Unfortunately this is going to
happen when a new international order is emerging. Ato Meles Zenawi is
using a lame excuse for not raising the issue of Asseb. Instead he is
looking for minor concessions in the areas of the Bademe triangle. Ato
Meles is once again failing to assert Ethiopia’s inalienable rights to
reclaim its seacoast.
At the outset the Ethiopian National Congress (ENC), a worldwide civic
movement to Ethiopians, vehemently objected to a key clause that is
contained in the treaty. To this effect we held an international
symposium, collected petition, wrote protest letters, lodged
applications
to the members of the Security Council and joined other Ethiopian
political and civic groups in bringing Ethiopia’s plight to the
international community. Relevant documents are available at Ethiopian National Congress.
The response we got from the
Government
of Ato Meles was disappointing. We were characterized as warmongers
and
chauvinists. In spite of the Government’s effort to hide the truth,
today
Ethiopians have one voice. They have rejected not only the treaty but
also
the rulings of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission. Indeed the
United
Nations is misreading the events leading to the current
“misunderstandings” between itself and the Government of Ethiopia.
Ato Meles committed the second scandal when he submitted Ethiopia’s
case
to the boundary commission. He appointed shenanigans to pursue
his
ill-fated policy. The verdict of the commission was not
surprising.
Neither its terms of reference nor Ethiopia’s submissions did raise
the
consideration of Ethiopia’s strategic interests, political, historical
and
cultural realities and the implications of creating a landlocked
nation
that is going to be inhabited by sixty five million people who are
growing
annually at the rate of about three percent.
In spite of this, when
the
boundary commission announced its ruling in April last year, Ato
Meles
went into another scandal. His foreign minister, who is not a
stranger to
selling Ethiopia’s vital interests, claimed “vindication” and
invited
Ethiopians for a street party! Unlike Nigeria, Ethiopia missed
another
opportunity to exit from a bad treaty that she has erroneously
signed
because of its visionless leaders and superpower pressure.
Now another defining moment has arrived and the Ethiopian
National
Congress genuinely hopes that Ato Meles shall use the current
opportunity
to correct his scandals. We believe that even at this late hour
the
situation is not insurmountable. Ethiopia’s negotiating power
regarding
Asseb will dramatically change if Ato Meles declares the Algiers
treaty
null and void.
Ethiopia can rightfully demand for the renegotiation of
the
entire treaty. Concessions on Bademe are unlikely to bring a
permanent
peace in the region. Hence, Ato Meles must rise up to the occasion
and
tell the world that he has made mistakes and he would like to
correct
them. It is also better if he does it when he is still in office so
that
present and future generations of Ethiopians do not condemn him. It
would
be better for Ethiopia to face the consequences of nullifying the
treaty
rather than putting its seal on a document that states the
surrender of
its coastal territories on its own volition.
