Dear Netters;

The OAU peace plan was drawn up under drastically different conditions than exist now. It is obvious to most observers that the plan must be updated to reflect the current situation.

It is not Ethiopia's fault that Eritrea stalled for 9 months. The international community had warned Eritrea repeatedly. But Eritrea, (the most insolent nation on earth) responded by verbally bashing the OAU, UN, United States, France, Russia, Israel, Rwanda, and Djibouti. (…and the sun, moon and stars)

Now the Eritrean regime wants the very countries and organizations which it scoffed at to step in and save itself. Good luck Eritrea. There are many who look upon Eritrea's frantic cries for help with amused satisfaction, and very, very few who are going to extend much effort to save a depressed, humiliated and suicidal dictator. Eritrean militaristic nationalism is reaching its logical dead-end, and few outside Eritrea will mourn its demise.

But as the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict enters a new phase, great care must be taken to ensure that Eritrea is placed on an irreversible course of peace. Concrete, irreversible steps must be implemented to stop Eritrea from using the OAU peace plan as a temporary shield for its battered army.

Eritrea, which failed on the battlefield, now wants to reverse its defeat by getting Ethiopian troops to withdraw from Badime under the OAU plan. But the OAU plan wasn't intended to save the Eritrean army from further humiliation. And Ethiopia is absolutely not going to evacuate Badime. Not after the sacrifices Ethiopians made to liberate it.

The OAU plan was a road map to peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea. But now the conflict has moved into a new stage, and there are new, pressing issues that must be addressed. The original OAU plan is now insuffient to address the current reality. It is time to update it.

- Dagmawi