Commentary
Challenges of Peace and Friendship between Eritrea and Ethiopia
Eritrea-Ethiopia relations has, within a span of barely six weeks between 5 June and 16 July 2018, witnessed an abrupt and drastic change from a protracted state of bitter hostility into a state of overzealous peace and friendship. This is the outcome of a series of sudden and dramatic events:
- Ethiopia’s declaration of unconditional acceptance and implementation of the demarcation of the boundary on 5 June 2018;
- Eritrea’s positive response on 20 June 2018;
- A high-level Eritrean delegation’s visit to Ethiopia on 26-28 June 2018;
- Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit to Eritrea on 8-9 July 2018;
- The signing of a Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship between Eritrea and Ethiopia on 9 July 2018; and
- President Isaias Afwerki’ visit to Ethiopia on 14-16 July 2018.
The rapidly unfolding chain of events illustrates a case of decades where nothing happened, and weeks when decades happened. The Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship between Eritrea and Ethiopia represents the jewel in the crown of these significant developments. It puts an end to the state of war between the two countries and commits them to forge close political, social, cultural and security cooperation; resume transport, communication and trade links and diplomatic ties; implement the decision on the boundary; and endeavour to ensure regional peace, development and cooperation.
This landmark Joint Declaration concludes two decades of a particularly destructive, ugly and bitter chapter in the history of relations between the two neighbouring countries:
- the politics of senseless war and hostility;
- the tragedy of mass deportations and population displacements;
- the confiscation of Eritrean capital and property in Ethiopia;
- the malevolence of a ‘lose-lose’ relationship; and
- the huge lost opportunity for economic development, social progress and human welfare of the Eritrean and Ethiopian peoples.
The end of the state of war, the resolution of the boundary conflict, the normalisation of bilateral relations, and the promise of close political, social, cultural and security cooperation augur well for a durable peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia as well as for the prospects of peace, security, stability and regional cooperation in the Horn of Africa. The new relationship paves the way for steps to lift the sanctions against Eritrea and allow Eritrea to resume membership and play its role in the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Eri-Platform warmly welcomes the Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship between Eritrea and Ethiopia, in principle. This is because the Eritrean people have a profound yearning for a long-denied stable peace. Nevertheless, we find the vindictive mindset manifested in Asmera prior to its signing and the theatrics, devoid of normal protocol, indicative of betrayal of national sovereignty and full of insult to the State and people of Eritrea, that followed it in Addis Ababa and Hawassa of grave concern and extremely unsettling for all patriotic Eritreans. National duty thus obliges us to issue the following cautionary note with regards to the practical implementation and implications of the five points of the Joint Declaration:
1. Viable peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia should also translate into durable peace and real human security within both Eritrea and Ethiopia. The ongoing bloody ethnic strife and instigation of hate speech in certain regions of Ethiopia must be made to stop. The general state of insecurity perpetrated by brutal repression, arbitrary arrests, indefinite detention and endless active national service in Eritrea must come to an end. There is a paramount need to exercise wise statesmanship that aims to rectify the wrongs and heal the wounds of the past. The pursuit of viable peace requires forward-looking leadership to lay a new foundation for a peaceful future. The process of securing durable peace and the enjoyment of the fruits thereof should be inclusive and engage, at a minimum, the main political actors and stakeholders in both countries. An attempt to exclude or marginalise any significant political actor(s) would be unwise. It could even prove counter-productive, unravelling the progress made and potentially provoking new intrastate warfare with the consequences thereof reverberating across the whole Horn of Africa region.
2. The forging of mutually beneficial intimate political, economic, social, cultural and security cooperation that serves and advances the vital interests of the two peoples would require a level playing field in these spheres of activity in both Eritrea and Ethiopia. While there exist considerable similarities in the general condition of the two countries, there also exist significant disparities in technical and professional capacity as well as differences in the state of play in certain specific sectors that would cause substantially disproportionate benefits accruing to the two countries and peoples from close bilateral cooperation in the various specified areas. Eritrea’s is a closed polity, economy and society reeling under the monopoly of a defunct ruling Front and the command of an impulsive authoritarian ruler. This means Eritrea’s commitment to the Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship is precariously and soley reliant on the whim and interest of president Isaias Afwerki, in contrast to Ethiopia’s commitment endorsed by the ruling EPRDF Executive Committee and national parliament.
Furthermore, most of the leaders and cadres in the who is who catalogue of capable veterans of Eritrea’s war of national independence as well as Eritrea’s intellectual and business elites are either in jail or in exile. Post-independence, the regime’s trivialisation of education has denied generations of Eritrean youth the opportunity to actualise their potential and prepare for effective public service or gainful private employment. These factors have caused the country to suffer from an acute shortage of competent personnel in all areas of endeavour and at all levels of government and business.
Beyond the crucial absence of the rule of law and good governance, Eritrea lacks even a nominal parliament and functional institutions in both the public and private domains. Its economy is in shambles with no transparency and accountability of public finances or knowledge of the whereabouts of the revenues from, for instance, the highly lucrative mining sector. Constant harassment, arbitrary detentions, withdrawal of licenses and closure of businesses have forced most of its professional and entrepreneurial class out of the country. This stark reality places the State of Eritrea, the Eritrean people, the Eritrean government and Eritrean entrepreneurs at a huge disadvantage vis-à-vis their relatively better positioned Ethiopian counterparts. There is thus an urgent need to lift the prevailing state of economic suffocation, political paralysis and societal disruption to enable the State of Eritrea, the Eritrean people and Eritrean enterprise to reap comparable benefits from close political, economic, social, cultural and security cooperation with Ethiopia.
3. The normalisation of bilateral relations; the restoration of diplomatic ties; and the resumption of transport, trade and communications links signify an important development and new opportunities. However, the Eritrean people continue to suffer from food rationing, chronic water shortages, constant electric power stoppages and inadequate transport facilities. Reaping mutual benefit from the resumption of transport, trade and communications links with Ethiopia would thus require opening the services, commerce and industry to the private sector and overhauling Eritrea’s ruined physical infrastructure to improve transport and communications facilities and ensure adequate supplies of energy and water. In short, the Eritrean people must be the direct beneficiaries!
4. The implementation of the decision on the boundary would serve as the bedrock of all relations, including close political, economic, social, cultural and security cooperation, between two sovereign states of Eritrea and Ethiopia. The concept of a boundary is an essential feature of the contemporary international system of relations among nations. A clearly demarcated boundary would thus define the national identity or the nationality and citizenship of Eritreans and Ethiopians in the adjoining borderlands and delimit the areas of respective sovereign authority or domestic jurisdiction of each state. Otherwise, the claim that boundary has no significance can only be either ignorant or conspiratorial.
All boundaries among African states were arbitrarily defined by colonial treaties. As such, the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia was delimited by the colonial treaties of 1900, 1902 and 1908, making use of geographic markers and geometric coordinates. The people in the borderlands on both sides have known, recognised and respected the precise location of the common border. Indeed, the colonial treaty border had remained the de jure and de facto international boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia for nearly an entire century. Ethiopia had neither contested nor altered the colonial treaty border. It was only in 1997 that it was unilaterally redrawn to incorporate large swathes of Eritrean territory in the western, central and eastern sectors into an expanded Tigray Regional State.
There exists a principle of customary international law that serves to preserve the boundaries of colonies emerging as States. Initially applied to establish the boundaries of decolonized territories in Latin America, uti possidetis juris has evolved into a norm, notably in Africa. The principle affirms the intangibility of borders existing at the time of accession to independence. It is duly enshrined in the OAU Charter (1963), the OAU Cairo Resolution (1964) and the AU Constitutive Act (2000). Both the OAU and the AU have consistently upheld the sanctity of colonial borders inherited on attainment of independence.
In giving due consideration to the boundary decision, a viable resolution of the boundary issue should thus be predicated on the preservation of the historical colonial treaty border in accordance with the principle of uti possidetis juris and in consultation with the borderland populations. Such a resolution would restore the pre-1997 status quo ante and keep the ancestral lands, nationality and citizenship of Eritreans and Ethiopians in the borderlands as well as the areas of respective domestic jurisdiction of each state unchanged, entailing minimal or no population displacement.
5. Upon securing peace and restoring normal relations, Eritrea and Ethiopia can focus their attention, effort and resources on addressing their domestic challenges of democratic governance and inclusive development. Successful democratic transition and inclusive development in both countries would be the key to the future of their bilateral and regional relations. A new ‘win-win’ bilateral relationship can serve as a powerful impetus for regional peace, development and cooperation in the Horn of Africa.
If the process of regional political cooperation and economic integration spearheaded by a transformed Eritrea and Ethiopia is laid on a viable foundation and proceeds well, the present hard borders serving as barriers would turn into soft borders serving as bridges that connect. This, however, should be a gradual process predicated on reciprocal respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each State and entailing incremental steps agreed to with the active participation and express consent of the respective national populations.
Against this backdrop, the recent rapid transition from a state of war and rabid hostility to a declaration of peace and friendship is commendable. At the same time, the mix of a deafening frenzied call for love and addition, the hasty assertion of one people, and the repeatedly declared granting of (Eritrea’s) leadership and agency to the prime minister of a newly befriended long hostile neighbour is, to put it mildly, bizarre and unsettling, especially given the history of Eritrea’s struggle for self-determination. Unless we do our homework, move fast and seize our destiny into our own hands, it would be an easy step to move from the fiction of one people to the myth of one country, whose dire consequences we Eritreans (and Ethiopians alike) have paid for dearly in blood and sweat during three decades (1961-1991) of liberation war, an additional two years (1998-2000) of border war, and decades of ruthless repression and lost opportunity for development continuing to date. We can ill afford the luxury of denial or complacency. Let us wake up, before it becomes too late, to contain the tempest, defeat treason and prevent the history of the last 66 years from repeating itself!
ዝምድናታት ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን፡ ኣብ ውሽጢ ሽዱሽተ ሳምንቲ ኣብ ዘይመልእ እዋን፡ ማለት፡ ኣብ መንጎ 5 ሰነን 16 ሓምለን 2018፡ ካብ ዚተናውሐ ኵነተ ኲናትን መሪር ተጻብኦን ናብ ኵነተ ኣመና ህንጡይ ሰላምን ምሕዝነትን ቅጽበታውን ሃንደበታውን ለውጢ ኣርእዩ። እዚ ድማ፡ ውጽኢት ናይቶም ተኸታቲሎም ዚተኸስቱ ሃንደበታውን ድራማውን ፍጻመታት ኢዩ፡-
- መግለጺ ኢትዮጵያ ብዛዕባ ዘይኵነታዊ ቅበላን ትግባረን ውሳነ ዶብ ኣብ 5 ሰነ 2018፤
- ኣወንታዊ መልሲ ኤርትራ ኣብ 20 ሰነ 2018፤
- ዑደት ላዕለዋይ ልኡኽ ኤርትራ ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ 26-28 ሰነ 2018፤
- ዑደት ቀዳማይ ሚኒስተር ዓቢይ ኣሕመድ ናብ ናብ ኤርትራ ኣብ 8-9 ሓምለ 2018፤
- ምፍራም ሓባራዊ ኣዋጅ ሰላምን ምሕዝነትን ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ኣብ 9 ሓምለ 2018፤
- ዑደት ፕረዚደንት ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ ናብ ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ 14-16 ሓምለ 2018።
እቲ ብቕልጡፍ ናህሪ ኪሰላሰል ዚጸንሐ ሰንሰለት ፍጻመታት፡ ነቲ ኣብ ዓሰርተታት ዓመታት ገለ’ኳ ከይተፈጸመ፡ ኣብ ሳምንቲ ዓሰርተታት ዓመታት ተፈጺሙ ዚብል ብሂል ይገልጽ። ሓባራዊ ኣዋጅ ሰላምን ምሕዝነትን ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን እቲ ቀንዲ ውጽኢት ናይዚ ኣገዳሲ ምዕባለታት’ዚ ኢዩ። እቲ ኣብ መንጎ ክልቲአን ሃገራት ዚጸንሐ ኵነተ ኲናት ኣኸቲሙ ጥቡቕ ፖለቲካዊ፡ ማሕበራዊ፡ ባህላውን ጸጥታውን ምትሕብባር ንምፍጣር፤ ናይ መጐዓዝያ፡ ንግድን ተለኮምዩኒከሽንን ርክባትን ዲፕሎማስያዊ ዝምድናታትን እንደገና ንምጅማር፤ ውሳነ ዶብ ንምትግባር፤ ዞባዊ ሰላም፡ ልምዓትን ምትሕብባርን ንምርግጋጽ ኪጽዕሩ ቃል ኣትዮም።
እቲ ኣገዳሲ ሓባራዊ ኣዋጅ ንሓደ ኣመና ኣዕናዊ፡ ግናይን መሪርን ምዕራፍ ኣብ ታሪኽ ዝምድናታት ክልቲአን ጐረባብቲ ሃገራት ይድምድም።
- ፖለቲካ ናይ ትርጉም-ኣልቦ ኲናትን ተጻብኦን፤
- ትራጀዲ ናይ ጃምላዊ ጥርዝያታትን ምዝንባል ህዝብታትን፤
- ራስያታት ናይ ርእሰማልን ንብረትን ኤርትራውያን ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ፤
- ሓሳድነት ናይ ‘ክሰር-ክሰር’ ዝምድና፤
- ገዚፍ ክሳራ ዕድል ናይ ቍጠባዊ ልምዓት፡ ማሕበራዊ ግስጋሰን ሰብኣዊ ድሕነትን ንህዝብታት ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን።
ምኽታም ኵነተ ኲናት፣ ምፍታሕ ዶባዊ ግጭት፣ ምምላስ ንቡር ክልተኣዊ ዝምድናታት፣ መብጽዓ ናይ ጥቡቕ ፖለቲካዊ፡ ማሕበራዊ፡ ባህላውን ጸጥታውን ምትሕብባር፣ ንነባሪ ሰላም ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ኰነ ንስፍነት ሰላም፡ ጸጥታ፡ ርግኣትን ዞባዊ ምትሕብባርን ኣብ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ጽቡቕ ፋል ኢዩ። እዚ ሓድሽ ዝምድና ነቲ ኣብ ልዕሊ ኤርትራ ዚተነብረ እገዳ ንኪለዓል ስጕምቲታት ንምውሳድ መንገዲ ዚጸርግን ኤርትራ እንደገና ኣባል ናይቲ በይነ-መንግስታዊ በዓል ስልጣን ንልምዓት [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)] ብምዃን ተራኣ ኪትጻወት ዘፍቅድን ኢዩ።
ኤሪ-ፕላትፎርም ንሓባራዊ ኣዋጅ ሰላምን ምሕዝነትን ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ብመትከል መርሓባ ንብል። ንምንታይሲ፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዓሚቝ ናፍቖት ናይቲ ንነዊሕ እዋን ዚተነፍጎ ርጉእ ሰላም ስለዘለዎ። ይዅን’ምበር፡ እቲ ቅድሚኡ ኣብ ኣስመራ ዚተሰምዐ ቅርሕንታዊ ምሕንሓን ኰነ ስዒቡ ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባን ኣዋሳን ዚተራእየ፣ ንቡር ፕሮቶኮላዊ ቅጥዒ ዚሰሓተ፣ ጥልመት ልኡላውነት ሃገረ ኤርትራ ዘመልክት፣ ሃገርን ህዝብን ዘዋረደ ወደኽደኽ ንዅሉ ሃገራዊ ኤርትራዊ ኣዝዩ ኣሻቓሊ ክስተት ምዃኑ ንዕዘብ። ክንዲ ዚዀነ፡ ንግብራዊ ኣተረጓጕማ ይዅን ኣፋፍኖት ናይተን ሓሙሽተ ነጥብታት ሓባራዊ ኣዋጅ ብዚምልከት እዚ ዚስዕብ ኣጠንቃቒ መተሓሳሰቢ ከነመዝግብ ሃገራዊ ግቡእ ይድርኸና፡-
1. ህያው ሰላም ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን እንተላይ ኣብ ውሽጢ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ነባሪ ሰላምን ሓቀኛ ሰብኣዊ ድሕነትን ከምጽእ ይግባእ። እቲ ኣብ ሓድሓደ ዞባታት እትዮጵያ ዚካየድ ዘሎ ደማዊ ኤትኒካዊ ግጭትን ቅስቀሳ ናይ ጽልኢ ዘመተን ከቋርጽ ይግባእ። ኣብ ኤርትራ እቲ ብጠንቂ ኣረሜናዊ መድቈስቲ፡ ሃውራዊ ማእሰርቲ፡ ደረት-ኣልቦ ቀይድን መወዳእታ ዘይብሉ ንጡፍ ሃገራዊ ኣገልግሎትን ሰፊኑ ዘሎ ሓፈሻዊ ኵነተ ስግኣት ከኸትም ኣለዎ። ነቶም ናይቲ ዚሓለፈ እዋን ጌጋታት ንምእራምን ቍስልታት ንምሕዋይን ልቦናዊ መሪሕነት ምዝውታር ልዑል ኣድላዪነት ኣለዎ። ህያው ሰላም ንምስፋን ንናይ ጽባሕ ሰላም ሓድሽ ሰረት ዘንጽፍ፡ ኣብ ትማሊ ዚነብር ዘይኰነስ ንቕድሚት ዚጥምት መሪሕነት የድሊ። መስርሕ ምርግጋጽ ነባሪ ሰላምን ተጠቃምነት ፍርያቱን ኣብ ክልቲአን ሃገራት ንዅሉ ዚሓቍፍን፡ ብውሑዱ ድማ፡ ነቶም ቀንዲ ፖለቲካዊ ተዋሳእትን ሰብ ጕዳይን ኣብ ጽምዶ ዘእቱን ኪኸውን ይግባእ። ንዚዀነ ኣገዳሲ ፖለቲካዊ ተዋሳኢ(እቲ) ንምንጻል ወይ ንምግላል ዚግበር ፈተነ ልቦና ዚጐደሎ ኪኸውን ኢዩ። ውጽኢቱ’ውን፡ ሰላም ዚዘርግ፣ ነቲ ዛጊት ዚተመዝገበ ገስጋስ ዚብትን፣ ካብኡ ሓሊፉ፡ ሳዕቤናቱ ኣብ መላእ ዞባ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ መቓልሕ ዚዝርግሕ፡ ሓድሽ ኲናት ሓድሕድ ዚትዅትዅ ኪኸውን ይኽእል።
2. ንሓድሕድ ዚጠቅም፡ ንህያው ረብሓታት ክልቲኡ ህዝብታት ዘገልግልን ዘሳጕምን ጥቡቕ ፖለቲካዊ፡ቍጠባዊ፡ማሕበራዊ፡ባህላውን ጸጥታውን ምትሕብባር ምፍጣር፣ ኣብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ኣብዘን መዳያት ንጥፈት እዚኣተን ብማዕረ ዘዋስእ ሜዳ ኪህሉ ይጠልብ። ኣብቲ ሓፈሻዊ ኵነት ናይ ክልቲአን ሃገራት ብዙሕ ተመሳሳልነት እኳ እንተሃለወ፣ ብጠንቂ እቲ ኣብ ተክኒካውን ሞያውን ዓቕሚ ዘሎ ዓቢ ዘይምምጥጣን ኰነ እቲ ኣብቶም ዚተፈላለዩ ክፋላት፡ ኣብ ምዕባለታትን ኣሰራርሓን ዘሎ ጕሉሕ ፍልልያት፣ እቲ ክልቲኡ ህዝብታት ካብቲ ኣብቲ ዚተዘርዘረ ነንበይኑ መዳያት ናይ ጥቡቕ ክልተኣዊ ምትሕብባር ዚረኽቦ ጥቕምታት ኣጸቢቑ ዘይመዛዘን ኪኸውን ኢዩ። ፖለቲካ፡ ቍጠባን ሕብረተሰብን ኤርትራ ኣብ ትሕቲ ብሕትውና ናይ ብሓደ ፊን ዘበሎ ዚገብር ውልቀ-መላኺ ዚእዘዝ ልሙስ ገዛኢ ግንባር ተደፊኑ ሕምብሊል ዚብል ዘሎ ኢዩ። እዚ፡ ብመጽር’ቲ ብፈጻሚ ሽማግለ ህዝባዊ ሰውራዊ ደሞክራስያዊ ግንባር ኢትዮጵያን (ህሰደግኢ ወይ EPRDF) ሃገራዊ ፓርላማ ኢትዮጵያን ዚጸደቐ መብጽዓ ኢትዮጵያ፣ እቲ መብጽዓ ኤርትራ ንሓባራዊ ኣዋጅ ሰላምን ምሕዝነትን፡ ኣብቲ ኣጠራጣርን ኣብ ዊንታን ረብሓን ፕረሲደንት ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ ጥራይ ኢዩ ዚምርኰስ ማለት ኢዩ።
ብተወሳኺ፡ እቶም መብዛሕትኦም ዓቕሚ ዘለዎም ገዳይም መራሕትን ካድራትን ኲናት ሃገራዊ ናጽነት ኤርትራ ኰነ እቶም ላህመታት ምሁራትን ሰብ-ዋኒንን ኤርትራ ኣብ ቤት ማእሰርቲ ወይ ኣብ ስደት ኣለዉ። ኣብ ጽባሕ ናጽነት፡ እቲ እቲ ስርዓት ዘተኣታተዎ ምቍንጻብን ምንቍልቋልን ትምህርቲ ንወለዶታት ናይ መንእሰያት ኤርትራ ዓቕሞም ዘማዕብልሉን ንኣድማዒ ህዝባዊ ኣገልግሎት ይዅን ንኣርባሒ ብሕታዊ ዕዮ ዚቕርብ ዕድል ነፊጉ። እዞም ረቛሒታት እዚኣቶም፡ እታ ሃገር፡ ኣብ ኵሉ ሜዳታት ስራሕን ኣብ ኵሉ ጽፍሕታት መንግስትን ዋኒነ-ትካላትን፡ ብክቱር ሕጽረት ብቑዕ ሓይሊሰብ ከም እትሳቐ ገይሮም።
ኪኖ’ቲ ወሳኒ ብኵራት ግዝኣተ ሕግን ሰናይ ምሕደራን፡ ኤርትራ ዋላ ስማዊ ፓርላማ (ሃገራዊ ባይቶ) ኰነ ኣብቲ መንግስታውን ብሕታውን ክፋልት ዘድምዕ ተግባራዊ ትካላት የብላን። ቍጠባኣ ዓንዩ ኢዩ፤ ኣብ መንግስታዊ ፋይናንስ ዚዀነ ግሉጽነትን ተሓታትነትን ኰነ ኣፍልጦ ናይ ኣታዊታት፣ ከም ኣብነት ናይቲ ልዑል መኽሰብ ዘለዎ ጽላት ዕደና፡ የለን። ቀጻሊ መጥቃዕቲ፡ ሃውራዊ ቀይድታት፡ ምስሓብ ፍቓዳት ንግድን (ሊቸንሳታት)፡ ምዕሻግ ዋኒናትን፡ ንመብዛሕትኦም ሰብ ሞያን ሰብ ዋኒንን ሃገር ገዲፎም ከም ዚባረሩ ገይሩ። እዚ ጭቡጥ ክዉንነት እዚ፣ ንሃገረ ኤርትራ፡ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ንመንግስቲ ኤርትራን ንኤርትራውያን ሰብ ዋኒንን፣ ብመንጽር እቶም ብተዛማዲ ኣብ ዚሓሸ ኵነታት ዚርከቡ ኢትዮጵያውያን መማዝንቶም፣ ኣብ ኣዝዩ ዓቢ መግዳዕቲ ዘውድቕ ኢዩ። ክንዲ ዚዀነ፡ ሃገረ ኤርትራ፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ሰብ ዋኒን ኤርትራ፣ ካብቲ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ዚፍጠር ጥቡቕ ፖለቲካዊ፡ ቍጠባዊ፡ ማሕበራዊ፡ ባህላውን ጸጥታውን ምትሕብባር ተመጣጣኒ ረብሓታት መታን ኪሓፍሱ፣ እቲ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ቍጠባዊ ዕብሰት፡ ፖለቲካዊ ልምሰትን ሕብረተሰባዊ ዝርገትን ከም ዘብቅዕ ምግባር ህጹጽ ኣድላዪነት ኣለዎ።
3. ክልተኣዊ ዝምድናታት ናብ ንቡር ምምላስ፣ ዲፕሎማስያዊ ዝምድናታት ኰነ ናይ መጐዓዝያ፡ ንግድን ተለኮምዩኒከሽዩን ርክባት እንደገና ምጅማር ሓደስቲ ዕድላትዚኸፍት ኣገዳሲ ምዕባለ ኢዩ። ይዅን’ምበር፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ገና ብናይ መቝነን መግቢ፡ ብክቱር ሕጽረት ማይ፡ ብቐጻሊ ምቍራጽ ሓይሊ ኤለክትሪክ፡ ብዘይ ብቑዕ መሳለጥያታት መጐዓዝያ ኣብ ምስቓይ ይርከብ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ካብቲ ሓድሽ ምልጋብ መሳለጥያታት መጐዓዝያ፡ ንግድን ተለኮምዩኒከሽንን ርካባት ሓባራዊ ጥቕሚ መታን ኪረክብ ድማ፣ እቲ ኣገልግሎታት ኰነ ንግድን ኢንዱስትሪን ነቲ ብሕታዊ ክፋል ክፉት ኪኸውን፣ እቲ ዓንዩ ዘሎ ኣካላዊ ትሕተ-ቅርጺ ኤርትራ ኪተዓራረ፣ መሳለጥያታት መጐዓዝያን መራኸቢታትን ኪመሓየሹ፣ እኹል ቀረብ ጸዓትን ማይን ኪረጋገጽ የድሊ። ብሓጺሩ፡ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብቐጥታ ዘርብሕ ኪኸውን ኣለዎ።
4. ትግባረ ውሳነ ዶብ ከም መሰረት ናይ ኵሉ’ቲ ኣብ መንጎ ልኡላውያን ሃገራት ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ዚፍጠር ዝምድናታት፣ እንተላይ ናይቲ ጥቡቕ ፖለቲካዊ፡ ቍጠባዊ፡ ማሕበራዊ፡ ባህላውን ጸጥታውን ምትሕብባር፣ ኰይኑ ዘገልግል ኢዩ። እቲ ዶብ ዚበሃል ኣምር ኣድላዪ ረቛሒ ናይዚ ዘመናዊ ኣህጕራዊ ስርዓተ ዝምድናታት ኣብ መንጎ ሃገራት ምዃኑ ኪዝንጋዕ የብሉን። ክንዲ ዚዀነ፡ ብንጹር ዚተመልከተ ዶብ ንሃገራዊ መንነት ወይ ሃገራዊ ዜግነት ናይቶም ኣብቲ ወሰናስን ዶባት ዚነብሩ ኤርትራውያንን ኢትዮጵያውያንን ይውስን፤ ንቦታታት ልኡላዊ ስልጣን ወይ ዘቤታዊ ሕጋዊ ስልጣን ናይ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ሃገር ይድርት። ብዚተረፈ፡ እቲ ዶብ ትርጉም የብሉን ዚብል ኣበሃህላ ደንቆሮ ወይ ውዲታዊ ጥራይ ኢዩ ኪኸውን ዚሕእል።
ኵሎም ዶባት ኣብ መንጎ ኵለን ካልኦት ሃገራት ኣፍሪቃ ብሃውራዊ መግዛእታዊ ውዕላት ዚተወሰኑ ኢዮም። ክንዲ ዚዀነ፡ ዶብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን’ውን፡ ብመሰረት መግዛእታዊ ውዕላት ናይ 1900፡ 1902ን 1908ን፡ ብጀኦግራፍያዊ ምልክታትን ጀኦሜትርያዊ ድርብ ኣሃዛትን፡ ዚተደረተ ኢዩ። እቲ ኣብ ክልቲኡ ሸነኻት ናይቲ ወሰናስን ዶባት ዚነብር ህዝቢ ነቲ ልክዕ ደረት ናይቲ ሓባራዊ ዶብ ካብ ቀደሙ ኣረጋጊጹ ይፈልጥ፡ ይቕበልን የኽብርን ኢዩ። ብርግጽ፡ እቲ ናይ መግዛእታዊ ውዕል ዶብ ብሕግን ብግብርን ኣህጕራዊ ዶብ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ኰይኑ ንዳርጋ ሓደ ምሉእ ዘመን ጸኒሑ ኢዩ። ኢትዮጵያ ስለ’ቲ መግዛእታዊ ውዕል ዶብ ምስሕሓብ ኣልዒላ ወይ ለውጢ ገይራ ኣይትፈልጥን ኢያ። ኣብ 1997 ጥራይ ኢዩ ብበይናዊ ኣገባብ፣ ኣብቲ ምዕራባዊ፡ ማእከላይን ምብራቓውን ክፋላት ንሰፊሕ ቦታታት መሬት ኤርትራ ናብታ ሽዑ ስፍሓት ወሲኻ ዚቘመት ክልል ትግራይ ዚጸንበረ ካርታ ዳግም ተሳኢሉ።
ንዶባት ናይተን ናጽነት ዚጐናጸፋ ግዙኣት ሃገራት ንምዕቃብ ዘገልግል መትከል ልማዳዊ ኣህጕራዊ ሕጊ ኣሎ። እቲ ኣብቲ ፈለማ እዋን፡ ንዶባት ናይተን ካብ መግዛእቲ ዚተላቐቓ ሃገራት ላቲን ኣመሪካ ንምሕንጻጽ ኣብ መዓላ ዚወዓለ መትከል ኡቲ ፖሲደቲስ ጁሪስ (uti possidetis juris) ከም ቅቡል ኣገባብ ማዕቢሉ፡ ብፍላይ ድማ ኣብ ኣፍሪቃ። እቲ መትከል ዘይተተንካፍነት ናይቶም ኣብ እዋን ምጭባጥ ናጽነት ዚውረሱ ዶባት የረጋግጽ። እዚ ኣብ ቻርተር ውድብ ሓድነት እፍሪቃ (1963)፡ ውሳነ ካይሮ ውድብ ሓድነት ኣፍሪቃ (1964)፡ ኣብቲ ህንጻዊ ሰነድ ኣፍሪቃዊ ሕብረት (2000) ብግቡእ ሰፊሩ ይርከብ። ውድብ ሓድነት ኣፍሪቃ ኰነ ኣፍሪቃዊ ሕብረት፡ ንብጹእነት ናይቶም ኣብ እዋን ምጕንጻፍ ናጽነት ዚውረሱ መግዛእታዊ ዶባት ብትሪ ኪድግፉ ጸኒሖም።
እምበኣርከስ፡ ንውሳነ ዶብ ግቡእ ግምት ኣብ ምሃብ፣ ህያው ፍታሕ ጕዳይ ዶብ፡ ብመሰረት መትከል ኡቲ ፖሲደቲስ ጁሪስን ምምኽኻር ምስቲ ኣብ ወሰናስን ናይቲ ዶብ ዚነብር ህዝብን፣ ኣብ ምዕቃብ ናይቲ ታሪኻዊ መግዛእታዊ ውዕል ዶብ ኪምርኰስ ይግባእ። ከምዚ ዚኣመሰለ ፍታሕ ነቲ ቅድመ-1997 ዚነበረ ኵነተ ህላወ (status quo ante) ዚመልስ፣ ነቶም ኣብቲ ወሰናስን ዶባት ዚነብሩ ኤርትራውያንን ኢትዮጵያውያንን ካብ መሬት ዓደቦ ዘየልቅቕ፣ ሃገራዊ መንነቶምን ዜግነቶምን ዚዕቅብ፣ ቦታታት ዘቤታዊ ሕጋዊ ስልጣን ናይ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ሃገር ዘይቅይር፣ ዚወሓደ ወይ ባዶ ምዝንባል ህዝቢ ዘስዕብ ፍታሕ ይኸውን።
5. ምስ ምርግጋጽ ሰላምን ምምላስ ንቡር ዝምድናታትን፣ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ኣቓልቦአን፡ ጻዕረንን ጸጋታተንን ናብ ምፍታሕ ናይቲ ዘለወን ዘቤታዊ ብድሆታታ ናይ ደሞክራስያዊ ምሕደራን ሓቛፊ ልምዓትን ከድህባ ይኽእላ። ዕዉት ደሞክራስያዊ ስግግርን ሓቛፊ ልምዓትን ናይ ክልቲአን ሃገራት መፍትሕ ናይቲ ናይ መጻኢ ክልተኣውን ዞባውን ዝምድናታተን ኪኸውን ኢዩ። ሓድሽ ናይ ‘ርባሕ-ርባሕ’ ክልተኣዊ ዝምድና ድማ፡ ኣብ ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ፡ ሓያል ደራኺ ናይ ዞባዊ ሰላም፡ ልምዓትን ምትሕብባርን ኰይኑ ከገልግል ይኽእል።
እቲ ብኣላዪነት ናይተን ዚተቐየራ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ዚሰላሰል መስርሕ ዞባዊ ፖለቲካዊ ምትሕብባርን ቍጠባዊ ውህደትን ህያው ሰረት እንተተነጺፉሉን ብጽቡቕ እንተማዕቢሉን ድማ፡ እዞም ከም መጋረዲ ዘገልግሉ ዘለዉ ተረርቲ ዶባት (hard borders) ናብ ከም መራኸቢ ዘገልብሉ ፈኰስቲ ዶባት (soft borders) ኪቕየሩ ይኽእሉ ኢዮም። ይዅን’ምበር፡ እዚ ኣብ ሓድሕዳዊ ምክብባር ልኡላውነትን መሬታዊ ምሉእነትን ናይ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ሃገር ዚምርኰስ፣ ብንጡፍ ተሳትፎን ግሁድ ፍታውን ህዝብታት ናይ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ሃገር ብዚስነዩ ስምምዓት መሰረት ብዚውሰዱ፣ ደረጃ ብደርጃ ብዚውህለሉ ስጕምቲታት ዚፍጸም ዘገምታዊ መስርሕ ኪኸውን ይግባእ።
ብመንጽር’ዚ ድሕረባይታ’ዚ፡ እዚ ኣብዚ ቀረባ እዋን ዚተራእየ ቅልጡፍ ስግግር ካብ ኵነተ ኲናትን መሪር ተጻብኦን ናብ ኣዋጅ ሰላምን ምሕዝነትን ዚምጐስ ኢዩ። ኰይኑ ግን፡ እቲ ዝንቕ ናይ እዝኒ ዘጽምም ጸለልመለል ናይ ፍቕርን ምድማርን፣ እቲ ሃወኽ ዚመልኦ ዘረባ ናይ ሓደ ህዝቢ፣ እቲ ብተደጋጋሚ ዚተገልጸ ህያብ መሪሕነትን ውክልናን (ኤርትራ) ንቀዳማይ ሚኒስተር ናይ ሓንቲ ሓዳስ መሓዛ ዚዀነት ንነዊሕ እዋን ተጻባኢት ዚጸንሐት ሃገር፣ ብልኡም ኣዘራርባ፡ ስግንጢርን ኣሻቓልን ኢዩ ኪበሃል ይከኣል፤ ብፍላይ ታሪኽ ቃልሲ ኤርትራ ንርእሰ-ውሳነ ኣብ ግምት ምስ ዚኣቱ። ዕዮ ገዛና ምስ ዘይንሰርሕ፣ መጻኢና ኣብ ኢድና ንምጭባጥ ብቕልጡፍ ምስ ዘይንቀሳቐስ ድማ፣ ካብቲ ፈጠራ ናይ ሓደ ህዝቢ ናብ ጽውጽዋይ ናይ ሓንቲ ሃገር ምስጋር ቀሊል ኪኸውን ኢዩ። ንሕና ኤርትራውያን (ኢትዮጵያውያን’ውን ማዕሪኡ) ንዘስካሕክሕ ሳዕቤናት ናይ ከምዚ ዓይነት ፈጠራ ንሰለስተ ዓሰርተታት ዓመታት (1961-1991) ሓርነታዊ ኲናት፣ ንተወሳኺ ክልተ ዓመታት መመላእታ (1998-2000) ዶባዊ ኲናት፣ ክቡር ዋጋ ናይ ደምን ረሃጽን ከፊልና ኢና፤ ክሳብ ለይቲ ሎሚ እውን፡ ብናይ ዓሰርተታት ዓመታት መድቈስትን ዚባኸነ ዕድል ልምዓትን ንሳቐ ኣለና። ሓቅታት ምኽሓድ ኰነ ምዝናይ ኣየዋጽኣናን ኢዩ። ግዜ ጌና ከየርከበ፡ ነዚ ዚተኣኻኸብ ዘሎ ህቦቡላ ንምቍጽጻር፣ ጥልመት ንምብርዓን፣ እቲ ታሪኽ ናይቲ ዚሓለፈ 66 ዓመታት ንኸይድገም ሃየ ንበራበር!
