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POLITICS: Ethiopia, Eritrea Peace Process Plunged Into Crisis
By Sonny Inbaraj
ADDIS ABABA, Oct 2 (IPS) - Within a fortnight, the peace process between
Ethiopia and Eritrea has swung from one end of the pendulum to the other -
from optimism on all sides to, now, a crisis stage.
On Sep. 13, the UN Security Council passed a resolution that renewed the
mandate of UNMEE - the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea - and
called on the two warring Horn of Africa nations to settle their differences
through dialogue.
The heart of the matter is the border town of Badme, where the war first
started - which saw over 100,000 dead and wounded with an involvement of
about half a million troops and the displacement of about 600,000 civilians.
Badme is currently under Ethiopian administration, but under the ruling
by the Hague-based Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC) - made in
April last year - the town lies in Eritrea.
Both Ethiopia and Eritrea committed themselves to be bound by the
decision of the EEBC in the border demarcation between the two countries, as
spelled out in the Algiers Agreement that ended the war in Dec. 2000.
After being postponed twice, the demarcation of the 1,000-kilometre
border is scheduled to begin this month.
The initial optimism, soon after the passing of the Security Council
resolution, was expressed at a crucial meeting, in the Kenyan capital
Nairobi, between senior Ethiopian and Eritrean military officials, under the
auspices of the Military Coordination Commission (MCC) and chaired by the
Force Commander of UNMEE.
The Ethiopian side was represented by Brigadier-General Yohannes
Gebremeskel. And after the meeting, Gebremeskel said it was clear the peace
process had now reached an important and crucial stage and was sure that the
"peace-loving people of both Ethiopia and Eritrea would ensure a successful
outcome."
Gebremeskel, in a statement obtained by IPS, added that Ethiopia
supported the border demarcation process and would continue to give full
support to UNMEE's efforts in ensuring lasting peace between his country and
Eritrea.
As at the end of July, UNMEE had 4,000 UN troops, including some military
observers deployed in a 25-kilometre wide buffer area, called the Temporary
Security Zone, or TSZ, between the two states.
But the optimism at the Nairobi MCC meeting seems to have dissipated.
Early last week, the United Nations was stunned when it received a
three-page letter from Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi addressed to UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council.
"Despite the veneer of normalcy in the work of the Boundary Commission, I
am afraid the work of the Commission is in terminal crisis," wrote Zenawi.
"The key to the crisis of the work of the Commission is its totally
illegal, unjust, and irresponsible decision on Badme and parts of the
Central Sector," he added.
Warned Zenawi: "It is unimaginable for the Ethiopian people to accept
such a blatant miscarriage of justice. The decision is thus a recipe for
continued instability, and even recurring wars."
"As the Commission's decisions could inevitably lead the two countries
into another round of fratricidal war, the Security Council has an
obligation, arising out of the UN Charter, to avert such a threat to
regional peace and stability," he added.
Zenawi also called on the Security Council to set up an alternative body
to demarcate the contested parts of the border "in a just and legal manner
so as to ensure lasting peace in the region".
The Eritrean government reacted to Zenawi's letter by accusing Ethiopia
of wanting to see the "disintegration" of Eritrea.
"Badme has become a second pretext for a second war," acting Information
Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed told the UN news agency, IRIN, in Asmara, the
capital of Eritrea.
The United Nations, alarmed at the spanner thrown in the works said the
peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea had entered its "most critical
stage" following Zenawi's letter.
"This new development concerns us that we have entered a very crucial
stage in the peace process," UNMEE Spokesperson Gail Bindley Taylor-Sainte
told reporters at a press conference.
"It's probably the most critical phase that we've faced since we've been
here," she said.
But observers are perturbed by the turn of events in Addis Ababa and seem
perplexed by Zenawi's letter.
"We certainly cannot afford another conflict, let alone another war. If
tensions flare up it will be the end for the economies of both countries,
which are already in the doldrums," said Abera Teshome, an Addis Ababa
businessman.
"Why fight over some relatively marginal square kilometres of
agricultural land? Our real battle, here in Ethiopia, is acute poverty and
hunger. I think our planners should get their priorities right and not play
politics," added Teshome.
According to latest reports, a rescue package to slash Ethiopia's food
aid dependency in five years will cost 3 billion U.S. dollars and one in
four Ethiopians still live in a hand-to-mouth situation.
The next few weeks will be crucial, and the International Crisis Group
said both countries could either resume a path toward war or solidify their
peace agreement.
The Brussels-based advocacy group has called on the United States, the
African
Union and the European Union to undertake an immediate public diplomacy
campaign that spelled out for Ethiopia and Eritrea the importance of full
implementation of the Algiers Agreement, the benefits of compliance and the
costs of collapsing the peace process.
The group also called for "gradually escalating" political and financial
measures that could be applied against a party that blocked implementation
of the Algiers Agreement.
(END/2003)
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