"The deceit and distortions", as Naom Chomsky would say when he was talking about the responsibility of intellectuals, surrounding the Ethiopian invasion of Eritrea "are by now so familiar they have lost their power to shock"

Although the name Eritreans for Peace and Ethiopians for Peace, seemingly a think tank and the authors of the article, gives an impression of anonymity that has an arcane form of nondisclosure, nevertheless, it attempts to unveil and expose the cause of Ethio-Eritrea conflict. In any case here is my personal response to Tigray's Manifesto and Weyane's Foreign Policy Statement on Eritrea.

Pacem Terris: Personal Response to Tigray's Manifesto and Weyane's Foreign Policy Statement on Eritrea

The people of Eritrea and Ethiopia are an epitome of brotherhood. The notion of brotherhood is not a mere faculty, feeling or network of physical relationship for the people of these two nations. Rather, it marks the entire personality of the entire population. It is profoundly related to our personal identity, cultural heritage and destiny. The notion of fraternity has its own inner logic and direction independent of politics and ideology for the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia. That logic is grounded in centuries old histories of cross-border trade, commerce and inter marriages. It has its foundation on committed love of mutual respect and understanding of both peoples.

Human relationship, for people of Eritrea and Ethiopia, is a profoundly personal experience, anchored in body and emotions, and unlike any other comparable domain of human activity. For that very reason it must be preserved with mutual respect and sensitivity that befits its status within the cultural aspect of both nations and recognizes the complex developmental factors that has been operating for centuries between the two cultures. Blessed with the communal culture, linguistic affinity, similar religious history, the people of both countries have the tradition of blending rigorous cultures with grateful affinity, they often bridge the chasm between politics and borders that divided them, and find a powerful unity of remarkable depth and perception of human brotherhood.

Regrettably, the recent tragic situation of the war in Eritrea and Ethiopia fills me with a profound sadness and desolation as it has already caused incredible suffering for both peoples, and constitutes a profound defeat for the long tradition of unity and also the defeat for humanity and the notion of brotherhood of the two nations. It profoundly saddens me because it is a war motivated by an expansionist dream of Greater Tigray. Its central theme is the domination and occupation of Eritrean land. The destructive premise of war perpetuated by the leaders of Tigray shattered the dreams and aspirations of people of Eritrea and Ethiopia and their common notion of human brotherhood.

In order to understand the expansionist dream of Greater Tigray allow me to quote the recent publication by Meeting Point International (Nigeria) on the1976's "Tigray Manifesto".

"The new map of Tigray is based on the 1976 TPLF manifesto, which defined who a Tigrayan is, the land that the TPLF considers to be Tigray, and the final destination of the TPLF. The following comprises some important contents of the manifesto.

A Tigrayan is defined as anybody that speaks the language of Tigrinya including those who live outside Tigray, the Kunamas, the Sahos, the Afar and the Taltal, the Agew, aned the Welkait.
The geographic boundaries of Tigray extend to the borders of the Sudan including the lands of Humera and Welkait from the region of Begemidir in Ethiopia, the land defined by Alewuha which extends down to the regions of Wollo and including Alamata, Ashengie, and Kobo, and finally the lands of Eritrean Kunama which includes Badme, the Saho (close to the conflicting area of Zala Ambessa) and Afar lands including Assab.

The final goal of the TPLF is to secede from Ethiopia as an independent Republic of Greater Tigray by liberating the lands and people of Tigray.

The TPLF manifesto is of the same tenor as the German manifest on das Gross Deutsche Reich just before WW2. It likewise bases territorial claims on the assumption that border corrections are justified to incorporate its people into a newly defined (read: enlarge) state.

Implementation of this manifesto (the so called TPLF hidden agenda started in 1992 when Ethiopia was divided in 7 ethnic regions (and Tigray expanded its territorial with 60 %) by trimming fertile land from Beemer and Wollo) was followed by the 1994 adjustment of the Ethiopian constitution, allowing every ethnic region to secede on grounds of self-determination and the 1996 pullout of Eritrean troops from Ethiopia (which until that time supposed TPLF forces to stabilize the Ethiopian federation) on request of the TPLF based government resulting in the 1998 occupation, both administrative and by force, of Eritrea territory and deportation of 75,000 ethnic Eritreans, mainly from Tigray and Addis Ababa".

Therefore, the new Weyane's Foreign Policy Statement on Eritrea is the continuation of 1976's Tigray Manifesto. Clearly, one can observe at work the intrigue political manipulation to destabilize the government of Eritrea. On the new Weyane's Foreign Policy Statement on Eritrea they have explicitly indicated, "There are two ways we can avoid conflict with Eritrea. If we reduce our vulnerability and make it known, the Eritrean regime may decide not to press its luck too far. This is within our control. The other way conflict can be avoided is if the Eritrean regime is overthrown. That is a matter not within our control". However, to translate the later into reality the Weyane regime is doing all it can and is manifested in the labyrinthine halls of Eritrean traitors and the boisterous scrum of alliances, and their mini alliance devising tantalizing secrets and strategies to sell and fragment the country.

Therefore, as individual, my response to Weyane's Foreign Policy Statement on Eritrea is that war is never just another means that one can chose to employ for settling differences between nations, even when it is a matter of ensuring the common good. War has tragic consequences for the civilian population, and it devastates the economy. Furthermore, with war larger human, emotional and spiritual dimensions are at stake. This recent war between Eritrea and Ethiopia has proved to be a recipe for human unhappiness masquerading as an Ethiopian/Tigray war of liberation. It has caused the deportation of numerous Eritrean civilian populations, the separation and disintegration of long tradition of unity, and the enormous human suffering.

Finally the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, has been arbitrated in the courtroom. What is needed now is the undertaking toward the demarcation of the borders, normalizations of relations, and the establishment of enduring peace between the two nations. Peace without total commitment leads to emotional strain and sadness. Peace without mutual understanding leads to greater sorrows, to family breakdown and even to enormous economic underdevelopment. We are discovering that peace cannot be treated as a pastime or recreation or experiment. It has to do with love, security, family and life itself. Some segments of leadership in Ethiopia has tried to accept partial peace experiment by detaching it from the border demarcation set by the United Nations Border Commission. This is why one cannot invent a meaning of brotherhood or peace to suit one's wish or taste. It independently carries its own gravitational weight, inner meaning and social purpose. Its very nature is what determines the moral assessment of human personality within politics and outside it.

Acceptance of peace belongs to the great virtue of fraternal duty. Peace seeks to cultivate a respect for human brotherhood precisely by limiting that expression of human brotherhood to one special context: peace. Saying no to other contexts such as war is the strongest way of saying yes to this one that is peace. Peace can be maintained only through effort, honesty, and integrity.

Moreover, as the president of Eritrea, Essays Afeworki, in his address at the summit of Organization of African Unity now African Union indicated that " in the interests of peace, which we owe not only to the people of Eritrea but, may I add, also to the people of Ethiopia and our continent as a whole, Eritrea has decided to accept the peace. In accepting the Peace, Eritrea hopes to make its small contribution as the Year of Peace and Security; in Africa".

Similarly, the leaders of Tigray should have an obligation and moral basis to clean their acts by virtue of their own free will and walk, as Emanuel Kant would say Towards a Perpetual Peace that has the power to heal both people. For the poor and politically powerless people of Ethiopia and Eritrea the last few decades have indeed been tumultuous ones.

Therefore, in this troubled time, I invite all people of good will and all my fellow Eritreans and Ethiopians citizens to pray that war give way to peace and that the innocent be spared from its most devastating effects. We have to grow in our appreciation for peace. Peace is not only about the absence of war, but about integration and unity. It concerns the emotional and spiritual wholeness of the human person in the area of unity. And it only makes sense when one has a vision of peace as a gift and mystery oriented to unity. But the integrity of the person in this area, as in any other requires that passion be united with purpose and human will. The acceptance of peace is not a sign of fear. It is the acceptance and respect of the notion of human brotherhood in its whole dimension.

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