DEMARCATION: The Best, Right and
Practical Solution
By: Sophia Tesfamariam
January 25, 2006
The reason the Final and Binding decision of the EEBC delivered on 13
April 2002 has not been expeditiously implemented is not because Ethiopia
has the diplomatic skill or the capacity and the resources to reject the
UN Security Council endorsed decision, but because the countries with the
means, resources, capabilities and capacity are neglecting to shoulder their
moral and legal responsibilities of enforcing the rule of law and numerous
UNSC resolutions and decisions, by not taking appropriate punitive actions
against the defiant expansionist, aggressive, minority regime in Ethiopia,
as stipulated in the December 2000 Algiers Agreements and as clearly spelled
out in the UN Charter. As a result, what we see today in the Horn of Africa
is the threat of another war between Eritrea and Ethiopia with disastrous
regional and international implications.
In spite of this reality in the Horn of Africa, highly paid diplomats, experts,
think tanks, journalists, analysts, spin doctors etc. who spend their time
making speculative analysis and formulating different scenarios from the
comfort of their luxurious offices, are today wasting more of our tax payer
monies with hairsplitting analysis such as "where do we go from here?",
"what should we do next?", "how do we unravel the stalemate?",
etc. etc. The technical matter of demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia border
does not require expensive analysis, research, or a rocket scientist.
The Final and Binding decision
was rendered unanimously by the five distinguished Eritrea Ethiopia Border
Commissioners and it was endorsed by the UN Security Council. The demarcation
directives, instructions, procedures and orders which were endorsed by the two
parties are also already in place. What is missing is enforcement. If these folks
really truly care, as they claim, for the welfare of the people of Eritrea and
Ethiopia as well as the peace and security of the region, they should only ask
two simple questions.
The answers will be simple, black
and white and clear.
If the Eritrea Ethiopia
border is demarcated |
If the Eritrea Ethiopia
border is not demarcated |
· The dark cloud of war will be
replaced with a ray of peace |
· War is eminent. The dark
cloud of war, suspense and tension will linger over the region. |
· Thousands of soldiers from
both countries will be demobilized and fully deployed in productive
development economic activities |
· Thousands of soldiers from
both countries will bleed the two countries of their meager resources. |
· Money earned from internal
economic activities and funds accumulated from external sources in the name
of development assistance, budget support and debt reduction will be utilized
to build schools, hospitals, clinics, and other infrastructure to benefit the
poor people of Eritrea and Ethiopia |
· All resources accumulated
from internal and external sources will be squandered for the purchase of
armaments. We should not forget that foreign aid is fungible. Schools,
hospitals, clinic and other infrastructure will be destroyed |
· Cultivable and agricultural
land will be cleared of mines thus increasing agricultural productivity and
enhancing food security. |
· More cultivable and fertile
land will be infested with landmines that will further aggravate the famine
and drought situation in both countries. |
· Neighborly trust and
cooperation will be restored between the two governments and people to people
relations will be rekindled, expanded and consolidated. |
· Suspicion and confrontation
between the two governments will intensify; trust, confidence and historical
brotherly relations between the two people will be weakened, if not severed
indefinitely. |
· Cross border trade and free
movement of people will flourish |
· Cross border trade and free
movement of people will not only be impossible but the people and the
infrastructure in the border areas will be the first victims of the
disastrous war. |
· Refugees and Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) can return to their homes and villages, become
productive citizens. |
· Refugees and Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) will increase by ten fold, thus creating additional
humanitarian aid recipients and dependent citizens. |
· Peace and security will
prevail in the region thus encouraging the flow of direct foreign investments |
· Crisis and chaos will prevail
in the region thus preventing potential investors from coming to the area. |
· Not more than 30,000 people
may be affected from both sides by the transfer of territories. |
· More than 1 million people
will become refugees and IDPs. |
· The loss of human lives and
destruction of infrastructures will be aborted or avoided. |
· More than 200,000 will loose
their lives and infrastructure will be destroyed. |
· Personnel deployed to serve
with the United Nations Mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE) can go back
to their respective countries to be re-united with their beloved families |
· Personnel deployed with UNMEE
will be harms way and possibly their remains might go to their respective
countries in body bags. |
· The more than $200 million
/year UN expenditure can be allocated for development activities in Eritrea
and Ethiopia or can be utilized to support other UN peace keeping missions. |
· Additional funds and human
resources will be required to address the humanitarian catastrophe. |
· The role, mandate and
integrity of the UN Security Council will be appreciated and respected |
· The role, mandate, and
integrity of the UN Security Council will be compromised and undermined. And
precedence to violate the rule of law will be created. |
· The rule of law will prevail
over the law of the jungle |
· The law of the jungle will
prevail over the rule of law and "Might is right" will be the norm
of international diplomacy |
Conclusion:
If the international community is serious about moving the so called
"stalled" demarcation process, the solution is simple and clear. The
highly paid diplomats, experts, think tanks, journalists, analysts, spin
doctors etc should stop producing endless hairsplitting analysis, predictions
and scenarios such as "Meles will fall", "Ethiopia is a big
country and Eritrea is a small country", "Ethiopia will disintegrate
and become another Somalia", "Eritrea has the moral high
ground", "Dialogue is the way forward" etc. etc. For the sake of
the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia and for the sake of regional and
international peace and security, the international community and the UN
Security Council should take appropriate punitive measures against the
belligerent, defiant, aggressive, and expansionist government in Ethiopia, by
invoking Chapter VII as stipulated in the Algiers Agreement, and as articulated
in Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter.
Article 14 of the Algiers
Agreements says:
"The OAU and the United
Nations commit themselves to guarantee the respect for this commitment of the
two Parties until the determination of the common border on the basis of
pertinent colonial treaties and applicable international law... This guarantee
shall be comprised of... measures to be taken by the international community
should one or both of the Parties violate this commitment, including
appropriate measures to be taken under Chapter VII of the United Nations
Charter by the UN Security Council;"
Article 41 of Chapter VII of the
UN Charter states:
"The Security Council may
decide what measures not involving the use of armed force are to be employed to
give effect to its decisions, and it may call upon the Members of the United
Nations to apply such measures. These may include complete or partial
interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic,
radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic
relations"
And Article 42 of Chapter VII of
the UN Charter states:
"Should the Security
Council consider that measures provided for in Article 41 would be inadequate
or have proved to be inadequate, it may take such action by air, sea, or land
forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and
security. Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other
operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations."
The only way forward for peace,
stability and prosperity in the Horn of Africa is by respecting the rule of
law, the inviolability of colonial boundaries, the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of states and expeditious demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia
border in accordance with the EEBC’s Final and Binding decision, its
demarcation directives, procedures and orders.
The rule of law must prevail over the law of the jungle.