Honorable Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
House of Representatives, US Congress
410 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee,

After reading your views on the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict as expressed in the deliberation of H.Con. Res. 46, which urges the end of the conflict and investigation of human rights violations, I was surprised and disappointed. With utmost and unquestionable respect to you and your office, allow me to express and elaborate on my serious concerns about your prematurely conclusive statements.

In your October 26 testimony discussing H. Con. Res. 46 you say, "..when Eritrean troops invaded the area, claiming it as their own..The provocative act of aggression by Eritrea has attracted wide public attention..These areas have never been part of Eritrea." This view is not consistent with the OAU Peace plan which you, as indicated in your testimony, support. Your words have done what the OAU, UN, US and the international community at large have not: label Eritrea as the aggressor. As is now widely known, the OAU Peace plan calls for an investigation of events on and preceding May 6, '98, the flash point date of the conflict, in order to determine culpability, i.e. which party, if any, has committed aggression.

Your words demonstrate that you have determined ownership of the yet to be geographically defined disputed territories without referring to any detailed legal basis, such as colonial treaties, OAU resolutions and relevant international law. What the OAU, UN, and US experts and diplomats are attempting to complete and resolve after securing Ethiopian acceptance of the Technical Arrangements, the third and final integral component of the OAU Peace Plan, you have already and prematurely resolved and judged.

Please, note that the gravity of your action is not in your express support of Ethiopia, but in your disregard of all the long and laborious work that went into crafting the complex OAU Peace plan presently on the table. Most unfortunately, as a juror and important consumer of all the evidence on the conflict, nowhere do you give the Eritrean side, the OAU, or the US diplomatic establishment the benefit of the doubt much less due consideration.

As I have attempted to explain above, your conclusion that Eritrea is the aggressor is highly questionable given that the international community, the US included, has placed its reputation on the line behind the OAU Plan which will identify the aggressor, if any, in due time after much complex investigation, analysis, and deliberation. Of course, work to determine wrongdoing cannot be accomplished until Ethiopia joins the international community, the US included, by accepting the Technical Arrangements.

However, the view you have expressed as part of the deliberation associated with H. Con. Res. 46 may be detrimental to the ongoing intense mediation efforts because it can discourage Ethiopia from accepting and signing the OAU Peace Plan. As you know, following Eritrea's acceptance of the plan in August '99, the international community is anxiously awaiting Ethiopia to do the same so that war can be averted and tens of thousands of lives saved.

Accordingly, I strongly urge you to focus on ending the war, on stopping the horrendous hostilities, and making a positive difference by continuing to call on the Ethiopian government to accept and sign the OAU Peace Plan, particularly the Technical Arrangements. Presently, this is the only feasible option to stop an imminent Ethiopian attack against Eritrea, which can only result in further death, displacement, destruction and more deportees of Ethnic Eritreans from Ethiopia.

Please, understand that I do not ask that you reconsider your evident support for Ethiopia. In fact, on one hand, I commend you for your, albeit premature and in the long run unsustainable, support of Ethiopia because it shows that you are by association concerned about Eritrea as well. On the other hand, nevertheless, I humbly request that you give due recognition and weight to the work behind the OAU Peace Plan and the intense and overwhelming international support it enjoys.

In conclusion I request that you accept my admiration for your effort to bring peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Also, I thank you for the attention and time you are devoting to the devastating and demoralizing conflict that has claimed the lives of approximately 70,000 soldiers, displaced hundreds of thousands civilians, resulted in the unjust and illegal deportation of over 60,000 Ethnic Eritreans from Ethiopia, and placed much needed regional development on hold. With your continued attention and help, peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia can be restored and; therefore, US interest in the region served.

Sincerely,

Aradom Iyob