The all-but-inevitable war between Eritrea and Ethiopia is as tragic as the greatest Greek tragedies. Volumes could be written (and eventually will) on the foolish pride, vanity, avarice, greed and other deadly sins that propels this senseless war. When the story is written, the most shameful aspect of it will be the Ethiopian Government's total disregard for the lives of the poor Ethiopians that have perished and are about to perish in Eritrea. This, of course, could not have been accomplished if the literate population--the intelligentsia--were willing to do the bare minimum critical thinking that is expected of them. Instead, they have been totally duped by the Ethiopian Government's crude (but effective) propaganda that reclaiming territories can only be accomplished by paying "asfelagi meswaitnet"-necessary sacrifice.

What is "asfelagi meswaitnet"? Ten thousand lives? A hundred thousand? A million? Whatever it takes? Governments are--understandably--loathe to give these figures but one thing that is supposed to increase or decrease the threshold of what is acceptable is to speak in relative terms; i.e. how much pain one has inflicted on the enemy. It is here that the Ethiopian Government plays fast and loose with the facts and the Ethiopian intelligentsia are either willing accomplices or too lazy to conduct the minimum investigation required to verify the veracity of the numbers. Either way, it is not a highly flattering profile in courage or patriotism.

Case in point: The Ethiopian Government has now stated, on record, that "over 100,000" Eritrean soldiers have been "put out of action during Eritrea's humiliating defeat at Badme in February 1999, during its repeated (and unsuccessful) attempts to recapture Badme, and during military engagements at the Tsorona and Bure fronts." For details on how the numbers break down, you'd have to listen to Ethiopian TV (ETV)'s: Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict in Perspective in 1991 E.C." (available at Walta website). If my rusty Amharic still holds, this is the breakdown:

February	Badme front	10,000
March 4	Zalambesa Front	8,000
March 14 - 19	Tsorona Front	45,000
April	Sawa, Asab, Massawa	unspecified
May - June	Mereb front	30,000

There are many ways to dispel these assertions as nothing more than wild exaggerations. To begin with, these claims put out by the Ethiopian Government via WIC are not even consistent with another Ethiopian record, the so-called Chronology of Events that is updated and published monthly by the Ethiopian Government via WIC. [My favorite quote from the Chronology--and it was all downhill from there-- was one put out in May 1998: "The Eritreans have no basis in fact or history to lay claim on these territories, except their sick expansionist ambitions." This is when Ethiopia used to tell the world that the conflict started on May 12, 1998. Recently, though, the May 6, 1998 has been reintroduced except, this time, Ethiopia's killing of Eritrea's officers is being used as proof of Eritrean aggression.]

The most obvious testimony to the unreliability of Ethiopia's claim has to be the March 14 - March 19, 1999 entry, if only because there are so many witnesses to dispute it. This is the war that occurred at the Tsorona front. International reporter after reporter who visited the carnage stated that it was the site of one of the most catastrophic Ethiopian defeats. The "human wave" approach to war contributed to the world's indifference when it comes to Africa's war so that the average Caucasian can say: "10,000 dead here, 50,000 dead there; a million dead from famine; a few more million from AIDS. If Africans don't value the life of their own, why should we be expected to do so?" This type of question generates nothing but contempt from Ethiopia; Ethiopia's response generates nothing but ridicule from the world.

The Ethiopian Government, in its Chronology of Events, had this to say about the Tsorona war on March 15, 1999:

<< Slight skirmishes which broke out between the Ethiopian and Eritrean Defense Forces at the Zalambesa - Egala front on March 14 developed into fighting on March 15>>. By March 17, when the carnage could not be hidden, Ethiopia reported: "as tens of thousands of Eritrean soldiers continue to die in fighting at the Zalambesa - Egela front, the government of Isaias Afeworki continues to treat the war as a game than a serious humanitarian crisis" and " the Isaias government recently escorted journalists to Eritrean trenches to provide 'evidence' of their supposed victory. By so doing, Eritrea is only staging a public relation Drama." The actors in this drama--Ethiopian soldiers who paid the highest sacrifice--went to the black hole of blissful ignorance to the collective shrug of the intelligentsia.

By March 29, as the magnitude of the disaster became evident to the world, and the condemnation of its "human waves" strategy began to mount, Ethiopia reported: "The head of Operations and Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Defence said that the heroic Ethiopian Defense Forces have accomplished their combat missions at all fronts successfullyI the valiant Ethiopian Defense Forces who enjoy the full backing and confidence of the people have discharged their obligations effectively at all the war fronts during Operation Sunset in Badme and also in Zalambesa - Egela as well as in the locality near the Mereb River."

Within a matter of days, a skirmish had grown into a major war that resulted in the death and injury ("out of action")of 45,000 Eritreans. At this time, it is a fair question to ask of Eritreans, "well, your government does not disclose its casualties, either, so how do you know about your losses? Maybe, you too, have suffered massive casualties." While any Eritrean blood shed is one too many, there are fundamental current and historical differences in how Eritrea and Ethiopia wage war and account for their heroes that put the Eritrean mind at ease.

First, the Eritrean Government has not embarked on a systematic effort to defame every journalist, every analyst and every Human Rights organization that refuses to tow its party line and present a version of facts based on independent analysis. When The Economist reported that Eritrea lost nearly 3,500 soldiers at the Badme front, there were no letters to the editor from the Eritrean Embassy; there were no insults hurled at the reporter. Contrast this with the Ethiopian Government's defamation of reputable journalists like David Hirst, Dan Connell, Cathy Jenkins, Alex Last and Sam Kiley; human rights monitors like Amnesty International and ICRC; international organizations like the United Nations, the World Bank, and the IMF; peace brokers like the United States. The message Ethiopia is sending its population--with help from its intelligentsia-- is that unless a report comes via an Ethiopian authority, it is highly suspect: its motive should be questioned and its conclusions ignored. This explains the increasingly shrill anti-USA, anti-West, isolationist diatribe coming from Ethiopia. Second, and far more significant is the approach the TPLF and EPLF have taken in accounting for their casualties during the armed struggle. At the end of the armed struggle, the EPLF (Shabiya for the hateful) conducted a massive research and came up with a full accounting of those martyred during the 30 year Armed Struggle. Family members of the deceased received a Warrant of Death with a picture of the deceased and a banner that reads "For Thy Sake, Eritrea" (in Arabic and Tigrigna) that provided the following information: date and place of enlistment of the hero; date and place of martyrdom of the hero. This was not limited just to EPLF soldiers but to any Eritrean who fought for armed struggle under any movement. From this precedent, we are reasonably certain that when this war is over, we will receive a full accounting--with honor--of our martyrs. This is how Eritrea treats its heroes and their family members.

Contrast this with the approach that the TPLF took. After it marched to Addis (with the help of the same dreaded Shabiya), it issued a directive to all those who had survived the war to oust Mengistu to write letters to their family members. Then it told the family members, "if you haven't received a letter from your loved one, assume that your loved one is dead." This is how Ethiopia treats its heroes and their family members. No accounting for where or when. No accounting for how many or for what cause. Under these circumstances, numbers can be inflated and deflated at will and with impunity.

Of course to many in the Ethiopian intelligentsia, this is of minor relevance since they have no immediate family member in this dreaded war. The glories of Adwa must be lived and relived over and over, especially when you don't know anyone facing the angry guns. Most of us--if not all of us-- Eritreans do. This explains the Ethio intelligentsia's unconscionable agitation for war and the Eritreans pleas and appeals for peace.

The Ethiopian intelligentsia's agitation for war can be demonstrated in the three major Ethiopian websites. The sites are heavy with words of war and war symbolism: bombing of Adigrat (Dagmawi), Sunset at Badme (Ethiospokesperson) and banners announcing phantom victories (Walta). There isn't a single war paraphenilia in any of the three major Eritrean sites--(Dehai, Visafric, Asmarino): just news, information and opinion.

Years from now, when their kids ask them why did Ethiopia fight a war with Eritrea, what will the Ethiopian intelligentsia say? To reverse aggression? How will they, then, respond when the child asks, "But we got nothing more than what we could have gotten peacefully by accepting the Peace Treaty?" When the war comes, the Ethiopian Intelligentsia can take pride in having upheld a long Ethiopian tradition. Unfortunately, it is a shameful tradition: that of the Ethiopian intellectual who either cheerleads or watches by the sidelines when his country wages yet another unjust war, under the most dubious circumstances, with predictably tragic results.