From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Mon Aug 24 2009 - 12:24:22 EDT
Hague decision clashes with Ethiopia's directive
August 24th, 2009 | EthioPolitics.com |
By Yohannes Anberbir, Capital
The Ethiopian government is assessing compensation claims over the
expulsion of Eritrean citizens from Ethiopia during the Ethio-Eritrean
war, following the The Hague Commission release of its final verdict on
August 17, 2009.
The Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission established on December 12th,
2000 as part of the 2000 Algiers peace deal that ended the two-year
border war, awarded Eritrea US$46,000,000 as compensation in respect of
expellees.
"Based on its analysis of the evidence available in the records, the
Commission awards
Eritrea US$46,000,000 as compensation in respect of expellees' losses of
property on account of Ethiopia's unlawful actions," article 39 of the
compensation award reads.
While the Claims Commission based at The Hague awarded compensation to
expelled Eritrean residents this past week, a directive issued two
months ago by the Ethiopian Council of Ministers, allowed Eritreans to
fully claim and access their property left in Ethiopia.
Eritreans who had lived in Ethiopia were expelled due to security
reasons during the 1998-2000 war between the two countries. However,
their property has been protected until now, Bereket Simon, Minister of
Communications told Capital.
Bereket stated that their property had never been confiscated, saying
that while several properties had been sold by the government, revenues
from these sales are kept at the National Bank of Ethiopia, and many
properties remain in the hands of legal representatives. "That is why
the Council of Ministers issued the directive allowing Eritreans to
access their property," Bereket told Capital.
Despite this, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission's final decision
requires Ethiopia to pay 46 million US dollars in compensation to
Eritrean citizens expelled during the war.
"There is no way Ethiopia will compensate the expellees," said Bereket
"we have already set up a mechanism to restore the property of the
expellees.
However, Bereket was not willing to reveal what action Ethiopia will
take in view of this new decision of The Hague, saying the issue was
under examination.
According to the award, Ethiopia will be compensated US$174,036,520, and
obliged to pay a total monetary compensation of US$161,455,000 to
Eritrea including the US$46 million as compensation in respect of
"expellees' losses of property." Moreover, the decision requires
Ethiopia to pay US$2,065,865 compensation in respect of claims presented
on behalf of individual claimants.
The decision should bring US$10.5 million to Ethiopia; however Ethiopian
officials are not satisfied with the decision citing Eritrean offences
which they argue were proven by the Commission.
"The amount of compensation is totally incommensurate with Eritrea's
offences; it does not detract from the fact that Eritrea's brutal
actions in flagrant violation of international law has again come to
light as the United Nations Security Council considers sanction against
Eritrea for acts of destabilization in the Horn of Africa," said
Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Ministry on its press statement issued on
August 18, 2009.
Ethiopia also argues it was unable to reclaim property stranded at the
ports of Assab and Massawa during the war. According to the BBC who
published a breakdown of the study, Ethiopian property valued at 133.3
million US dollars was looted at the Eritrean ports of Massawa and
Assab.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had made a case for the
Commission of The Hague claiming property mostly owned by the Ethiopian
business community, but the Commission rejected the case when making its
earlier decision in 2005.
Property expropriated includes, 135,000 tons of dry cargo, including aid
shipments of 81,000 tons and 1,400 new vehicles, as well as 33 million
litre of fuel according to a statement made by the government of
Ethiopia at the Commission hearing.
"Any such claims would in any event appear to be outside the scope of
the Commission's jurisdiction.. Nevertheless, the Commission encourages
the Parties to consider some arrangement to bring about the early return
or other appropriate disposition of the remaining stranded property, as
well as of the proceeds of other property that Eritrea sold or
transferred," reads the final statement of the Commission. The
Commission further revealed its willingness to assist both parties in
this regard if they jointly request to do so. However, nothing has so
far been reported from either side on this matter to date.
"I have stopped thinking about my vehicles stranded during the war, and
nothing is communicated by the government regarding any compensation,"
Nebyu Wubishet, a vehicle importer at the time, told Capital.
"I have no comment with regards to compensation for Ethiopian
businesses," said Bereket. "It is the Eritrean government that
confiscated the property; the government of Ethiopia had tried to
restore it through the Commission, but the case was out of the
Commission's mandate and the result was communicated to the businessmen
at the time of the decision," he explained.
"We are all victims of the Eritrean aggression," Bereket stated at a
press briefing held Thursday in his office.
A study made by the Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute,
following the conclusion of the war notes, the two and a half year
border war costs Ethiopia more than 2.9 billion US dollars.