Statement on the Determination of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission

Over the past four years, prior to the TPLF's declaration of war against Eritrea and since then, before the heavy casualties and damage suffered by the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia, the government and people of Eritrea have consistently maintained that the border dispute could only be resolved by peaceful and legal means, and not through war and the logic of force. Today's determination by the Border Commission has reaffirmed what was clear four years ago and has vindicated Eritrea.

When they signed the Algiers peace agreement in December 2000, both parties had committed themselves to accept the decision of the Commission as "final and binding." Hence the question of acceptance of the decision is superfluous and does not require belabored commentary and verbal acrobatics.

As to the question of to whose favour the decision went, the determination and its implications provide clear answers. The flowery and bombastic statements that were issued today cannot erase from our collective memories the statements and actions of the past four years. Nor can we forget that Badme, which was included in the map of Tigray, was used as a pretext for Ethiopia's declaration of war. It does not, therefore, require learned commentary to clarify in whose favour the decision went and the Ethiopian people are best placed to give their judgment. In the final analysis, the end of the war on the basis of a legal determination is a victory for both the Eritrean and Ethiopian peoples. It is a victory for the people of Ethiopia, but it is the Eritrean people who have emerged most victorious.

Eternal glory to our martyrs!
Victory to the masses!

Government of Eritrea
Asmara, 13 April 2002