For those who want to have a deeper understanding to the Ethio - Eritrea war, I am recommending my own short research paper that I wrote during my last year as a University Student. I believe this was one of my honors classes, I very much enjoyed it. I was looking for an old file in my computer and ended up rereading and relearning somethings including my own writing style and tone...
Badme, the Grave Yard of the Youth
Apr. 26,
2010
Contents
Management
of Claim
Badme,
the Grave Yard of the Youth……………………………………………………………………1
Brief chronological timeline of Ethiopia……………………………………………………………….2
Brief chronological timeline of Eritrea ………………………………………………………………..4
Geographic Influences
Dissecting Badme
and its
timeline…………………………………......................................................5
Border
as catalyst……………………………………………………………………………………………….9
Consequence……………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Historical
Influences
Historical
relationship………………………………………………………………………………………13
Appendix
Map of the disputed
territorial claim………………..……………………………………………….15
Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....16
Badme, the Grave Yard of the Youth
Eritrea’s three decades,
rebellious struggle ended with Eritrea’s formal independence in 1993 from
Ethiopia. Five years later Eritrea and Ethiopia found themselves waging war
over a skirmish territorial claim dispute. Badme, a small village located
between the western part of Eritrea and the northern part of Ethiopia with an
area of less than 60 square miles wide and home to 5,000 local farmers became
the epicenter of a full scale of war that extended to the whole 620 miles
border between Eritrea and Ethiopia; igniting unmatched military conflict by
recent years in Africa. Some 50,000-75,000 Eritreans and Ethiopian soldiers
lost their lives in the two-year war (Negash, p. 3).
There exists nothing
particularly special about this skirmish village, yet the explicit contentious
claims made by both the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments; it nonetheless
meets all three, territorial claim requirements as defined in class note of Dr.
Hensel’s Geography, History and Int’l Relations class. The issue that seemed a
minor misunderstanding of border dispute turned into a full-scale war. This
paper will examine the issue of conflict regarding Badme and whether the
sacrifices made by both neighboring countries to retain the village were
justifiable.
On May 6, 1998, Eritrean
soldiers entered into Badme, an area where there was a history of border
dispute but it had previously never been a major issue. The town of Badme had
been administered under the Ethiopian government as was Eritrea itself pre its
independence. The local Ethiopian securities tried to push the Eritrean
soldiers back across the border, but the Eritrean soldiers refused and few
deaths resulted as a consequence of the incident. Shortly after, in what seemed
the Eritrean government had expected how the scenario would play out, sent its
military to the area signifying the start of militarized conflict from that
point; one side blaming the other for inciting the first (Negash, p. 1).
The Ethiopian air
force then bombed Eritrea’s capital City Asmara and within hours Eritrea
retaliated by bombing Tigray’s Capital city Mekelle. This air strike hit an
elementary school and ultimately killed 54 people, 12 of which were children,
and injuring 233 civilians. The conflict left a scar between nations and
threatens to break the bond and common identity those nations carried for
generations. Tensions were running high on both sides and things only got
worse, escalating towards full war over “…an inconsequential piece of real estate…but
highly charged with symbolism as the two nations sort out their relationship
after a 20-year war that ended with Eritrea breaking off from the larger
nation.” (Negash, p. 3)
Brief chronological timeline of Ethiopia
History books state that the current
Ethiopian formerly known, as Abyssinians are descendents or mixed of three
groups of people. 1. The Hamitic, Cushitic-speaking people who came from
western Asia and settled in North Eastern Africa about 10,000 years ago, 2. The
Sabean, Semitic locally known as Habeshas, who crossed the Red Sea from the
middle east around the 7th-8th century BC. Lastly, the
third groups were the Nilotic people from the Nile valley who penetrated into
the Western part of current Ethiopia (Habteselassie, p. 9).
In 1869 an Italian private company bought
Massawa, and the Italian government formally took it in 1872. While the
Ethiopian ruler Emperor Yohannes IV was fighting war against the Egyptians. The
Italians were advancing from Massawa to the northern Ethiopian highlands.
Emperor Menelik become became Ethiopians ruler following Yohannes’s death.
In 1889, Ethiopia and Italy signed the Treaty of Wichale, which focused on
designation of boundaries to solve the increasing territorial and border
conflicts. Italy then gave Menelik 4
mil francs to buy 28 cannons and rifles. Soon the Ethiopian Emperor realized
that back in Europe, Italy had unilaterally claimed Ethiopia’s protectorate;
enraged Menelik denounced the treaty in 1893 (Negash, p. 5-10).
In Italy’s quest
to expand control in East Africa, continued pushing advancement to the northern
part of Ethiopia. Then in March 1896, Italy faced a crashing defeat by the
Ethiopian forces in the Battle of Adwa, a small town in northern Ethiopia (Habteselassie, p. 121-125). After the fall
of the Axis powers in 1945, Britain administered the Italian colonies in
East Africa, and in 1952 the UN decided to include Eritrea as part of the
Ethiopian federation. In 1962, however,
Emperor Haile Selassie unilaterally abolished the federation and imposed
imperial rule throughout Eritrea (Timeline).
Discontent Eritreans formed the Eritrean
Liberation Front (ELF) in 1958. Following this configuration, Haile
Silasie is over thrown in 1974 by military junta known as Durg. This event gave
birth to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP), (comma) a pro
representative democracy movement turned armed rebels. The difference in
ideological principles facilitated the formation of another rebel group called
the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel faction (Timeline).
Brief chronological timeline of Eritrea
Eritrea with its 5
million population encompasses at least nine different ethnic groups.
Eritrean’s modern history begins in 1882 when Italy occupied Massawa, a port in
the Red Sea. Then only home to 300,000 local residents in which the Tigrayan
predominantly, Orthodox Christians ethnic accounted for 40% of the total
population and 20% of the territory (Negash & Tronvoll 5). The Italian
occupation split the natural unit of many nations into Italy ruled Eritrea
while their brothers remained divided by a border under the control of
Ethiopian authorities. Centuries back, Eritrea was part of the Ethiopian kingdom of
Axum/Aksum from 300-600BC. Around 600, Arabs from the Middle East introduce Islam to the coastal areas of the Red
Sea. Controlled and occupied by outsider forces such as by the Ottoman Empire,
Egyptians and later it fall under the Italian colony in the late 1880s. With the ELF movement gaining
support and experience, the torch for independence was lit (Timeline).
In 1970 political ideology differences caused split within the ELF; the leftist
faction of ELF become known as the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). ELF and EPLF continued to attack the
Ethiopian forces separately and at times attacking each other. When the
Ethiopian Emperor was overthrown in a military coup in 1974, support from the
Soviet Union and Cuba helped the Ethiopian communist military junta reverse the
significant advances that were made by the Eritrean guerrilla fighters in the
early 1980s. With EPLF in Eritrea and TPLF in Tigray Region Ethiopia, through
separate or coordinated military attacks against the Derg, EPLF capturing the
Eritrean capital, Asmara, and independence was declared for a provisional government. Once TPLF captured Addis Ababa in 1991,
it backed its former guerrilla ally’s quest for a formal independence. Through
the referendum the Eritreans showed their landslide support for independence
from Ethiopia and accordingly Eritrea became independent and member of the
United Nations in 1993 (Gilkes).
Just two years
into its independence,
Eritrea started showing hostility in the horn of Africa, with an initial
invasion of the Hanish islands in the Red Sea, which were previously under
Yemen control. Through a nuetral
negotiation in 1998, an
international arbitration panel gave the Greater Hanish Island to Yemen and
other smaller islands were divided between the two. Asmara seemed to take
another step backward, spoiling the seed of hope for democracy that was
bestowed by many to the revolutionary rebels that were now the country’s
leaders. In 2002 the Eritrean
government made it clear that neither election nor the formation of
political parties would be allowed in the country in the near future. Eritrea was also accused by neighboring
Sudan and Djibouti, for taking part in a rebel offensive in Sudan’s eastern
territory and digging trenches at the Ras Doumeira border and infiltrating
Djiboutian territory. This resulted in the killing of at least nine Djiboutian
soldiers respectively. The US even considered putting Eritrea as state sponsors
of terrorism in 2007 (Timeline).
Dissecting Badme and its timeline
Triangle shaped
Badme, is approximately 150 square-miles, a village home to approximately 5,000
local farmers. Until the locals were displaced by the war in 1998-2000, the
village was administered under Ethiopia, and therefore the residents have for
generations believed they are Ethiopians. This is exemplified by a 47-year-old
local farmer who said, "I simply don't understand why there is confusion.
We are Ethiopians and we have been in Badme for generations," (Badme: Village
in no man's land). According to the local Head of Administration, Mr.
Wolde Mariam, approximately 1,000 Eritreans lived amongst the Ethiopians. These
Eritrean residents of the village believed Badme to be part of Eritrea (Badme: Village
in no man's land). Once the war broke out in Badme, the territorial
dispute was raised in a few more towns that lay within the border boundaries.
Small towns such as Tsorona, Zalambessa and Bure were some of the towns that
saw intensive military fighting (Badme).
After the Ethiopia-Italy treaty, the border was
delimited in 1900, 1902 and 1908, but because the border was never clearly
demarcated there continued to be dispute regarding the official border. The
TPLF and ELF subsequently clashed over the border dispute in 1976. After Eritrean soldiers entered
Badme on May 6, 1998, and a
costly war ensued, the village returned under Ethiopian control on March 1,
1999. Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed for a ceasefire and peace agreements in 2000.
In 2001 both parties agreed to a UN-proposed mediator demarcation of the
disputed border. On April 2003 the
boundary commission ruled Badme as part of the Eritrean territory; but Ethiopia
rejects the ruling, and a year later rejects the virtual demarcation. In 2005, Eritrea puts restriction on the
UN peacekeeping by asking peacekeepers of North American, Europe and Russia to
leave. The International commission finds Eritrea to have broken international
law when it attacked Ethiopia in 1998. Then in 2007, Eritrea accepts the commission border demarcation but
Ethiopia rejects the request. The arbitration commission orders Eritrea to pay
Ethiopia compensation for the 1998-2000 border war, and finally in 2009 the UN accuses Eritrea for supporting
and arming Somalian insurgents. After this both armies remain within the
border with the buffer zone between them (Permanent).
After a consistent
joint attempt by the Organization of
African Unity (OAU), the United
States and the U.N. Security Council, Ethiopia’s head of state Prime
Minister, Meles Zenawi, and his Eritrean counterpart President Issaias
Afewerki, agreed to ceasefire and signed a peace pact on Dec 12, 2000 in
Algiers, Algeria. The framework peace pact was drafted by the OAU in the hope
of bringing stability and peace to these horn of African foes. Under the peace
pact agreement, both parties agreed for a
15 mile-wide buffer zone with in the Eritrean territory to be patrolled by the
U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) that would deploy close to 4,200
troops to the buffer zone (). The pact also created an establishment of
a neutral five member Boundary Commission, tasked with delimitation and
demarcation of the colonial treaty border based on the colonial treaties of
(1900, 1902 and 1908).
The Commission was explicitly
forbidden from having the power to make decisions ex aequo et bono, meaning that the parties objected to giving
the arbitration panel to give their principles judgment on what is fair and just. The parties agreed to cooperate with
an independent investigation body to determine the May 6, 1998 initiating
incidents to the conflict; among others, the parties agreed to honor and accept
the decisions and awards of the independent commission’s as final and binding;
as well as pay a monetary awards verdict against them immediately thereafter
(Permanent).
The
Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission “was directed to decide through binding arbitration all claims for
loss, damage or injury by one Government against the other, and by nationals”
(Permanent). The commission
based in The Hague, Netherlands demarcated the line in Nov. 2007, by current map coordinates in
which Eritrea accepted the decision but Ethiopia rejected the “virtual
demarcation”; stating, “…it would only accept the commission's ruling after
negotiations with Eritrea on the mechanics of how the border demarcation would
take place.” (Permanent). Once the commission fulfilled its mandate, it dissolved itself,
therefore leaving the obligation and responsibilities to both parties to deal
with independently (Permanent).
The claims brought to the arbitration commission by
both Ethiopia and Eritrea, were partially or wholly awarded in some instances
and the claims were dismissed on the bases of the commission’s findings. Ethiopia was awarded a total of
$174,036,520, and $161,455,000 to Eritrea plus an additional $2,065,865 for
Eritrean individual claimants; and in turn the commission ruled Eritrea to pay
Ethiopia a net payment slightly over $10 million. Although both Eritrea and Ethiopia accepted the final award
decision, Ethiopia expressed its discontent on the insufficiency of the awards,
given that the commission earlier found Eritrea to have violated the jus ad
bellum (party who incited the war
in 1998). Eritrea in its defense remains disgust that Ethiopia still
resists the Commission’s ruling to demarcate the conflicting border
(Permanent).
Border as catalyst
The un-established
border was an issue since the Italian occupation of Eritrea, and the border
dispute was simply an outlet to deep-rooted tensions between the political and
ideological differences. In addition there was a growing strain economic
relationships between Addis Ababa and Asmara. The tension goes back to the
infancy stage of those now in power, to when the EPLF, now know as People’s
Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), Eritrea’s one and only political party
since its independence in 1991; and TPLF the leading party of the Ethiopian
People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) which is Ethiopia’s
ruling coalition since it toppled the Derg in 1991). EPLF’s /PFDJ and TPLF’s
political ideology difference started as early as they started drafting their
revolutionary manifesto as guerilla fighting (Gilkes).
Through an
overwhelming public uprising and the a support from the military the Ethiopian
Monarchy was broken and Emperor Haile Selasie, was overthrown in 1974. EPLF who has been fighting against the
Emperial rule of Ethiopia since 1952 was stronger and had much more experience
by 1974, which is the year TPLF and EPRP started their armed struggle. EPLF
started supporting and training both Ethiopian rebels (EPRP and TPLF). TPLF
objected to EPRP’s political ideologies and thus refused to allow EPRP to
operate within Tigray Region, a move that aggravated and created friction
between TPLF and EPLF (because EPLF’s aim was focused mainly on over throwing
the Derg; therefore EPLF wanted TPLF and EPRP to work in usison to overthrow
the Derg. During this time ELF, EPLF’s competing rebels were operating inside
both Tigray Region and Eritrea to carry attacks against the Derg. TPLF sought
to work with ELF, perceiving it to be a win-win situation until they faced
border conflict in Badme in 1976. In addition, ELF’s continued to support
TPLF’s competing armed group, Tigray Liberation Front (TLF) in the same Tigray
Region. ELF and EPRP (TPLF’s other foe) managed to come to good terms and form
alliances. Then TPLF drove EPRP out of Tigray and evicted ELF with the help of
EPLF (Negash, p. 12-16).
PLF objected to TPLF’s 1976 manifesto that
focused on liberation of Ethiopian nationalities and creating an ethnic
federation. EPLF found it to be an unsustainable strategy, fearing that those
nationalities would give greater focus to national identity and make it
difficult establish a peaceful, homogenous national identity. Eritrea’s fear
was that ethnic identity would rise in Ethiopia and future conflict amongst
those ethnic groups within Ethiopia would cross the border to Eritrea; due to
the overlap of ethnic groups divided only by a vague border (Negash, p. 15-16).
EPLF and TPLF’s
other major ideological difference was that both rebels’ viewed the Soviet
Union as the main arms provider to the Derg. Russia was viewed by TPLF as a
revisionist party and they believed the system was “social-imperialist,” and
therefore TPLF sought support in the Albanian model of communism. EPLF on the
other hand believed the Soviet Union was a socialist system with a
Leninist-style. Concomitantly, the communist party argued Russia’s support to
the Derg military junta was a misunderstanding based on the political context
present in the horn of Africa (Negash,
p. 16-17).
Ethiopia and Eritrea faced great
conflict while determining the boundaries of their 620 mile, shared border. It
is important to note that this discrepancy encompasses problems related to
geographic location, historical relationship, colonial legacy, tangible and
intangible values, states with multiple nations, nations with multiple states
and rivalry. When Eritrea gained its independence, Ethiopia was left
landlocked, which was an extensive hindrance to its economic development. The
ports on the Red Sea costal line had always been important to the Ethiopian
economy. Even when Eritrea was under the Italian colony, at least 25% of
Ethiopia’s import and export goods were carried out through the Massawa port.
It was one of the three most important reasons Italy sought to colonize Eritrea
in the first place. Another important characteristic of Eritrea came from being
a source of soldiers for Italy’s adventure else where in Africa, along with the
strategic importance of the Red Sea region (Negash, P. 7-8).
Consequence
The war was highly
consequential and costly to both countries, from its monetary expensive to its
disruption of the citizen’s daily lives. It is believed that both countries
spent several million dollars on military arms at a time when they can’t afford
to feed their citizens. As noted, the 620 mile long border is inhabited by at
least 5 different ethnic groups where thousands of Eritreans and Ethiopians
live on opposing sides of the border. Due to this arrangement, after the war
broke out 350,000 Ethiopians and 250,000 Eritreans were displaced.
During the few
months of de facto cease fire, the Eritreans dug trenches and propagated it by
saying Eritrea would never leave Badme. The Ethiopians coined the military
engagement in Badme as “Operation Sunset”, and they fought their way to reclaim
Badme, but it was achieved with heavy casualty from each side. Both countries
estimated to have lost some 70,000-120,000 soldiers in the two-year war (Negash
& Tronvoll 2).
Both governments
have been trying to undermine each other’s securities by supporting and
harboring rebel groups ever since the war. The refugee has also increased
people fleeing both countries. In the Agence
France-Presse report as recent as April 15, 2010, Ethiopia was opening a
4th refugee camp in Tigray Region to accommodate for the
ever-increasing Eritrean refugees. The Administration
for Refugee and Returnee Affairs states that about 2,000 young Eritreans
flee the country to “…avoid excessive
repression, gross human rights violations and forced conscription into the
army." Many human rights groups claim that Eritrea has turned into a
"giant prison" (Agence).
From an economic perspective, both countries
lose an immeasurable amount of potential foreign investment achieved by
fostering cooperative cross border trade. Ethiopia now loses millions of
dollars for port fees, while Eritrea’s ports are not being used. Eritrea on the
other side loses its main trading partner prior to the war (Last). Large
amounts of arable farm land is now unusable due to more than 400,000 landmines
laid in those bordering territories. In addition, both sides have bombed major
towns, thereby destroying important infrastructure (Reuters).
Eritrea-Ethiopia historical
relationships
Two competing
ethnic groups the Amharas and Tigrayan ruled the Ethiopia-Eritrean highlands
during Ethiopian history since the early years of 14th century. The
Amhara and the Tigrayans are essentially cousins, and share the same race,
religion, culture and language with some variation. Occupying the then southern
parts of Ethiopia, the Amaharas, were more populated and the region was more
arable and resourceful than the land of their Tigrayan cousins. The Tigrayans
consequently, occupied the Northern part of the Ethiopian-Eritrean highlands.
Besides the Tigrayans who live on both sides of the Eritrea-Ethiopia border
along with other ethnic groups such as; the Afar, Saho, Kunama and Erob which
creates a conflict between both states. (Negash, p. 5-9).
Geographer Ciampi
noted that the Eritrea-Ethiopia border was negotiated and delimited in 1900,
1902 and 1908 but it was not properly demarcated. Italy deliberately refused
the demarcation of the border in order to push its control and expand its
umpire to the horn of Africa. In violation of the 1900 border treaty; it
unilaterally interpreted the border to be under its Eritrean controlled
territory, known as the Badme village. In 1916 Ethiopia tried to protest
against the Italian presence in the areas inside the delimited treaty, but
Ethiopia was not in a position to stand strong against the Italian power. This
unilaterally drawn map is what the Eritrean government believes to be the
product of the treaty of July 10, 1900 and holds it as the Uti Possidetis.
Around 1930 Italy established some control in the Badme area and pushed its way
to colonize Ethiopia, but Ethiopia resisted and the allied powers won the war
and the control was then transferred to the British (Negash, p. 23-24).
In conclusion, Daniela Kroslak, deputy
director of the Africa Program at the International Crisis Group, summarizes
the issue best, as she noted, the virtual demarcation of the border did
not solve the problem and the Eritrean government became frustrated with the UN
for not pressuring Ethiopia to obey by independent decision, demanded that the
peacekeepers leave the 15 mile buffer zone within its territory. Although, when Eritrean expelled UN
Peacekeepers and put restrictions on supplies, it managed to aggravate many
countries that turned the
international attention away from insisting on Ethiopia's compliance to deal
with Eritrea's bad behavior. As Kroslak states, “The lingering, slow-simmering conflict on the border is
unsustainable. Not only does it risk war, but it is used by both countries'
governments to justify political repression. With an enemy always threatening
and a war ever near, both regimes have clamped down on their societies,
impeding all hope of democracy and economic growth” (Kroslak).
A lasting peace
needs to address deep-rooted issues, such as growing authoritarianism and regional rivalry and of course
physical demarcation keeping the interests of the local residents close. Clear,
border boundaries and a better relationship with the west are two priority
interests for Eritrea; while Ethiopian seeks to obtain access to Eritrean ports
and ultimately stop the support of Ethiopia’s internal armed insurgencies (Kroslak).
Map of the disputed territorial claim
Works
Cited
Agence France-Presse (15 Apr. 2010). Ethiopia
opens new camp for Eritrean refugees. [online]
Available: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100415/wl_africa_afp/eritreaethiopiarefugeesrights_20100415174022
(22 Apr. 2010).
BBC News (22 April, 2002). Badme: Village in no man's land. [online]
Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1943527.stm
(23 Apr. 2010).
BBC News. (24 Dec. 2009). Timeline:
Eritrea. [online] Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1070861.stm
(20 Apr. 2010).
Gilkes, P. (11 Oct. 2005). Foreign
Policy In Focus. The War Between Ethiopia and Eritrea. [online] Available: http://www.fpif.org/reports/the_war_between_ethiopia_and_eritrea
(15 Apr. 2010).
Habteselassie,
K., and Dina, M. (1972). Ethiopia: A
Short Illustrated History. Addis Abeba: Ministry of Education and Fine
Arts.
Kroslak, D. (8 Aug. 2008). Unfinished Peace in the Horn of Africa. [online] Available: http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/horn-of-africa/ethiopia-eritrea/kroslak-unfinished-peace-in-the-horn-of-africa.aspx
(21 Apr. 2010).
Last, A. (13 Apr. 2000). War
blocks Ethiopia's lifeline. [online] Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/712032.stm
(23 Apr. 2010).
Negash, T.,
and Tronvoll, K. (2000). Brothers at War:
Making Sense of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. Athens: Ohio University Press.
Permanent Court
of Arbitration (17 Aug. 2009). Eritrea-Ethiopia
Claims Commission. [online]
Available: http://www.pca-cpa.org/showpage.asp?pag_id=1151
(20 Mar. 2010).
Reuters (03 June 2008). Eritrea-Ethiopia border. [online] Available: http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/EE_BOR.htm?v=in_detail
(23 Ar. 2010).
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