October 27, 1998

Dear Netters:

Recently we see the Eritrean government asking if Ethiopia respects Eritrea's colonial borders. For me this is a useless question for Eritrea to ask. Ethiopia has already committed to resolving the border on the basis of "colonial treaties and international law applicable to those treaties."

It is Eritrea that has rejected the peace plan that incorporated this point. Ostensibly Eritrea rejected the plan because it called for an Eritrean military withdrawal from the areas it invaded. However, the real reason is that the treaties do not present Eritrea with an opportunity to claim Badime. Even if a straight line is drawn from Maieteb/Setit to Mareb/Mai Ambessa (the locations specified in the treaty) then Badime will be at least 20 kms inside Ethiopia. THIS IS THE REAL REASON ERITREA REJECTED THE PEACE PLAN.

The only way Eritrea can get control of Badime is by forcing Ethiopia to accept the illegal Italian maps that unilaterally moved the border to the Tekezze/Mai Tomsa. This is what Eritrea calls "the colonial border." However there is absolutely no physical evidence to support Italian/Eritrean administration in this area - illegal or otherwise. There is nothing to present to the international court! No colonial buildings, no tax records, no census data... zero. That is why Eritrea resorted to military force.

The only thing Eritrea has are the large-scale but vague Italian maps. Some of these large-scale maps were used by Ethiopia as well. But these vague maps never established the border in the Badime area. Not a single one of these large-scale maps shows the actual physical features (rivers hills etc) which were supposed to define the border. In the final analysis, maps that don't show the physical features mentioned in the treaties are irrelevant. If Eritrea truly accepts the colonial treaties, then it must present to the public a map which corresponds to those treaties.

Hiding Behind the Map

So this is the fig leaf the Eritreans are using to cover their naked aggression. A large scale map that does not show the features mentioned in the Italo-Ethiopian treaty. Where is the Maieteb river? Where is Mt. Alatacura? The true "colonial border" is based on these features. Why has Eritrea not presented a detailed map that shows these features. I was able to find the highly detailed Italian military maps. Why can't Eritrea? What is the problem? Do they need a copy of Marshall Badoglio's book? We have seen recently that the Eritrean embassy staff in Sweden are dedicated followers of this website - I am willing to provide them a free copy of this book and the detailed military maps it contains. This will be in exchange for the new map of Eritrea that I obtained from their website (and which they hastily removed).

Three months ago I invited any Eritrean to draw the Ethiopia-Eritrea border according to the instructions in the Italo-Ethiopian treaties. Here is what I wrote at the time:

Nevertheless, I would encourage Eritreans to draw the border following the instructions in the 1902 treaty and see if it matches the border claimed by Eritrea. If anyone is able to do this I will post the results on this webpage.

So far I have received hundreds of insulting e-mails and comments from Eritreans. But not a single Eritrean has dared take up the task of drawing the Eritrean border according to the Italo-Ethiopian treaties. The Eritrean government, which is in possession of a rich trove of Italian colonial documents stored at Asmara university has not released a single detailed document or map to show the legitimacy of its territorial claims. Why not? Because those documents are highly incriminating and would clearly depict the illegal Italian expansionism against Ethiopia from 1908 to 1936. The Eritrean expansionism of 1991-1998 is based on this Fascist-era Italian expansionism. The Eritrean government is embarrassed by this fact and that is why it cannot release the documents from the Italian colonial archive in Asmara.

Conclusion

The real question to be asked should be:

Does Eritrea respect the Italo-Ethiopian treaties that defined its border?

If the answer is yes then Eritrea should immediately remove its troops at least 20 kms west of Badime.

If the answer is no then Eritrea should inform its citizens of its expansionist plans and let them decide if they want to proceed with this aggresive and belligerent path; a path that is intended to consummate the illegal Italian expansionism directed against Ethiopia from 1908 onward. I am sure if that if the Eritrean people were able to make an informed choice they would overwhelmingly reject the path of belligerent territorial expansion. This is where the true patriots distinguish themselves from the governmental parrots.

- Dagmawi