Ethiopia engaged in intensive diplomatic struggle on return of Axum obelisk: ministry

Addis Ababa, July 11(ENA)-- Ethiopia has launched intensive struggle in the diplomatic front world wide to force Italy to return the Axum obelisk looted by the fascist soldiers under the personal order of Benito Mussolini over sixty years ago, ministry of foreign affairs said.

According to a statement the ministry sent to ENA on Wednesday, Italy has failed to abide by international conventions and breached the various agreements it signed with Ethiopia.

It said Ethiopia has distributed the document prepared by the national committee established to facilitate the return of the Axum obelisk and the decision of the house of peoples' representatives as well as the agreements the two countries reached on the return of the monument in 1947,1956 and 1997.

Accordingly, president Girma Woldegiorgis and speaker of the house of peoples’ representatives have sent the documents to their Italian counter parts.

Deputy speaker of the house of the federation has also communicated the document to the Italian speaker of the senate through the Italian embassy in Addis Ababa, the statement said.

Minister of youth, culture and sports has delivered the document to the UNESCO secretary general and president of the European Commission, it said, adding that the document has been delivered to the secretary general of the African Caribbean and Pacific group (ACP) and to the current chairman of the European union through the Ethiopian embassies in Brussels and Stockholm respectively.

The recent draft proposal Ethiopia presented to last summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on the return of the obelisk has been accepted by the heads of state and government, it said.

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