Unlike what the TPLF would have us believe, Ethiopia rejected the entire peace package. Thus, Ethiopia should not be allowed to get away with flimsy excuses such as "but, we accepted the framework and the modalities; it is only the technical arrangement that we don't accept." After all, 97-percent of gorillas' genes are the same as those of humans, but gorillas aren't human.

Ethiopia's objections are articulated over hundreds of pages of Walta/Addis Zemen/Ethiopian Herald and the many posts & interviews by Ethiopian officials that appear under different authors. Leaving the abject lies and the demagoguery aside, the objections to the peace package could be reduced to the following few points. They are:

• 50-days for Eritrean troop pull out are too long,
• that Ethiopia should have the right to deport Eritreans from the disputed land,
• that Ethiopian peasant militias (read, Greater Tigray's TPLF army) should be allowed to openly carry guns,
• that no peace-keeping force is allowed in Ethiopia,
• that the disputed land be identified before signing the document, and
• that the disputed territories be labeled Ethiopian sovereign territories prior to demarcation.

These are, to put it bluntly, petty objections designed to frustrate all mediators and peace seekers. The reasons would have been laughable, indeed, if their consequences were not consuming tens-of-thousands of the Horn's youth.

• WITHDRAWAL:
  We are told that 50-days are too long. Long compared to what?! It's already been over 100-days since Eritrea unconditionally accepted the peace package---twice as long as the 50-days the OAU proposed. This point is, thus, pointless.

• DEPORTATION:
  Nobody should expect a single Eritrean to stay behind when the Eritrean armed forces pull back from the disputed territory, if at all there are still any. Only those who believe they are Ethiopian, so far, that is, are at risk, if at all there are still any in the disputed places. It's Ethiopians who have to worry about getting deported from their own country. After all, Ethiopia has shamelessly deported its own citizens over the last 20-months.

• MILITIAS:
  It's been repeatedly reported that the Eritrean and Ethiopian armies are only a few meters from each other. So, give the "militias" tanks and SU27's, it wouldn't make much of a difference whether they are allowed to openly carry their AK-47's or not. In my opinion, the point was designed by the OAU as a measure in building trust, nothing more.

• BLUE HELMETS:
  Ethiopia is making it clear that it views the proposed presence of "blue helmets"---an OAU-directed, UN-funded peace keeping force---as an invasion of its sovereignty. But, Ethiopia has no problems when the same organization is feeding its people year in and year out, a responsibility it is not familiar with. Indeed, the UN found it necessary to remind the regime that feeding its people is its responsibility. This should be more humiliating than the former. At any rate, may be the OAU should think of proposing putting religious people from both countries in between the armies, if that will result in a peaceful end to the conflict.

• IDENTIFICATION:
  Several weeks ago Eritrea told the OAU that it has absolutely no objection to identifying the areas from where both armies are to pull out prior to signing on to the peace package. It is up to the OAU to identify which army is to pull out from what areas.

• "ETHIOPIAN TERRITORY":
  Even Ethiopians are finding this unreasonable and funny. When demanding for territory that Ethiopia fully knows it will lose in demarcation, Ethiopia is closing all avenues for peace. This is a single point that should raise red flags for all who care to see an end to this conflict.

If the OAU truly intends to peacefully end the war, which I believe it does, it should flat out tell Ethiopia that it better accept the package in its entirety. In the mean time, TPLF's calculation appears to be that the OAU will take time to reply to 14-pages of questions (to a six-page document) and that it will launch an attack on Eritrea in the meantime and control the disputed land. Then what? "Accept" peace?

However, this is dangerously short sighted. Ethiopia may end up losing more resources, like land and people it labels as "fenji-regatch" (human mine sweepers).

It appears that the TPLF is set out to start the war: It may control more of the disputed and/or Eritrean territory, or it may end up losing land that it now controls. Yes, Ethiopia could win a battle or two, but it will decidedly lose the war against Eritrea. It is simply underestimating the resolve of the Eritrean people to fiercely defend their hard-won independence.

There is, however, a much better alternative for both sides: PEACE. After all, they are us and we are them.

Mobae