Opportunity for TPLF/EPRDF to right the wrong and for Ethiopia to reclaim its legal and historic rights

By Eneh LeHaggareh

On December 6, 2013, a number of media
reports including

Aljazeera and Africa Review
have all indicated that the ruling party in Ethiopia (TPLF/EPRDF) and the  Isayas led EPLF in Eritrea are currently
negotiating through a mediator, Omar AlBashir of the Sudan.

On December 16, 2013, in an opinion that appeared on the
online publication African Argument: Herman Cohen, the former
Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, also alluded to the same rapprochement  stating that “in recent months,
positive signals have been coming from both countries. “ 

In principle, this writer is not against the
idea of resolving conflict and differences through peaceful negotiation.
However, I believe, a meaningful conflict resolution requires addressing the
unspoken but true concerns of the Ethiopian people. In my opinion, any attempt
to move forward without addressing these outstanding issues will only aggravate
the sense of injustice thereby sawing the seed for continued conflict.

I am an Ethiopian therefore; first and
foremost my focus is safeguarding the current and future interest of Ethiopia.

First and foremost, any attempt to resolve
this outstanding issue should weigh-in the fact that Ethiopians have been
betrayed by the ruling TPLF/EPRDF regime when it comes to some of the cardinal  decisions made about the unity and
territorial integrity of their country. Here are some of the highlights:-

The “referendums” of 1993 was
conducted in a way that did not represent the interest of Ethiopians.
Ethiopians were completely excluded from having a say in that highly important
decision.  Such a decision of
monumental consequence was made in a closed door away from the people of
Ethiopia.  At the time, the
government was only transitional and with no such mandate whatsoever from the
general public.

• Ethiopia’s
  historical and legal rights were completely ignored. Instead,
  ill-conceived political calculation and ideological gimmick dictated the
  ruling group’s extremely short sighted decisions. Thanks largely to
  Mr. Zenawi’s and his small circle’s decision, Ethiopia’s
  right of access to the sea was completely denied. It is noteworthy to
  mention here that even the so-called outside negotiators like Herman Cohen
  were baffled by Meles’s disregard of this distinct and less
  controversial possibility.
• Following the 1998-2000
  war that killed over 70 thousand people, once again, the ruling group in
  Addis failed to protect the best interests of the Ethiopian people. The
  possibility for a military solution was sabotaged by the order of none
  other than the PM Meles Zenawi .
• The so called
  “Algers agreement “basically does not take into account, the
  historical, legal and strategic interests of Ethiopia. The Algers
  agreement hands Badme over to Eritrea and does not even contemplate
  providing Ethiopia with access to its historic and legal port of
  Assab.  As a number of
  prominent legal scholars have documented, the Algers agreement was a
  tragic miscarriage of justice. The “lawyers” representing
  Ethiopia were arguing in favour of Eritrea, not Ethiopia (see Asseb Yeman
  Nat, by Dr Yakob H.Mariam , 2004 Et Calendar).   As Leo Tolstoy, once
  wrote “Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share
  in it.” ― Leo Tolstoy, A Confession . The unfairness of using colonial references to disadvantage
  Ethiopia was wrong and should not have been accepted as a legal base to
  settle such disputes. Assab and Bademe have and should always
  belong to Ethiopia. Anything less would be a betrayal of the inhabitants
  of these regions.
• Many of the then key
  decision makers within the TPLF/EPRDF now acknowledge that these were
  historical wrongs of the ruling TPLF/ EPRDF when it comes to issues
  related to Eritrea. Chief among those who have publicly declared their
  positions are the then President Negaso Gidada, PM Tamrat Layne, Defence
  Minsiter Seye Abraha, and Mr Gebru Asrat (then then Governor of Kilil One
  -Tigray Region).
• Even today, issues
  related to Eritrea are not yet fully settled. At this point, the ruling
  TPLF/ EPRDF has an opportunity to right some of the wrongs of the past. Hence,
  It should stand firm and demonstrate that it stands for the best interests
  of Ethiopia. The interest of 97 million people should not be in any way
  compromised. The involved world knows how misguided and lopsided both
  Eritrean referendum of 1993 and the Algers Agreement of post war
  1998-2000 have been. There is nothing wrong to take measures to address the
  injustice done to Ethiopia.

Action matters

The current leaders of TPLF/EPRDF have to
understand that they cannot and should not continue to disadvantage and
disregard their own country. The government of PM Hailemariam Desalegn should
learn from the bad and fatalistic practices of the past  and conduct business by being loyal to
the will and desire of Ethiopians and Ethiopia’s own sovereign interest –
not to the will of some foreign power. This government should not surrender the
right of Ethiopia to have full access to the sea port. Ethiopia cannot continue
to pay tens of millions of dollars to others to use their port and put our
national interest in jeopardy.

Until such time that EPRDF/TPLF shows its
commitment to Ethiopian Unity, it will continue to pay dearly and suffer from
lack of trust by Ethiopians.  One
can not buy trust with money, by intimidation or through misleading propaganda.  It has to be earned by traveling through
painstaking process.  As the saying
goes, show clearly that you love the people and the people will in turn love
you and/or at least respect you.

Clearly, everyone understands that there is
no easy way to right all the wrongs committed in the last several years.
However, now is the time for the ruling group in Ethiopia to do the right thing
and set the country in the right direction. Ethiopia cannot afford to miss yet
another opportunity to reclaim its legal and historical rights and assert
itself. Action matters.  There is no
justification whatsoever to continue on the path that has disadvantaged
Ethiopia and relegated her to a dependent country on states like Djibouti.

What needs to be done
now?

The government

• To start with, the
  ruling party should stop being obsessed about the opposition and holding
  to power forever. It should stop the desire to accommodate Issayas to
  cajole him in order to stop supporting the opposition. The government
  should trust the Ethiopian public not Issayas. Issayas is not trust worthy
  and there is no way one can satisfy his insatiable appetite for
  domination.
• The government should
  commit itself to find a way to right the wrong of the past 22 years when
  it comes to Issayas.  Clearly,
  this should inform all activities of the government moving forward.
• The right of the Afar,
  the Erob etc people to remain Ethiopians and Ethiopia’s historical
  as well as legal right to Assab should be fully asserted.  The government has to be committed
  to act on the best interests of Ethiopia not the interest of any foreign
  power.
• The border issue should
  be resolved without splitting Ethiopians in Tigray, Saho, the people of
  Erob and Afar into different countries. The government must protect the
  right of those who rightly claim their Ethiopianness. Badme belongs to
  Ethiopia as does Assab.
• Herman
  Cohens recommendation that “Ethiopia offer to accept a symbolic initial
  takeover by Eritrea of territory awarded by the EEBC, followed by the same
  day opening of dialogue with a totally open agenda”.  Should be
  fully rejected. Ethiopia cannot be tricked twice.
• The government should
  work with the opposition in order to develop a strong “Ethiopian
  position” for any negotiation or eventuality with Esayiyas Afewerki
  and his regime.
• The government should
  use this opportunity to develop a national dialogue and to build national
  consensus among all Ethiopian political forces. This opportunity should be
  used to bring lasting peace through national dialogue and by building
  national consensus and reconciliation.

The opposition

• Just like the ruling
  party, everyone in the Ethiopian opposition should also clarify   its position when it comes to
  the issue of Eritrea. Saying nothing on such important matter is
  tantamount to endorsing the statusquo. And the statusquo is not in the
  best interest of Ethiopia.
• Engage EPRDF/TPLF in
  order to develop a strong Ethiopian position vis-à-vis the   Isayas/Shabia position.
• Use this opportunity to
  develop trust for national dialogue and to build national consensus and
  reconciliation among all Ethiopian stakeholders.
• Discharge its/their
  responsibility to the public faithfully by providing  timely and accurate information
  about the status of any “negotiation” or rapprochement  with Isayas and Shabiya

The Ethiopian public

• Be
  vigilant and follow diligently any action related to negotiation/ dialogue
  with Issays / Shabiya.  An
  informed public is an empowered public.
• Speak
  to the politicians both within the government and the opposition to
  pressure them to stand up for a strong Ethiopian interest and to redress
  past mistakes. An engaged public is the key to influencing political
  decisions and the future of our collective destiny.
• Use this opportunity to
  pursue a national dialogue and to build national consensus among all
  Ethiopians. Our future is intertwined and we cannot afford to leave any
  one behind or exclude any Ethiopian.
• Members of the
  Ethiopian media, both diaspora based and locally, should also discharge
  their professional obligation by reporting without any biases and by
  holding politicians accountable. Media biases have become the centre of
  our political life and that has to change.

Ethiopia is bigger than the political
ambition of any single politician or political party. The interstate of
Ethiopia goes beyond the interest of one party.  Ethiopia has room for all of its
citizens. The party that reflects the interest of Ethiopia will always be the
winner of the hearts and minds of the Ethiopian people during election times.

Now Ethiopians have an opportunity to reclaim
our collective destiny and to jump start our bright future through a national
consensus. TPLF/EPRDF too has yet another opportunity to demonstrate that it
has learnt from its mistakes. Let us not spoil this opportunity.

Ethiopia does not have to be bound by the
defective Algers Agreement and the decisions of the Ethiopia-Eritrea
Border Commission (EEBC). The new leadership in Addis should not be bound by the meaningless
Algers Agreement and simplistic and outdated ideological gimmick. Just like the
treaty of Wuchale that favored Italy’s interest over Ethiopia, we should
reject the Algers agreement; because the Algers agreement too is unfair to
Ethiopia. Anything less will be unacceptable to Ethiopians everywhere.

It is important to note that foreign
governments (weak or strong) have their own interest. And when they recommend
solutions, it is first and foremost to protect their own national interests.

Ethiopia has no one but its sons and
daughters to protect it. The sons and daughters include the politicians within
the ruling party as well as in the opposition. Better late than never, the
politicians in the ruling party and its supporters need to stand up for
Ethiopians interest now.

I urge the public to engage actively on this
issue, make your voices heard by writing, discussing in all pal talk rooms,
radio programs etc. Not doing so could have a colossal consequence for our
beloved country both today and in the future too.

May God bless Ethiopia