The Issue
Urgent Appeal to Avert a Catastrophic War in the Horn of Africa in General and Between Ethiopia and Eritrea in Particular
The Horn of Africa has been in constant wars, exhausting its economic and human capital for so long and the situation has gone from bad to worse. The region has experienced severe conflicts and devastating internal and cross border wars. The countries of the Horn of Africa are stuck in a vicious cycle of constant conflicts. As a result, the people of the Horn of Africa in general and the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia in particular are condemned to a life of poverty, death and destruction under trigger happy regimes and war-mongering leaders. These leaders have used wars to extend their grip on power through meaningless wars and spending their countries meagre resources on destructive weapons and military buildup.
After the devastating conflict of 1998 -2000 between Eritrea and Ethiopia, where more than 100,000 perished; and the Tigray war of 2020 – 2022 where hundreds of thousands of people perished, it would be a great travesty and utter madness to orchestrate another major conflict now under dubious pretexts.
The 1998-2000 conflict was resolved and settled by the 2000 Algiers Agreement with the help of the international community. Based on the Agreement, a border commission was set by the two countries, which was sponsored and observed by the United Nations, African Union, the European Union and the United States. The Eritrean Boarder Commission had issued a final and binding resolution and delimited and virtually demarcated the border of the two countries. Thus, the border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia had been settled and closed.
However, the current Ethiopian government is waging a relentless war campaign to take control of the port of Assab of Eritrea and the Eritrean Red Sea coast, “by any means necessary”, as they put it. The Ethiopian government has publicly announced through its organs, including the Office of the Prime Minister, the Army Chief of Staff and others and blatantly claiming and campaigning to annex the Eritrean Red Sea Coast and the Eritrean Port of Assab. Moreover, heavy military assets are being deployed in the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, foreshadowing an imminent war between the two countries.
In his recent speech to the Ethiopian Parliament, the Prime Minister, in a naked disregard to international law and in a gross violation of peaceful norms, alluded that while others are striving to reach to Mars, why is it difficult to get to the Red Sea coast that is only 30 – 50 kilometers away from Ethiopia? In an attempt to cover his aggression stance, he presented an ultimatum for talks to achieve his scheme. He made it clear that he has high level of military readiness and doubled down that nobody can stop him from achieving his objective of getting the Red Sea Coast.
Therefore, in order to avert a catastrophic war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, we the undersigned Eritreans and all peace-loving friends of Eritrea fervently call on the Ethiopian people, the people of the Horn of Africa, and the international community in general, and in particular:
1. The United Nations (UN)
2. The African Union (AU)
3. The Arab League, (AL)
4. European Union (EU)
5. The United States of America (USA)
6. The governments of the Horn of Africa,
7. The International Non-Governmental Organizations
To condemn escalation of war and to urgently take effective and decisive measures that will avert the tinder-box and deteriorating situation between Eritrea and Ethiopia. We particularly appeal to the international community to:
1. Uphold the international law of non-aggression and ensure the protection of national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Eritrea, by holding the leaders of the Horn Africa in general, and the leaders of Ethiopia in particular, to abide by international law.
2. Promote peace and neighborly cooperation to avert destructive conflicts and wars, and extricate the peoples of the Horn of Africa from crushing poverty.
3. Condemn the gross violations of human rights and call on the leaders to be accountable to their citizens.
4. Condemn the destabilizing interventions in the affairs of others and to stop transnational aggression on their people and devastating the neighboring communities.
5. Stop governments of the region spending the meager economic resources of their nations on military hardware and to stop holding their population hostage in their continual conscription for wars and conflicts.
6. Empower the people of the Horn of Africa in general, and the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia in particular, to foster peaceful and harmonious co-existence.
7. Encourage the sisterly countries of the Horn of Africa in general, and Eritrea and Ethiopia in particular, to develop their economies and use natural resources for mutual benefit by respecting their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
To this end, we call on all of you to act to avert a devastating conflict and stop the aggressive and lawless campaign of blatant violation of international law and norms. The cost of inaction will be a huge devastation of the two countries, with wider implications of mass displacement of their population and the wider region. The potential for devastating conflict should be averted before it engulfs and consumes the sisterly countries and the broader Horn of Africa.
Finally, we call on all peace loving people, global institutions, the international community and the regional powers to take effective measures in an urgent manner.
Sincerely,
Eritreans and Friends of Eritrea,
Worldwide Petition
https://chng.it/jrsJyJJbhY
English