DATE=12/17/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=YEARENDER: ETHIOPIA / ERITREA
NUMBER=5-45028
BYLINE=JENNIFER WIENS
DATELINE=NAIROBI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Ethiopia and Eritrea fought sporadically
throughout this past year, continuing the war that
broke out in May 1998 in a dispute about the exact
location of their border. As Jennifer Wiens reports,
a peace plan brokered by the Organization of African
Unity has failed to stop the conflict, which is
affecting the entire Horn of Africa.
TEXT: The heaviest fighting of the year came in
February, when Ethiopia made a push to take the border
town of Badame. Troops backed by jet fighters, tanks,
and heavy artillery attacked Eritrean positions.
Casualties were high, the dry, rocky terrain offering
little cover, but Ethiopia did recapture the town.
In March, there were more battles around the town of
Zalambesa, but no clear winner. Now, more than 300-
thousand troops remain dug-in and deadlocked along an
800-kilometer front. All civilians in the area have
fled, leaving the armies to fight over empty villages.
The 19-month border war has claimed the lives of an
estimated 40-thousand soldiers, and has dragged down
the economies of both countries.
Despite the massive weapons build-up, the fortified
trenches, the harsh rhetoric, both countries insist
they did not want this war, and each country blames
the other for continuing it.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says his country
wants peace, but accuses Eritrea of acting
irrationally.
/// MELES ACT ONE ///
We believe in a peaceful solution. But insanity
in Asmara cannot be countered by sanity in
Addis.
/// END ACT ///
Eritrea's president, Isays Afeworki, says Ethiopia is
continuing the war to humiliate the Eritreans.
/// ISAYS ACT ///
This type of warfare is an expression of this
desperate desire to humiliate. They've always
blamed us.
/// END ACT ///
Regional groups have tried to mediate an end to the
conflict. The Organization of African Unity spent
months drawing up a peace plan, and negotiators
shuttled between Addis Ababa and Asmara trying to
persuade the two governments to agree to its terms.
The O-A-U plan calls for both sides to pull back their
troops, with international monitors controlling the
disputed areas while a border commission draws up a
new map. At first it was Eritrea which rejected the
accord, saying it did not want to withdraw from any
territory. But shortly after the fighting at Badame,
Eritrea said it would accept the O-A-U plan, and
negotiators turned their attention to getting both
countries to agree to a cease-fire.
That ceasefire never happened. Minor skirmishes
continue on the border, and each country accuses the
other of using foreign mercenaries and mistreating
refugees.
In September, Ethiopia withdrew its support for the O-
A-U plan. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said
there could be no agreement unless land administered
by Ethiopia before the outbreak of the war was
returned to its control.
/// MELES ACT TWO ///
The spirit and letter of the agreement is that a
country that invades and occupies its neighbor's
territory is wrong, and a return to the status
quo ante is necessary for it to be resolved
peacefully. That is an elementary principle of
international law.
/// END ACT ///
With the O-A-U plan on hold, and Ethiopian and
Eritrean forces stalemated on the front, the conflict
has spread into neighboring countries.
Fighters from the Ethiopian rebel group, the Oromo
Liberation Front (O-L-F), based themselves in parts of
Somalia controlled by faction leader Hussein Aideed.
Eritrea helped supply Mr. Aideed's fighters with
weapons and training, and the O-L-F made raids on
Ethiopia from their Somali bases.
In retaliation, Ethiopia earlier this year sent some
of its forces into southern Somalia to support groups
hostile to Mr. Aideed.
In November, the Ethiopian government and Mr. Aideed
made a deal. He agreed to force the O-L-F out of
Somalia, and Ethiopia agreed to withdraw its troops.
The O-L-F has shut its office in Mogadishu, but there
is some question as to whether it has actually
disbanded and left Somalia.
Both Eritrea and Ethiopia have been critical of
Islamic groups from Sudan, but the war with Eritrea
has prompted Ethiopia to mend its relations with the
government in Khartoum. Eritrea has condemned the new
alliance, saying Ethiopia is encouraging opponents to
the current Asmara government who operate out of
Sudan.
Experts say perhaps the most damaging aspect of the
war is the devastation it is causing to the economies
of the two countries. Refugees from both countries
are flooding into cities, trade is down, and military
expenditures are up. But for now it appears both
countries are determined to continue the war despite
the costs. (Signed)
NEB/JW/JWH/LTD/KL
17-Dec-1999 13:21 PM EDT (17-Dec-1999 1821 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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