Beyond the Badme debate:
The Forgotten Case of Irobland
An Open Letter and appeal to:
- Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission
- Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, CBE QC
- H.E. Prince Bola Adesumbo Ajibola
- Professor W. Michael Reisman
- Judge Stephen M. Schwebel
- Sir Arthur Watts, KCMG QC
- Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission
- Professor Dr. Hans Van Houtte
- Mr George Aldrich
- Mr. John Crook
- Dean James Paul
- Ms Lucy F. Reed
From The Reverend Abba Tesfamariam Baraki, An Irob-Ethio-American Citizen
Washington, DC, USA
March, 2003
On the eye of the one-year anniversary of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary
Commission’s decision on the boundary between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the fate
of Irobland remains unsettled. Almost one year after the ill-fated decision
which gave over one-third of Irobland from northern and western parts to
Eritrea, the people of Irob have been witnesses to legal and political wrangling
between the two countries over Badme, landmines, troop buildups and force
commanders. But they have not heard anything about their future after they were
carelessly dissected into two nationalities across the borders of two hostile
countries and left to suffer in despair.
On April 13, 2001, when the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea announced their
victory regarding their common border, thousands of Irobs woke up to find their
history and their heritage suddenly altered by five judges that had never set
foot in the boundary region. They were initially confused by the Commission’s
decision because the decision placed the term “Irob” entirely in Ethiopia,
yet numerous Irob villages and hamlets were now placed in Eritrea. They were
confused as to why Ethiopia declared absolute victory because Eritrean radio
stations in the Washington D.C. area and apparently in Eritrea were bragging
that they won one-third of Irobland. Slowly, our fears became true. It became
clear that despite the many pleas made by the people of Irob, the
Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission had shockingly sacrificed the people of
Irob for the sake of political compromise.
Reiterating pleas they made before the decision, the people of Irob immediately
protested this inhuman act. But neither the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission
nor the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea have addressed this burning issue.
(I encourage readers to read everything the Boundary Commission has written at
its own website, http://pca-cpa.org/ENGLISH/RPC/#Eritrea-Ethiopia%20Boundary%20Commission).
Other than the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission’s writings that do not
address the suffering of the people of Irob, our only source of information are
reports from foreign news sources that the demarcation of the boundary will
begin in May 2003, and lately, that Ethiopia and Eritrea were called by the
Commission to hold discussions regarding the boundary in London two weeks ago.
As reported in IRIN, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission hosted a “high
level meeting between the two countries”. However, the report does not reveal
critical information such as: (a) Who was present at the meeting? (b) What
happened at this meeting? (c) What was discussed? (d) Was Irobland discussed?
The people of Irob remain, as ever, in the dark.
Nor have the people of Irob received assurance that the terrible abuse they
suffered during the war of 1998 by the invasion and occupation of Eritreans,
whose atrocities are too numerous to list, are being addressed. When and how
will the people of Irob, whose lives were adversely affected and whose source of
economy was completely destroyed by the Eritreans, be returned to normal? When
the innocent people who were abducted by Eritrean troops from their farms,
villages and churches will return to their homeland? And when their conditions
and whereabouts will be known? Has the Claims Commission addressed these crucial
issues? If not, when will it do so? All we hear is the loud and deafening sound
of silence. Irobland and the poor, innocent, deeply religious, and
hard working people of Irob have been forgotten.
Today, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary
Commission’s verdict, the people of Irob continue to inflexibly reject the
ruling that is dangerous and detrimental to their socio-political reality. They
adamantly oppose to being divided into two nations against their will either
through a grave error committed by the United Nations and/or by the mutual
consent of the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea. If the Boundary
Commission’s unfair verdict is left to stand, it will be nothing but a death
sentence on the principles that all nations and nationalities revere: the right
to determine one’s nationality and citizenship. Unfortunately, the only time
another entity such as the Boundary Commission violated the God-given rights of
nationality, citizenship and freedom in Africa was the inhumane partitioning of
boundaries by the colonial powers during the Berlin Conference of 1884-5.
The Berlin Act of 1885 is one of these tragic decisions in history. No
importance was given to the problem of tribal and ethnic groups being found on
different sides of boundaries. The only issue that mattered to the European
powers who met in Berlin and in the years following the Conference was the
creation of their own boundaries regardless of the concerns of the fundamental
social justice and primary human rights of those tribes to be divided
permanently. In reality, the people did not matter. Will the Boundary Commission
repeat such a historic tragedy? How can this Commission, in the twenty first
century, not realize the tragedy that took place in Africa more than one hundred
years ago? One would think that the fragmentation, displacement, family
separation, wars and the human suffering that have befallen many African ethnic
groups, to name just a few, the Hausas, the Fulanis, the Tutsis, the Hutus,
etc., would have been a lesson to the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission. Why
didn’t the Nigerian Commissioner (who was appointed by Ethiopia) raise this
issue? Did he and his colleagues fail to address it because of their lack of
acquaintance with the crucial case of Irobland? Are they oblivious to the issue
of warfare and unrest in Africa as a result of ethnic divisions?
Unfortunately, despite the persistent outcry and reminder of this problem by the
people of Irob at home and in the diaspora, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary
Commission and the United Nations have up to now completely ignored the burning
issue of Irobland, which may very well determine not only the success or
collapse of the peace process, but also, the attainment of a long-lasting
settlement and stability between the two countries. Readers can also review a
few of the outcries made by the people of Irob before and after the Boundary
Commission’s decision at the following links:
http://www.ethiopiafirst.com/news2002/Mar/Letter_to_Commissioners.html
http://www.waltainfo.com/conflict/articles/2001/january/article1.htm
http://www.waltainfo.com/conflict/articles/1999/july/article25.htm
http://www.waltainfo.com/conflict/articles/1999/june/article16.htm
http://www.waltainfo.com/conflict/articles/1999/october/article23.htm
http://www.waltainfo.com/conflict/articles/1999/february/article04.htm
http://www.waltainfo.com/Conflict/Articles/2002/May/article3.htm
http://www.aiga1992.org/RevTesfamariam2.htm
http://www.tigrai.org/News/Articles1/Irob-4-2002.html
http://www.ethiopiafirst.com/news2002/Mar/The_Irob_Case.html
http://www.mediaethiopia.com/Views/AbbaTM_Baraki.htm
The people of Irob are resolute in their belief that the boundary ruling issued
on 13 April 2002 by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission in the so-called
Endeli Projection needs to be modified, adjusted or annulled. If this is not
possible, the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments ought to exercise their common
sense by being far-sighted enough to find a solution to this problem. Both
governments know in their hearts that in the Irobland, the traditionally and
administratively recognized border (the pre-war boundary) would most probably be
accepted and honored by those in the immediate border areas. If this is not
accomplished, the only thing the current leaders will pass on to the next
generation of Ethiopians and Eritreans will be animosity and war. As we have
said in past writings, in a few years, there will not be a Boundary Commission
to speak of. Only the two nations and their people will remain. And only the
two nations know what is good for their people. The Boundary Commission is made
up of people whose true purpose and interest is not known.
It is my prayer and the wish of all Irob people that the two countries would
open their hearts and minds to God to be able to sit down and discuss not only
the problem of Irobland but also the whole boundary question carefully for the
sake of a genuine lasting peace. But this has not materialized so far. The Irob
people, therefore, are left with you ten Commissioners (the Eritrea-Ethiopia
Boundary Commission and Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission) who will decide
their future. Commissioners, for the sake of peace in the entire region, the
people of Irob make the following appeal to you. As judges encumbered with this
heavy and serious responsibility, you are begged to respect the will and the
wish of the people of Irob to remain Ethiopians, as they have remained for
hundreds of years. In my opinion, it is absolutely necessary for you,
Commissioners, to go to the region yourselves and to see with your own eyes this
burning issue of Irobs before the scheduled demarcation begins. If you are
unable to do so, you are urged to take your time to research and read the
ancient history of Irob and its affinity to Tigrayan and Ethiopian history. For
an abbreviated and excellent background on the rich history of the people of
Irob, I urge you to read a paper written by Souba Hais, and which can be
accessed at http://www.geocities.com/~dagmawi/NewsJan99/Background_Irob.html.
Commissioners, we, the Irob people, appeal to your sense of justice and fairness
that you facilitate the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia to settle the Irob
issue peacefully and in accordance with the Irob peoples’ desire to remain
undivided in their motherland, Ethiopia. We pray that you use the
incredible power you have been given to become peacemakers and not the agents of
new conflict. The eyes of history are truly upon you.
CC (E-mail):
- The United Nations
- The Holy See
- The African Union
- The European Union
- The European Parliament
- The Permanent Court of Arbitration
- The White House
- The United States Department of State
- The United States Senate
- The United States House of
Representatives
- The Ethiopian Parliament
- Foreign Embassies in Ethiopia
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