| OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT CARTER |
| Friday, 03 June 2005 | |
|
Dear President Carter, I have just read a trip report entitled, "Ethiopia Trip Report: National Parliamentary and Local Elections May 11-17, 2005". Frankly, Mr. President, I was at a loss to see a trip report bearing your name, and the relevance of Eritrea on Ethiopia's elections. I did not expect a person of your stature, committed to peace and known for reliance on only precise information, to lend his name to a report fraught with inaccurate statements. I am an Eritrean-American who has been deeply involved in fostering the relationship between my country of origin and the country of which I am now a citizen. Therefore, it is incumbent on me to set the record straight. The report stated, "After Meles prevailed in 1991 and despite my concerns about Eritrean leadership, he granted Eritrea complete independence in 1993, cutting Ethiopia off from the Red Sea and making it the most populous landlocked nation in the world." I am perplexed by your expression of concerns about Eritrean leadership. In 1989, your former Secretary of State, Cyrus R. Vance, when he first met President Isaias Afwerki, aptly referred to him as the George Washington of Eritrea. Former US Senator Harris Wofford has compared President Isaias with Mahatma Gandhi; and civil rights leader and current NAACP Chairman Julian Bond has likened him to Martin Luther King, Jr. With respect, Mr. Carter, it would appear that you do not know President Isaias and your comments about the Eritrean leadership do not concur with those of your political and civil rights allies. The report further stated, "Meles granted complete independence to Eritrea in 1993, cutting Ethiopia off from the Red Sea and making it the most populous landlocked nation in the world." It will be news to the world that it was Meles who gave Eritrea its independence and not the result of a 30-year war of liberation that cost over 60,000 Eritrean lives and caused the suffering of Eritrean people at home and abroad. Imagine reading a report on the recent US election and offhandedly remarking that King George III granted the United States its independence, reducing the British Empire by more than half. Fortunately, school children are taught, and the truth is, that it was the Americans' own valiant revolutionary war led by General Washington that gave birth to this great country, and not the benevolence of King George III. Similarly, the independence movement of Eritrea is a replication of some of the experience of the American Revolution. The report echoes Meles' shallow mantra, "Eritrea has been involved in the Sudan conflict since 1994, invaded Yemeni islands in 1995, and a serious border dispute with Ethiopia erupted in 1998 that cost 100,000 lives." Mr. President, the facts do not support the mantra. Eritrea objected to the Sudanese regime's activities allowing Bin Laden and his associates to roam freely in the Sudan and plan attacks against the innocent people of the United States and Eritrea. Ten years ago, Eritrea and yemen had genuine disagreements on the ill-defined ownership of the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea. Both countries have unconditionally accepted and implemented the decision of the International Court as final and binding. The report remarked, "In our meeting with the prime minister, he made it plain that he wants a peaceful resolution of the border dispute with Eritrea, will not initiate military action, and will work with any mediator between him and Isaias Afwerke." Mr. President, let us compare the Ethiopian Prime Minister's rhetoric with the facts. On December 12, 2000, Eritrea and Ethiopia signed the Algiers Agreement, with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, European Union envoy Reno Serri, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and OAU Secretary General Salim A. Salim as witnesses and guarantors. The Agreement formed a neutral Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission ("EEBC") with the mandate of delimiting and demarcating the common border. By signing the Algiers Agreement, the two countries, before the verdict, had agreed to accept the decision of the EEBC as final and binding. On April 13, 2002, the EEBC made its decision based on the relevant border treaties and applicable international law and in the process affirming that Badme is in Eritrea. Two hours later, Ethiopia's Foreign Minister called a press conference and declared that his Government has accepted the EEBC decision fully and unconditionally. A year later, the Ethiopian Prime Minister declared that the EEBC's final and binding decision was "illegal, unjust and irresponsible." The Ethiopian Prime Minister's reneging on an international treaty, rejection of a final and binding decision, and violation of international law, would run contrary to your principles of world peace and the rule of law. The Prime Minister's threats of war and refusal to fully and unconditionally accept the EEBC's ruling may bring more death and destruction to both countries. Finally, instead of accepting the EEBC ruling, the Ethiopian Prime Minister is plotting "to change regime in Eritrea." It is peculiar that the Prime Minister conferring with a Nobel Peace Prize winner about launching of military action against Eritrea, a neighboring sovereign country. As an advocate of world peace, you might consider persuading the Prime Minister to unconditionally accept and implement the EEBC's final and binding decision, and thus bringing a peaceful resolution of the border dispute. Mr. President, we share several friends in common: The Vances are like family to me; the Woffords have been my surrogate parents; and Julian Bond is a valued friend. As a long time admirer of yours, I am very disappointed in your partisan approach in the dispute between the two neighborly countries. I look forward to discussing this matter with you further. In the meantime, I urge you to visit Eritrea and gain a clear understanding of the issues. With admiration and respect, |
(The writer is Chief Executive Officer of the
NHP Foundation and a member