The BBC Tigrinya service reports on an interview they had with Debretsion Gebremichael, during which he explained how he held a meeting with President Isaias during the opening of the Omhager-Humera border crossing point.
Dr Debrezion says that he had a talk with president Isaias Afwerki regarding opening the whole Tigrai/Eritrea border.
Debretsion Gebremichael is the current Chairman of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the acting President of Tigray Region.
The two previous opened checkpoints – Rama and Zalambesa – that were officially opened in October were closed by Eritrean officials two weeks ago, without official explanaition.
Instead a third one, Omhajer/Humera checkpoint, located at the furthest Western tip of Eritrean/Tigrai border, very close to the Sudan, was opened without notice.
Dr Debretsion said he prefered to see the whole border opened so that the people of Tigrai and Eritrea could trade freely.
The experience of the last three months have been positive, he said, with regards to people-to-people relations that suddenly flourished between the two peoples.
He hinted at the rationale behind the sudden closure of the two check points by saying: ‘… as long as the reason behind the closure is to bring order on the way things were developing …’
Dr Debretsion said they would be re-opened as soon as ‘certain measures’ have been put into place’ to bring order to the crossings.
Dr Debretsion added that he and President Isaias Afwerki will continue to meet in the future to further deal with issues of mutual interest.
