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Eritrea's President Promises to Send Delegation to Ethiopia

by Salem Solomon

   Eritrea's president says he will send a delegation to Ethiopia to
   discuss Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's pledge to implement the terms of a
   peace deal negotiated in 2000.

   Agreeing to that deal means ceding occupied land back to Eritrea and
   honoring a 2002 international court ruling that awarded Eritrea the
   disputed town of [1]Badme.

   Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki announced the overture Wednesday in
   Asmara in his annual [2]Martyr's Day address. He said the delegation
   would also "chart out a plan for continuous future action" between the
   countries.

   Ahmed's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, later said on Twitter the prime
   minister is ready to welcome the Eritrean delegation.

   Eritrea and Ethiopia share a violent history. Eritrea fought a 30-year
   war for independence to break away from Ethiopia. It gained
   international recognition in 1993. However, conflict between the
   countries persisted, particularly on their border, which was disputed.
   Between 1998 and 2000, the countries fought a border war that resulted
   in at least 70,000 deaths.

   Since then, tensions have remained high.

   But in his speech Wednesday, Afwerki emphasized shared struggles and
   losses between the Eritrean and Ethiopian people. He blamed historic
   animosities on "misguided global policies" and the "toxic and malignant
   legacy" of the TPLF, the Ethiopian political party that, for decades,
   has controlled the country's political and security spheres.

   But sweeping changes have occurred in Ethiopia. Ahmed, the new prime
   minister, represents a different party within Ethiopia's ruling EPRDF
   coalition and belongs to a long-marginalized ethnic group, the Oromo.
   Earlier this month, he replaced the [3]army's chief of staff.

   In his speech, Afwerki also said the United States had been "sending
   various signals" about its intentions to correct past wrongs, including
   its policies in the Horn, but he did not elaborate.

   In late April, [4]Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, the acting assistant
   secretary for the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs, made a rare visit to
   Eritrea, although neither country disclosed details of the meeting.

   Some residents in Badme, which remains occupied by Ethiopia, told
   [5]Reuters they are upset about Ahmed's decision. Reports of protests
   in the small town have also circulated in recent days.

   What will become of residents in Badme and other towns set to transfer
   to Eritrea is not yet clear.

   A timeline for sending the delegation has not been established, but
   some reports suggest Ethiopia will remove troops from occupied areas
   along the border [6]in July.

   Ahmed's pledge on the border issue is one of many reforms that the new
   prime minister has announced, leading to a wave of changes in the
   country. Ethiopia recently released thousands of dissidents and
   political prisoners who were arrested under a controversial
   anti-terrorism law.

   Salem Solomon is a multimedia digital journalist with the Voice of
   America's Africa Division. She covers [7]the latest news from across
   the continent, and she also reports and edits in [8]Amharic and
   [9]Tigrigna.

   Salem's multimedia and data-driven projects include [10]Unrest:
   Ethiopia at a Crossroads, [11]Zimbabwe in Transition, [12]Hunger Across
   Africa and [13]How Long Have Africa's Presidents Held Office?

   Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post,
   Poynter.org and Reuters. She researches trends in analytics and digital
   journalism. For tips and inquiries, email: salemsolomon@voanews.com.

References

   1. https://www.voanews.com/a/ethiopia-vows-to-give-disputed-badme-town-to-eritrea/4425902.html
   2. http://www.shabait.com/news/local-news/26520-president-isaias-speech-on-martyrs-day
   3. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-07/ethiopia-appoints-new-chief-of-staff-for-powerful-military
   4. https://africatimes.com/2018/04/23/yamamoto-heads-to-djibouti-after-rare-eritrea-visit/
   5. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-eritrea/on-ethiopia-eritrea-frontline-anger-at-addis-olive-branch-idUSKBN1J71UM
   6. https://www.africa-confidential.com/article-preview/id/12350/Pushback_peril_for_Abiy
   7. http://www.voanews.com/author/25229.html
   8. http://amharic.voanews.com/author/25085.html
   9. http://tigrigna.voanews.com/author/25525.html
  10. https://projects.voanews.com/ethiopia-unrest/
  11. https://projects.voanews.com/zimbabwe-in-transition/
  12. http://projects.voanews.com/africa-drought/home.php
  13. http://projects.voanews.com/african-presidents/