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Jubilant scenes were observed in the streets of Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, as hundreds of people walked and danced celebrating the restoration of peace and friendship with neighboring Ethiopia. As diplomatic relations between the two countries normalized after almost two decades, families, once separated by war, were reunited as telephone lines were re-established. Flights between the two countries are also scheduled for next week, ending the years of cross-border travel ban.
"Historical", Hallelujah Lulie, political badyst specializing in Horn of Africa, posted on Twitter. "It is not peace between two ordinary neighbors." Ethiopia and Eritrea share a complex memory and heritage.Acknowledge their past and common destiny will have a positive political and socio-economic dividend for them, and will redraw the geopolitical map of the Horn. "
On Monday, the two East African countries signed a" Joint Declaration of Peace and Peace ". of Friendship "which officially ended 20 years of military stand-off. In May, the Ethiopian government announced that it would implement the Algiers accord in 2000. It was followed by a summit on July 9 between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and the Prime Minister. Ethiopian Abiy Ahmed, where a peace declaration was signed
Eritrea and Ethiopia waged a bloody war between 1998 and 2000 over land claims, resulting in the deaths of more than 80,000 people and the displacement of about 6 50 000 people. One of the disputed areas was Badme, a town in the Garh Barka region, which was fought over by the governments of both countries, which were once close allies.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Eritrea (EPLF), predecessor of the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PDFJ) in Eritrea and the Front Revolutionary People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (EPRDF), which is now part of Ethiopia's ruling coalition Ethiopian government during the Eritrean War of Independence and the Ethiopian Civil War in the 1980s and 1990s. The EPRDF has Reversed the Derg regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991 with the help of the EPLF and in 1993, Eritrea gained independence by ending a 30-year liberation struggle.
The territorial conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, like many others on the continent, originated in the "rush to Africa" in the nineteenth century, when the European colonial powers ran to annex the region. The Ethiopian-Italian treaty of 1902 badly delimited the border between Ethiopia and Eretria, sowing the seeds of a conflict. In 1936, Italy, under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, merged its colonial territories of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somaliland. The British took control of the region after defeating the Italians in the Second World War. Even after Britain gave up control, she, along with the United States, ensured that Eretria remained under the aegis of Ethiopia. The latter was under the monarchical rule of Haile Selbadie when, in December 1950, UN resolution 390 (V) federated Eritrea with Ethiopia.
The reason for American and British interest in Eritrea, and its pressure for its federation with Ethiopia despite its history as an independent country, is found in a letter written in 1945 by the president of a US company, Sinclair Oil Corporation. then US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes. The letter mentioned his agreement with the Ethiopian imperial government for the exploration of oil in Ethiopia. He also noted that the country was landlocked and that it was necessary to build "adequate pipeline facilities from Ethiopia to an appropriate seaport, as well as a terminal." "export", the only access to the sea was Eritrea. Proposed letter:
"Our entire development program will be seriously delayed and affected if Eritrea were under the domination of any other power except Ethiopia, so I urge that your good offices support the demand. from Ethiopia with regard to Eritrea. "
The independence of Eritrea in 1993 put an end to one of the aspects of conflict in the region , but the question of the border The war between the two countries ceased on June 18, 2000 after the signing of the "Agreement of cessation of hostilities", supported by the United Nations and the Organization of the United Nations. African unity (OAU). The Algiers Agreement, as it is known, calls on both sides to refrain from using force and release all prisoners of war. He also called for "humane treatment of nationals of the other party and persons from the other country of origin in their respective territories".
The agreement formed two commissions. The first was mandated with the delimitation and demarcation of the international border between the two countries (Frontier Commission). The second one looked at claims related to losses, damages and damages (Claims Commission).
In 2003, the Boundary Commission completed the delimitation process and decided to allocate most disputed territories, including Badme to Eritrea. The demarcation process could not be completed due to objections from Ethiopia, which refused to implement the commission's decision and withdraw its forces.
With the signing of the peace treaty on Monday, the Abiy Ahmed government agreed to abide by the decision of the Boundary Commission, putting an end to one of the longest border conflicts in the region.
"We are going to demolish the wall and, with love, build a bridge between the two countries," said Abiya, who received a merry welcome to Asmara.
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