Recently, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) propaganda operatives have been disseminating information about Eritrea occupying land that the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC) decided was Ethiopian. In a boundary delimitation process, it is logical for villages to change sides. Accordingly, although it was a minor occurrence, such a situation also happened in the Eritrea and Ethiopia boundary delimitation decision. So, is Eritrea occupying land that was given to Ethiopia? Here is the full story.
Background:
After two years of intense fighting, on December 12, 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed the Algiers Agreement, committing to resolve their boundary dispute through final and binding arbitration. The Algiers agreement established the Ethiopia and Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC). Hearings were held at the Peace Palace in The Hague from December 10 through 21, 2001, during which oral arguments and replies were heard from the following:
For Eritrea: His Excellency Ali Said Abdella, Foreign Minister of Eritrea, Agent Professor Lea Brilmayer, Co-Agent Mr. O. Thomas Johnson Professor James Crawford, SC
For Ethiopia: His Excellency Seyoum Mesfin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Agent Mr. B. Donovan Picard Mr. Ian Brownlie, CBE, QC Mr. Rodman R. Bundy Ms. Loretta Malintoppi Mr. Dylan D. Cors.
The EEBC gave its final and binding decision regarding the delimitation of the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia on April 13, 2002.
TPLF-led Ethiopia’s Government Response to the Decision:
Initially, TPLF-led Ethiopia claimed it got what it asked for and warned Eritrea to accept the EEBC decision. If Eritrea failed to accept it, the then TPLF-led Ethiopian Government threatened to use force against Eritrea. Surprisingly, a few days later, the Ethiopian officials who claimed to accept the decision started attacking the boundary commission and called the decision unjust and illegal. Instead of complying with the EEBC decision and removing their people from the land the EEBC decided was Eritrean, they continued to resettle new people. In areas that were deemed Eritrean, such as around Badme, Eritreans were pushed out and new Tigrayans were resettled in. Eritrea’s complaint to the EEBC and the EEBC’s findings on Ethiopia’s new resettlement on land that was deemed Eritrean is well-documented.
“EEBC investigation team find evidence of a recent tent settlement housing some 90 persons, at a place called ‘Dembe Mengul’. Dembe Mengul is located 0.4 km to the west of the delimitation line established by the Commission’s Decision of April 13, 2002. In Hadish Adi, there is evidence of a recent settlement consisting of fresh tents which appear to house some 100 people. Hadish Adi is 3.5 km to the east of the delimitation line established by the Commission’s Decision of April 13, 2002” (Border delimitation page 201).
Eritrea’s Response to the Decision:
Once the EEBC gave its verdict, Eritrea started removing its people from villages that were given to Ethiopia. The resettlement of Eritreans from areas bordering Ethiopia to the Gash Barka region was completed in 2008. Accordingly, all the villages that were under Eritrea, but the boundary commission determined Ethiopian, were vacated by Eritrea fifteen years ago. This tells us the completely different approach of the Eritrean government to the EEBC decision. The Eritrean leadership knew sooner or later Ethiopia and Eritrea had no choice but to follow the boundary line that was decided by the EEBC, and Eritrea did its homework early on. The sad part of the story is when Eritrea vacated the villages that were determined Ethiopian, the TPLF placed so-called Eritrean opposition groups in these villages. TPLF was hell-bent on undermining any positive effort by Eritrea that would contribute to the peaceful resolution of the boundary problem in line with the EEBC decision.
Then why are TPLF Operatives Claiming Eritrea is Occupying the Land the EEBC Gave to Ethiopia?
If you believe what TPLF operatives say, you may be the target of their convince or confuse media strategy. First, they said the Algiers agreement was dead. And then they propagated that they accepted the Algiers agreement, but Eritrea needed to return to the pre-November 4, 2020, position, and then they would implement the boundary decision. Now you may be asking if TPLF officials are normal people. If they were normal, they wouldn’t start a war that put the lives of five million people upside down and close to having a million lose their lives. In a nutshell, they are saying Eritrea should allow them to reoccupy the EEBC-determined Eritrean land that they illegally occupied from 2002-2020 and continue resettling more Tigrayans. Now their tone is changing. Their operatives are claiming that Eritrea is occupying land that the EEBC gave to Ethiopia. Well, I have bad news for them. That land was vacated by Eritrea a long time ago, and the propaganda line is false and outdated.
Conclusion:
TPLF is the cursed baby of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). It believes its survival is linked to Eritrea and without Eritrea, it does not have any future. Even if Eritrea wakes up one morning and tells TPLF to take all the land that belongs to Eritrea, it would not be surprising for TPLF to claim more land from Eritrea. The point is TPLF’s long-held objective was to use Ethiopian resources to develop Tigray and keep Eritrea in jeopardy. Then invade Eritrea and merge Eritrea and Tigray to create a greater Tigray. Now Tigray is in distress, and its chance of invading and occupying Eritrea is slim. Thus, it does not know what to do. If it accepts the EEBC decision fully, it would be cutting the umbilical cord that connects it to Eritrea. Thus, it decided to keep the border issue alive, at least on TV, and use it for propaganda consumption. Fortunately, thanks to the EEBC, the Ethiopia and Eritrea border is virtually demarcated on April 13, 2002. Anyone who reads maps would not miss the boundary line even by a meter. As Professor Lea Brilmayer put it, Eritrea and Ethiopia may need to put pillars in densely populated areas where normal people may unknowingly cross the border. For the rest, the Ethiopia and Eritrea border is clearly demarcated, and any encouragement towards Eritrea is an aggression and will be met with strong resistance.
Abel Kebedom
Awet N’hafash and Eternal Glory to Our Martyrs.