Let the politicians tip toe on the fine line and be polite on the issue so that Ethiopia's enemies do not feel more agitated and hurt us in more ways. As far as Ethiopians, the commons, are concerned the verdict is out. Those, who for one reason or another envy our wealth of history, a wealth that they unfortunately lack, have effectively ganged up against Ethiopia. They have implanted a state called Eritrea and conspired with Isayas to checkmate her desire to prosper and establish her historical past. They have encouraged a division among people that have nothing that divides them except the brief stay of colonialists who were halted from advancing further in their attempt to capture the whole of the country. No doubt that the West is conspiring on terribly weakening, if not dismembering Ethiopia. How else would one conclude otherwise when one sees giving an ‘Eritrea' a legitimacy in a time when even the Koreas are talking about unity? (Incidentally, in the middle of writing I heard that the former colonialists have entered Eritrea again this time posing as advisers for peace keeping purposes. A deja vu?)

As to her ( Ethiopia's) image they want her to be recognized as a land of famine, destitute and despair. They would not like the world to know that it is a historical icon with its own literary history and unique alphabet that has been developed thousands of years ago. So much has been written on the West's apathy and US's and Britain's ( not to mention the former colonizer Italy) support to the aggressor that it is not worth harping on it here.

Now what has to be done? This is one of the few times that we have to be inward looking. The solution is us. It is up to us Ethiopians in cooperation with good people of the world to stand up for our rights. The Western powers led by the US and Britain, manipulating and using the good office of the OAU, have come out with a strange set of conditions that they called Peace Agreements. For the first time in history, a victim of aggression that has come out a victor is being treated the same as the aggressor that has been defeated militarily.

I was dismayed to hear that the Ethiopian government had accepted this deal. It is not difficult to see that this deal will never materialize unless Ethiopians capitulate. That won't be the case. For the benefit of those who do not know, the present Ethiopian government, concentrating on the temporary benefits it thought to gain from the West, was lured by the Americans to accepting the Eritrean independence. Worse, it failed to claim Assab forcefully and was made to believe that it will remain as a free port to Ethiopia. The Red Sea Affar State known as Assab Administration was snatched by Isayas and incorporated into the Eritrean State. Back then, the Americans that were supposed to play a neutral and fair role must have told Isayas that Ethiopia has the right to sea access and Assab belongs to it. Instead Mr Cohen facilitated it. Seven years later, if it were an oversight on their part they must have come out clean and be ready to rectify past mistakes.

Instead what do they do? They come out in the open, stronger than ever, and tell us Ethiopians not to advance to Assab!! Why? There is no any other genuine/fair and rational explanation except to say that the West led by The Americans does not want to sea a strong nation that does not dance to their tunes in the Horn of Africa.

As a nation our interest comes first. No amount of pressure from quarters that have shown their partisanship to the aggressor should stop us from doing what is right for us. We shall take what is ours. We have demonstrated our ability to defend ourselves. We are sure that the badly wounded enemy will not dare to attack us anymore. We do not need any foreign peace keeping mission to keep our peace. We are capable of doing that. As to a guarantee to a state called Eritrea, let the world be rest assured that Ethiopia will never lay its hand on it. We are not and have never been provocateurs. History is our witness.

The Ethiopian people, sixty plus million of them are saying no to this proposed agreement. We do not know what the Ethiopian government has seen in this agreement that we did not see when it accepted the proposal. We do not know what kinds of threats and pressure the government is under. But we know this: this peace deal will never materialize unless it gets the blessing of the citizens of the country.

We need a fair and an acceptable deal. That deal must take our military upper hand and our right to our land : Assab. The just and natural access to the sea is a must. Not to mention that Isayas has reneged on his promise that Assab will be a free outlet to Ethiopia. That was how the nascent Government of Ethiopia, young, inexperienced and trusting, were lured into handing Assab to Isayas.

Ethiopians need to know that what has been proposed is not a peace deal, but conditions that effectively put Ethiopia at the hands of those that do not look at her favourably. It is a deal for capitulation.