Thursday, 05 January 2023 19:53

Dimtsi Harnnet Kassel 05.01.2023

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Tuesday, 03 January 2023 16:37

Joint Action for Joint Victory

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 EPDP Editorial

Political programmes of the existing Eritrean pro-democracy and change forces reveal that they have more in common than what divides them. The topmost commonly held fundamental agendas that unite them include the following:

1. Identifying the ruling clique as their chief enemy; responsible

2. Preserving Eritrean sovereignty;

3. Removing the repressive regime;

4. Replacing the existing tyranny by a democratic constitutional system of governance that ensures the supremacy of the citizenry.

Upholding these objectives as they are, the political forces will have all the opportunity of raising their different viewpoints among the people while giving a final shape to the country’s constitutional structure.

The differences among Eritrean political formations can in no way prevent joint action against the repressive common enemy at home. The differences can be seen as choices for the people to consider in post-dictatorship setting. However, lack of proper handling and full understanding of the issues by their propagators could make them those differences look harmful and everlasting while they are not. Those of us who have been calling for joint work for joint victory do indeed appreciate that the seemingly big differences between organizations are not really big but easy to overcome. In the meantime, trying to put aside one’s differences and giving priority to the points of common understanding in order to launch joint work is not proving to be that easy, as seen in the case of the Eritrean opposition. We should not forget that putting it into action requires taking bold decisions and persistent determination to make joint work happen.

In other words, realizing our multiple proposals for joint work are facing hurdles  because joint action calls for bringing closer the perceived points of disagreement and creating in a responsible manner a central space that accommodates all stakeholders. The key factors that prevent us from realizing joint work are:

1. General lack of not setting one’s priorities;

2. Failure to have common understanding of the primary enemy;

3. Failure of understanding the roles and freedoms of organizations as separate entities as well as members of the coalition for joint work; and

4. Not giving priority to people and country over ones political formation.

Although difficult, it indeed is possible to resolve these differences and reach common understanding for joint action. But, we in the Eritrean opposition camp struggling for change in Eritrea, have not yet acquired the capabilities to take the right steps.

In the call for joint work, there should not be one who invites and another coming as an invited participant. No. It is important that all known stakeholders be part of the initiative and hold responsibilities from the get-go. The issue of unity or joint work cannot be simplified as ‘a trial and error’ matter. It is a strategy that requires high consideration and careful handling because it is the basic means that can clear the path for the aspired political change.

It was springing from this understanding and importance that the Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) has been issuing proposals at its congresses and doing all what it can to promote the idea. For the EPDP, unity and joint action proposals for regime change and the establishment of democratic governance are much beyond the capabilities of one party or organization.

We fully understand that closing the gap and creating a platform for joint work between organizations with long simmering differences and mistrusts requires sufficient time in addition to effective and responsible capabilities. But it is absolutely unacceptable to see our forces for change losing time by hiding behind indefensible excuses  instead of facing the timely challenges head-on. Waiting for others to respond sometimes proves to be tiresome and frustrating, but there is no choice other than steadfastly trying to realize the right path for change.   

Understandably, success through joint work depends on the capabilities of the forces that come together for a joint work and the outcome is the sum total of their inputs.  If the individual members making up the coalition lack capabilities, their coming together will remain just nominal and incapable of doing the required work.

A framework for joint work should not be understood to mean end of the work by the forces capable in immensely contributing in the struggle. Prioritizing and organizing in a responsible way the specific contributions of the parties, movements and organizations forming the joint platform is very essential. Instead of promoting one issue at a time, it is possible to conduct multiple related tasks alongside each other.  For example, while working on how to remove the tyrant regime in Asmara, it is also important to work at the same time on how to guarantee state sovereignty, unity of the people, the tasks required in the transition period, and the modalities of popular participation in the various tasks.

The current developments in our region do put the PFDJ clique in corner and encourage the forces of change to do more. The unwarranted involvements of the repressive regime in regional matters, and particularly its interferences in Ethiopia, have further exposed its anti-people cruelties and excesses. 

In spite of all the efforts exerted so far, our opposition camp has gravely failed to respond to the question of unity and joint work. This failure demonstrates that we have been handling the issues in a wrong way. Our past shortcomings are deeply regrettable. However, it is now time to learn from past mistakes and do what is right. It will be sad if we do not learn from our past and mend our ways in the future. Therefore, our old motto of “Joint struggle for joint victory” is still alive and without other alternative.

ርእሰ-ዓቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ኣብ መንጎ ፈደራላዊ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያን ክልል ትግራይን፡ ንክልተ ዓመታት ዝተኻየደ መሪር ደማዊ ውግእ ካብ ዞባና ሓሊፉ ኣህጉራዊ ኣሻቓሊ ኣጀንዳ ኮይኑ ከም ዝጸንሐን ጌና ኣብ መስርሕ ምቁራጹ ዘሎ ናይ ቀረባ ተዘክሮ እዩ። ናይዚ ውግእ ተጋጠምቲ ኣካላት ብግሁድ፡ በቲ ሓደ ገጽ ፈደራላዊ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ፡ ጉጅለ ህግደፍን ሓይሊ ኣምሓራን ክኾኑ እንከለዉ፡ በቲ ካልእ ወገን ድማ ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ትግራይ ኮይኖም ጸኒሖም። ብድሕሪ ነፍሲ ወከፎም ተሰሊፎም ዘዕጥቑን ዘስንቑን ሓይልታት ኣይነበሩን ማለት ግና ኣይኮነን። እዚ እቲ ወተሃደራዊ ኣሰላልፋኡ ኮይኑ፡ ኣብ ዲፕሎማስያውን ፖለቲካውን መዳያት እውን ክንጸባረቕ ጸኒሑ እዩ።

ውግእ ምስተጀመረ ገለ ወገናት ካብቶም ተዋጋእቲ ዝድግፍዎ ክስዕረሎም፡ ናይ ንዋትን ሞራልን ደገፍ እናሃቡ ናብ ሰዓራይን ተሰዓራይን እንዳደፍኡን ከጋድዱን ተራእዮም እዮም። ብኣንጻሩ ካለኦት ወግናት፡ መሪር ሳዕቤንን ዕንወትን ናይቲ ውግእ ተገንዚቦም፡ ውግእ ደው ኢሉ ክልቲኦም ወገናት ተዓወቲ ዝኾንሉ መፍትሒ ንክርከብ ዘኽእል ዘተ ሰላም ክካየድ ተጽዕኖ ክፈጥሩን ክምሕጸኑን ጸኒሖም። ምክፍፋል ኤርትራውያን ኣብ ኣረዳድኣን ኣፈታትሓን ናይዚ ውግእ ካብዚ ወጻኢ ዝረአ ኣይነበረን። ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ)፡ ኣካል ናይቲ “ውግእ ተቛሪጹ ሰላማዊ መዋጸኦ ክርከብ፡ ኩሉ ዘጋጠመ ሰብኣዊ ቅልውላው ብቕልጡፍ ክሓውን ተሓተቲ ኣብ ቅድሚ ሕጊ ክቐርቡን” ክጽውዕ ምጽንሑ፡ ድሕሪ’ቲ ውግእ ምጅማሩ  ብተደግጋሚ ብትካላቱ ከውጸኦም ዝጸንሐ መግለጽታት ህያው ምስክር እዮም።

ድሕሪ ናይ ክልተ ዓመታት ንብዙሓት ዘደንጸወ፡ ብሚልዮን ዝግመት ህይወት ሰባት ዘጥፈአን ብቢልዮናት  ዶላር ዝግመት ክሳራን ዕንወትን ዘስዓበን ደማዊ ውግእ፡  ፈደራላዊ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያን ክልል ትግራይን ቅድም ኣብ ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃ ደሓር ድማ ኣብ ኬንያ ውዕል ሰላም ተኸቲሙ። እቶም ከተምቲ ናብቲ ስምምዕ ንክበጽሑ፡ ናይ ዝተፈላለዩ ግዱሳት ኣካላት ተጽዕኖን ምሕጽንታንኳ እንተነበረ፡ እቲ ቀንዲ ደራኺ ድፍኢት ግና ከምቲ “ንሰብሲ ልቡ እምበር ሰብ ኣይዓርቆን እዩ”  ዝበሃል፡ ናይ ክልቲኦም ወገናት ቅሩብነት እዩ። ድሕሪ ምኽታም እቲ ስምምዕ፡ “ስለምንታይ ሰላም ድሕሪቲ ኩሉ ህልቂትን ዕንወትን?” ዝብል ናይ ብዙሓት ሕቶ ኮይኑ ጸኒሑ። መልሱ ብዙሕ ዝርዝር ዘለዎ ኮይኑ፡ ክጠቓለል እንከሎ“በቲ ዝወረደ ዕንወት ተጣዒስካን  ካብ ሕሉፍ ጌጋኻ ተመሂርካን፡ ኣብ ክንዲ እቲ ዕንወት  ዝቕጽል ንምኹላፉ ዝዓለመ’ዩ”  ዝብል ምዃኑ እቶም ዝምልከቶም ኣካላት ክህብዎ ካብ ዝጸንሑ መብርህታት ምርዳእ ይከኣል።

ሓንሳብ ዝሓዝካዮ መንገዲ፡ ናብ ደሓን ከም ዘይወስደካ ተረዲእካ፡ ካብ ተወሳኺ ክሳራ ንምድሓን፡ ዝሓሸ መንገዲ ምቕያስ ቅኑዕ ኮይኑ፡ ከም ናይ ህግደፍ ዝኣመሰለ ገታር ኣተሓሳስባ  ግና ኣይክእሎን እዩ። ነዚ ለባም ኣገባብ ዝመርጽዎን ዝኽእልዎን፡ ናይ ህዝብን ሃገርን ድሕነት ዘሻቕሎም ምምሕዳራት እዮም። ከም ህግደፍ ዝኣመሰሉ፡ ንመስርሕ ሰላም ክቃወምዎ እንከለዉ፡ መተካእተኦም ውግእ ምቕጻል እዩ። ሳዕቤኑ ከኣ ኣብ ዕንወትን ህልቂትን ምንባር እዩ። እዚ ብትዕቢት ዝዓወረ ምርጫ፡ ኣብዚ ዞባና ብዓብይኡ ህግደፍ ዝልለየሉ እዩ። ሓይልታት ለውጢ ኤርትራ ከኣ ናይዚ ሃፈጽታ ከይጸልዎም ክጥንቀቑ ይግበኦም።

ከምቲ “እቲ ሰይጣን ኣብቲ ዝርዝር’ዩ ዘሎ” ዝበሃል፡ “ስምምዕ ሰላም ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃን ኬንያን ክትግበር ድዩ ኣይትግበርን?” ዝብል ናይ ብዙሓት ደለይቲ ሰላም ጥርጠራ ዝተሓወሶ ስኽፍታ ነይሩ። ኣብ ሰላም ረብሓ ዘየብሎምን ኣብ ህውከት ተሓቢኦም ክነብሩ ዝደልዩን እቲ ውዕል  ክፈርስ ከንቱ ተስፋ ነይርዎም። ብግብሪ ግና ነቲ ናይ ብዙሓት ስግኣት ናብ ትብዓት ብዝቕይር ኣውንታዊ መስርሕ ይቕጽል ኣሎ። እቲ ደማዊ ውግእ ከሕደሮ ዝኽእል ምቅሕሓር ኣብ ግምት ኣእቲኻ፡ እቲ ሒዝዎ ዘሎ ኣንፈትን ቅልጣፈን ተስፋ ዝህብ እዩ። እቲ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ደም ዘንብዕ ዘሎ ጉጅለ፡ ናይዚ ውዕል ሰላም ቁጽሪ ሓደ ስግኣት ኮይኑ ምህላዉ በቲ ሓደ ወገን የገርም፡ በቲ ካልእ ወገን ከኣ ንኤርትራ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ንዞባና’ውን ኣስጋኢ ኮይኑ ከምዘሎ የመልክት። ህግደፍ ኣብ ክንዲ በቲ ኣተኣታትዋኡ ናብ ውግእ ትግራይ ዝሓፍር፡ ኣብ ምውጻእ ምዕጥጣዩ ኣብ ቅድሚ ሕብረተሰብ ዓለም ከይተረፈ ክሳብ ክንደይ ደረቐኛ ዘራጊ ሰላም ምዃኑ ተቓሊዑ እዩ። ምስዚ ኩሉ ከምቲ ኣቦመንበር ሰዲህኤ፡ ኣብ ናይ 10 ታሕሳስ 2022 ፍሉይ ኣኼባ ማእከላይ ባይቶ “ህግድፍ  ዝነበሮ ዕላማ ሰለ ዘየዕወተ በቲ ስምምዕ ኣብ ክንዲ ዝምእዘዝ፡ ካልእ ኣብ ውግእ ከንብሮ ዝኽእል ኲነታት ካብ ምምሃዝ’ኳ ዘይዓርፍ እንተኾነ፡  ውዒሉ ሓዲሩ ግና ክወጽእ ክግደድ እዩ ።” ዝበሎ፡ ብፍቶት ዘይኮነ ብግዲ ክወጽእ እዩ።

ኢትዮጵያውያን ደም ካብ ዘፋሰሰ ኣዝዩ በሊሕ ፍልልያት እዮም ናብዚ ስምምዕ በጺሖም። ናብ ምርድዳእ ዝበጽሑ ናይ ድሌታቶም ጫፋት ብምዕዋት ዘይኮነ፡ ብናይ ሕድገትን ምክእኣልን መርሆ መትከል “እንካን ሃባን” ብምትግባር እዮም። ዋላ’ኳ “ስለምንታይ ጫፋት ለቒቖም ብሕድገታት ኣብ ማእከላይ ፍታሕ በጺሖም?” ብዝብል ነቲ ስምምዕ ዘይተቐበሉ ሒደት ወገናት እንተ ተራእዩ፡ ነቶም ንኢትዮጵያ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡  ንዞባና እውን ኣብነታዊ ኣብ ዝኾነ መፍትሒ ዝተሰማምዑ ዝንእድዎም ዘለዉ ኣካላት ብዙሓት እዮም። ህግደፍ ግና ካብቶም ውሑዳት ኣብ ክንዲ ብስዕረቶም ዝእመኑ፡ መንገዲ ሰላም ንድሕሪት ክመልሱ ዝጽዕሩ ዘለዉ ቀዳማይ ዝስራዕ ኮይኑ’ሎ።

ኤርትራውያን ናብ ከምዚ ዓይነት ህግደፍ ዝሳተፎ ሓላፍነታዊ መስርሕ ሰላም ክንበጽሕ ኣይንኽእል ኢና። ምኽንያቱ ህግደፍ፡ ድሌት ህዝቢ ዘቐድም፡ ሕድገት ዝገብር፡ ምጽውዋርን ምክእኣልን ዘተባብዕ ኣተሓሳስባ ዘየብቁል ምድረ-በዳ ስለዝኾነ። እቶም ኣንጻር ህግደፍ ንቃለስ ዘለና ሓይልታት ለውጢ ግና ፍልልያትና ዘይመሰረታውን ዘይተዳመየን ኮይኑ፡ ንፍልልያትና ብምምሕዳርን ኣብቲ ዘሰማምዓካ ብምትካልን ብናይ ሓባር ተበግሶ ክውገን ዝኽእል እዩ። ናብዚ ንምብጻሕ፡ ካብ ናይ ደቡብ ኣፍሪቃ መስርሕ ሰላም ተማሂርና፡ ነቲ ክሳብ ሎሚ ክድንጒ ዘይነበሮ መስርሕ ሓቢርካ ምስራሕ መዕለቢ ክንገብረሉ ኣብ ቅድሜና ዘሎ መተካእታ ዘየብሉ መድረኻዊ ዕማም እዩ።  

ኣብ 2022 ኣብ ኣፍሪቃ 56 ጋዜጠኛታት ከም ዝተኣስሩን ካብተን ቀዳሞት ብምእሳር ጋዜጠኛታት ዝፍለጣ  ሃገራት፣  ኤርትራን ግብጽን ብደረጃ ዓለም እውን ቅድሚት ከም ዝስራዓ፡ ኮሚተ ተሓላቒ ጋዜጠኛታት፡ ኣብ 25 ታሕሳስ 2022  ብዝዘርግሖ ዓመታዊ ጸብጻብ ኣፍሊጡ። በቲ ዝተዘርግሐ ጸብጻብ መሰረት፡ ክልቲአን ሃገራት ብቕደም ሰዓብ  9ን 7ን ጋዜጠኛታት ኣሲረን።

ብደረጃ ዓለም ክረኣይ እንከሎ፡ ናይ 2022 ማእሰርቲ ጋዜጠኛታት፡ ካብቲ ቅድሚኡ ዝነበረ ዓመታት ብዝለዓለ ወሲኹ ኣሎ። ብደረጃ ሃገራት ሳብ-ሳህራን፡ ምብራቕ ኣፍሪቃን ዝበዝሑ ጋዜጠኛታት ዝተኣስርሉ ዞባ ኮይኑ፡ ብመሰረት’ቲ  ጸብጻብ  ዓለምለኸዊ  ትካል ኮሚተ ምክልኻል መሰል ጋዜጥኛታት፡ ኤርትራ፡ ኢትዮጵያን ሩዋንዳን፡ ብደረጃ ዓለም ከይተረፈ፡ ከም ገሃስቲ መሰል ሓሳብካ ምግላጽን  ኣሰርቲ ጋዜጠኛታትን ኮይነን ሰፊረን ኣለዋ።

እቲ ንናጽነት ፕረስ ዝጣበቕን ንመሰል ጋዜጠኛታት ዝሕለቕን ኣብ ከተማ ነውዮርክ ዝመደበሩ ትካል፡ ኣቐዲሙ ብ14 ታሕሳስ 2022 ኣብ  ዘውጸኦ ካልእ ጸብጻብ፡ በብኩርናዑ ዝተራእዩ ግርጭታት፡ ጭቆና ውሑዳትን ወጻዕቲ ምምሕዳራትን፡ ዓመተ-2022 ክሳብ ሕጂ ዘይተራእየ ብዝሒ 363 ጋዜጠኛታት ዝተኣስሩላን  እቲ ብዝሒ  ካብቲ ዝሓለፈ ዓመታት፡ ብ20 ሚእታዊት ክውስኽን ምኽንያት ከም ዝኾኑ ተሓቢሩ።

እቲ ጸብጻብ ኣብ መወዳእታ ከም ዘስፈሮ፡ ብዝሒ ዝተኣስሩ ጋዜጠኛታት ክውስኽ እንከሎ፡ ኤርትራ ከኣ ከምቲ ዝጸንሓቶ ብደረጃ ሃገራት ሳብ-ሰሃራ ኮነ ምብራቕ ኣፍሪቃ፡ እታ ንጋዜጣኛ ዝኸፈአት፡ ብደረጃ ዓለም 16 ጋዜጠኛታት ኣሲራ 9ይ ደረጃ ሒዛ፡ ዝኣሰረቶም ጋዜጥኛታት ካብ 17 ክሳብ 20 ዓመታት ንዝኣክል ግዜ ናብ ፍርዲ ዘየቕረበቶም፡ ምስ ቤተሰቦምን ጠበቓን ርክብ ዘየፍቀደትሎም ሃገር ኮይና ከም ዝቐጸለት፡ እቲ ዓለም ለኻላዊ ንመሰል ጋዜጠኛታት ዝሕለቕ ትካል ምቅልዑ ኣብቲ ዓመታዊ ጸብጻብ ተመልኪቱ።

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Martin Plaut posted: " In addition to the reports by Bloomberg and Reuters (below) a friend told me that a contact in Shire had seen at least ten big trucks of Eritrean Defence Force trucks leaving, yesterday [Thursday] Martin Source: Bloomberg Pullout adds to si" Martin Plaut

 

Martin Plaut

Dec 30

In addition to the reports by Bloomberg and Reuters (below) a friend told me that a contact in Shire had seen at least ten big trucks of Eritrean Defence Force trucks leaving, yesterday [Thursday]

Martin

Source: Bloomberg

·    Pullout adds to signs that November peace deal is holding

·    Ethiopia, Tigray authorities signed peace deal last month

By Simon Marks

December 30, 2022, 11:22 AM UTC

Eritrean soldiers are leaving major cities in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the latest sign that a peace deal aimed at ending two years of conflict is holding.

Over the past 48 hours the troops were seen withdrawing by truck from the Ethiopian city of Shire and the town of Adwa near the northern border with Eritrea, said people who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to comment on the matter. 

Ethiopian government spokesperson Selamawit Kassa declined to comment. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel didn’t respond to questions about the withdrawal sent by text message. A spokesman for the Tigray government said he couldn’t confirm Eritrean troops had completely left the region.

Representatives of Ethiopia’s government and the dissident Tigray region signed a peace deal in South Africa on Nov. 2 to end a civil war that erupted in November 2020 and has left thousands of people dead. The truce sparked a more than 1,000-point rally in Ethiopia’s $1 billion of 2024 eurobonds, with the yield falling to 35.55% on Friday from 45.80% the day before the agreement.

During the conflict, Eritrean troops were blamed for committing widespread human-rights abuses including rape, indiscriminate killings of civilians and kidnapping. Eritrea — an ally of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and a foe of the Tigray authorities — had kept its forces in place after the peace deal was signed and they continued to fight on.

The Eritrean pullout comes as Ethiopian authorities restore services to the Tigray region.

Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to the regional capital, Mekelle, this week and telecommunication services have been reconnected in major urban centers across the region. Earlier this week, Abe Sano, president of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, said in an interview with the state-run Ethiopian Broadcast Corp. that 20 branches of the bank in Tigray would reopen.

Representatives from Ethiopia and Tigray met in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, earlier this month and agreed to allow a team of independent African experts to monitor the implementation of the peace deal, according to a document summarizing the meeting seen by Bloomberg. The deal lays out terms for Tigray forces to disarm and stop recruitment, and for their troops to be sent to designated areas controlled by federal Ethiopian forces.

Eritrean soldiers leave major towns in northern Ethiopia - witnesses

Source: Reuters

By Dawit Endeshaw

Field Marshal of the Ethiopian National Defence Force Birhanu Jula and Tadesse Werede Tesfay of the Tigray forces sign the implementation of the cessation of hostilities in Nairobi

[1/2] Field Marshal of the Ethiopian National Defence Force and Chief of General Staff of Ethiopia Birhanu Jula, and Tadesse Werede Tesfay, the Commander-in-Chief of the Tigray forces, sign the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces, laying out the roadmap for implementation of a peace deal, in Nairobi, Kenya November 12, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File PhotoRead more12

·    Peace deal requires withdrawal of foreign troops

·    Eritrean sodliers accused of abuses following ceasefire deal

·    Progress made by Ethiopian govt, Tigray authorities implementing accord

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Eritrean soldiers, who fought in support of Ethiopia's federal government during its two-year civil war in the northern Tigray region, have pulled out of the major towns of Shire and Axum and headed toward the border, three witnesses told Reuters.

The withdrawals follow a Nov. 2 ceasefire signed by Ethiopia's government and Tigray regional forces that requires the removal of foreign troops from Tigray.

Eritrea, however, was not a party to the deal, and its troops' ongoing presence in major Tigrayan population centres has raised questions about the durability of the accord.

It was not immediately clear if the Eritrean troops were leaving Tigray entirely or just pulling back from certain towns. Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told Reuters he could neither confirm nor deny the troops were withdrawing.

Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces, and Ethiopian national security adviser Redwan Hussien did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

Aid workers in Axum and Shire said they saw several trucks and dozens of cars packed with Eritrean soldiers on Thursday leaving toward the border town of Sheraro. One of the aid workers said the soldiers were waving goodbye.

Tigray residents have accused the Eritrean soldiers of continuing to loot and arrest and kill civilians after the ceasefire.

Eritrean authorities have not directly responded to the allegations.

During the war, Eritrean troops were accused by residents and human rights groups of various abuses, including the killing of hundreds of civilians in Axum during a 24-hour period in November 2020. Eritrea rejected the accusations.

Eritrea continues to consider the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which leads Tigrayan forces, its enemy. Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war between 1998 and 2000, when the TPLF dominated the federal government.

After a slow start, Ethiopia's government and Tigrayan authorities have taken several steps in the past week to implement the peace deal.

On Thursday, representatives from both sides met in Tigray's capital Mekelle to set up a monitoring team to assess progress on the disarmament of Tigray forces, the restoration of services and humanitarian aid, and the withdrawal of foreign troops.

Federal police also entered Mekelle in accordance with the truce, state-owned Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights and Ethio Telecom reconnected its services to the capital and 27 other towns.

 

Martin Plaut

Dec 20

At first glance the papers seem almost bland, yet what gradually becomes clear are the foundations for the firm friendship that Blair developed with Meles Zenawi, and how Isaias Afwerki failed to win the battle for influence.

The war that Ethiopia and Eritrea fought from 6 May 1998 – 18 June 2000, apparently over the border town of Badme, took the lives of at least 100,000. It was resolved by the Algiers peace agreement, which was mainly brokered by the United States. But it is only now that the British national archive has released papers revealing the role of that the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

At the start of the war the Blair government was not very engaged in the conflict. As one Foreign Office briefing makes clear, Britain had little interest in either country. London's concern was the safety of its citizens, some of whom were airlifted out of Asmara when the war broke out. Instead, the Blair government supported the efforts of others: the Organisation of African Unity and the US government.

But there are elements of London's interaction with both countries that are interesting.

Isaias Afwerki and Meles Zenawi both did their best to win British support for their cause, sending personal letters to Prime Minister Blair.

Isaias argued against the deportation of thousands of Eritreans who were forced to leave Ethiopia. But his case was undermined by his failure to acknowledge that thousands of Ethiopians had been expelled from Eritrea, even though the British accepted that they were not as numerous as the Eritreans who had been put across the Ethiopian border.

The letters from Meles also called for British support, but the UK refused to take sides. On 5th of June 1998, within days of the war breaking out, the Foreign Office provided this assessment of how the conflict had broken out.

That was the position that Britain maintained throughout the conflict. But being less compromising did not win Isaias international support.

Eritrea gradually lost ground with the Blair government. This was perhaps inevitable; London was always likely to favour Ethiopia, since it was the major power in the region and had greater clout.

But Isaias played his cards badly. He was seen as intransigent, and he also refused to take the call of the British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook in June 1998, who had meanwhile spoken to Meles. It was a point Tony Blair highlighted.

Perhaps President Isaias thought it was beneath him to speak to a mere Foreign Secretary (the British term for a Minister) but it did not go down well.

In May 2000 the Foreign Office was sticking to its position of favouring neither side - labelling both as authoritarian regimes in the Marxist mold.

The assessment was not far from the mark. Eritrea's survival was indeed at stake, after Ethiopian forces broke through the Eritrean defences.

But in just three months, the British tone towards Ethiopia changed completely. An opportunity of a visit to London by Meles offered Tony Blair the chance of a real role in ending the war. The Foreign Office suggested it should be seized.

There appears to have been a reversal of British policy. No longer is Ethiopia seen as a state "reminiscent of Eastern Europe in the 1970's". Meles is portrayed as a peacemaker resisting "hard-line Tigrayan" backers, rather than part of an elite with little concern for the majority of his people.

Although the file released by the National Archive gives no further clues about how the change came about, or what happened to the proposed visit to London, it would seem that the Blair-Meles relationship was sealed.

The two men became firm allies.

Meles Zenawi went on to sit on the Blair "Commission for Africa" as a Commissioner.

When Blair finally left office in 2007 Meles praised the former Prime Minister in no uncertain terms. “I doubt whether Africa has had a more sincere friend at 10 Downing Street than Tony Blair,” Meles said. 

The seeds of this relationship seem to have been sown in the unpromising soil of the border war. In time we may come to understand how they were planted and who tended their green shoots. This file provides the first glimpse.