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An Open Appeal Letter To The United Nations Security Council regarding the current Impasse between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the Irob-Case-for-Peace From The Irob Community of Northern America January 16, 2004 Given the Security Council’s statement of January 7, 2004 regarding the so-called “peace process” between Ethiopian and Eritrea, the Irob Community is yet again forced to write this appeal letter to the United Nations Security Council on behalf of the people of Irob. Our letter is public to make sure that the position of the people of Irob is known to the entire world, as well as to the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea. As the Security Council knows, the people of Irob are one of the people who are directly affected by the Boundary Commission’s decision. Almost two years ago, the Boundary Commission decided, in a reckless and incompetent attempt at political compromise, to divide the people of Irob into two nations. In a move that only resembles the tragic division of the African continent between the European powers at the Berlin Conference (1884-1885), the Boundary Commission, without heed to the civil, political and human rights of the ancient and proud people of Irob, sliced an entire region of Northern (Endalgeda) and part of Western Irobland and gave the land and its people to Eritrea. The international community, especially the United Nations under whose auspices the demarcation of the boundary between Ethiopia and Eritrea, by agreement of the parties, is supposed to take place, must be absolutely clear that any boundary resolution that does not include and directly address the wish of the people of Irob, and the land on which they reside, to remain Ethiopian, is a totally unacceptable situation. Members of the Security Council, it is an understatement to tell you that our people, the ancient people of Irob, are one of the proudest Ethiopians in that nation of almost 70 million inhabitants. The people of Irob, and the land on which they reside, have been Ethiopian even before Italy set foot in the Horn of Africa, let alone the creation of the state of Eritrea. Consequently, the Irobland was neither colonized nor administered by Italy during or after the colonization of Eritrea. The Boundary Commission’s decision is without a doubt one of the cruelest acts committed in our lifetime. We have heard the words casus belli used to describe Badme, but truly, we are convinced that the casus pacis lies in the hills and valleys of our beloved Irobland and its inhabitants who passionately want to remain Ethiopian as ever. The people of Irob have appealed their case to the international community in the days and months immediately following the Eritrean army’s invasion of Irobland in late May 1998. Our immediate concern after the invasion was the protection of the human rights of the men, women, and children of Irob, who were victims of horrible crimes under the hands of the Eritrean invaders. After the two governments signed the Algiers Agreement, we again and again appealed to the international community, including the Boundary Commission, to ensure the immediate release of abducted Irobs by the Eritrean army, the territorial integrity of Irob and the wish of the people of Irob to remain Ethiopian. Today, almost two years after the Boundary Commission’s decision, the people of Irob are as unclear about their abducted citizens as they are about their geopolitical future. The people of Irob cannot reiterate enough their absolute rejection of war and violence and only seek the authority of this body to put this time of deception, madness and arrogance behind them. After all, Irobs know first hand the horrors that come with war. The people of Irob therefore urge the UN Security Council to first and foremost seek to understand the evils that are certain to come with the implementation of the Boundary Commission’s decision. Just by blindly pressuring Ethiopia to accept and abide by the terribly flawed decision will not bring about genuine peace between the two countries. As Irob natives, we strongly believe that, unless the issues regarding the people and their ancestral land adversely affected are seriously and humanely addressed, the breakthrough on the current political impasse between the two countries will remain an elusive and impossible dream. Any attempt to seek a negotiator between Ethiopia and Eritrea in order to facilitate a constructive dialogue is seen by us as an important event that may ultimately affect our people directly and, hopefully, positively. It remains, however, to be seen whether the two countries will decide to open an honest dialogue with each other. We, the people of Irob, who have been victims of unspeakable crimes in the hands of the Eritrean army, appeal to the Security Council to do your utmost to silence the disastrous drumbeats of war from the recent past that haunt our people everyday. If the Security Council is genuinely interested in seeing a resolution to the current impasse as well as lasting peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea, then it must understand that there can simply be no such resolution without a peace-package that does not include and directly involve the people of Irob and other similarly affected peoples in the border areas. On behalf of the Irob Community of North America: Respectfully Submitted by The Reverend Abba Tesfamariam Baraki 26 Grant Circle NW Washington, DC 20011 CC: Secretary-General Kofi Annan, United Nations African Unity The European Union President George W. Bush Prime Minister Tony Blair The Holy See Ethiopian News Outlets Attachment: Human Rights and the Ethio-Eirtrean Border by Paul B. Henze 13 January 2004 |