We have witnessed several weeks of shuttle diplomacy by the OAU special envoy Ouyahia and Anthony Lake grind to a halt due to "Ethiopia's road block to peace", as the Boston Globe aptly put it. The Globe wrote, on its March 7, 2000 Editorial:

"A nation where 8 million people are threatened by famine would be wise to end a senseless war immediately. Ethiopia ought to accept an African peace plan that calls for the peaceful settlement of its border dispute with Eritrea. Yet late last month fighting broke out, as it has periodically since heavy combat ended last June. Eritrea blames Ethiopia, but whatever really happened, it is clear that Ethiopia is presenting the biggest roadblock to peace."

The strange and sad thing is that ostensibly Eritrea again is being asked to make more concessions. Back in July 1999, during and after the Algiers summit of the African Heads of State, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi insisted that the TA be written so as to be non-amendable. The OAU took him up on his suggestion and prepared a TA that was declared to be a non-amendable document and that the OAU and its current chairman were the only authorities to interpret it. Eritrea, to Zenawi's great shock, accepted the TA, as is, two days after it was presented to it on August 7, 1999. Zenawi and his government balked. Since then Ethiopia has been stalling the implementation of the peace deal by asking endless clarifications, threatening war, and giving empty ultimatums.

Now, there are reports that there might be a meeting on the offing between the parties in Algiers, of course with the mediation of Algeria/OAU, to continue negotiating. The Eritrean government has been sticking to its guns, and rightly so, and saying to Ouyahia and Lake "you said the TA was non-amendable. And we accepted a non-amendable document."

But now since Ethiopia has changed its mind about the non-amendability of the TA (no surprise there) and is asking for amendments and the OAU/US might in turn be asking Eritrea for more concessions, Eritrea should say to the Mediators: "wait a minute, if you reverse yourselves and you now say that the TA is amendable, then allow Eritrea also to put in our own amendments, because back in August 1999 our understanding was the TA was non-amendable, otherwise, we might have also asked for certain amendments in the provisions of the TA that we had concerns with. Now, that is only fair and logical!" If this scenario is correct, then the OAU has broken its promise and Meles and Co. have made a mockery of the OAU resolution and mediator team and, lo and behold, negotiations to amend the so-called non-amendable TA might be underway soon in Algiers.

Eritreans firmly believe the search for 'Peace with Justice' must continue and must be completely exhaustive. Therefore, unlike Ethiopia, Eritrea once again is demonstrating its commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Ethio-Eritrean border war. Unlike Ethiopia, Eritrea is again bending backwards to give peace a chance. Unlike Ethiopia, Eritrea has not gone back on its promise to abiding by the non-amendable TA and was patiently waiting for peace with justice. But this patience will come to an end if the mediators do not stop appeasing Ethiopia and endlessly ask for more concessions from Eritrea. There are many in Eritrea who are beginning to take the hard-line and opting to fight it out instead of amending the TA and appeasing the Ethiopian regime. Eritrea has accepted the peace package in its entirety so should Ethiopia, for lasting and just peace to prevail in the region.

As the Boston Globe put it, "a nation where 8 million [of its] people are threatened by famine" has no business in going on a shopping spree for sophisticated war machinery from cash-starved ex-communist nations in Eastern Europe and Russia and threatening war against its neighbor when a deal that could solve the conflict peacefully is on the table. Ethiopia should be pressured to accept the peace package and Eritrea should not be asked for endless concessions.