President receives credentials

President Isaias Afwerki this week received the credentials of the Ambassadors of Spain and Kenya.

The Spanish non-resident Ambassador to Eritrea, Mr. Pablo Niquelarena, presented a message of goodwill from the King of Spain to President Isaias and the Eritrean people. He also expressed his country desire to foster closer cooperation with Eritrea. The Ambassador further stated that Spain stands for a peaceful resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict and that it supports the OAU endeavours to achieve this objective.

President Isaias said that Eritrea wishes to forge closer cooperation with Spain on the basis of partnership and expressed his conviction that the European country will make due contribution to a peaceful resolution of the conflict with Ethiopia.

Similarly, Mr. Edward Bwisa presented his credentials to President Isaias as Kenya non-resident Ambassador to Eritrea. The Ambassador spoke of the existing special ties between Kenya and Eritrea. He went on to say that the two countries share common views on a number of international and regional issues. Ambassador Bwisa noted that Eritrea and Kenya have already formed a Joint Ministerial Committee for promoting increased cooperation in the fields of education, tourism and science and technology.

President Isaias praised the role Kenya is playing in regional affairs and expressed satisfaction with the consolidation of special Eritrean-Kenyan ties over the past five years. The President stated that Eritrea wishes to further consolidate such ties.

Eritrea exposes Ethiopia preparations for war

In a press release it issued on 12 January 1999, rhe Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs exposed Ethiopia preparations for war. The full text of the press release follows:-

News leaked by various sources, including Western intelligence sources, report that the Ethiopian Government will launch attacks against Eritrea between mid-January and mid-February along three directions.

Meanwhile, efforts are underway by US officials to ascertain whether the air moratorium still holds.

The Government of Eritrea has always maintained that both parties must renounce force as a means of settling their border dispute. It has repeatedly affirmed that what is needed is a binding agreement on a cessation of all hostilities, including a total ban on air strikes.

The Ethiopian Government, however, has been adamantly opposed to a cessation of hostilities, even to a ban on air attacks. The result of accepting Ethiopia condition is a precarious 91moratorium92 - which it can unilaterally break at a time of its choosing.

Ethiopia repeatedly declared intent to launch war is by now widely known. While anyone is free to speculate about the outcome of any such war, it is highly unfortunate that Ethiopia has been helped in its belligerent attitude by extraneous circumstances and misguided parties.

The Government of Eritrea has never - and does not - consider war as an option. It realises full well that war cannot resolve the dispute. But if it is attacked, it reserves its legitimate right to self-defence. In that event, it is the Government of Ethiopia which bears full responsibility.

Ethiopia intentions to unleash war cannot be disguised

The Government of Eritrea had issued a statement on January 12 warning of Ethiopia planned attack against Eritrea. This warning is based on various indicators including tangible activities on the ground, reports leaked by Western intelligence sources and accounts of defecting Ethiopian soldiers whose number is increasing each day.

But in characteristic fashion, the Ethiopian Government is trying to deny these facts; accusing Eritrea for "drawing attention to a fictitious impending offensive". It has, moreover, resorted to well-known distortions to portray Eritrea as desirous of impeding the OAU peace process underway. In reality, however,

1. It is Ethiopia which has inexplicably declared, on 6 January 1999, that the "peace process has come to an end". This happened despite the fact that the OAU High-Level Delegation remains seized of the border dispute in accordance with the decision of the Central Organ. Eritrea has explicitly reaffirmed, through its letter of December 18, its desire to cooperate with the OAU to promote the process underway.

2. The OAU has not "ascertained that Eritrea is the aggressor" as the Ethiopian statement falsely asserts. Paragraph 7 of the OAU proposal indeed reads: "In order to determine the origins of the conflict, an investigation be carried out on the incidents of 6 May 1998 and any other incident prior to that date which could have contributed to a misunderstanding between the two Parties regarding their common border, including the incidents of July-August 1997". Eritrea has welcomed this proposal. But Ethiopia has been opposed to any investigation because it knows that it was the aggressor party which launched the unprovoked attack on May 6, 1998 and the party that committed aggression in Bada and Badme in July 1997.

3. It was Ethiopia that escalated the armed clashes in Badme to the entire boundary between the two countries: declaring total war on May 13th; launching an attack on the Zalambesa front on May 31, 1998; and, the first air strike on Asmara on 5 June 1998.

4. Finally, Ethiopia has rejected the call for a cessation of hostilities although this is the primary point in the OAU proposal as well as UN Security Council resolutions.

Indeed, if Ethiopia has no intention of launching war, then it should have no qualms on agreeing to a cessation of hostilities, including a total ban on air strikes.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Asmara, 15 January 1999

Eritrea names Ambassador to Libya

Mr. Osman Mohammed Oumer recently presented his credentials to the Libyan Secretary-General for Foreign Relations and International Cooperation, Dr. Oumer Al-Moutensir, as Eritrea Ambassador to the North African state. The Ambassador pledged to actively work for the consolidation of relations of friendship and cooperation between Eritrea and Libya.

The Libyan official, too, reiterated his government desire to foster enhanced all-round cooperation with Eritrea.

Ministry reports more deaths of Eritreans in Ethiopian detention camps

The Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has disclosed that the death list of Eritreans detained in the Blaten concentration camp and other prisons in Ethiopia is increasing from time to time. The ministry stated that the number of Eritreans dying in detention camps in Ethiopia is much more higher than it is officially reported to the ICRC. It indicated that Yosief Gebreab Zecharias and Fisseha Hannes are the latest and unaccounted victims of these inhumane treatment.

The Ministry noted that the Government of Eritrea has been calling repeatedly on the international community to ensure the release of the innocent Eritreans in detention in Ethiopia and for the investigation of the causes of death of those who have perished in those prison camps.

In addition, the Ministry once again called on the world community to deplore the continued wholesale deportation of Eritreans [to-date over 49,000] on the basis of their ethnicity, and the confiscation of their property.

Woizero Leul urges continued support to women emancipation

The Chairperson of the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW), Woizero Leul Gebreab, has called on pertinent governmental and non-governmental organizations, individuals and society at large to continue unceasing support to endeavours aimed at ensuring women total emancipation.

Woizero Leul made the call while addressing participants of women meeting recently, which was organized by NUEW at different ministries and organizations in Zoba Maakel.

The participants stressed the need for Eritrean women to reinforce their links with the National Union of Eritrean Women.

Ethiopia curious policy of making donors pay for its "surplus" harvest

By Ahmed Yusuf

Ethiopia is seeking relief food
aid of 181,871 tons for 1999.
This is in addition to the 67,652 tons of emergency food assistance that Ethiopia has requested for "the 400,000 people displaced" by the current border conflict.

Ethiopia request for food aid amounting to 100 million US dollars comes at a time when the government is gloating about a "bumper harvest" of 11.69 million tons of crops "representing 36% increase from 1997/98 but slightly less than the record 11.79 million tons of 1996/97".

These figures indicate that Ethiopia will continue to face a structural food deficit at the household level which may not be assuaged by a bumper harvest. Indeed, the WFP country director for Ethiopia has acknowledged that "over 40 percent of Ethiopia farm households are food insecure, and they do not produce enough food and income to meet their household basic nutritional requirements". The food aid procured from the WFP will be distributed to the Amhara region (35%), Oromia region (33%), and Tigray region (20%).

While these are crucial structural problems that the country leaders have to grapple with in the short and medium-terms, one is baffled by the press release issued by Ethiopia Ministry of Trade and Industry on Tuesday, January 12, 1999. Disputing a WFP/FAO assertion that Ethiopia "may not use its traditional outlets for surplus grain" due to the border closure with Eritrea and lack of demand in t he Sudan, the Ministry comes out with a curious alternative urging "donors to locally purchase sorghum and maize for their food aid programs and the expansion of reserve stock".

In other words, the Ethiopian government wants to achieve two objectives simultaneously: I) earn hard currency by selling to donors "surplus crop" that has no regional market; and II) dole this out as food assistance to its citizens at no cost to itself, but perhaps by also gleaning a handsome profit in the process.

Special arrangements and considerations are certainly conceivable in very precarious circumstances: if the Ethiopian government was strapped for cash, for instance. But subsidising the Addis Ababa regime through such a scheme at a time when it is spending around 400 million US dollars in its weapons shopping spree can only be scandalous. If the country has "surplus crop", should it not be prodded to care for its own needy citizens rather than asking the international community to foot the bill?

Is Ethiopia Economically Viable?

by Asgedom Paulos

Ethiopia leaders and their apologists have traditionally evoked the argument of Eritrea "economic viability" to justify their annexationist designs. This was one of the pretexts advanced by the Haile Selassie regime in the 1940s and 1950s when Ethiopia sought to incorporate Eritrea into its tottering empire. And these days when the TPLF regime seems to suffer from a relapse of this acute disease, it is re-suscitating the old ruses.

A certain Professor Bahiru Zewde thus asserts in the January issue of a weekly Ethiopian paper: "the underlying cause of the conflict is not the border dispute but the fact that Eritrean independence is being confronted with great challenges. In this regard, the major challenge that comes to mind is the question of economic viability" which the author contends "was always in serious doubt".

But what are the facts? The following statistics speak for themselves:

l Eritrea annual GDP has been growing at an accelerated rate of 8-9% in the past five years. Ethiopia has also been registering similar rates of growth. But bearing in mind that Eritrea had started from scratch after a devastating war of 30 years, it is patently clear that Eritrea economy is more dynamic.

l Eritrea ranks higher (if only by one rung) than Ethiopia in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI). This is a composite index calculated from the performance of countries across several variables: life expectancy at birth; adult literacy rate; real GDP per capita; adjusted real GDP per capita; life expectancy index; and education index.

Both countries have enormous challenges to face and a long way to go to achieve reasonable prosperity. But if Ethiopia wishes to raise questions of economic viability, the spotlight will be on itself. Because Eritrea is performing relatively better - as the indicators above illustrate - even when Ethiopia is the largest recipient of external development assistance in Africa both from the European Union (over 2.2 billion US$ in the past 20 years) and the World Bank (690 million US$ in the past five years).

Peace is more than the absence of war, it demands an end to hatred

by Elsa Musa

Roughly translated, a slogan
in the official Ethiopian Gov
ernment Information Services Website reads: "We shall make the most use of each peaceful day". I have always wondered what the real meaning behind that statement was. I am sure the Ethiopian government meant for the statement to be interpreted as a sign of its "continued efforts for peace". I have a number of disagreements with the statements assertion that the Ethiopian government is working for peace.

First and foremost, one can hardly consider each passing day of the current military stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea as "peaceful". I am sure Eritreans in Ethiopia languishing and dying in prison camps would agree with me on this point. So would Eritreans whose property are illegally confiscated by the government and are about to be auctioned off by the Ethiopians banks. What about Eritreans, such as the young widow, separated from her seven month old baby and deported alone from the only home she knew? And the hundreds of thousands of villagers on both sides of the border displaced as a result of the border conflict? I am sure they too would not see each day they spend in displacement, away from their homes and farms as "peaceful".

What about the assertion that Ethiopia shall "make the best use" of what it considers to be peaceful days? What does the Ethiopian government mean by this? I am sure they want the world community to interpret this as meaning that the Ethiopian government is doing all it can to advance the cause of peace. The reality though is far from this. In light of the daily statements and actions coming out of the Ethiopian government, I would interpret the statement to mean that the Ethiopian government is using every day of the stalemate to not only prepare for war but also to advance the causes of ethnic hatred.

The same Website with its flashing logo on seemingly peaceful assertions also carries ethnic hatred camouflaged as commentaries and opinions about the border conflict. These so called commentaries are nothing more than propaganda aimed at inciting hatred against the Eritrean people and their leaders. Why else would a government sanctioned Website and official Ethiopian Embassy Websites carry commentaries referring to the people and leaders of Eritrea with hate filled words such as "mad dogs hungry for blood, fascist government, demons" etc. Even the recent aide memoir to the OAU sent by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi purports to advance an understanding of the Eritrean psyche by talking about the "Eritrean mentality which attaches so much importance to raw force Eritrea lack of civility and rudeness" etc. Hardly "civil" statements by themselves from a government as pointed out by President Isaias Afwerki in his response to the OAU.

The same government that in a recent interview with a French news agency defended the imprisonment of so many Ethiopian journalists accusing them of spreading ethnic hatred is itself busy committing the same crime in blatant violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Its various messages to the OAU, briefings to the diplomatic community in Addis Ababa and to the Ethiopian community in Washington and other places outside Ethiopia, the commentaries, articles, press releases issued by its official spokesperson, Solome Tadesse, and programs in its national and local radio and TV broadcasts are ample proof of this.

Despite evidence from the international community (EU, OAU, UN bodies etc.) exonerating the Eritrean government from any wrong doing against Ethiopians in Eritrea, the Ethiopian government continues to repeat allegations of rape, torture, imprisonment and other human right abuses against Ethiopians in Eritrea. Even religious leaders who should be perching peace, have joined the clamor to inflame already volatile situations by repeating false allegations of church desecration and looting by Eritrean defense forces. Since all these allegations have been proven false, what then is the purpose of repeating them except to incite racial hatred against Eritreans?

On the other hand, the statements coming out from the Eritrean government have been consistent throughout these unfortunate eight months, peace, peace, peace. As was reported by Eritrea Profile, in a televised New Year address, President Isaias Afwerki reaffirmed Eritrea continued commitment to a peaceful resolution to the border conflict. The president also extended messages of goodwill to the Ethiopian people as a whole and the inhabitants of Tigrai in particular who, he observed, have today become victims of the adventuristic policies of the present leadership in the country. In contrast, the message from the Ethiopian side as we ushered in the new year was a threat of imminent full scale war since "the peace effort can be considered as good as dead."

The Eritrean government continues to respond to the conflict between the two neighbouring countries with remarkable restraint. Yemane Gebreab, Eritrean Government Spokesperson describes Ethiopian government handling of the border conflict as reckless, shortsighted and with total disregard to possible future relations between the two nations and their peoples. On allegations of mistreatment of Ethiopians in Eritrea, Mr. Gebreab points out that the Eritrean government has publicly stated that "any Ethiopian that feels any sense of harassment in Eritrea has the right to seek redress". He adds that in all its actions the Eritrean government has been conscious that the conflict will be resolved one day. "We are looking to tomorrow", he says. Unfortunately, the Ethiopian side does not seem to recognize the long term, disastrous ramifications of its actions in terms of fostering peaceful coexistence between the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The venom of hate from Ethiopia is extremely dangerous and lethal particularly since it is government sanctioned, one cannot minimize the dangers of hate mongering from individuals, be they Ethiopians or Eritreans. Hateful postings such as "death to all Eritreans, deport all Eritreans from Ethiopia" etc. abound in Ethiopian Websites. Equally saddening and dangerous though, is the response to these hateful postings from some Eritreans who use the same language of hate.

In some ways, one can not expect anything better from those Ethiopians posting messages of hate since their government itself is busily carrying out the same sin. However, given the Eritrean governments position and statements on peace and tolerance, it is disheartening to read postings on various Website by some Eritreans who feel it is right to use racist and hateful language to express their anger or grief at the pain they suffered and continue to suffer as a result of present and past atrocities committed by Haile Sellasie, Derg or the current Ethiopian regime. One or two have even gone to the extent of holding the whole Tigrayan population accountable for the sins of some, be they in their hundreds of thousands, and demanding atonement from all be they Ethiopians or, what is even more shameful, Eritreans with Tigrayan heritage. Such statements, even if expressed by a very small minority, are unacceptable and totally reprehensible.

All wars end. And this conflict will end one day, hopefully sooner than later. The Ethiopian government will be held accountable for its atrocities, including starting the war and causing the death and suffering of Eritreans as well as of its own people. It will pay for the internment and death of Eritreans in prison camps, the confiscation of properties belonging to Eritreans, the deportation of Eritreans and its own citizens of Eritrean heritage and its sanction of the spread of ethnic hatred and demonization of the people and government of Eritrea.

Peace is not merely the absence of war. Hatred from whatever source directed to whomever, be it sanctioned by the government or not, is like planting "land mines" that will continue to maim and kill innocent people long after the guns have remained silent.

It takes only a careless word or two to plant the seeds of hatred. Building understanding amongst people and fostering peaceful coexistence is not that easy. It requires years of hard work.

Ethiopia plan to launch attacks against Eritrea in Defiance of OAU

lSecurity Council appeals for restraint no surprise

The statement from the Eri
trean Ministry of Foreign
Affairs warning that Ethiopia plans to launch an attack against Eritrea within the next few weeks does not come as a surprise to anyone following the developments in the border conflict between the two countries.

As recently as five days ago, Mr. Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopia Foreign Minister, threatened to escalate the border conflict into a full scale war claiming that any peaceful solution was as good as dead. It now appears that the Ethiopian government plans to make good of its threat by launching attacks against Eritrea between mid-January and mid-February. This, despite numerous appeals throughout the past eight months from various international bodies calling on both counties to show restraint and work for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The most recent of these appeals came from the UN Security Council. A December 29 press statement by the Security Council called upon the two countries "to promote mutual trust and discourage hostile propaganda". The ink had not dried on the press statement before Ethiopia Foreign Minister gathered the diplomatic community in Addis Ababa to deliver yet another threat of war against Eritrea.

The Ethiopian government has become an expert in picking and choosing, even distorting, any statements from the world community regarding the border conflict with Eritrea. Its spin masters do not waste a single day before issuing a press release with their own peculiar interpretation of what was said or agreed. Curiously enough though, they did not issue a statement regarding the December 29 Security Council press statement on the conflict.

Could it be that they did not want to hear the Security Council clear call for both states to cooperate with the OAU "in pursuing an adequate solution satisfactory to both countries"? The affirmation that solutions have to be satisfactory to both not just one of the members is obviously contrary to the Ethiopian government understanding of the principles of conflict resolution.

Throughout the past eight months, the Ethiopian government has adamantly rejected any call for a binding agreement on immediate cessation of all hostilities, including a ban on air strikes. Given the government continued efforts to dupe the international community into believing that it stands for peace, it is not surprising that its officials and the media conveniently fail to mention this fact in all communications regarding the border conflict.

Echoing Mr. Seyoum Mesfin threat, a January 10 article on "Addis Tribune" on so-called "Ethiopia Traditional Enemies" questions the "possibility of a peaceful and negotiated settlement" to the conflict.

The article describes as "admirable" what it refers to as "Ethiopia inexhaustible patience" and states that this (patience) "is not in line with the national characteristic of Ethiopians". Clearly, the continued threats about imminent full scale war and now the plan to carry out the threat, are the mark of a country impatient to solve all problems through war. From the very start of the conflict, the Ethiopian government has been preparing for a full scale war with its media carrying daily reports and images of a nation hyped for war.

A lasting peace requires patience, hard work, and scrupulous attention to detail. The Eritrean government response even to this latest Ethiopian defiance of the international community efforts to bring about a peaceful solution is that Eritrea "has never-and does not-consider war an option". However, should war break out, the statement from the Eritrean Foreign Ministry warns that "it is the Government of Ethiopia which bears full responsibility."

- Elsa Musa

Open Letter to Mr. Seyoum Mesfin, Foreign Minister of Ethiopia

Mr. Seyoum Mesifn, in
your briefing to the Or
ganized Members of the Diplomatic Community in Addis Ababa on January 5, 1999 you requested the International Community to put pressure on Eritrea. In your first statement of the briefing, you mentioned the "Eritrean aggression" and "forceful occupation of Ethiopian territory". Forgive my ignorance, I believe the part that you and the Ethiopian leadership have not grasped yet is, that those are your opinions and only your opinions. As far as the OAU, International Community, UN and other organizations are concerned, nobody has even accused Eritrea of "Aggression" or "Forceful Occupation". Are you asking the International Community to put pressure on Eritrea solely based on your opinions? If I am missing something, I will be glad to be corrected. The same question applies for all of the remaining accusations. If it is based only on one country assertion, the Eritrean Cabinet of Ministers on May 20, 1998 asserted that there was no incursion. They even went further than just stating assertion; they offered Eritrea "readiness to facilitate inspection by ANY third party to verify the facts on the ground".

Mr. Minister, you also accused Eritrea of "imposing an unwanted war" and that the crisis is at a "very critical turning point". I do not want to sound sarcastic, but as far as Eritrea is considered, there is no other type of war but "unwanted" and it has been at a critical turning point in the eyes of Eritreans for the last 8 months.

Mr. Mesfin, you told the audience that Eritrea rejected all peace proposals. You even went further on quoting Eritrea saying "No" twice. If my memory serves me right, it was Your Excellency who informed the media that Eritrea said "No" to the proposals on all occasions. I do not recall any Eritrean official saying "No" to the proposal. Here are your own words: "Ethiopia has formally endorsed the proposals of the facilitators. Eritrea has again rejected this." When in fact what the Eritrean Foreign Minister, Haile Woldensae, said was "Eritrea accepted the 4 basic principles in the peace plan but certain implementation proposals went against the spirit of those principles." If that is not enough, let me quote the Eritrean President address to the Heads of State meeting "The recommendations that emerged from the facilitation process and to which we contributed POSITIVELY, have embodied these salient requirements and, therefore, form a good basis for a comprehensive solution85 We must also insist and ensure that the fundamental issues of detail and implementation be addressed satisfactorily". Mr. Foreign Minister, forgive my limited Einglish, but I did not get a "No" from these statements.

Mr. Minister, you mentioned that the [Ethiopian] Prime Minister accepted the proposal ad referendum of the High Delegation "on the spot, after the clarifications it sought were provided". The most important item in the proposal was immediate cessation of hostilities, to which Ethiopian representatives refused to sign when Eritrea offered to sign it on the spot. How is it that you can seek clarifications and when Eritrea seeks clarificaions, you call them "odd and bizarre"?

Mr. Mesfin, you said, "They [Ambassadorial Committee] proved the Eritrean aggression without a shadow of doubt." You repeated again that the OAU spoke of Eritrean aggression. How can they prove something that never happened? Can you please share the documentation for this with the rest of the world?

You said, "I am here deliberately avoiding talking about the attempt made by Eritrea to destroy the work and credibility85" This is like the Tigringa saying 91barya mbelkuka nere keytkuri92mber" Loosely translated - I would have shared that you are a slave, but I do not want to embarrass you in front of the public". What is left to avoid?

Mr. Seyoum, you stated that Eritrea is getting away with murder. Please allow me to forget the analogy, and state that Ethiopia is actually getting away real murders - so far. We have at least 5 Red Cross documented murders of Eritreans in the hands of the Ethiopian government. The tears of the 47,000+ deportees are not dry yet and there are thousands detained Eritreans rotting in the hands of Ethiopian authorities. Knowing these facts, I wouldn92t have said, "getting away with murder".

The entire message was a request on putting pressure and you said, "The talk about the Eritrean authorities being immune to pressure is unconvincing." Mr. Minister, if anyone, you should know by now that the Eritrean government does not make hasty decisions due to pressure. If one is willing to learn and not just teach a lesson, it is very clear that one of the main reasons for failure of the US-Rwandan initiative is just that - the belief in pressuring Eritrea with Air Strikes.

I finally found something that we both agree on. Well, almost, if you change Eritrea to Ethiopia in the following: "the start for all this [pressure] is an admission that treating Eritrea (you probably meant to say Ethiopia) with kid gloves and shying away from calling a spade a spade have not worked and have only encouraged the Eritrean (again Ethiopian) authorities to persist in their defiance, intransigence and rudeness, to both individuals and institutions and to those who have anything to do with the effort for peace in the crisis."

The OAU should heed your advice, and stop requesting Eritrea to compromise based on "goodwill". They should condemn the atrocities committed by Ethiopia, condemn the deportations of over 47,000 Eritreans from Ethiopia, they should condemn the detention of innocent Eritreans and finally they should condemn the murder of Eritreans in the hands of Ethiopia. Condemnation is the least they could do. If you insist on a pressure to affect the "pockets", they should be based on the UN High Commission for Human Rights report. A report that Ms. Mary Robinson stated as "85 deeply concerned by the violation of human rights of Eritrean Nationals85serious violations of the rights and freedoms [by Ethiopia] set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights to which Ethiopia is a party."

However, since Ethiopia is counting on the OAU, here is what the OAU stated in your presence on August 1, 1998 regarding the accusations of Eritrea deporting Ethiopians: "the Committee could not establish the reality of a systematic or official action directed against Ethiopians in Eritrea". However, on the Eritrean deportees from Ethiopia, they continued, "The conditions in which those deportations were carried out [by Ethiopia], the decision to extend those measures to the families of the deported persons and the fate of their property are a source of deep concern."

Mr. Foreign Minister, if anyone is to be pressured or sanctions applied to, shouldn92t it be the government that violated the UN Human Rights charters and proved to do so by almost all organizations that conducted an investigation? It is a public record, that Eritrea still has an open invitation to anyone who wants to do Human Rights investigations based on Ethiopia accusations - yes, including Amnesty International.

Mr. Mesfin, the past is important, but not as important as the future. You and the Ethiopian leadership have an opportunity to solve this crisis peacefully. If you are really worried about war and do not want war, here is my challenge. Just sign on the dotted line to agree on the following:

"WE, THE GOVERNMENTS OF ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA, IMMEDIATELY DECLARE CEASE FIRE AND AGREE TO SOLVE THE BORDER CrISIS PEACEFULLY."

85858585858585. (Please sign here representing Ethiopia [including Tigray] and Ethiopians)

85858585858585. (Representing Eritrea and all Eritreans)

I will get the second (Eritrean) signature, by anyone of your choice, within the Eritrean government in a matter of hours.

Now the above is simple, unambiguous and will allow the neighbouring countries to proceed fully with their development plans while representatives of Eritrea, Ethiopia and others work to find a permanent solution to such insignificant border problem. Allow me to use your favourite words, do not "reject, evade and prevaricate" this very important request. You have been always telling us that the ball is in our court, this time it is "squarely" in yours. Please do not keep it for long, we do not want to have another disagreement on whose ball it is or its administration.

Thank You,

Dr. Kebire Ahmed

USA - January 13, 1999

Afabet sub-region: aiming at improved social services

Afabet sub-region is relatively
a highly populated area in
Zoba Semienawi Keyih Bahri. At present, the government is putting efforts to promote adequate social services in the area. Shortage of water is among the main problems that existed in the sub-region for a long time. This problem in particular is more apparent in the town of Afabet.

As Mr. Debessai Semere in charge of the activities in the sub-region pointed out the steps taken to improve water supply in the region is being done in cooperation with the Zoba Semenawi Keyih Bahri administrative office. Reports indicate that out of the 22 water wells in the sub-region 15 were out of function but now through the tireless efforts going on in the area five of them have been rehabilitated and the rest are in process. In addition, Mr. Debessai also pointed out that another five wells worth over one million Nakfa have been constructed in towns of Wadilabka and Naro of which three are to supply water through the use of solar energy. These newly constructed wells have greatly helped to solve the water problems in the area. Afabet sub-region, however, still experiences the problem as the already constructed wells are not enough, but the recently launched water project is expected to be a lasting solution. This water project which is carried out by a Chinese company to explore and dig water wells is going on in different parts of the sub-region.

The resettlement of the people into townships and bigger village communities for the promotion of fuller social services is among the main activities the government has put emphasis on. And it is witnessing success although much effort is yet needed to resettle the nomadic people found scattered in the areas of Naro, Tebat, Aget in one area. To this end Mr. Osman Keras, the sub-region administrator met the inhabitants of the region and explained the need and importance of regrouping villages into bigger communities as the sole prerequisite to development.

In a bid to ensure food security in the region different agricultural activities are also on the way. In the past three years seven moderate dams have been constructed in the fertile areas of Naro and Wadilabka.

The Dar a Salam agricultural project which is to be carried out in 500 hectars of land is another important development project going on in this sub-region. The development fund has allocated three million nakfa to the success of this project.

Regarding construction activities, a two-storey administrative office for the sub- region and open market for vegetables and fruits have been built at a cost of two and one million nakfa respectively. In addition, two schools have been built in Afabet and its environs. Through the use of cash-for -work program the road that connects Afabet to Um Mahmimet has also been renewed.

Ethiopia macroeconomic policy, 1958 to present An exercise in futility

by Prof. Asmerom Kidane

(University of Asmara)

(final part)

3. Macroeconomic Policy since 1991

In 1991 the EDRDF government
took over the leadership. Based on our previous analysis the following generalization may be made with regard to the Ethiopian economic condition in 1991. Low per capita income, zero saving, highly centralized economic system, high rate of deficit, a nearly worthless birr and high external debt. With respect to social services, student teacher ratio was very high, HIV-AIDS was beginning to grow and crime was at an alarming level. Of much greater concern was the fact that there was no sense of nationalism among Ethiopians and the majority seem to be disillusioned and in despair.

Before the Woyanes could address the pressing economic issues that they inherited from the Derg they should have taken measures to uplift the spirit and morale of the Ethiopian people. They should have taken immediate measure to instill a sense of unity and a sense of purpose on these otherwise decent people. They should have realized that the major prerequisite for a sustained economic growth is to gain confidence of the people. If people have confidence in their government faster economic growth is likely to follow. Instead of following the above approaches the Woyanes immediately took measures that further devastated the spirit and the morale of the majority of the Ethiopian people. I will elaborate on this momentarily. Readers may question as to the relevance of some of the Woyane political action on subsequent macroeconomic performance of the country. However, there is a growing consensus that leadership based on fairness, and political stability along with peoples sense of nationalism and purpose is a major prerequisite for an efficient macroeconomic management. One can easily verify this by visiting Eritrea.

Some of the counter intuitive measures that the Woyanes did immediately was to redefine the regional boundaries of the country by enlarging Tigrai at the expense of Wollo and North Gonder. They took the fertile parts of these two regions and annexed them into Tigrai. They should have realized that this will lower the morale and sense of nationalism of these people. They should have realized that this would have negative impact on future economic growth. Besides the Woyanes 9192Bantustanized9292 Ethiopia along ethnic lines by redrawing regional borders; the result was obvious; there was and is more conflict between ethnic groups-Ormos against Amharas, Oromos against Guraghes , animosity and hatred against the members of the Tigrinya speaking people in Ethiopia. This hatred is not deep rooted; it is simply a reaction to and disapproval of what the Woyane leadership is doing in Ethiopia.

All these actions tend to undermine a sense of nationalism and a sense of purpose which is again a prerequisite for sustained macroeconomic development.

Another unilateral action of the Woyane leadership is to give all key government posts to members of its own ethnic group; the former president and currently the prime minister, the former defence minister, the current foreign minister, the current chief of staff and almost all generals and sector commanders, ambassadors to sensitive places such as Washington and Stockholm, the national police commissioner as well as entire security apparatus are all given to Tigreans. Even in ministries headed by non-Woyane decisions are made by Woyane cadres who tend to manipulate policies behind the scene. The economic advisers of the prime minister are from his own inner circle. Whether the Weyanes admit it or not this has plummeted the morale of the 95 percent of non Tigrean Ethiopians. Most of the 3 to 4 million Tigreans themselves do not approve of what the Woyane are doing; they are mature and decent enough to realize that the long term consequences of these bizarre actions are detrimental to the welfare of the Ethiopians in general and of the Tigreans in particular.

It is with this background that we have to analyze the current macroeconomic policy of the present leadership in Ethiopia. It appears that whatever sound policy the Woyane leadership follows, it is unlikely to succeed because of the reasons mentioned above.

Most of the economic measures that the Woyane are taking is at the instruction of the IMF and World Bank; the aim is to privatize all economic structures and to limit government to its traditionally defined duties; maintenance of law, and order and national defence, provision of public services such as roads, schools and hospitals and only give broad guidelines on the direction of economic policies. The first thing that the leadership did was to privatize most of the nationalized enterprises; they tried to do this but in the interim, there was mass unemployment and underemployment. Part of the loans from the world Bank was put aside to alleviate this by earmarking funds for safety net; the latter could not succeed as a big portion of this fund was diverted to Tigrai instead to the would be beneficiaries. In order to increase the level of confidence of would be investors, it was hoped that the extra houses nationalized during the Derg era would be returned to the legitimate owners. The Woyanes did this in Tigrai when the province came under their control during the late 1980. Unfortunately, the government refused to denationalize these extra houses in other parts of Ethiopia. This is a clear case of duplicity. Incidentally, the Eritrean government did return all nationalized houses to the legitimate owners many of whom happen to be Ethiopians and other foreigners residing in Eritrea. The impact of this wise decision on the morale of would be investors is predictable.

As a result of the termination of war in Eritrea, budgetary allocation for defence was reduced and the Ethiopian government deficit narrowed substantially. But as of late, defence expenditure is increasing manifolds due to the country war of aggression against Eritrea and liberation movements within the country; deficit seems to recur again resulting in reduced economic performance. The government devalued the birr from 2.05 to the dollar to the current 7.50. This was expected to boost exports and reduce imports resulting in foreign exchange surplus. Initially, coffee exports increased but revenues could not increase accordingly because the international price of coffee was getting lower. The government allowed private traders to be engaged in the export of coffee and other commodities. However, the way the licenses were issued were biased in favour of its own ethnic group and other merchants who subscribe to the Woyane political ideology. The bureaucracy is highly corrupted and demands bribes in order to issue trade and export license.

The government did receive substantial loan from the IMF, World Bank and other members of the Paris club. The government agreed to all the restrictie conditionalities; some of these restrictions are in order, appropriate and internally consistent. Others are not; even though they may be well intentioned their practicality and consequences do not seem to have been considered in earnest. On of the conditionlities is believed to be the privatization of banks, insurance companies and other financial establishments. In my opinion, this is not feasible in the short run; there is no capacity in the private sector to run these institutions. The National Bank of Ethiopia, the overall supervisor of these financial institutions, is in itself not properly stearmlined to be able to supervise and control the activities of these financial institutions. The collapse of commercial banks and financial institutions on the saving and investment process is catastrophic. This has been verified in recent bank failures among the East Asian Tigers. The recent establishment and mushrooming of commercial banks in Ethiopia does not seem to be well sought off. As a guarantee against future failure the law requires commercial banks to deposit a portion of their capital with the National Bank. Rumours has it that these requirements are not adhered to and borrowers from these commercial banks may default leading to their collapse. Customers of these newly established banks should beware lest they lose their deposits.

Again, at the instruction of the IMF/World Bank, the Ethiopian government has allowed the establishment of privately-owned construction establishments; these establishments are not properly organized; they do not possess sufficient quantity of machining necessary for building roads and highways. They seem to have been licensed without first establishing effective quality control system. When some of these contractors were "awarded" contract worth millions of dollars to build highways and bridges the result was disastrous. The quality of roads and highways were substandard; millions of IMF World Bank money seem to be misused. Some of the owners of these construction companies also work for the government and conflict of interest seems to undermine the auction process.

A foreign exchange auction system was introduced in order to determine the exchange rate of the local currency on the basis of supply and demand. This is again one of the preconditions of the IMF World Bank structural adjustment program. This approach seemed to have worked satisfactorily in Zambia. With respect to the bi-weekly auction system in Ethiopia, the process is believed to be defective. Some bidders appear to have inside information and the outcome seems to be known before the bidding takes place.

We have already noted that Ethiopia is now carved along ethnic lines; each region has its own budget; this may seem to be satisfactory at face value; but for those of us who are familiar with the country, the regions are not at par with respect to human capital, human and material capacity. Regions like Addis Ababa and Amhara seem to be more endowed with skilled labour and whatever is allotted may be utilized efficiently after making a generous allowance for corruption. On the other hand, regions like Somalia, Gambella and Benishangul - Gumuz are relatively less developed and whatever is allotted seem to be wrongly utilized. When at one point funds were allocated to one of the less developed regions, the leaders spent most of the funds in hotels in Addis Ababa. The fact that some of the regions are backward was the result of a deliberate attempt by the Haileselassie regime to give priority to members of its own ethnic group.

The allocation of funds between regions is neither equitable nor proportional. Tigrai, whose population makes about five percent of the country total population, receives more than 20 percent. Oromia whose population makes about 50 percent receives not more than 30 percent. Most of the domestically generated income comes from Oromia and Southern Regions and least of them come from Tigrai. IMF/ World Bank and other external loans and grants are also allocated accordingly.

Under the Woyane leadership, lots of social evils have occurred including the unprecedented spread of HIV-AIDS. Instead of trying to take an allout effort to check the spread of this deadly disease the government seems to be engaged in border disputes - disputes that can be easily solved in accordance with international treaties. The energy and resource earmarked for war efforts could have easily been diverted to checking the spread of this deadly virus as well as humane treatment of those who have reached the terminal stage of the disease. It is simply not fair to stand idle and see one of six Ethiopians being exposed to this phenomenon. The present leadership is supposed to represent 60 million Ethiopians not 3 to 4 million Tigreans. The international community including their benefactors, IMF and World Bank, should put pressure on the leadership to treat this epidemic as urgent. The disease is depleting the most productive members of the labour force and this is not only inhuman but also wastage of manpower.

Other health problem include the recurrence of malaria and its spread into areas not formerly exposed to this epidemic. Anti-mosquito spray seems to be in short supply and whenever available is not properly and sufficiently administered. As regards other health services, the budget earmarked for this sector is not sufficient; a large percentage of the budget is earmarked for few hospitals located in urban centres that cater for less than 10 percent of the population. Insufficient fund seems to be earmarked for basic health services such as clinics and health centres. The poper mix of doctors, nurses, health assistants, pharmacies or druggists is way out of line. There is absolutely no drug regulation; antibiotics and the prescription drugs are openly sold in market places by people who do not know how to read and write. Policies on drug importation are not there; a Woyane-sponsored head of the pharmaceutical department within the Ministry of Health is not only incompetent but seems to be mentally unstable. Imported drugs are not equitably distributed and basic drug are not available. In general, the health services of the country need to be completely overhauled lest the population growth of the country turn from positive to negative.

We have already considered the distribution and consumption of a drug known as Chat. Before, this consumption was limited to certain localities; nowadays it has spread everywhere. Under the Woyane leadership, chat consumption seems to have increased several folds. The Woyane leadership has banned the consumption of this drug in (guess where) Tigrai but not elsewhere. On the other hand, through its mushrooming business enterprise the TPLF is actively participating in the production, consumption and distribution of this drug. The effect of this drug on labour productivity, health and morale of the people is obvious. The United States government is actively engaged in the curtailment of the world distribution of drug through its drug enforcement agency. They have appointed a very respected and experienced four star general and earmarked billions of dollars to curtail the distribution of drugs into the United States and elsewhere. On the other hand, the US government seems to condone the production, consumption and distribution of chat in Ethiopia. They should at least use their good offices to urge the Ethiopian government to put the production to this addictive drug under control. They need to detailed verification as this drug is being sold in front of the US Embassy in Addis Ababa.

It is simply difficult to design and successfully implement a sound, internally consistent macroeconomic policy under conditions where there is little or no unity of purpose. The only way to reverse this would be for the government to open up and make the leadership more representative, more transparent and more responsive. Political tolerance is a prerequisite for instilling a greater sense of nationalism and unity of purpose.

Unless the Ethiopian people get a government that they can trust, unless the government is open and transparent, unless there is political pluralism, most macroeconomic policies are nothing but an exercise in futility. The Ethiopian people deserve better leadership.

Devt. momentum in Zoba Debub

Various reconstruction and
development programs
have been implemented in Zoba Debub over the past four years, according to Mr. Mesfin Hagos, Administrator of the region. In an interview he gave to Eritrean Television recently, the Administrator pointed out that efforts were made to improve the quality and distribution of social services during this period. Accordingly, 220 schools of all categories with 110 thousand students and over two thousand teachers are functioning in the region. However, in some remote areas it is only 10 percent of children who are able to obtain educational opportunities. On the average, educational institutions in the region offer their services to only 50 percent of school age children. Thus, it is not possible to say that there is an even distribution of schools presently. Apart from this, shortages of classrooms, educational facilities and qualified teachers constitute the major constraints the schools in the region are currently facing.

Equally, efforts have been made to expand health services. The region five hospitals, eight health centres and 35 health stations are providing the public in their respective localities with the required health care. As the health stations have been constructed in all sub-regions, there is relatively an even distribution of such services. Like in other service-rendering sectors, however, health care institutions in Zoba Debub are facing problem ranging from shortages of facilities to qualified personnel, which the Ministry of Health is striving to solve.

In the sphere of transportation, too, all sub-regions in the Zoba, with the exception of Kohain, are now accessible by road despite shortages of buses.

Zoba Debub is one of the regions known for its agricultural activities. Because of resort to traditional farming methods, however, it had not been possible to harvest crops as much as required. To change this trend, the Ministry of Agriculture is introducing new farming methods so as to raise production, and as a result of its positive influence on the farmers of the region, satisfactory results are being scored. Programs that have been implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Sasakao Global 2000 in 1997/97 are good examples for this. Besides, the integrated farming scheme introduced by the Government last year coupled with the good rainy season has resulted in bumper harvest, and subsequently agricultural produce has increased by three fold from that of the previous year.

Even though there are different localities with suitable climate for growing different crops and fruits for export, the region has so far not made good use of this opportunity. In a bid to boost agricultural produce with the application of irrigation, some 55 macro dams have also been constructed over the past five years. These facilities, however, are not employed for agricultural purposes to the desired extent mainly due to lack of the necessary funds and experts in the field. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture plans to select few of the dams and conduct research on possibilities of using them for irrigation agriculture in the future.

The land tenure system in the region is another stumbling block as far as introducing irrigation farming is concerned. In many parts of the region, land is communal and owned by respective villages. Hence, Mr. Mesfin underlined the need to operate within the framework of the Land Proclamation so as to cultivate the suitable land around the dams.

According to the Proclamation, the land owned by villages has no boundaries. As this has not been fully implemented, however, the inhabitants of the region have not yet become beneficiaries of the land on the basis of equality. In a bid to provide thousands of returnees and those young citizens still living with their parents with adequate land until the proclamation is fully implemented, the regional administration has proposed that the former be able to obtain plots in each village according to the previous land distribution system.

The issue of land in the urban centres of Zoba Debub is not different from similar cases in other parts of the country. "If towns are to be expanded and developed and shortages of houses mitigated," Mr. Mesfin noted, "clear guidelines should be drawn up first". Cognizant of this fact, an attempt has been made to prepare master plans for the various towns in the region. It was, however, ineffective due to lack of qualified experts to carry out the task. The work of preparing the master plan for Mendefera town, for instance, was completed just recently, and the plan included only small parts of the town which made it difficult to adequately solve the problem of allotting land for the purpose of building residential and other types of houses.

A partial master plan for the town of Dekemehare has not yet been prepared as it is very difficult to expand the town owing to the land feature surrounding it. The large plain south of the town is required for agriculture and other purposes. By clearing dumping sites in this quarter of the town, however, land has been allotted for the construction of residential houses.

Various productive institutions have also emerged in Dekemehare, Dibarwa, Mendefera and other towns, many of which have already commenced production. Apart from these, a car assembling plant is in the pipeline in Dekemehare. The establishment of these firms has contributed a lot in creating employment opportunities in the region.

Deportees or repatraites?

By George Malek

As of today more than
49,000 old and young
Eritrean have been deported from Ethiopia. This is well known to the OAU, the humanitarian organisations and the international community through its embassies because it is all happening in front of their very eyes.

That the Ethiopian government, through P.M. Meles, has informed the world that it has established a unique set of rules for allowing people to live in Ethiopia is well known.

For those of you who may not have heard it, Premier Meles stated that fromt here on for Ethiopia "the colour of one eyes will determine whether he or she is allowed to reside in that country".

How they are rounding up Eritreans and Ethiopians of mixed marriage and deporting only one partner has been told and re-told. In this group there are foreign nationals married to Eritreans.

How Ethiopians because of their Eritrean origin are being imprisoned and then deported is known to all.

That the Woyanes are confiscating belongings of Eritrean has again been told by the deportees themselves and through local and international media.

That the Woyane regime is bent on ethnic cleaning is obvious for every one to see. How the Woyane regime has gone out of any acceptable norms in its handling of Eritrean and other ethnic groupings in Ethiopia is by now well known. That mothers from their children, wives from their husbands have been forcefully separated and deported is well known to all. That the Woyane regime is keeping innocent Eritreans in its prisons and that some have already died is well documented. One can go on and on listing unacceptable acts which are still being perpetrated by the Ethiopian government.

On the other hand, that is, from the Eritrean side what do we know?

That there is no declared policy that the colour of an individual eyes or hair may be a criteria for the determination of residence in Eritrea.

That the Eritrean government is not rounding up Ethiopians for deportation to Ethiopia. That it is not confiscating the property of individuals.

That there are no Ethiopians in prisons because of their ethnic origin.

That Eritrea has no ethnic cleansing policy.

Here too one can go on and on listing acts which are simply opposite of what the Ethiopians are doing.

One thing is therefore absolutely clear the Woyane regime is doing evil and Eritrea has not responded in kind.

In the light of such stark contrasting differences between the Eritrean and Ethiopian actions, how is the international community supposed to be confused?

The Ethiopian government is deporting Ethiopians of mixed marriage, Ethiopians of Eritrean origin and Eritrean (some even with foreign passports who happened to be in Ethiopia to visit their parents).

The Eritrean government is not deporting any one.

We read and hear instead: "Eritrean and Ethiopian governments are deporting each other nationals."

"They, Eritrea and Ethiopia, are waging a media war."

When it has been amply demonstrated that Eritrea is not deporting Ethiopian nationals, how is it that there are still some who put Ethiopia and Eritrea in the same standing regarding this issue? Is it deliberate, or are there still people who genuinely believe the deportation is going from both sides?

Independent observers have clearly stated that there are no Ethiopians deported against their will.

In short, these observers have given Eritrea a clean bill of conduct.

So where from is the confusion coming, then? The cause for the confusion may be the Ethiopian media. But unless one wants to believe, it has been made abundantly clear what the Ethiopian media is saying is far from the truth. By what logic can one consider the Eritrean forcefully plucked from their homes at night, from their work places and the streets by day, the same as the Ethiopians who are leaving Eritrea on their own free will?

How can Eritreans who have not been allowed to take anything except the clothes on their backs be put on the same league as the Ethiopia who are allowed to sell or take hteir possessions with them?

By what logic can anyone consider these two groups as coming under the same category-deportees.

The Ethiopians who left Eritrea at their own accord are about 6,000. Their number is known because the ICRC is registering them making sure they are going on their own accord.

The Ethiopian government through its media has been touting that its nationals are being deported. It even gives numbers, making sure that such numbers equate that of Eritrean deportees.

Ethiopian TV shows DISPLACED people from the war zones, adding these have been forcefully deported by Eritrea.

Eritreans have also been DISPLACED from border areas. But Eritrea is not claiming that these have been deported by Ethiopia, nor can it say so. That these people on both sides have to leave their homes is very sad and unfortunate.

This cannot be stressed enough. But let us first call an apple an apple. Deportees are people leaving their homes for a safer place.

The Ethiopian action to deport is based on Meles own stated policy. It may have been triggered by the present conflict, but the policy was there and it has nothing to do with the border dispute.

Why, otherwise, one may ask, is the Woyane regime deporting even when there is no actual fighting for the last eight months?

What the Ethiopians are talking about are persons who change places for their own safety.

This occurs on both sides, and it does only when the area is not safe.

The human drama of the Eritrean deportees which is unfolding in front of the OAU Secretariat, the humanitarian organisations and in front of all the embassies in Addis Ababa should have been forcefully condemned by all.

It is today Eritrean and tomorrow who will the Woyane regime deport?

Italians? It has occurred. Because among the deportees there were Italians born of Eritrean mothers.

Is it going to be the Oromos, because the OLF is an avowed enemy of the regime?

Is it going to be Somalis residing in Ethiopia, because Somalia is accusing Ethiopia of meddling in its internal affairs?

Is it going to be the Afars living in Addis Ababa, because their leader Ali Mirah is in Europe accusing again the Ethiopian regime?

The Ethiopians leaving Eritrea at their own volition, though regrettable, cannot change the fact that these are voluntary repatriates. There should not be any confusion in this regard.

War entails human and material destruction. It brings human sufferings.

It is unnecessary and should be avoided.

Ethiopia and Eritrea can and should resolve the present border issue through peaceful means only.

Ethiopia should be asked to commit itself to resolve the present conflict by peaceful and legal means only.

But it is only when Ethiopia is made aware of the consequences of its actions that it ay come to doing the right thing.

The present silence, which is tantamount to an approval of what is being done by the Ethiopian government, only encourages the Woyane regime to continue in its present actions, and it does not in any way lead it to seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Vision of the future

Eritrea making itself into model for rest of Africa

By Peter Worthington (Toronto Sun)

For the past five days I92ve
been writing at length
about Eritrea, an obscure African country on the Red Sea. Some may fell the most recent nation admitted to the UN has little relevance to Canada or the world in general. In some ways this may be true.

Yet in a world that is continually splitting into independent states, most of them impoverished and feuding with neighbours and/or torn with dissent, all seeking aid from the developed world, most cursed with corruption and wary of free choice.

Africa is especially vulnerable. Not one country has emerged from colonial status as a free and functioning democracy, free of corruption and ethnic rivalries, where human rights are respected and rule of law is paramount, where citizens feel secure, safe, content. Why Eritrea is important 97 or has the potential of being important 97 is that it in the process of making itself into a model for the rest of Africa.

Although it one of Africa poorest countries, with limited resources, Eritrea is unusual in that it seeks to break the habit of dependency and almost makes a fetish of self-reliance. It knows foreign aid can be a dangerous, seductive crutch 97 politically, socially, economically. In the end, Eritrea must fend for itself. A ship with 1,500 Eritrean deportees from Ethiopia makes its way to dock at the port of Massawa.

An Eritrean soldier helps an elderly lady of the ship. This attitude-cum-policy, is basically the doing of President Isaias Afwerki who, at age 53, envisions Africa as a whole and has analyzed what gone wrong and is determined not to repeat mistakes of the past. He realizes the future hinges on enterprise and freedom. This evolution towards democracy is made more tenuous because Ethiopia is again at war with Eritrea 97 a border dispute that seems petty to the point of absurdity, except that it is deadly. Unless solved, it will ultimately damage both countries. Canada, as a country, pays little attention to Eritrea, a small nation situated on the Red Sea above the Horn of Africa, sandwiched between Sudan and Ethiopia; a country the size of England with a population of 3.5 million.

It gets about $3 million in aid from Canada 97 a $2 million census program and small water and education projects. Our modest aid program to Eritrea has been cut by a third each year since it won independence from Ethiopia in 1993, after a torturous 30-year war of liberation 97 the longest such struggle in recent times.

Almost as an abberation, Canada has shown uncharacteristic wisdom in that it has a consular office in Asmara (mostly for immigration), whose honorary consul is a personable Eritrean-born Canadian from Edmonton, Mulugeta Kusmu. Staff members are Eritrean-Canadians, and our Canada Fund aid representative is Laraine Black, a Canadian who got interested in Eritrea in the 1980s during its war against Ethiopia and volunteered to help the Eritrean Relief Agency (ERA) in Khartoum. In those days the Canadian government dismissed Eritrean "fighters" as "rebels" and funnelled all food aid to Ethiopia.

Eritrea was abandoned or neglected by most of the world. Only Oxfam and some church and Scandinavian aid groups showed concern.

Why Eritrea should be important to countries like Canada (we funnel aid in various amounts to some 50 African countries, much of it useless or wasted) is that Eritrea is a living blueprint for the future 97 a role model for both developed and developing countries, for aid donors and aid recipients. Providing it succeeds. Consider:

l Eritrea won a war of independence against Ethiopia without any outside military advice or support 97 a country of 3.5 million people defeating a country of 58 million with the largest mechanized army in Africa led by Soviet military advisers.

l The capital of Asmara is one of Africa most charming (the tallest building is seven storeys; most are two storeys). It is the only African city that has no begging. There is little crime, streets are clean and safe; police seem mostly to direct traffic.

l It is the only African country that actually refuses some international bank loans, not wanting to be saddled with a debt they can never repay 97 unlike Zimbabwe and Zambia, for example, which expect their debts to be cancelled.

l It is the only country that rejects foreign aid unless it is carefully controlled and administered by Eritreans, in the belief that foreign aid can corrupt people and governments, and foster dependence rather than self-reliance.

l It is the only African country where aid projects have come in under budget.

l It may be the only African country where there is no bribery or official corruption. It may be the only African country without limousines for leaders.

l Isaias is the only African president who has spoken out against racism ("ethnicity") and corruption in Africa.

l It is the only African country that has managed to turn traditional ethnic and cultural differences (eight linguistic groups and a variety of cultures) into a nationalistic spirit.

l It is the only African country that won92t allow religious aid programs unless they are secular and apply to everyone, and are not directed to the followers of one particular religion.

l More than any African state it has sought to ensure women have rights they traditionally never had. Arranged child marriages, dowries and the barbarism of female mutilation have been curbed, all of which flourished prior to the war of liberation. Legally, women are moving towards the same rights and opportunities as men.

l Free education is a priority, and learning English is compulsory in schools, on the thesis that "English is a passport to the world."

l President Isaias is one of the few African leaders who professes that "pluralistic politics" are essential "because one party cannot have all the solutions all the time."

There is more one could say, but this is a quick summary of a young country with an old history that is the hope of Africa, where many have abandoned hope. Eritrea is now engaged in a war that Ethiopia has declared.

Again. This time a ridiculous dispute pushed by Ethiopia about where the border is, which until now has always been clearly defined and internationally accepted. The Italians drew the line a century ago.

For its own internal reasons, Ethiopia is "ethnically cleansing" itself of those with Eritrean connections 97 people whose parents may be Eritrean, spouses who are Eritrean, Eritrean students in Ethiopia, Eritrean businessmen. Over 40,000 have been deported. And the world is silent. For the future of Eritrea (and Ethiopia) and in the long run Africa itself, the U.S., Britain, Canada, Italy and those with influence in the region should put pressure on Addis Ababa to resolve the dispute peacefully.

While it takes two to argue, the main responsibility lies with Ethiopia; it is the one abusing human rights (see Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Commission) and it is the one likely to respond if international pressure is serious.

As for Canada, it would be encouraging if, for a change, the Chretien government consulted its people in Eritrea, or got its ambassador in Addis Ababa to forego docile diplomacy and publicly give an opinion 97 as President Isaias does, whenever he asked.

It could herald a new form of diplomacy 97 telling the truth.

Eritrea Roses

In the morning sun rays of the Red Sea,

the dewy sand across your land,

in the glorious sahl mountains,

the depth of Eritrea valleys,

in every rock and the pebbles,

your story will echo forever.

you are now free in our hearts,

forever young in our memories,

your youth stretched across history books,

as the silent martyrs in Woyane hands,

you will be remembered as Eritrea roses.

No more Blaietena and the sound of wolfs,

no more suffering at the hand of little gods,

you have traded them for heaven, rejoice,

where gallant swuat live by the thousands.

smile, upon arrival at the heaven gates,

tell the swuat Eritrea still prevails,

you are its new price tag for what it holds,

so dear and close to the collective hearts,

of its mighty, proud and united peoples.

Tell them of Badme and the MIGs,

tell them of Zalanbesa and Assab,

tell them of Eritrea air force,

tell them of the spirit so fierce,

that have the Woyane dancing in circles.

Tell them of the Sawa tigers,

those who have taken their place,

the young and mighty new fighters,

courageously following their steps.

Tell them Nakfa is how we count,

Red Sea our choice of flight,

Asmara beams and shines bright,

mothers still ululate.

Rest in peace, my brothers,

rest in peace, my sisters,

rest in peace, my people,

know that Eritrea will prevail.

Haddat Ephrem

Seattle, Wa

Correction

Missing words from the poem titled "The Dare Devils" that appeared in last week issue of the Profile.

1. 8th stanza 4th line the correct sentence is to fulfill his pledge.

2. 12th stanza 5th line the correct word is -Tri-Nitro-Touline

3. 13th stanza 10th line the correct sentence is yes, War is a dying business

4. 14th stanza 6th line the correct sentences is they were mighty strong

5. 2nd stanza 2nd line the correct sentence is the "sacred city".

A glance at the

Eritrean countryside

Amanuel Sahle

The city is the abode of the
flesh while the countryside
is the dwelling place of the spirit. In order to know a people and their culture, one has only to go to the countryside and learn their ways and manners.

If you see Asmara, you have seen half of Eritrea. The other half is to be found among the rural population who tend to keep the traditional culture unpolluted as much as possible.

Don92t trust traditional stage dances and music. They are most of the time performed to attract and enchant with tourists in mind. They are, therefore, very far from reflecting the true customs and traditions.

Whenever customs and traditions travel, whether objects or abstract things, they lose some of their flavor along the journey. But, people tend not to bother very much since culture is thought as dynamic and in a state of flux rather than static and petrified.

When a group of artists thought of organizing a cultural day in Asmara in collaboration with the Alliance Francaise, they must have had this idea in mind.

If you don92t want to go to the mountain, the mountain has to come to you somehow. And there are many ways of making the mountain move ( other than through pure faith ). You can make a representation of the mountain in a plain ground.

Painters, musicians, sculptors and photographers have recently got together to present rural Eritrea, including its sound, smell and touch.

The Art and Handicarft Exhibition on Eritrean Countryside is organized by Elsa Yacob, along with some interested artists in collaboration with the Alliance Francaise. Elsa Yacob, is an ex-fighter and painting teacher. She has already presented her paintings in more or less similar exhibitions held during the past two years.

What is the aim? According to Elsa, the aim is to promote Eritrean paintings and works of art. "Eritreans have to get exposed to their art in all its aspects in order to learn to appreciate," she said. " That why the prices for paintings are below 500 nfa."

The idea is to make it possible for Eritreans to hang good paintings in their houses. This habit has in the past been confined to ex-patriates for obvious reasons.

That why this kind of art exhibition is known as culture day and is held every year just before Christmas ( this year it is held after Christmas for some technical reasons ).

Mr. Boris Adjemian, from the Allinace Francaise, says that the cultural day, which this year is open January 15-17, will feature Eritrean cuisine prepared by Ghidey San Antonio, jewels, artifacts of all sorts, including wood and wickerwork, folk music, traditional costumes, etc.

Many artists will participate in this exhibition which will have the aspect of miniature Festival Eritrea held at the Expo grounds every year.

" It is not exactly a miniature Eritrea Festival," says M. Claude Gonin, Director of the Alliance Francaise in Asmara. " But, we hope it will become one in the future."

The cultural day will be held ( in fact it is going on while the newspaper is going to print ) at the Alliance Francaise kindergarten.

Last year exhibition was very attractive in that it involved a lot of different artists from the town. Many of the visitors ( mostly ex-patriates ) seemed very happy and relaxed. The whole atmosphere was conducive to exercising the artistic sensibilities and people were discussing, admiring and meditating.

They felt as if they were invited to a village bazaar. That one way of appreciating Eritrean art and tradition.

I wish others followed the example of the organizers and held miniature Festival Eritreas in all parts of Asmara. This then can be imitated in other provincial towns as well. And the result would be the promotion of culture, unity in diversity and above all, solidarity.