16 October 2003
Congressmen Offer Proposal to End Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Dispute
Resolution offers incentives for both sides to abide by Boundary Commission
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- U.S. lawmakers have taken the first step in a legislative process they hope will encourage Ethiopia and Eritrea to act positively to end a border conflict that caused 120,000 casualties between the two Horn of Africa nations from 1998 to 2000.
House Africa Subcommittee Chairman Ed Royce (Republican of California) held a hearing October 16 to consider passage of H.R. 2760, also called the "Resolution of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Dispute Act of 2003."
Following comments by Royce and several other lawmakers all six members of the nine-member subcommittee who were present voted favorably on the bill while adding several minor amendments. Next the legislation will be sent to the full House International Relations Committee that must also vote it out favorably before the 435 members of the House of Representatives consider its passage.
Royce pointed out that the bill "did not take sides. I want to be clear...that this legislation is not anti-Ethiopia. And it's not pro-Eritrea," he said. "It creates an incentive for both parties to abide by the decision" of the border commission the two nations had agreed to in Algiers in 2000.
[Both sides initially accepted the demarcation decision announced by the Boundary Commission in April 2002. Subsequently, however, the government of Ethiopia withdrew its acceptance and it has since been criticized by the U.N. Security Council for its intransigence.]
Royce explained the proposed bill "suspends U.S. economic assistance to either of these countries if they fail in this. What it does not do, I want to be clear, is suspend food or medical assistance, peacekeeping funding, counter-terrorism initiatives, human rights or HIV/AIDS assistance. The U.S. has been, and will continue to be, generous in these areas."
The chairman stressed, "This legislation is crafted to be pro-Boundary Commission, pro-rule of law, and ultimately, I believe, it is pro-peace."
In his comments, Royce captured the frustration many in Congress feel toward Ethiopia and Eritrea, which only two years ago were held up as models of conflict resolution and development in a region renowned for intractable wars.
While criticizing the Government of Eritrea for arresting and detaining two Eritrean employees of the U.S. Embassy in Asmara, Royce made it clear that he believed Ethiopia was largely to blame for the delay in implementing the Boundary Commission's findings.
"The Ethiopian government has essentially rejected the work of the Boundary Commission that was established by the Algiers Agreement in 2000, following two years of bloody fighting that cost an estimated 100,000 Ethiopian and Eritrean lives and nearly two billion dollars," he said. "Indeed, the U.N. Security Council has written the Ethiopian government conveying its "deep regret at the intention of the government of Ethiopia not to accept the entirety of the delimitation and demarcation decision."
Representative Donald Payne (Democrat of New Jersey) agreed, adding, "Ethiopian authorities continue to obstruct, delay, and frustrate implementation of the Border Commission's decisions....[T]his kind of behavior is unacceptable and could once again plunge these countries into a bloody conflict."
Payne also said, "This resolution does not take sides -- it calls on both parties to cooperate or face consequences for their actions. Ethiopia and Eritrea can ill afford to go to war [again], especially in light of the enormous humanitarian crises in both countries."
Representative Barbara Lee (Democrat of California) offered an amendment to the bill, which stated that after a border demarcation agreement was finalized between the two countries, the U.S. government would provide development aid to kick start the economy of the disputed border area. The amendment was accepted unanimously.
The U.S. aid package would include agricultural projects as well as "generous compensation packages for families displaced by the border demarcation and support for relocation" and "support for local efforts to reinforce peace and reconciliation in the border region."
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia (1996-1999) David Shinn, who had addressed a forum on prospects for peace in the region held at American University October 15, was less sanguine when asked about the legislation. The retired diplomat, who now teaches at George Washington University, said, "I think this is a sledgehammer approach to dealing with the problem with sanctions or something akin to sanctions. They rarely work in actual fact and I would be opposed to pursuing this legislation."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=October&x=20031016173623rehsiF0.8577997&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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