Lying Quick: Hallmark of the Ethiopian Regime
By: Ghidewon Abay Asmerom
December 23, 2005

As usual Ethiopia leaders are once more lying to their own people. In a statement they issued on Wednesday 22, 2005 they are declaring the Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission (EECC) has found Eritrea responsible for 1998-2000 war against Ethiopia and that these awards are of monumental significance in exposing Eritrea as the aggressor and the belligerent nature of the regime in the current impasse in the peace process. When will these people quit deceiving their own people? How we forget, lying to them is a habit that they cannot break free easily. Their habit has been to live through today by lying about yesterday and tomorrow about today so on and so forth. In a day when there are charging the Ethiopian opposition of genocide when in fact they are the ones that are the architects of genocide, it is not surprising to claim a hollow victory over Eritrea. As before only time will show what the significance of the December 19 awards are and we will read the TPLF leaders once more denouncing the Claims Commission as it starts to hand in the damages.

After all did we witness the same with the EEBC, they cursed it with the same tongue they praised it? Didn they claim victory at the time as well? As before, no matter what they say or do they cannot cut themselves loose off the noose that is tightening around their neck. They cannot insult the intelligence of those who have read the document in its entirety. Their quick shout for victory is like the person who claims he has an orange when in fact he has only ended up with the peel.

The December 19 EECC Decision is a part of a series of awards the Commission started giving as early as July 1, 2003. In total there have been a total of 15 awards adding up to 433 pages. The December 2005 Decision is a total of 201-page ruling on 9 awards. Unlike what Ethiopian leaders would have their population believe, the truth of the award is quite to the contrary. It is out there for every body to see and it cannot be summarized by one single paragraph taken out of context. While the EECC has dismissed most of Ethiopia claims it has found it liable for a lot of damages it brought on Eritrea. I challenge people to read the whole 433 pages and particularly the 201 pages from the day before yesterday and you will find it out for yourself. The minority regime in Ethiopia is also claiming this “decision has an extremely important bearing on the current status of the peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea. This statement is meant for the Ethiopian masses the TPLF thinks are too illiterate to read the Algiers agreement, the EEBC Decision or the Claims Commission awards. Otherwise, that is not what the Algiers Agreement is all about. As anyone who is familiar with the Agreement and has read the December 19 awards will testify, what Ethiopia is saying today is utterly nonsense.

As who is responsible for the 1998-2000 war it is not the jurisdiction of the EECC but of another Commission which is yet to be formed. According to Article 3 of the Algiers Agreement this yet to be formed commission will determine the origins of the conflict, an investigation will be carried out on the incidents of 6 May 1998 and on any other incident prior to that date which could have contributed to a misunderstanding between the parties regarding their common border, including the incidents of July and August 1997. Only when this Commission returns its findings will we know who is responsible for the war. Of course as before the TPLF leaders would want to wait before they open their mouth to lie and we have no doubt wheneverything is said and done Eritrea will prevail.