After being saved from collapse by the intervention of the Eritrean Army during the 2020-2022 Tigray civil war, the Ethiopian government under Abiy Ahmed has launched a relentless propaganda campaign. For three years, Ethiopian Television and its allied YouTube channels have paraded academicians, army generals, ministry officials, and Prosperity Party leaders, all echoing the urgent claim that Ethiopia must possess a port and a corridor to the sea—even if it means violating the sovereignty of a neighboring country. Though their arguments are muddled and inconsistent, they center around three main themes.
1.Historical Context.
Eritrea’s independence was fully recognized by Ethiopia 30 years ago, on May 24, 1993, and Eritrea became a respected member of both the United Nations and the African Union. The current Ethiopian government initially upheld this recognition, but now, in a desperate attempt to rewrite history, the Abiy administration and its propaganda machine have begun to cast doubt on Eritrea’s legitimate statehood. This abrupt shift is not only baseless but also exposes Ethiopia’s inability to support its historical claims—claims that were conclusively settled when Eritrea gained its independence. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission officially delimited the border, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed himself accepted the decision unconditionally, even earning a Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment. Thus, any argument by the Prime Minister invoking history is utterly groundless and serves only as a smokescreen to distract Ethiopians from the severe economic, political, and security crises consuming their country.
2.Population Size and Ethnicity.
Ethiopia’s population and ethnicity argument was even more illogical and invalid. There is no premise that a country that has uncontrolled population growth must claim the sovereign land of a neighboring country. The easiest and most logical way to align your population growth with your resources is introducing family planning. China’s one-child policy could be a good example of how to control explosive population growth in Ethiopia. Also, countries often augment their economy through the division of labor, international trade, and acceptable diplomatic norms. The Ethiopian problem is lack of peace. As to the ethnicity argument, international borders in Africa are drawn by colonizers, and the African Union, headquartered less than a couple of miles from PM Abiy’s office, accepted and ratified them many years ago. PM Abiy’s attempt to change the 1964 Cairo treaty that accepted the colonial boundaries as sacrosanct African boundaries shows his ignorance about international law and associated treaties.
3.UN Convention on Landlocked Countries and Access to the Sea.
Ethiopian propaganda also mentioned the UN convention on access of landlocked countries to the sea, which is often called the law of the Sea 1982. It is true that the convention provided landlocked countries with the right of access to and from the seas and freedom of transit. That is what Ethiopia is currently getting from Djibouti’s Port. One thing that the Ethiopian propaganda does not mention is that the UN Convention is related to access to the sea, not ownership of a port or the corridor. Also United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 states “Transit states shall have the right to take all measures necessary to ensure that the rights and facilities provided for in this Part for land-locked states shall in no way infringe their legitimate interests”. Ethiopia’s request for complete ownership of a port and its corridor to the sea contradicts with the law of the sea 1982. Accordingly, neighboring countries, including Eritrea, have the right to reject Ethiopia’s request to talk about port and corridor ownership out rightly.
The claim that the Ethiopian Government’s propaganda is neutralizing Opposition to planned aggression against Eritrea.
In the above analysis, we have made clear that PM Abiy’s Government is delusional and has not valued argument that supports its claim to a port and its corridor in the sovereign land of a neighboring country. Now the Ethiopian government’s propaganda has shifted to the threat of war. They are claiming that the purpose of their propaganda is to neutralize any opposition to their planned aggression against a neighboring country, Eritrea. Their claim affirms that the Prosperity Party intends to invade Eritrea, and it is a clear violation of international law. Such Ethiopia’s official declaration of aggression on a neighboring country allows Eritrea to take pre-emptive defensive action. However, for Eritrea, doing that would be to fall into Abiy’s trap. The Abiy government is politically, economically, and militarily weak, and sooner or later it is going to fall. That is why it is engaged in desperate cheap propaganda directed at neighboring countries, including Eritrea.
Conclusion
Currently, the Ethiopian Prosperity government has declared war on neighboring countries, especially Eritrea. However, it knows that a war against Eritrea is costly, and it may destroy its government in less than a month. That is why it is full of cheap propaganda and zero action. Whatever the case is the Abiy Ahamed government can neither scare Eritrea nor being successfully hide the Political, Economic, and Security problems in Ethiopia. As to Eritrea, it has 80 years of experience in neutralizing successive Ethiopian rulers’ propaganda and aggression.
“The dogs bark, the camel continues its journey”.
Victory to the Masses and Eternal Glory to Our Martyrs
