Eritrea/Ethiopia: Mr. Axworthy, any effort to uphold Algiers pact?
Commentary
By
EritreaDaily
21 Jan
2005
While very impressive, Mr. L.
Axworhty’s professional repertoire and litany of academic honors can neither
substitute the rule of law nor can be an excuse to lay off/not uphold the rule
of law or whitewash his failure to ensure strict adherence to the peace agreement
that Eritrea and Ethiopia signed and agreed to only abide by (Algiers peace
pact).
After resolutely rejecting Ethiopia’s attempts to renege
on the Algiers peace pact and defy the decision of the Boundary Commission
established therewith, the UN Security council reminded both parties of their
commitment to the peace agreement they signed in Algiers and reiterated its
call to abide by it. To follow that up, the UN then engaged Mr. Axworthy upon
the recommendation of Ethiopia but against Eritrea’s well founded reluctance as
an additional thrust with the expressed assignment to move the peace process
forward by ensuring strict adherence to the Algiers peace pact.
Here, UN’s reference to both parties is a mere matter of
pro forma because it is on public records and well documented that Eritrea has
always been in full compliance with Algiers while Ethiopia is the defiantly
non-compliant party that has unilaterally brought the peace process to a
standstill only because it didn’t work its way.
Although Mr. Axworthy understood and accepted his
assignment, it was and is not what he had in mind as evidenced by his
activities so far. Thus far, Mr. Axworthy has targeted the compliant party
(Eritrea) for reasons that escape the sane mind and is devoid of any and every
rational known to mankind because if Mr. Axworthy were out to ensure strict
compliance with Algiers why would he seek the compliant party if it were not
aimed at getting it out of compliance or even to pressure it not to insist on
compliance, which he then would misconstrue to mean intransigence and
unhelpfulness, which he did and continues to do? To that effect, Mr. Axworthy
tried to lure the compliant party into his trap by making attractive offers
such as dialogue, direct talks with president, and even “new peace initiative”
that no one would reject but are unfortunately inapplicable here because by
treaty they are inadmissible and detrimental to the peace process one way or
the other. But, Mr. Axworthy was not deterred by the limitations of the Algiers
agreement. In a futile attempt to further aggravate, pressure and get the
compliant party out of compliance, Mr. Axworthy had even the gut and audacity
to approach major powers and even the chairman of the Boundary Commission in a
shameless try to sway them from their firm commitment to the Algiers agreement.
All of Mr. Axworthy’s hitherto activities have failed, the peace process
remains stalled and precarious more than ever before.
Be it as it may and for a change, today we decided to
ponder and ask Mr. Axworthy if he’d ever made any effort at all to ensure the
upholding of the Algiers peace pact, in an attempt to bring it to the attention
of the UN Security council and the public at large for that was the intent and
declared purpose of his engagement?
Since Ethiopia is and remains the defiantly non-compliant
party, we refined our question and now ask Mr. Axworthy if he’d taken any
steps, measures, or actions at all to get Ethiopia to even contemplate
complying with UN calls for unequivocal acceptance of the border decision and
with it unconditional adherence to the Algiers Peace Pact? We researched the
answers to our own questions and public records clearly speak against that,
making the unequivocal answer to both questions a flat NO.
That indicates Mr. Axworthy’s failure to do what he was
hired and entrusted to do, which is equivalent to dereliction of duty that
mandates a call to task before the UN Security Council for accountability and
necessary punitive/disciplinary measures up to and including termination of his
mission.
If one were to measure Mr. Axworthy’s activities in terms
of time and impact on the peace process, then Mr. Axworthy has thrown the peace
process 4 years back and has brought the two countries to the brink of another
war.