At the end of his second-term and on his way out of the White House, President Clinton deemed it a nice decor on his future memoir to make sure that the Ethio-Eritrean conflict comes to an end. Therefore he put an extra energy to see the December 12 signing of the peace treaty and the world has scrambled with an amazing speed to make such a date happen. It is a welcome news and a sigh of relief for those Eritreans who have been holed in hell for over 2 years now begging for peaceful end to the conflict, and for the Woyane administered Ethiopian leadership who have manipulated the events of such conclusive arrival of peace to the best of their ability, well the nightmare has just begun. The question is would peace, the caged bird in Ethiopia, finally fly to freedom? Does the Ethiopian Government under the Woyane leadership have what it takes to live in peace? Do the UN as a world-body, and the US as superpower have the integrity and commitment to follow through the process until the end? Would they give in to the manipulations of the Woyane to prolong the stay of the peacekeeping force in Eritrea, the demarcation and delimitation of the border,and the exchange of the POW?
No sooner than the signature ink on the IMF development package to the tune of $400 million has dried, and no sooner than the lip-service to peace rendered in the presence of Kofi Anan in an exhcange of such a hefty package was broadcast to the world, the Ethiopian Government turned around and refused to let Mr. Anan fly from Addis Ababa directly to Asmara. The telling sign that all is not well with the peace treaty and the Ethiopian leadership at all, if nothing, it is not to their liking. In typical of a beggar nation, the Woyane liked the money part such a deal has brought, but not the prospect of peace. What peace? The old and outdated Woyane game played anew!
Upon his arrival in Eritrea, Mr. Kofi Anan was boasting about how peace was coming and development was to follow, while the Prime Minister of Ethiopia during the same time in his press release in Addis Ababa have once again displayed to the world that the Ethiopian leadership has not understood and appreciated the meaning of peace nor did they like the peace treaty that will be signed on December 12. It seems that in Ethiopia to thrive means to fight; patriotism means to spill ones blood on empty tummy -to stay hanged-up on yesterdays and nurse self-perceived diminishing pride with a pursuit of dreams that would not be realized. It makes up the temperament and cultural foundations of this nation that has historically become anti-peace and anti-development to itself and to the Horn of African region. Ethiopia through its successive regimes in the last 100 years pursued war and poverty due its policy towards Eritrea. So, in keeping with such culture, and perhaps on reflex of a long-practiced meddling, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia told the world that good neighborliness would not come unless the current Eritrean Government is changed. Someone in the group of reporters busy jotting down the uttering of the Prime Minster failed to remind him that such undertakings is none of Ethiopia's business, it is considered meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation! But, most of all it is not part of the deal in the peace treaty.
The Prime Minster further declared that the peace treaty to be signed on December 12 was the direct result of Ethiopia's military victory. Indeed, history will remember Ethiopia's brutal invasion of May 2000 with the aim of toppling the Government of Eritrea and reversing the hard won sovereignty. History will remember the brutal burning of villages, the raping and maiming of the innocent, the looting and deporting of thousands. History will remember them not as Ethiopia's military victory but as Ethiopia's brutal act of desperation to reclaim Eritrea and how miserably they had failed.
The Prime Minster and the Woyane leadership might for once tell the truth, nothing but the truth. The December 12 peace treaty came about to accommodate their donor masters not them. On Tuesday, December 12 the world will witness another Eritrean history in the making - formally witnessed by world leaders, Ethiopia will finally agree to see its borders demarcated and leave the young nation of Eritrea to be what it wills once and for all. This, not because the Woyane led Ethiopia appreciates peace or recognizes its own weakness in not achieving its objectives to reclaim Eritrea, militarily or politically, but because it has been sucked and pressured by world politics to undue its lies and forced to stand for justice. The credit goes not to Ethiopia but to the courageous and undying committed Eritrean spirit to stand still and hold on for justice until this day has been ushered.
The Eritrean Government and its people have already demonstrated their wish for a peaceful end to the conflict and their welcome to the peace treaty to be signed on December 12. Over 25,000 Eritrean civilians came out to the streets of Adi Keyih to greet Mr. Kofi Anan the Secretary to the UN. They have put their faith and trust on the man and the organization he represents that they will follow through with their word Eritrea has welcomed the blue berets and have opened up access to all areas necessary to expedite the process of peaceful settlement. Such noble pursuits should be honored with honest integrity, and Mr. Kofi Anan and the UN owes it to Eritrea and history that he delivers what he has promised, peace followed by development.
Perhaps it is because of such understanding and despite Woyane's desire to manipulate things into prolonging its political life at the expense of the misery suffered by the Eritrean and Ethiopian people, that Mr. Anan has solemnly made his promise of peace and development. A welcome news that would change the history of the horn of Africa, particularly, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Would the UN and the US have the commitment and necessary integrity to let the caged bird in Ethiopia, peace, finally fly to freedom? Time will tell.
In the meantime, it is upon us Eritreans to stand vigilant for our hard-won sovereignty and take nothing for granted. No peace; no victory; no sovereignty and no right has come our way just because justice dictated it. We earned it through diligent work, heavy sacrifices and plenty of patience. We have to do nothing less than stay the course and employ persistent effort to ensure that peace and development will indeed follow the misery of our experience in the last 30 months.
May peace and prosperity be our mark of history in this, the dawn of a brand new century.
Hidaat Ephrem
Seattle, WA