In an interview with Ethiopia's Walta Information Center, US Ambassador David Shinn listed two options to end the Ethio-Eritrean conflict. He said: "One solution would be [for Eritrea] to remove its forces from those remaining territories that are currently OCCUPIED by Eritrea. ...Another way in a far less desirable way is to continue the military conflict. ...For the moment I am not sure there are any other solutions than those two"
It would be tragic if the ambassador actually said this. The US was involved from the very beginning of this conflict and it helped broker the US-Rwanda plan. This plan, which eventually became the OAU peace plan, called for Eritrea to withdraw from Badme AS AN ACT OF GOOD WILL to be followed by simultaneous withdrawals by both Eritrea and Ethiopia from the remaining DISPUTED territories so the UN can demarcate the border. When Eritrea finally accepted the plan which has also been endorsed by the US, the UN, the EU and other powers, Ethiopia reneged on its promised acceptance and has repeatedly said the war will continue until Eritrea withdraws from what it claims are its occupied territories.
A few days ago, even Ethiopia's Prime Minister appeared to hint that he was coming closer to re-accepting the OAU peace plan. Why is the US Ambassador now appearing to be more Ethiopian than Ethiopia's Prime Minister? Why he chose to limit the options to two while TOTALLY ignoring his own country's official stand which supports a better option for ending the conflict is quite baffling. Even his choice of words claiming the territories to be OCCUPIED rather than DISPUTED is very worrisome. Coming from a US ambassador, a country claiming impartiality in this conflict, this is indeed a very sad development for the process of peaceful resolution of the conflict.
By these words, the ambassador has clearly endorsed Ethiopian hard-liners' position which is in direct conflict with the peace plan the US has pushed so hard to realize. A TIMELY clarification from the State Department is most appropriate lest these unfortunate statements by a high ranking US official, derail whatever little hope exists to end the losers' game the two countries find themselves in.
God knows we have seen too much carnage already over the silliest of excuses for war and the last thing we need is a high-ranking US official adding to the absurdity. We find this ambassador's statements to be unbelievably short-sighted, totally against the interests of the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia as well as against his own country's official position. The only thing we can say is that we hope he was misquoted. The chances for peace must never be compromised but, sadly, that is exactly what this ambassador seems to have done. We are hopeful, the US government will take a strong and decisive stand against the gloomy projections of its ambassador. Because the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia deserve better.