People’s Diplomacy Can Stop War between Ethiopia and Eritrea (Open Letter)

Mr. Issayas Afewerki

President of the Transitional Government

The State of Eritrea

                                                                                                              Stockholm/07-05-16

Mr. President, seven years ago I sent you a letter from which I quote the following: 

“…Finally, it must be pointed out that the transitional nature of the Eritrea government, and its lack of constitutional blessing by the people, makes it incumbent upon its relevant organs to inform this noble and trusting people about the state of the nation, and upgrade the flow of information continuously”.

On another occasion I wrote, “…It must also be pointed out that the transitional nature of the Eritrean government, and the absence of constitutional blessing by the Eritrean people, makes it incumbent upon the government to inform this noble and trusting people about how things stand instead of asking them to accept accomplished facts. Mr. President don’t you think it is sad that the Eritrean government should fail to mobilize the available capabilities of its citizens?”

In 2000 you listened to advice! You announced Election 2001. We, in our turn, announced the Stockholm Conference 2000. Alas! The light at the end of the tunnel of thirty years of armed struggle was visible to all. Then something went awry inside your government that led to the rule by state of emergency.  Much water and blood has flown under the bridge since then. It is enough!

Mr. President,

I urge you to call for immediate negotiations between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Negotiations are inevitable! Your government holds the position that the demarcation of the border is merely a technical issue that precedes a political summit between the leaders of both countries. This stance does not seem to take into consideration the fact that the international tribunal did not frame the rules that govern the implementation process. The implementation process requires detailed political and technical agreements regarding troop withdrawals, de-escalation, and other related matters. Drawing the international border on the ground is not solely a technical matter – it is primarily a political matter. The Eritrean transitional government needs to grasp the reality that political negotiation sets the conditions for the implementation of the technical aspects of the border decision. This means that the two countries must negotiate in order to discuss the implementation annex and international legitimacy issues. The question is: should your government negotiate before war breaks out and, by so doing, gain the peace, or wait for war to break out and repeat the US/Rwanda catastrophe? Mr. President you need to negotiate now so that Eritrea survives!

The other task, directly related to the question of implementation, is the important matter of ratification. The implementation of the decisions of the border commission needs to be complemented by a ratification annex to be implemented by the Eritrean and Ethiopian parliaments. In the case of Eritrea, only an elected parliament is authorized to ratify the international decisions of the border commission. This means that there must be democratic elections now!  I urge you to announce election 2007-8.

Mr. President, I am aware that there are sticky issues that are important to the Ethiopian and Eritrean sides. Our Ethiopian brothers hold that some territorial adjustments (in the form of a trade-off of the Badume and Ali Tena areas for the Tsorona locality) would enhance permanent peace between the two neighbors.  Ali Tena provides direct military access to the canyon and sea-port of Arefaile - with sensitive implications to the independence of Eritrea. This is a sticky issue that requires a thoughtful approach. There are also developmental sticky issues in the Dankalia region that need to be addressed. The first of these is an agricultural area that is central to the food security of the inhabitants of Bada; the second is the salt works that are essential to the cash needs of the local traders.   

Mr. President I ask you to take the concerns of the Eritrean people seriously,

Herui Tedla Bairu