There is only one Ethiopia, but there are two starkly different pictures or realities in Ethiopia today that are completely incongruent with each other.

One picture is that of a country that continues to purchase machinery of war from Russia and other ex-communist and Eastern Block countries in apparent preparation for war with its small neighbor to the north: Eritrea. Reportedly (See "Ethiopia Imports Advanced Russian Fighters," Story Filed: Thursday, January 06, 2000 1:22 PM EST ADDIS ABABA (Jan. 6) XINHUA) - Ethiopia "will have Mig-29 and Su-27 fighter jets from Russia following a defense agreement signed by the governments" and MI-24 helicopter gunships, 21 of the latter have already, according to the same report, been delivered to Ethiopia.

The second reality or picture is that, in the mean time, Ethiopia is begging for more food aid for the near-starving population where critical food shortages due to failure of the rains for the second year in a row is evident particularly in the eastern part of the country. On Jan. 7, 2000 , the BBC reported that "[a]n Ethiopian government minister says efforts to find a port to receive critical food supplies has resulted in the country being given free access to a dock in the port of Berbera, in the self-proclaimed republic of Somaliland."

Another report ("Hunger stalks Ethiopia's dry land," Thursday, 6 January, 2000, 11:16 GMT, By World Affairs correspondent Rageh Omaar) exposes the severity of the problem by asserting that "[a]nother humanitarian disaster looms as hunger again takes hold in many parts of Ethiopia." The report continues, "[p]eople are coming from remote villages, like Galga, where they have no food left after two years of failed rains and lost harvests. Most of them have not any chance, the chance which is waiting for them is death because there is nothing in their house or in their home." The reports concluded that "Ethiopia says at least six million people will need over a 250,000 tonnes of supplies for the next four months."

What is wrong with these pictures ? What is wrong indeed with a country full of near-starving peasants begging for food aid in one hand, and on the other hand, the government spending hundreds of million of dollars to purchase sophisticated fighter planes? Indeed for some time now people in the region and around the world have been asking this question, this paradox, this seemingly obvious contradiction. Ethiopia, perpetually begging for food aid because almost every year it is unable to feed its starving or near-starving population, instead, at the same time purchases sophisticated war machinery which it is not even capable of operating for lack of trained personnel! The so-called "military advisors" coming to Ethiopia as part of the defense agreements disclosed above (the purchase of the war machinery) are actually soldiers who must either quickly train Ethiopian personnel to use the weapons of war in time for planned offensives, or as mercenaries fight for Ethiopia in case war erupts again.

Ethiopia nominally accepted the OAU peace proposal in November 1998 and soon began a vicious campaign of vilification of the Eritrean government for the latter's "refusal" to accept the OAU peace package. (The Eritrean government had requested clarifications at the time). However, Ethiopia's acceptance was not sincere. Otherwise, it would not have rejected the package now. (Actually, there is no telling because they speak of rejecting it one day and deny doing so on another occasion by way of explanations. Ethiopia received clarifications from the OAU but still rejected the proposed technical arrangements). Ethiopia certainly has rejected the OAU peace proposal saying the technical arrangements doesn't guarantee its sovereignty. Ethiopia's logic is so convoluted that the Ethiopian government wants the OAU mediators to guarantee and declare the disputed territory sovereign Ethiopian territory before any investigation is done. Why go to the extent the OAU has gone then if the disputed land is indeed Ethiopian? The sad thing is, the powers that be now are looking the other way, as if they weren't pressuring Eritrea to accept it.

Thus, two realities, two pictures are evident in Ethiopia today even to the casual observer. However, as usual, the Ethiopian ruling elite, their minds clouded by egos and their hatred towards Eritrea, apparently do not see such obvious paradox.

Paulos M. Natnael