By Haile Abraham,
IT IS to be recalled that the Algiers Peace agreement was signed, sealed and delivered by H.E. President Isaias Afwerki for Eritrea and by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for Ethiopia with a traditional handshake.
At the same time, this historic moment was also witnessed and guaranteed by Secretary General Kofi Annan representing the United Nations, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of the Democratic Republic of Algeria, President Obasanjo of Nigeria, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright representing the United States, Secretary General, Salim Ahmed Salim representing the OAU, and Senator Renato Serri representing the European Union.
Little did we know that this glorious moment for peace and potential prosperity in our region would be turned into a shameful act of deceit, betrayal and cover-up in history.
Just twelve years ago on April 13, 2002, the EEBC delivered its “Final and Binding” verdict on the boundary lines. Immediately and shamefully, the then Foreign Minister of Ethiopia uttered the following words at his own press conference:
“Today sanity has won over insanity…the rule of law has prevailed over the rule of the jungle…this decision has rejected any attempt by Eritrea to get award for its aggression…this decision was fair and legal…Badme and its surrounding, which Eritrea invaded and occupied in May 1998 on the basis of its false claims has now been decided by the Commission that Badme and its surroundings belong to Ethiopia…”
When the dust settled, the regime’s cadres got inside their mother’s fingernail “ab Tsifri Adi’om atyom” and the guarantor, especially the United States, decided shamelessly to look the other way when insanity challenged sanity and when the rule of the jungle tried to prevail over the rule of law.
Furthermore, in a much more shameful act of an epic proportion, the then US Ambassador at the UN, Susan Rice, orchestrated and forced two illegal and unjust UN sanctions on Eritrea, a new and poor African nation, in an effort to kill the innocent before its shameful act gets exposed.
However, in some twisted and unfortunate act of blunder, the regime’s Foreign Ministry exposed its own Master’s shameful act on a recently-leaked directive to its foreign embassies.
According to directive, which is written in Amharic, the Ministry states “America has made a very strong effort in imposing the sanctions 1907/2009 and 2023/2011 on Eritrea and we can say that Ambassador Susan Rice’s effort in exposing Eritrea’s bad behavior in our region was exceptionally high.”
Twelve years of Shame needs to stop now! The regime’s cadres admitted that it is America which is “holding the pen,” so they are planning to continue to BEG America to maintain the course. But America and the UN cannot continue to ignore their own Shameful act now that they are facing the reality that they cannot kill the innocent just to cover-up their shameful act.
They need to stand up to their shameful act and come clean.
Eritrea will prevail!
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