It is unfortunate and really distressing to read headlines like that of the BBC (March 3, 2000: Horn Peace Efforts Falter). It is indeed a curse to see that after all the meetings, agreements, and endless shuttle diplomacy war may not be avoided after all.
LET'S BE GRATEFUL
First things first; we, the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea, should be truly grateful for all the countries, organizations and individuals that have tirelessly tried to help us to make peace and end the conflict that came to their attention after it blew up in May 1998. I, like all peace-loving people, hope that their efforts do not falter.
Having said that, however, at this point I cannot help it but think that the OAU and the USA (those who are currently involved in shuttle diplomacy) are betraying themselves and the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia. By not insisting that agreed-upon documents become the basis for the next set of agreements, they are doing a great disservice to themselves and to the Eritrean and Ethiopian peoples. As custodians of the peace process, it is time for them to ask the international community to enforce the agreements so far accepted by both the Eritrean and the Ethiopian governments. Needless to say that the international community is armed with the necessary agreements to dictate peace. This may be the most-opportune time for the international community to dictate peace before it witnesses yet another bloody war. We can rest assured that the next war will even be deadlier than the previous wars; this time around it may also consume more civilians, especially peasants who live in the border areas.
Unfortunately, it appears that the OAU and its partners are missing a golden opportunity. By not adhering to the phrase "any interpretation of the OAU Framework Agreement and the Modalities is the sole responsibility of the OAU and its current Chairman" and by letting Ethiopia re-interpret the documents and re-inject venom into the process they are not being truthful to their own words. The mediators seem to cave-in to TPLF's demands; the result will be the undoing of the monumental results they have achieved so far. If my impressions from media reports are correct, and I hope they are not, the mediators for peace are driving the entire set of documents, and thus the peace process itself, to a dead-end.
The peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea cannot afford to silently watch the delaying tactics of the TPLF when over half-a-million armed men and women from both sides are only a few meters from each other. At the pace the mediators are going and the direction they are taking, each day brings us closer to war, not to peace. Tempers are rising, military hardware is in place, the rains have stopped, and "human blood may start flowing", again.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY ?
It has been over six months since Eritrea accepted the entire OAU peace package. The package contains the Framework Agreement, the Modalities for interpreting the Framework, and the Technical Arrangements, a timeline of how to carry out the agreements. Ethiopia has rejected the peace package, claiming that the Technical Arrangements do not accurately reflect the documents (Framework Agreement and the Modalities) it accepted earlier.
The OAU should stay true to its own statements and let Ethiopia know that the consequences of any war are fully Ethiopia's responsibility. After all, part D of the Introductory part of the clarification given by the OAU to the series of questions asked by Ethiopia states:
"Finally, and as recorded in the 4th paragraph of the preamble to the document containing the Technical Arrangements, the Parties have accepted that "any interpretation of the OAU Framework Agreement and the Modalities is the sole responsibility of the OAU and its current Chairman"."If we are to believe this statement, then shouldn't the OAU flat out inform Ethiopia that it is transgressing the earlier agreements? Shouldn't the OAU and its partners remind Ethiopia that it is in violation of documents that it has already accepted? In case the OAU is not capable of resolving the conflict, even after a series of agreements that both countries claim they have accepted, shouldn't the OAU simply pass the responsibility on to the UN-which has built-in mechanisms to deal with crises of such magnitude?
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES
However unfortunate the developments of the last few days might be, this will not be the first time the international community is disappointing the people of Eritrea. By failing to condemn the atrocities and gross human-rights abuses committed by Ethiopia, against resident, civilian Eritreans and Ethiopian citizens of Eritrean origin, the OAU, the UN, the USA, the EU... have emboldened and encouraged Ethiopia to continue abusing those unlucky civilians that are still in Ethiopia. Point No. 3 in the Modalities states that "The two Parties agree to put an end to all military activities and all forms of expression likely to sustain and exacerbate the climate of hostility and thus compromise the implementation of the Framework Agreement."
Has Ethiopia accepted the Modalities? Yes. Is it abiding by it? No.
What has the OAU done about it? Nothing! Absolutely nothing.
The abuses committed against Eritreans, especially against the children who were forcibly left "home alone" after their parents were separated from them and then deported to Eritrea, leaving the children back in Ethiopia, are crimes the Eritrean people can never forget. However, it is also a humbling experience to listen to stories of deportees en route to Eritrea who were given water and food by brave Ethiopians, against the orders of TPLF, thus risking their freedom and lives to help fellow human beings. The Ethiopian people, unlike their government, have not lost their mind; they have not sold their souls to the devil.
MESSAGES OF PEACE FROM ERITREANS TO ETHIOPIANS
All outsiders (OAU/UN/USA/EU.) could do for us (Ethiopians and Eritreans) is help us to realize the futility of war and, if the will is there, to force us to stop making war. True, genuine and lasting peace comes only from within ourselves. Realizing this the Eritrean Diaspora organized at least three peace marches. In July, 1998, Eritreans demonstrated for peace, when calling for peace was not fashionable. In March, 1999, and earlier this week on Feb. 29, 2000, Eritreans all over the world, from the Sudan & Africa to the Middle East to Europe to the Americas to Australia... demonstrated for peace. We demonstrated for peace in large numbers, thousands of us in some cities and few people in others, and even a single person in a small city in Australia. (see The Man Who Danced for PEACE.) The message was the same everywhere, PEACE NOW. We were in line and lined up at local and federal government offices, UN branches, UN headquarters... all over the world. We even went on-line and petitioned for peace on the Internet by collecting signatures of peace from Eritreans and friends of Eritrea. We have expressed our genuine desire for peace, for we realize that in peace we all win.
Slowly, Ethiopians are warming up to the idea of peace and are chanting peace slogans along with Eritreans. Over the last year there has been a steady increase in the number of Ethiopians who are calling for a peaceful end to the conflict. Even those die-hards, those who are committed to fully incapacitate Eritrea and forcibly make it part of Ethiopia, those who jumped on the TPLF's band-wagon at the start of the conflict (believing that it would be an easy victory and a weekend war for Ethiopia) are realizing that the war is not going to be decidedly in Ethiopia's favor. Thus, they are abandoning the TPLF's and the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray's (MLLT) call for war and destruction. I hope they are real converts to peace and not fair-weather fans of peace.
I am sure Ethiopians in Ethiopia would also join peace rallies, given the right atmosphere. But, understandably, they cannot be vocal about it. How could they? After all, they see that those who call for peace are losing their freedom; who knows, those who boldly speak for peace may soon start losing their lives. Even people who are famous and well-thought of in Ethiopia are incarcerated for speaking for peace. Case in point and the latest famous victim is the Ethiopian journalist, Ato Mairegu Bezabih. An Ethiopian paper reported that "At a panel discussion organized by the university teachers association in Addis Ababa," among other things, Ato Mairegu "called upon TPLF to accept the OAU peace proposal and settle the dispute with Eritrea peacefully." Calling for peace is a crime in TPLF's Ethiopia. Almost ten years after the ouster of Mengistu, Ato Mairegu has been conveniently charged by the TPLF with crimes against humanity for allegedly writing articles/editorials that incite hatred.
In closing, let me just state that sooner or later the war will end; the TPLF will accept the OAU's package for peace. The question is will it be after a bloody war and at a cost of tens-of-thousands of the Horn's youth or now? The question every Ethiopian should ask is what is in it for Ethiopia to go for yet another round of bloody war and the maiming and killing of tens-of-thousands of its youth?
The Eritrean people have spoken loud and clear; we chanted "PEACE YES! WAR NO!" all over the world and we mean it. Will the Ethiopian people be partners in this peace search or will they follow the bedeviled minority government and opt for death and destruction? I believe, and I hope they will vote for peace.
Mobae Afeworki