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 HAN
Note:  IGAD
Breaking News (HAN) June 6th, 2008.
 Somalia
Ethiopia
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Sudan: Ethiopian Land for RailRoad
Exchange
Djibouti (HAN) June 6th, 2008 - Diaspora rumor has it that, the
Ethiopian government has agreed to give up land (an estimated 1600km
long and as deep as 50 km) from Humera to Gambella to the Sudan in
exchange for a rail-road track from Shire to Port-Sudan. The Ethiopian
government has not confirmed or denied the allegation.
UPDATE: The Ethiopian government has denied the accusation. Not sure
what the basis for the rumor was.
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The Horn of African
Journalist Association (HAJA): han@geeskaafrika.com |
A
U.S. based advocacy group
called the Ethiopia and Sudan Border Issue Committee accuses Ethiopian
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of illegally ceding territory without the
consent of the Ethiopian people.
full text of the report.
Residents and community leaders in western Ethiopia say thousands of
people in several border regions have been displaced by Sudanese troops
in recent weeks, following what they describe as a secret, illegal deal
between the governments in Addis Ababa and Khartoum. Critics say the
secret deal to demarcate the border gives Sudan the right to occupy
areas Ethiopians historically consider sacrosanct. VOA Correspondent
Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.
A former regional official in the southwestern Gambella region, Omod
Oman Obono, tells VOA that as many as 2,000 people have been displaced
there in recent weeks in on-going clashes between residents and Sudanese
soldiers.
Omod says troops from Sudan have built military camps in Gambella and in
other areas north to protect territory handed over to Khartoum by the
Ethiopian government sometime last year. He says Sudanese soldiers in
Gambella are chasing away local people and inviting people on the
Sudanese side of the border to settle in Ethiopian villages.
Last month in the Gondar region of western Ethiopia, the Sudanese army
reportedly set fire to two dozen Ethiopian farms and imprisoned 34
people. Residents say 28 are still being held in Sudan.
The deal to demarcate the 1,600-kilometer-long border was not announced.
But rumors that a deal had been struck began to spread early last month
after high-level officials in Khartoum confirmed that farmers in eastern
Sudan were reclaiming disputed lands from Ethiopia. On May 21, Ethiopian
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi publicly denied that any Ethiopian had been
displaced as a result of what he termed the acquisition of a portion of
Ethiopian land by Sudan.
The news of a boundary settlement shocked many Ethiopians, who consider
the ceded Ethiopian land to be historically and culturally theirs. The
existing border between the two countries was drawn up more than a
century ago when Sudan was under British colonial rule.
A U.S.-based advocacy group called the Ethiopia and Sudan Border Issue
Committee accuses Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of illegally
ceding territory without the consent of the Ethiopian people.
Ethiopia and Sudan Border Issue Committee chairman Fiseha Abebe tells
VOA that his group will try to nullify the boundary settlement through
the courts. He warns that Ethiopians will never accept what Mr. Meles
has done.
"He did not even mention what he was doing until we exposed him," said
Abebe. "In some places, they have given up about 50 miles inside
Ethiopia and in other places, about 30 miles. There is going to be a big
backlash. This is going to be impossible for any Ethiopian to accept
this type of situation."
The Ethiopian government has not said why it decided to demarcate the
border with Sudan at this time.
Both governments in Ethiopia and Sudan are embroiled in complicated
domestic and regional conflicts, stretching from Sudan's western Darfur
region to Somalia.
Political Rumor:
The Ethiopian air force fighter jets which was moved from its base in
Debreziet to Mekele recently was to support the Sudanese army, it was on
a stand by to attack the advancing justice and equality Darfur rebel
force toward Khartoum.
Apparently the Ethiopian air force wiped out more than half of the
advancing rebel army and report to Al-bashir as job well done, only to
find out later over 300 of the heavily armed rebels of the justice and
equality force have escape to laid a siege on Khartoum.
Now the question for us is apart from giving a chunk of Ethiopian land
to Sudan and renting the Ethiopian air force to the same country what
else is Meles and his party up to? What did Melese and his people got in
exchange for the land and the service of the air force?
Notes From Ethiopian Government:
The Ethiopian government has denied the accusation; nevertheless no one
in his/her right mind would have believed the story. Its sad that
Ethiopia’s opposition political camp is being transformed in to a den
for conspiracy theorists. I thought I heard it all but The Ethiopian Air
force attacking Sudanese rebels to save the Sudanese governments is a
tall tail by any standard. Wahide belay Spokesman of Ethioopian FM ,
Addis Ababa
What were the projects of Mengistu In Gambella?
The former Ethiopian Dictator, Mengistu Haille Mariam wanted to urge the
economic development for the country. But the country was not really in
condition for the socialist 'tabula rasa' of the dictator. Thus he
decided to take advantage of the region of Gambella. The region was
considered as a vast field of opportunities. The population density was
very low (and it's still), there was a lot of free lands, important
water resources; the perfect place for agricultural schemes.
Using the land nationalization , the regime implemented projects of
large model farms. Engineers faced three problems. First, the lands were
potentially rich but not yet ready to be cultivated. Second, the water
ressources were not sufficient enough to sustain the production of crops
like weat or cotton. Third, the region was missing labour force.
Source Opinion contributed by : Asafa Belay , Washington, USA
HAN
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