Eritrea can look to the future

In the suburbs of Asmara, a cemetery of rusty tanks, trucks and military buses still bears witness to decades of war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, eighteen years after the end of their last war

But the hostility that had lasted between the two neighbors of the Horn of Africa was swept away, on July 9, by a spectacular reconciliation which brought a new era to these ancient enemies.

war? It's old fashioned ! Slice a veteran turned public servant, questioned by AFP during the first visit of the agency in five years in this very closed country.

"Today, people do not want more, starting by young people, "he adds.

Eritrea fought for thirty years against Ethiopia, of which it was a province, before hunting Ethiopian troops from its territory in 1991 and gaining access to the country. to independence two years later. A second conflict erupted between the two neighbors between 1998 and 2000, at the cost of 80 000 deaths.

In the past decade, while Ethiopia, much more populated, was experiencing an economic boom, Eritrea became one of the most closed states in the world, with a stagnant economy and very limited freedom.

Illustrating alone the lack of development, Asmara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its architecture Italian colonial, crumbling

"Asmara has aged. The roads are bad, "says an old inhabitant, pointing to the worn pavement. Asked about the meaning he gives to peace, he shows the road again: "She will be smooth! "

Already in recent weeks, the first signs of renewed peace have blossomed, including the resumption of commercial flights between Addis Ababa and Asmara on 18 July. On board, families and officials, but also, rare, foreign journalists.

For many young Eritreans, the main issue of peace will be the abandonment of compulsory military service, which includes a period of training and then the assignment of the recruits, according to their competences, to civil posts which they do not choose.

Censed to last eighteen months, this conscription is in fact unlimited and was compared by the Nations

Of the hundreds of thousands of Eritreans who have fled their country in recent years, many have invoked fear of persecution and punishment for military service upon their arrival in Europe. "We have lost so many friends and family members," says Feven Ghbru, a 20-year-old arts student.

A dozen of her relatives left "to escape poverty and find other members of their families, "she adds. "Maybe if everything changes, people will stop talking about going to Europe.

29-year-old Biniam Tikue is scheduled to teach in this art school as part of her conscription. Many young people, she says, feel trapped in Eritrea.

"We can not move to other countries. If we want to show our works, we have to send them.

The government has so far justified this military service, among other repressive measures, by the need to feed national unity and to counter the Ethiopian threat.

Since the peace agreement signed in 2000 in Algiers , Ethiopia had refused to accept a UN-backed 2002 decision on the border and occupied disputed territories, such as the town of Badme.

View of Eritrea, this attitude was perceived as provocation and some considered justified the measures taken by their government. "We paid with the lives of many of our friends, but it's OK […] We did it for our freedom, and for the border," says David Gebremichael, a veteran who lost four of his seven brothers during the war of independence.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a reformist who came to power in April, upset the situation last month by declaring that he accepted the proposed route sixteen years ago and announcing that his country would leave disputed territories.

But Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki did not suggest that reconciliation with Addis Ababa would lead to profound changes in domestic politics.

So many questions to Eritreans would postpone this week when, in the cafe-terraces and hotels of Asmara, they warmly welcomed the first Ethiopian visitors to shouts of "welcome E! "We are the same people!