between push an ideology on us and ernment officials are
By VANESSA GERA WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Duda, backed by the na- our children, but different. adopting a language of
Associated Press Polish President Andrzej tionalist conservative ruling It's totally new, but it is also dehumanization.q