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The love of coffee has the two brothers and sisters in common and it was in a cafe on a street corner in the eastern part of the capital of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia , that the runners of exile met Monday afternoon to discuss the news. Earlier, the Foreign Minister of Eritrea, Yemane Meskel, had announced the peace agreement, which was confirmed ten minutes later by Fitsum Arega, chief of staff of the newly elected Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed .
– I am also surprised that I am happy. But I'm waiting to celebrate the day when we will have a constitution, a judiciary and a democracy and when Isaias will be out of harm's way, Michael says that no one dares to give up his last name or to take part in a picture because of the fear of the Eritrean agents. take care of family members still in the closed country.
Michael did not escape the war without the end of military service because all the young Eritreans were forced to force until May 1998. Then, the Ethiopian forces attacked the country neighbor after a border area was occupied by military after years of deteriorating relations between former Allied countries. He still has his parents and four siblings in Eritrea, after ten years of brutal conditions in the army.
Michael in the distant future now sees Eritrea without Isaias, who is likely to be weakened by the peace treaty, depriving him of the cause of the country's harsh decision.
– We need peace, but it's politics and politics in Eritrea, "said Michael.
He retains Daniel, who tried to avoid military service and for this was punished with two years in prison in an underground hole with 200 prisoners with whom he shared.When he was released, the vision was so severely weakened that after seven years he was seen as able to handle a weapon again, and he faced the threat of inscription against Ethiopia.
The last of the company to make the trip is Nyat Niguse, an 18-year-old girl who, like everyone in the same vintage, had been ordered to draw after completing her 11th birthday, her flight was spent for three nights in the desert, when Human traffickers paid him $ 2,500 for a border post where the soldiers mutated. exile sent the money to the account number that they received guards before she could cross the border with Ethiopia.
– If I did not pay, they arrested me and sent me back to the capital, Nyat said.
About 5,000 people in the month have left Eritrea in the past two decades, described as the most repressive and most closed country in Africa. Until a few months ago, Ethiopia was an almost brutal place for political dissidents, but after the staging of Abiy, after years of social concern, everything has come to an end. ended and Ethiopians are excited not to recognize each other. Abiy launched a reform after another in a democratic direction and constantly surprised in speed and zeal. Although Sunday's trip to Asmara was historically nobody had a peace agreement that would come so quickly.
Countries agreed to open diplomatic, commercial and economic relations, and Ethiopia, which has more coastline since the independence of the United States. Eritrea, will be assigned the port of Assab in the future. This agreement creates a mutual dependence between the two countries that can pay for a lasting peace. In the sensitive issue of the border, Ethiopia in exchange will abide by the Millennium Algiers Agreement. This means that Ethiopia is likely to withdraw its troops from the border town of Badme, occupied by Ethiopia since the war.
For Abiy, it's a bonus soon. About 60% of the army has mobilized around the border with Eritrea, an area that houses the minority of tigers that previously dominated Ethiopian politics. By demobilizing in these areas, it exacerbates future threats to its own power if the long-term reform process upsets the obstacles.
At the Sunday street protests Ethiopians in the city of Adama felt that Abiy was going to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. After the peace agreement with Eritrea, he can become a real candidate. But being shared with Isaias is unthinkable for the Eritreans in Addis.
– How many lives have been lost? How many bodies have been eaten by the fish in the water, how many have died of thirst in the desert? This man has led to great loss of time and life, says Daniel to DN.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, who recently visited the Sahel region of Africa, said in a comment to DN that she welcomed the agreement.
– Two decades of conflict and mistrust are over and the agreement opens a historic opportunity for peace and cooperation between the two countries, which is crucial for positive and sustainable development in the Horn from Africa, "says Wallström.
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