 COMMENTARY
The border issue: beyond Badme By Gelaye Tadesse December 22, 2003 Since its flip-flop on the border issues in yet another attempt to deceive the Ethiopian people, TPLF/EPRDF remains anti-Ethiopian sovereignty. After failed attempts to hand over Badme to EPLF, the regime’s propaganda shows that the town was the sole cause of the 1998-2000 conflict and current crisis. This is Woyane’s another anti-Ethiopian strategy. Under guise of gaining Badme, Woyane continues its push to sell off Afar and Irob people and to legalize the landlocked status of Ethiopia. If lasting peace and stability are to be achieved in the region, any border agreement and peace deal must not be imposed upon the Ethiopian people in general and Afar and Irob people in particular. The Afar and Irob people are proudly expressing their Ethiopian identity and demanding to remain Ethiopian. Denying Afar and Irob people of their basic and natural right to remain Ethiopian citizens and sidelining of the national interest of Ethiopia will create a “Kashmir” of East Africa. Woyane is determined to make this happen. The result would be tragedy for the region.
The track record of TPLF/EPRDF shows that the regime is anti-Ethiopian sovereignty, anti-democracy and anti-peace. During the last 12 years Woyane has been busy implementing what it agreed with EPLF during their common guerilla campaign against the Derg regime. Immediately after they assumed power, it became clear that their campaign and agreements were not solely against the Derg regime, but they were anti-Ethiopian as well. Since its entry to Addis Ababa Woyane engaged in relentless efforts to reduce Ethiopia to its current state and destabilize the whole region. First, this regime legitimized the secession of Eritrea without consulting the Ethiopian people and without applying due democratic process that is used in any referendum. Quebec of Canada is good example. Pretending that it has a legal mandate, TPLF/EPRDF introduced the only national constitution in the world that allows disintegration of a nation. Using this spurious constitution, Woyane has taken the Ethiopian people hostage. On the one hand, it has been encouraging secessionist movements, and on the other hand, it is threatening the Ethiopian people with disintegration. Provision of its own spurious constitution for self-determination is denied for those who chose to remain Ethiopian, indicating that the constitution was designed to facilitate the secession of Eritrea. This treasonous regime has colluded with EPLF to attack the Afar people for choosing to remain Ethiopian. Due to an illegitimate process that produced the “State of Eritrea”, another round of war erupted in the place where Meles calls “godforsaken village”, Badme. After entering the town in 1998 EPLF was kicked out of Badme in 2000. Then, EPLF leaders rushed to sign the so-called Algiers agreement to sell off Ethiopia. Although Woyane does not have a mandate, it signed the agreement, because the war was going against their interest; EPLF was being defeated. Woyane decided to base its argument on the dead and buried colonial treaties. Those who stand for Ethiopia’s national interest and sovereignty have been arguing that the negotiation should cover all issues including the question of the Afar people and sea outlet, not just Badme. The Woyane regime branded them as anti-peace, anti-democracy, remnants of the former regime, expansionist and extreme nationalist, and the Amhara chauvinists and neftegna, etc. When the so-called independent boundary commission delivered its decision to hand over more territories, Badme and Irob, in addition to parts of Afar to EPLF; Woyane claimed: “we have got all we wanted”. It is true, TPLF/EPRDF got all what it wanted, because it wants nothing for Ethiopia. The Woyane leader, Meles Zenawi, declared “we should abide by the decision, in the first place, we fought for the rule of the law, not for a piece of land.” The TPLF/EPRDF cadres roamed the country to convince the Ethiopian people, but were given a clear message: nation-wide rejection of the outcome of the Woyane engineered boundary commission’s decision. On top of the popular rejection of the outcome of the Algiers agreement, UEDF is borne and provides the most needed leadership for the Ethiopian people in its opposition to Algiers agreement in particular and TPLF/EPRDF regime in general. It is only then that Woyane realized that it is trapped, like a mouse and decided to flip-flop. Finally, the Woyane leaders declared the Algiers agreement is null and void. Now it is preparing for another round of war. This position of TPLF/EPRDF has malevolence mission. It is clear that Badme is being used as another way of achieving the Woyane’s destructive objectives against Ethiopia. The hidden objectives of TPLF/EPRDF are: 1) To reject the Afar people’s right to remain within their motherland, Ethiopia; 2) To deny Ethiopia natural access to sea; and 3) ultimately to disintegrate Ethiopia. To achieve these, Woyane has engaged in relentless campaign to deceive the Ethiopian people and international community that Badme was the sole cause of the war and its status will determine peace and stability of the region. TPLF/EPRDF request of the so-called boundary commission to start the demarcation in the eastern sector as soon as possible is clear indication of where it stands when it comes to the Ethiopian sovereignty. Why is it so important for Woyane to get the demarcation done in the eastern sector as soon as possible? It is obvious; TPLF/EPRDF wants to seal Ethiopia’s landlocked status before its own demise. In the first place, there was no need for Algiers agreement. Issayas led EPLF guerilla fighters invaded Badme and were kicked out by the Ethiopian forces. There is similarity between Issayas’ claim of Badme and Ziad Bare’s claim of Ogaden in 1977. In a similar passion, Ziad Bare’s army was kicked out of Ethiopian territory in a devastating Ethiopian counter offensive. To my knowledge, Ethiopia did not seek arbitration. Why Woyane had to seek arbitration after EPLF was kicked out? The answer is clear, Woyane is shabiya’s agent. The international community needs to know that Badme was NOT the sole cause of the war. The war was a result of illegal and undemocratic process that applied to invent the “State of Eritrea”. Whoever gets Badme, peace cannot be achieved in the region unless the whole anatomy of the conflict is examined and dealt properly. Any agreement between TPLF/EPRDF and EPLF will not yield peace and stability in the region. Inherently, they are anti-peace and anti-Ethiopian. The Afar and Irob peoples’ right to remain Ethiopian must be respected to achieve real peace in the region. An external body without consulting the affected people, Afaris and Irobis in particular and the Ethiopian people in general cannot arbitrate on those issues by a deal signed between the two guerilla groups who are now controlling Ethiopia. The shameful solution being offered to the Ethiopian people, to build “another Badme” for residents of Badme and its surroundings, will not yield any peace. This solution is likely to be another piece of TPLF/EPRDF engineering. What has become crystal clear is that Woyane is anti-Ethiopian sovereignty. The TPLF/EPRDF leader, Meles, made this clear at an interview with the IRIN where he clearly stated his intension to disintegrating Ethiopia. Blatantly he said, “there is no guarantee for unity of Ethiopia”. I am sure; such a leader who is devoted to destroy a country he supposedly representing bemuses the world. The only way peace can be achieved in the region is if the border issues are dealt with a genuine interest for stability and peace. The dealings and agreements signed by Woyane and Shabia are intended to maintain ongoing conflict. Considering Badme as the sole cause of the conflict and awarding it to EPLF or to Ethiopia will not deliver peace and stability. Implementation of agreement signed by Woyane and Shabia will result in an ongoing conflict; because:
Denying these people their basic and a fundamental right would have a negative effect on the development of the region, exacerbating social and economic problems in both sides of the population as a result of an ongoing conflict. This would have international implications. Under Woyane, Ethiopia’s national interest and sovereignty never have been represented seriously. TPLF/EPRDF does not represent Ethiopia and has no mandate at all to negotiate on behalf of the Ethiopian people. Finally, TPLF/EPRDF leaders must leave the Ethiopian affairs to the Ethiopian people. The united Ethiopian people will undo what TPLF/EPRDF has done. The author, Gelaye Tadesse , is a PhD student at School of Medicine, Adelaide University, Australia, and could be reached at [email protected] ETHIOMEDIA.COM – ETHIOPIA’S PREMIER NEWS AND VIEWS WEBSITE © COPYRIGHT 20001-2003 ETHIOMEDIA.COM. EMAIL: [email protected] |
