Ethiopia’s “Acceptance in
principle” is rejection in disguise
By TED
04 Dec 2004
While
the world was waiting to see what is new in Ethiopia’s “Acceptance in
principle” proposal for peace with Eritrea, Ethiopia’s PM could not wait to let
the world know that there is nothing new in his “new initiative” but
repackaging and renaming of the same, long rebuffed and old position.
On Friday, 03 December 2004, PM Meles made his
country’s partial acceptance of the border ruling and the demand to renegotiate
the ruling over the remaining rest clear. To that effect, Meles
told resident diplomats in Addis Ababa in a briefing session attended by
reporters that “On the so-called 85 percent of the boundary (with Eritrea), we
have said all along that we don't have any objection and it can be demarcated
straight away," Moreover, “disagreement over the remaining 15 percent of
the border could be solved through dialogue with Eritrea”. This is exactly how Ethiopia rejected the
decision of the Boundary Commission in September of 2003. Then, the world
body’s highest organ, the Security Council rebuffed Ethiopia’s partial
acceptance/demarcation in no uncertain terms
and called and continues to call on Ethiopia to accept the ruling in its
entirety and to cooperate with the boundary Commission.
At that
time PM Meles wrote
1.
Security Council set up an alternative mechanism to
demarcate the contested parts of the boundary in a just and legal manner so as
to ensure lasting peace in the region.
2.
The uncontested parts of the Boundary, specifically the
whole eastern Sector of the Boundary and that part of the Central Sector where
the river Mareb constitutes the boundary, can be demarcated without waiting for
the setting up of the alternative mechanism
Only difference here is that this time around
it’s all presented in a politically correct form: Dialogue instead of
alternative mechanism, ‘acceptance in principle’ instead of rejection, and 15%
and 85% of the border instead of contested and uncontested parts respectively.
Ethiopia’s revival and reiteration of its long
denied and old position shutters all the hope people might have falsely
expected from Ethiopia’s “new initiative for peace with Eritrea”, and Ethiopia
remains defiant. And Ethiopia’s “acceptance in principle” tale has turned out
to be nothing but rejection in disguise.
Unlimited, high
