Another Bizarre Revelation on the Zalambesa-Irob Border Issue. 

Ad hoc Committee of Zalambesa_Irob Communty**

zalambesa_irob@yahoo.com 

We are again shocked to hear that Awda and Mekheta, two of the core localities in Irob, Agame were abandoned in the Temporary security zone (TSZ) in an indirect report from the UNMMEE. 

It is not an incidental error or negligence that the UNMEE could dispute the presence of Ethiopian Defense Forces in Awda and Mekheta. Earlier also, such areas as Zalambesa, parts of Irob and many other places were placed within Eritrea according to the UNMEE map. Eritrean government has continued to insist that Zalambesa, Badme, Bada and other unspecified areas belong to it. Until we have seen the detailed official map that the Ethiopian government has presented to the UNMEE, we will continue to be surprised.  

We have strong reasons to suspect that the whole border negotiation, which is shrouded with secrecy, is infested with bizarre and sinister schemes. The head of the UNMEE bureau of the federal government of Ethiopia is Yemane Kidane. As every concerned Ethiopian knows by now, Yemane was an EPLF fighter for five years until he suddenly and instantly appeared as one of the leaders of TPLF. Bizarre as it is, this former EPLF fighter in the name of Ethiopian government and another Eritrean government representative in the name of Eritrea are the two chiefs responsible for handling and resolving the border issue between Ethiopia and Eritrea. As it is now public knowledge - although many Ethiopians have known it for a long time - the 12 suspended TPLF Politburo and CC members have publicly exposed the group of TPLF senior officials led by the Prime Minister who had compromised Ethiopia's sovereignty and vital interest in order to protect the interest of Eritrea. They protected the interest of Eritrea both in the prosecution of the war and in the substance of the peace accord at the expense of Ethiopia’s vital national interest. Thus, the boundaries of Ethiopia and the citizenship and identity of the people in Irob and Gulo-Makeda and in the remaining other border areas is now being determined by individuals with strong connections with EPLF and individuals who had compromised Ethiopia's sovereignty and vital interest in defense of Eritrea's interest.  

The vast majority of Ethiopians are by now clear about the sinister connections between those that now dominate and control the Ethiopian government on one hand and the unbridled ambitions of the Eritrean government on the other. The UN, EU, OAU and the US - and of course the Ethiopian and the Eritrean governments - have completely left out the very major stakeholders of the peace settlement, the inhabitants of the border areas and the Ethiopian people as a whole. Thus UN, EU, OAU and the US should be warned from the outset, that a peace treaty that does not do justice to the Ethiopian history, tradition and identity and their own definition of themselves as Ethiopians is already impregnated with the seeds for another war. The inhabitants, who have been discounted and disregarded, those who have been injured and betrayed shall finally reassert and redress the injustices inflicted upon them on the basis of illegal grounds and irrelevant technicalities. The international bodies who have deliberately chosen to disregard the voice and aspiration of the inhabitants and the Ethiopian people on such a crucial matter while sanctioning an illegal treaty should not be surprised if and when the signed treaty begins to fall apart. The very people who feel injured and betrayed cannot honor indeed a border treaty that completely disregards their voices and aspirations. It is indeed a recipe for a future conflict that shall start simmering from day one.  

After everything is said and done, any demarcation treaty conducted by an Ethiopian Administration that has been accommodating and collaborating with Eritrea shall not be honored by the Ethiopian people, who for thousands of years, have fought to defend their sovereignty and their independence.  

 

** To avoid confusion due to similarity of names, the name of our organization shall be slightly adjusted to “Ad hoc Committee of Zalambesa-Irob Region” for future postings. Note that only the word “Community” has been replaced by “Region” while the rest remains the same.