Frankly speaking we are completely tired of this conflict, which has been going on for the last 22 months. This conflict, except the five years of Italian occupation, which was a success story of guerilla warfare by our fathers and forefathers and adopted by many liberation movements, is one of the most saddening and embarrassing moments in the history of Ethiopia.

Saddening because it is an Ethiopian fighting an Ethiopian, although a relatively short time of so-called Eritrean occupation by Italians. The same group of people are on both sides of the artificial border.

Embarrassing because a small “country” or village is preoccupying the whole country without being able to annihilate the leaders for so long time. Embarrassing because the whole diplomatic core and the world is laughing at Ethiopia’s cat and rat game.

It is enough to have a look into the government spokesperson’ homepage to notice the uselessness of the rhetoric in the course of only 10 days: “Eritrea thwarting prospects for peace”, “Statement from the Foreign Ministry of FDRE”, “Eritrea : another PR ploy?”, “Eritrea’s true colors once again come through”, “Eritrea hinders peace process again”, and “Eritrean army conscripts children, the elderly, Ethiopians”.

Are all these statements written for the consumption of foreigners or Ethiopians? Foreigners do already know the cause of this conflict and Ethiopians are already fed up by the daily propaganda and war drums. The only result shown so far of all the dramas and fanfares was the sacrifice paid by the heroes to retake Badme.

What is the hinder then of not accomplishing the complete task of liberating the rest of the occupied territories? Is Ethiopia waiting a green light from the UN or OAU for attack? Is Ethiopia waiting an international reinforcement force on its side to safeguard its territories?

Why was the conflict area only confined to the territories of concern, although the country is in war with Eritrea and could not include occupation by Ethiopia of such territories as Assab, Barka, etc.? Is there any interest from anybody to prolong the conflict and ridicule the country? Why is it called the war of the confines or trenches when there is more than 650 miles of “border”? When are we going to cease with the rhetoric and “cut the fingers of the thief”?

These are some of the questions asked by many of my compatriots in Ethiopia and who unfortunately can’t get answers neither from the leadership nor from the military.

People are bedeviled, frustrated and angered by the ignominy brought about on Ethiopia. Think about the poor people living in the primitive caves and in the open in isolation, destitution and desperation without having any chance to have a decent life. They have been waiting day and night to return to their beloved homes and longing to meet their relatives, dispersed by this conflict. Homes, which they adorn more than anything else in the world, be it biscuits, which they are not used to or forage, sent by aid agencies which they irresistibly hate. They are far away from the metropolis that a short visit from the authorities is very rare.

Oh poor people from Afar, Irob, parts of Tigrai, and all Ethiopians suffering under one of the most terrible conditions in Eritrea, you are abandoned and cursed to live under the most humiliating life conditions, because the Menelik Palace is far away from you. Who knows, has the government bartered sovereignty for wheat?

The complication or the resolution of this conflict depends on how the policy makers are prepared to tackle future challenges. The Kunama people, who are part of Ethiopia and fought bitterly against the bandits in Eritrea and the Reds Sea Afars, abandoned and sold to EPLF on concessions never known to the Ethiopian public, have to be reunited to Ethiopia.

They have their cousins in Ethiopia and their desire has to be fulfilled. This means that the rocky desert and one of the ports-Massawa has to be left for the lucky EPLF or other groupings. Assab port has to be incorporated to Ethiopia as the only solution for Ethiopia to survive on its own.

Any other future negotiations, bereaving Ethiopia of its sea outlets is against the interest and security of this giant nation. Deviations from this point by means of other options such as to use Assab as a free port without any tariffs, let’s say for 50 or 100 years as a compensation of war have to be out of question. Strangling Ethiopia with its 60 million people and selling its souls are not in any way acceptable to any reasonable person.

Questions of accountability have to be raised and those who are responsible have to be prosecuted. Numerous questions, raised by the public have to be investigated and those responsible have to go. Let’s see some of the strange decisions taken either by an individual or groups of people:

- who decided to give Eritrea 4 helicopters and long-range missiles

- why were they allowed to control the whole economy (from coffee, oilseeds, skin and hides export) black marketing, forgery, transport sector, exchange of the unilaterally devalued Ethiopian Birr in Asmara, purchase of Ethiopian cereals directly from the peasants, etc.

- why were people antagonized when warning the consequences of the unlawfulness of this kind of trade relations

- why was the status of Eritreans not settled, although hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians were inhumanely deported

- what were the promises and the personal relations between the two leaders, Meles and Issayas, were they secret or public, were they unofficial or official

- why were Ethiopians made to be completely dependent on the ports of Eritrea

- why were the professional soldiers and fighters demobilized, although the government knew the pattern of the Eritrean leadership, their mass mobilizations, military training and purchase of arms

- why were not the Ethiopian military force there in the border region, although furious discussions on border was going on

- why were they allowed to take advantage of the oil refinery products and yield higher percentages to lower costs (crude oil purchase in dollars was processed and 20% of it sold in Birr) who lobbied the Parliament to rebuild the refinery for millions of dollars

- why do people elect members of Parliament before the issue of sovereignty is totally established or is it to saddle the same people on power and get round the responsibilities

- have we a parliamentary democracy or a PM’s dictatorship

- why were Ethiopian soldiers told to halt instead of accomplishing their tasks deep into Eritrea and imposed the unilateral cease fire

- why is Ethiopia only demanding status quo ante and not the war criminals to face trials and many others.

Was it not folly in government, mistaken decision making and mismanagement, that has created the current conflict? The government made no move to stop them at the “border” or did any attempt to stop the exploitation of Ethiopia and Ethiopians. Instead, they were greeted welcomed, were given high posts in government and public offices. They were treated as extraordinary people and were fed with gold spoons, while Ethiopians who demanded that this madness be stopped were either fired or sent to prison. All these and other issues are the responsibilities of a person or persons and have to be solved before elections are held.

Allah and God Bless and Save Ethiopia!