Asseb is a sovereign Eritrean Territory. Period!

If the subject matter posted on the Sudan Times of Monday 12 March 2007, http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20730, by Toommaa Imma, wasn’t so serious enough that it could affect the livelihood of millions of people in Eritrea and Ethiopia and perhaps beyond, I would have simply dismissed the empty and useless rhetoric just that –rhetoric. Regardless, which nationality the author may prescribe himself to, there was nothing new in his analysis that has not been said yet and repeated over and over usually by a handful of hapless “Wey-Ane” supporters or illusory Amharas with feudal mentalities. Assuming that people like himself (who apparently go all the troubles to make some fool of themselves) would one day would be able to help out in the governance of their country, one wonders if that is all Ethiopia can produce as alternative to the consecutive criminal regimes that has pillaged the country and its neighbors throughout its modern history.  It has been said many a times that a country endowed with natural resources as Ethiopia is should have something to show for its existence as a country short of the meaningless and exaggerated hullabaloos that one is now accustomed to hearing.

Without going into the history of Eritrea and Ethiopia in detail, Eritrea is now and it has been an independent, sovereign member of the United Nations since 24 April 1993. It is also another fact that the Eritrean people voted overwhelmingly for independence on that month. They did this in spite of the de facto independence of their country since 24 May 1991 which was achieved by their sweat and blood in 30 long years of fighting for independence.  

Having said that, how is it conceivable that some belligerent “Ethiopian” writers keep on moaning and hallucinating that somehow if they repeat and “re-repeat” some twisted and false allegations that would change all of a sudden the realities. Some of the realities they hopelessly refuse to come in terms with their blind hatred of Eritrea and anything Eritrea represents are:

Colonial Boundaries

While they apparently do not have any qualms with the charter of the OAU (AU) that deals with the sacrosanct of colonial boundaries, they take a dim and incoherent stand when it comes to the 1000 km long Ethio-Eritrean boundary set by the then colonial power – Italy. 

Sovereign Territory

They don’t seem to understand the meaning of sovereign territory when it comes to their long held but erroneous zeal of negating the port of Asseb as Eritrean. It does not matter how long and how loudly one murmurs, Asseb is in Eritrea proper and therefore it can not be anything else but Eritrean!

Settler Mentality

As a reminiscent of their hegemonic attitude (neftegna), they have this voracious appetite to subjugate neighboring peoples and countries that they refuse to appreciate the gentle nature and magnanimity of the Eritrean people towards the Ethiopian people even after all the atrocities the Ethiopian rulers have committed against them throughout the years of direct and indirect occupation of Eritrea. 

The Weyane-instigated war of 1998-2000

They keep on regurgitating an old and tired scenario where the TPLF leader, Meles, had ordered the invading Ethiopian army to stop from completing its aggressive mission deep inside Eritrea.

While obviously the invading  “Wey-Ane” army was made to retreat after suffering some humiliating defeat at the hands of Eritrea’s brave, when everything is said and done, the Ethiopian anti peace elements must understand that it is only with the benevolence and good will of the Eritrean people that they can hope to get any kind of co-operation from the Eritrean people. Certainly not through some kind of intimidation and empty bravados for they know or they should have known that the Eritrean people have never and will never succumb to such threats (veiled or otherwise).

Unfortunately all this nonsense is being spread by the Internet usually under some kind of pen name from the comforts of behind computer screen. Nevertheless, the net sufferers remain the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia who long cherished peace and tranquility and who wanted nothing less than to live harmoniously as good neighbors. But such irresponsible and downright fabricated “Stories” as the subject article entails, I am afraid, are not conducive to peace and prosperity for the peoples of the Horn. They deserve better than this. 

Mr. Imma, wakeup and smell the coffee and work for the betterment of the peoples of the Horn and not aggravate an already dire situation by writing some inflammatory comment.

 

 

Berhane Alazar