Will It Take Another War To Make Demarcation a Reality?
By: Aklilu Embaye
December 3, 2003

No Eritrean in his right mind would argue for another war, for war is pure hell. However, like most Eritreans, I am angry and frustrated by the guarantors’ lack of commitment to the enforcement of the boundary commission’s demarcation instructions.

It appears that the only sure-fire things that get the international community’s attention are war, bloodshed and death. That is the only time the big powers and the international community get shamed into doing something. Of course, they don’t feel the urgency to act when those deaths are in Africa either, but that’s another story.

The longer the impasse goes on, the more I become convinced that demarcation will not happen unless there is another round of war. The international community has always been more interested in stability (lack of active warfare) than justice. Justice has always taken a back seat to regional stability.

Call me cynical but I just don’t think the guarantors will ever bring themselves to bear on Ethiopia. They just don't have the will power!! Of course, had Eritrea been the recalcitrant party, the EU, US and AU would have tripped all over themselves to be the first one to penalize it, but... that’s another story.

Thus, if you accept the argument that the international community will never force Ethiopia to comply with the demarcation instructions and that it may take another war to make demarcation a reality, the question then becomes should Eritrea be the one to launch this war, given the fact that Ethiopia is illegally occupying sovereign Eritrean territory that is delimited by the Hague-based ICJ?

Timing is also a factor here. There was something that raised my eyebrows this morning. When I saw that Ethiopia is requesting $3 billion USD to fight hunger, I knew exactly what that money was going to be used for. We have seen this movie before my friends. Ethiopia cleverly got the World Bank to finance its invasion of Eritrea. I am sure Ethiopia will get that money again too. It always does.

I get the feeling that Ethiopia has no intention to let demarcation happen, which means that another war is inevitable. If another war is inevitable then, is it better to fight it now than wait until Ethiopia’s coffers are full again?