Harare , 30 March 1999
Appeal to the Diplomatic Community in Harare
Your Excellencies,
STOP AFRICA 'S DISASTROUS WAR!
Eritreans all over the world demonstrated for Peace on 26 March.
Two of the largest armies in Africa are engaged in a full-scale war which, according to a report in Washington Post of March 21, 1999, Africa has never seen since the Northern African campaign during World War II. Eritrea and Ethiopia are among the poorest nations in the continent. Yet, the two sides are exceptionally well armed with the size of Ethiopian and Eritrean armies estimated at 250,000 and 200,000 troops respectively.
The two neighborly countries had an exemplary relationship until, to the surprise of many people in the world, including the people of both countries, May 1998 when the Government of Ethiopia declared a war against Eritrea over a border dispute of 400 Sq. Kilometer in size.
Apparently the border dispute between the two countries had a longer history than that. In July 1997, an Ethiopian force occupied parts of Eritrea . This was further aggravated when in October 1997 the Tigray Region of Ethiopia issued a new map, which incorporates large tracts of Eritrean territory. On its part, the Government of Eritrea believed that this was the work of some people on the ground, and did not reflect the official position of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. Accordingly, the Eritrean President wrote letters to the Ethiopian Prime Minister drawing his attention to the incidence of July 1997, and requesting him to take action for resolving the problem peacefully. This led to the establishment of a Commission consisting of high-level officials from both sides.
While the high-level talks continued on-and-off for months with no apparent success, on May 6 1998 Ethiopian soldiers killed four Eritrean senior military officials and wounded three others. The victims were said to have been on peace mission to settle - with their Ethiopian counterparts - a local border-related dispute. It was therefore an unprovoked attack, which quickly led to a full-scale fighting.
As noted by one senior UN diplomat, this war does not have any sense. It is crazy and has no apparent basis for continuing it. The border between Eritrea and Ethiopia was defined in three treaties (1900, 1902 and 1908). Hence, it is one of the most clearly defined borders in Africa . Neither was there a lack of well wishing organizations and countries, including Zimbabwe , willing to commit time and financial resources to help the two countries settle their dispute through mediation and arbitration. The last in this series was the OAU Framework for peace presented to the two sides in December 1998.
The Government of Ethiopia is said to have accepted the Framework instantly. The Government of Eritrea, however, sought clarification on a number of issues from OAU, and on 12 December invited the OAU Secretary-General to Asmara to provide the necessary clarifications. But he indicated that this was beyond his competence. However, in view of the imminent OAU meeting in Burkina Faso (17 December 1998), the Government of Eritrea provided its preliminary reaction to the OAU Peace Proposal. Surprisingly, Eritrea did not receive a reply until 26 January of this year, and before it could digest the response it has received, the Ethiopian Government embarked on a full-scale war on 6 February 1999.
The war that is raging since 6 February has resulted in heavy material and human destruction on both sides. Many innocent civilians have been killed in air raids; thousands of troops were annihilated; and millions of dollars-worth military hardware has been demolished. The Eritrean Government reported to have killed over 10,000 Ethiopian soldiers between 14-15 March alone, and invited international journalists from, inter alia , BBC, Der Spiegel, Deutche Welle and Swiss Radio and TV to witness the "horrific" scene. Ethiopia on its part reported to have decimated 10s of thousands of Eritrean soldiers since 23 February. Does this make sense?
The loss of human lives in mass is continuing and will continue as long as the war is not stopped. With Ethiopia having already accepted the OAU peace proposal, and Eritrea having accepted it on 25 February, peace loving people of the world are dumbfounded to see the war continuing. The sad thing, however, is that Ethiopia is now bringing new demands - including a war reparation claim from Eritrea - which do not constitute part of the OAU framework. Ethiopia 's new demands complicate the matter further and make peace as elusive as ever. There are even reports that the Ethiopian Government is currently engaged in facilitating the formulation of a transitional Eritrean Government in exile. This is a very dangerous stance, as it will have a far-reaching destabilizing effect with catastrophic consequences on the entire region way beyond the borders of Eritrea .
The questions bewildering the minds of many Eritreans worldwide are: should the international community continue to be silent when a bigger UN member country pursues a war of aggression against another small member country? Does it mean that the world community is indifferent to the plight of over 54,000 innocent Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean ancestry who have been uprooted and forcefully deported from Ethiopia , empty handed leaving all their belongings behind, under the guise of national security? Eritrea and Eritreans have been ignored by the entire world when they were fighting for thirty years to regain the independence they have lost in the UN corridors in the aftermath of World War II. Now that Eritrea has finally gained its legitimate right of self determination, after a long and bloody war that costed tiny Eritrea one/eighth of its population not to mention the material loss it had sustained, doesn't the international community has the moral obligation to help it safeguard its hard-won freedom and territorial integrity? Well, your Excellencies, we leave this to your consciences.
On 26 March, Eritreans and people of other nationalities -- supporting the call for peace by the people of Eritrea and its Government -- have organized a worldwide demonstration for peaceful settlement of the Ethio-Eritrean conflict. Although we Eritreans in Zimbabwe could not stage such a demonstration, we strongly support the move taken by our compatriots and supporters. Therefore, as part of our contribution to the campaign for peace, we would like to call upon you, your Excellencies, to assist in any way possible to stop the war between two-sisterly states. Your efforts can save the lives of thousands of innocent Eritreans and Ethiopians.
Eritrean Community in Zimbabwe
CC. His Excellency Dr. Stan Mudenge
Minister of Foreign Affairs
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