One thing thing should be clarified concerning the use of Assab to deliver relief supplies to Ethiopia. Ethiopia does not need to ask Eritrea’s permission to use Assab port. This port and the entire Afar coastline are only under the temporary occupation of Eritrea. If the lives of Ethiopians become dependent on sea access through Assab then it is a simple matter to inform the Eritrean government that Ethiopia will close Massawa unless Assab is completely freed for Ethiopian use without any restriction.

Ethiopia has demonstrated concretely that it has the air power to strike at will at any target in Eritrea. A simple threat will be enough to banish merchant ships from Massawa. Then what will Eritrea do?

Furthermore, Eritrea, is a country where 1 in 5 persons are on the verge of starvation. It is a country that has looted food aid that did not belong to it and is currently begging for more food aid. It is a country where the leadership has a history of using famine as a tool to advance its agenda. This country has no authority (moral or military) to decide whether Assab can be used by Ethiopia or not. If Assab is needed then Ethiopia will make use of it as it sees fit.

Issayas wanted to play hardball and Ethiopia should have matched him and raised the stakes further. Ethiopia should have long ago taken this war to the absolute level instead of confining it to the parameters most favorable for Eritrea. A blockade of Asmara airport was effectively achieved on June 5, 1998. This achievement was due to the heroic actions of the Ethiopian airforce pilots who unerringly steered their fighters through the teeth of the Eritrean air-defenses to deliver their payloads against the military portion of the Asmara airport. (Here is a picture of the Eritrea air-force fuel depot burning on June 5, 1998:

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But tragically, Ethiopia does not have a prime minister with a strong backbone who will doggedly defend Ethiopia’s national interest. Thus, less than two weeks later, Meles signed the air moratorium and got nothing in return. Issayas, who was getting desperate at the time, (“we can survive for a short while”) breathed a sigh of relief and started boasting about how he was going to stay in Badime forever.

Although Meles came through for his friend that time, the strategic option is still there for Ethiopia. And Eritrea should never forget that Meles will not be sitting in Addis Abeba forever.

Addendum:

The current news once again illustrates the negligence of the TPLF government in not securing alternate routes to the sea during the period 1991-1998. Absolutely nothing was done to plan ahead to protect Ethiopia’s vital national interests. Alternate trade through Djibouti remained at below 10% of Ethiopia’s total. Other ports were not even considered. Instead the Eritrean cronies linked to the government dominated the transport and import/export trade - an exceeding “lucrative” business as one Eritrean trader in Assab admitted to Reuters.

This was simply a question of common sense and contingency planning. Few other governments would carelessly ignore their national interests in such a craven manner. Yet another reason for Meles to resign and go away. He is responsible and he should be held accountable for his blundering policies and seven years of groveling servitude to Eritrea.

- Dagmawi