Eritrea: The Algiers Agreement Is Only A Paper Too, Mr. Prez

Opinion

10 October 2007

There is no limit to what dictators of the world revert to in a futile attempt to defend the indefensible: Dictatorship, authoritarian rule, and rule by the barrel of the gun. The ruler of Eritrea, his Excellency, president Isaias Afewerki, is the master of all in that.

Afewerki’s indubitably perverted understanding of democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, independent press, detention without trial, freedom of religion, regional politics, diplomacy, and almost all societal norms is an open secret.

Afewerki’s most recent revelation involves his utterly perverted understanding of the national constitution of our country Eritrea, which is bizarre, to say the least, and goes beyond insanity. And that comes despite and in spite of the fact that the Eritrean national constitution was drafted with his active participation and ratified with his unequivocal consent.

In an interview with Edmund Sanders of the LA Times last week, Afewerki could not wait to reveal his utter contempt for the will and wishes of the people of Eritrea and his complete disrespect of the contents of the nation’s constitution. Afewerki dismissed the national constitution flatly as “only a paper” and referred to it as such repeatedly while the foreign reporter spoke of the constitution in a show of respect for the people of Eritrea and in reverence to its content. Afewerki wouldn’t back off even when the reporter pointed out to him that it is an “important paper”. Afewerki told the reporter in no uncertain terms that the “The constitution is a paper” regardless, period.

Mr. President, the Eritrean national constitution is a binding, solemn, and written agreement, more correctly a covenant, between the government, in this case you personally, and the governed, the people of Eritrea that dictates the only way our country can be legitimately governed, which, for lack of other means, happens to be preserved on paper. It is pervert for you to trash such an agreement as “only a paper”, paper and more paper.

Be it as it may, have it your way, Mr. president. But I have bad, bad news for you. The binding, solemn, and written Algiers Peace Agreement entered into by your government and that of Ethiopia, which agreement ended the senseless border war and brought about the final, binding and conclusive legal resolution of the border dispute Is Only A Paper Too, sir.

So, why resist attempts to consider human geography when demarcating the border by invoking the inviolability of the Algiers Agreement, sir. The Algiers Agreement is only a paper, too?

The Algiers Agreement certainly precludes the boundary commission from making decision based on ex aeqou et bono. But again, the Algiers Agreement is only paper, too. Why not allow the boundary commission to moot this imperative so that it can factor in human geography in its demarcation determination instead of invoking the sanctity of the Algiers Agreement, which is nothing but only a paper?

Mr. President, you know well that the Algiers Agreement is amenable to changes should both parties so desire. So, why not grant that instead of invoking the inviolability of an agreement that is no more than a paper and more paper, sir?

Mr. President, why take the country’s indeed bright future, peace, stability, prosperity and constitutional governance hostage until and unless the border is demarcated according to an agreement that is only a paper?

Why live under the specter of war simply because of what is or is not provided for by the Algiers Agreement, which is only a paper?

Mr. President, does it make sense to you for people to sacrifice their lives for an agreement that is only a paper? Mr. President, how does a piece of paper make or break our national and territorial sovereignty?

Mr. President you got what you asked for: The Algiers Peace Agreement is indeed nothing but Only A Paper. So, why raise hell about it to the extent of mobilizing the nation for a war to defend 'This Paper'?

Does this mean the Algiers Agreement need not be implemented as agreed upon? No. All it says is that it is only a paper (Afewerki) and that a dispute over a paper does not warrant war and cannot be a matter of life and death.

Author can be contacted at bmtekeste@yahoo.com