DATE=2/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ERITREANS FOR PEACE (L-O)
NUMBER=2-259689
BYLINE=MICHAEL LELAND
DATELINE=CHICAGO
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
Voiced At:
INTRO: Eritreans throughout the world marched for
peace in their homeland on Tuesday. At peace rallies
in dozens of cities, they called for an end to a
border conflict with Ethiopia. The latest conflict
began almost two years ago and has claimed an
estimated 70-thousand lives. VOA's Michael Leland
reports, one of the rallies was in the (Midwest) U-S
city of Chicago.
TEXT: // Demonstrators chanting (establish, fade under
text) //
About 75 members of Chicago's small Eritrean community
walked circles around a downtown plaza, calling on
Ethiopia to accept a proposal to end the border
conflict. Tekle Gabriel of the group "Eritrean-
Americans for Peace" says the effects of the battle
have been felt far from the disputed territory.
/// GABRIEL ACT ///
These are the two poor countries. They can not
afford to go to war. They have millions of
people starving. They should expend their
resources trying to improve the livelihood of
their people.
/// END ACT ///
Azieb Mehzun says she was recently in Eritrea.
/// MEHZUN ACT ///
Our young people have left their jobs, their
schools to protect their country. They are
where they are supposed to be, at the border
trying to fight the aggression. On the other
hand, this is the only country we have, and we
will give whatever we have.
/// END ACT ///
Eritrea has accepted a peace proposal drawn up last
year by the Organization of African Unity - the O-A-U
--, but Ethiopia has rejected it, saying the plan's
"technical arrangements" section is unacceptable. It
says the O-A-U proposal does not guarantee a return to
the territorial status quo that existed before the
conflict broke out in 1998.
Yusuf Adem, a program coordinator for the Ethiopian
Community Association of Chicago, says his country is
now unfairly being called the aggressor in a conflict
it did not start.
/// FIRST ADEM ACT ///
They are the ones who raised (took up) arms and
started to capture (land). Whatever territorial
conflicts were there then, they tried to resolve
it by arms instead of by negotiating across a
table.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Adem does suggest Ethiopia's leaders could do more
to end the war more quickly.
/// SECOND ADEM ACT ///
Anybody at this juncture, at this time of the
world, (who seeks) to resolve any kind of
dispute by arms is wrong. The victims are not
the people in power, the leaders; it is the
ordinary people.
/// END ACT ///
An estimated 600-thousand soldiers face each other
across the disputed border. Fighting last week broke
an eight-month lull in hostilities. At least 200
soldiers were said to be killed or wounded. (Signed)
NEB/MJL/ENE/gm
29-Feb-2000 17:14 PM EDT (29-Feb-2000 2214 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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