Analysis:

The Story of Addis Tesfa

January 29, 1999

Despite the media focus on the deportation of urban and relatively well-off Eritreans back to their own country, it is the common rural folk of Ethiopia that have been burdened the most by this war. It is their husbands, wives, and children that have been killed though indiscriminate bombardment of civilian districts. It is their property that has been destroyed without any hope of compensation. It is they who have been cruelly forced from their homes with absolutely no preparation such that they have been forced to live in caves and other rudimentary shelters.

Of course, the following is just a brief snapshot based on a chance encounter, but the real story of this conflict lies here - hopefully the conflict as seen from their eyes, and from their perspective will become more prominent.



At 5 AM on June 3 1998, the residents of the Ethiopian border village of Addis Tesfa (near Zalanbessa) were awakened from their sleep by the sound of bullets and artillery shells flying through their houses. This sudden attack was part of an Eritrean military offensive to capture Zalanbessa.

For the residents of Addis Tesfa there was no time for anything but to gather up their families and flee south - away from the bullets. They fled Addis Tesfa leaving behind all their property.

On that day 12 residents of their village were killed by the indiscriminate Eritrean bombardment. Ato Tekle-Haimanot (the local district chairman) and his deputy Ato Gebre-Yohannes grimly recounted what happened.


Ato Tekle-Haimanot (left) and his deputy Ato Gebre-Yohannes

Their voices rose with emotion as they began reciting they names of those killed: they had known each of them personally. These people were their neighbors, friends and relatives.

Residents of Addis Tesfa Killed by the Eritrean Army:

1. Aynalem Gebre Mesqel
2. Abeba Tirfe
3. Giday Gebreselassie
4. Bisrat Ashebir
5. Kasai Mahirey
6. Alemseged Hailu
7. Mihret Hailu
8. Letkidan (pregnant with child)
9. Mirach Weldu


Survivors from Addis Tesfa receive relief supplies near Adigrat

In addition to the dead, over 20 residents were seriously wounded.

To the outside world, the residents of Addis Tesfa are nothing more than statistics - just a few of the 300,000 displaced by the conflict. But for the chairman of the district - Ato Tekle-Haimanot - their lives have been smashed up. It is inexcusable.



"They have made my house into one of their fortresses"

The residents of Addis Tesfa survived on the kindness of strangers for one week. Ironically, they were bombed again by the Eritrean Air Force when they were receiving their first official relief supplies in Adigrat on June 11.

Today relief supplies are distributed in the countryside, and the creation of centralised camps is discouraged.

Some of the people from Addis Tesfa, desperate to see what had become of their property, tried to return but found it impossible. For Ato Gebre-Yohannes it was a sad sight. He says that the Eritrean army has converted his house into one of their fortifications.



"Our cattle grazed together…"

The only time Ato Tekle-Haimanot smiled was when he was asked if he had relatives on the other side of the border. "Of course," he said softly, and smiling in a wistful way he described the previous close relationships that transcended the border. "Our cattle grazed together… our sheep with their sheep… drinking the same water."

"Before we solved all our disputes through the intervention of elders and using the traditional methods. But this time there was no opportunity to do anything of the sort. How could we approach them while they were killing us?"



A Dictator and his Plans for Addis Tesfa

Ato Tekle Haimanot has no doubt that he and the other survivors will return to Addis Tesfa and rebuild their lives. The Eritrean dictator however has different ideas. In the seven months of fruitless negotiations since the border conflict erupted, he has obstinately refused to agree on the return of the pre-existing civilian administration of the areas invaded by Eritrea.

In the case of Addis Tesfa, this refers to Ato Tekle Haimanot and his deputy. Of course without the previous district administration, there will be no possibility of re-establishing anything in Addis Tesfa.

Eritrea will be free to settle EPLF loyalists in the occupied territories and fabricate a new history which excludes the surviving residents of Addis Tesfa. They will be labeled as aliens and Eritrea will assert that Ethiopia occupied Addis Tesfa through a "creeping invasion" that began in July 1997. Neutral observers will not be able to verify the truth as Eritrea will have created new facts on the ground.

Because of the absence of demarcation in the area, international law will require evidence of previous peaceful administration in order to determine the sovereign authority in the disputed border areas. It is precisely this evidence that Eritrea is intent on destroying. In the process, it is destroying the lives of the innocent residents of the border region.



A Peace Plan for Addis Tesfa

    "What is mediation but a process of restoring broken relationships, between individuals, communities, ethnic groups or nations?."
In an article about African mediation, Bethuel Kiplagat, who has experience in this area, stresses the importance of involving the local communities in order for the peace process to be successful.

    "There is explicit involvement of the community. The boundaries between the delegates and the community do not exist. Participation is by all -- formally and informally."

    :The process is transparent, enabling the community and even passers-by to participate. There are no surprises. Note also the context. These are not bargaining sessions but healing processes -- a re-establishment of relationship between people and also with their God. There is a holistic approach to the process, working with the community as a whole, invoking spiritual forces to be present and accompany the community towards peace."

    "After saying all that, maybe the time has come for those of us involved in conflict management and peacebuilding to go forward to 'bush school' and humbly sit at the feet of the elders."

The above quotations, "lessons learned from African mediation" suggest a way forward for Ethiopia and Eritrea - let the local communities on either side of the border take the lead. Let them get together and decide what should be done. Let them decide where the border should be finally demarcated. They are the ones who have the most at stake. Dictators and other nationalistic elements far removed from the scene are not going to produce a real and lasting peace.

Let the people of Addis Tesfa and their Eritean neighbours come together and rebuild their lives. In the process, however, I would be remiss in not passing along an emphatic request from the survivors of Addis Tesfa: they insist on having their properties returned, they insist on just compensation, and they call for justice. This is an area where the Eritrean dictator and his financial supporters should be called to account.

- Dagmawi


Notes:
Is Mediation Alien to Africa?
By Bethuel Kiplagat

Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution 1.3 - Is Mediation Alien to Africa?
http://members.aol.com/peacejnl/1_3tt1.htm



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