THE EEBC DECISION TEN YEARS LATER AND ETHIOPIA'S ILLEGAL OCCUPATION:
ERITREA: DEMARCATION DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED APRIL 13, 2012
By Yemane Abselom
In May 1998, Ethiopian troops fired and shot on an Eritrean platoon
on routine duty along the border town of Badme killing several of its
members. The Eritrean government's response was one of patience and a
resolute determination to resolve the matter peacefully. However, the
minority led Ethiopian government's response was a declaration of an
all out war on Eritrea under the pretext that Eritrea had invaded
undefined Ethiopian territory that later was concocted as "Badme and
its environs". The minority led Ethiopian government had hoped a war
with Eritrea would give it the legitimacy it had failed to achieve
domestically through its divisive and ethnocentric governance.
After a catastrophic bloodshed, the case went for arbitration to the
Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, the highest court of
arbitration in the world. The independent boundary commission that
was setup with the consent of the Ethiopian government rendered its
unanimous, final and binding decision on April 13, 2002. The ruling
of the commission has shown, without a doubt, that the town of Badme
was a sovereign Eritrean territory. According to that decision, the
government of Ethiopia was in fact found to be the aggressor that was
illegally occupying Eritrean territory.
Today is April 13, 2012 and it has been 10 years since the Permanent
Court of Arbitration in the Hague passed its final and binding
decision. The ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration is not
only final and binding as agreed upon by both parties, but it is also
guaranteed by the United Nations, United States, the African Union
and the European Union. No other agreement had such a backing and
support of the world community. Yet, the United Nations and its
powerful security council member, the United States, have not only
allowed Ethiopia to renege on the agreement it signed but to remain
in occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories for the last ten years.
To add insult to injury, the United Nations also passed two
resolutions, resolution 1907 and resolution 2023 that:
1. Limit Eritrean ability for self defense, especially as
Ethiopia continues to occupy its sovereign territories and threatens
its existence as a sovereign country.
2. Limiting the government of Eritrea's ability to improve
the standard of living of its people by restricting international
investments in the booming mining sector and the restriction of
remittance of its citizens abroad.
If the people of Eritrea have felt wronged by the world body and
especially the United States when the United Nations federated
Eritrea with Ethiopia in 1950, setting off the 30 years of
independence war, it has not fared any better today. No lessons have
been learned by US leaders or the international community.
Today, thousands of Eritreans have been displaced by the continued
occupation of Eritrean territories by Ethiopia. Ethiopia continues to
threaten Eritrea's existence by provoking the nation through cross
border raids, killing innocent civilians and open support of known
terrorist groups. The world body continues to remain silent to the
continued injustice against Eritrea today as it has in the past.
If the United States wants to be taken seriously as a broker of peace
in the world, then it must enforce agreements it guarantees and force
its ally Ethiopia to allow the physical demarcation of the border to
proceed in accordance with the delimitation and demarcation decisions
it witnessed and guaranteed. Justice demands that agreements signed
in good faith be respected.
Yemane Abselom
----[Mailing List for Eritrea Related News ]----
Received on Fri Apr 13 2012 - 18:48:52 EDT
