This is a very sorry state of affairs. It is beyond comprehension that two of the most poorest countries on earth could not use their meagre resources for the development of their countries and the betterment of their long suffering citizens instead of fighting another senseless war. Zenawi and Afwerki were lauded not so long ago as a different kind of African leaders but unfortunately thery are as old school as the likes of Mobutu etc. Shouldn't Meles Zenawi concentrate his attention and resources to the hundred of thousands of people who are starving or vulnerable to famine due to droughts? I think the AU should pressurise these members countries to the negociating table and avoid another war in the continent at all cost.

Bravo!!bravo!! the ICG do you know what, your article is really attractive but, it also brings a question in every concerned reader and especially to the eritrean one because, this aritcle would have and should have been released five or at least four year a go and thus would have avoided hostility or contributed to building peace and push to wards peaceful advancement or other wise.

secondly your aritcle seems to me and my friends and even probably to the eritrean leadership that, the driving force or motivation is only to save the ethiopian leadership that is facing an emberasement of inevitable famine like his predecessors and thus use the port to reach the hungry people.

it is a matter of seller and buyer and thus use the balance of power and the choices,pressure,and all that things to win the sell and acqisatoin vice versa. so meles has no choice and thus abide with your statements above.

it is not bad but dont forget your article will bring quetions why now? why not before ? etc....

let me tell you I am marketing student and live in nairobi and i am also interested in politics and especially related to my country. I have used to despise and hate the eritrean leadership for that stalled political process but now me and my alikes are attracted to that hated leadership for a reason. trust me the eritrean authorities have prosecuted me and still are but i do differenciate that my problems and the corporate decisions in my country.

if you are in nairobi please write to me and get more feed back on eritreans and thier perceptions.

Eritrea ruler is now on a head-on collision with the UN. Under such circumstances, what options does the UN have? For now “The Security Council expresses its determination to closely monitor the situation and to consider further appropriate steps for the safety and protection of the Mission and its personnel.

All days , he kills the journalists, the member of opposition

Afeworki is very dangerous because he protect the islamist maybe the author of the 911 is in Asmara

Wy the US doesn't attack him ?

he didnot kill the journalists;

Not really commenting the page,i was just looking up some african beliefs and came across this comment.Wondering....is this Tesfaldet,In indy?

You obivously did not read, nor do you understand the situation at hand. Let's take a look at this quote for instance:

"The Bush administration has been reluctant to put pressure on Ethiopia because it considers it a regional security ally and an important player in its counterterrorism policies. The most visible example of that policy is Ethiopia's ongoing intervention in Somalia, which has come not only with U.S. support, but perhaps by U.S. design."

It's kind of hard to remain a peacful nation when you have the "Western" world trying to steadily f*ck you over. Americans and everyone outside of Eritrea have no idea, and will never be able to comprehend the bloodshed that was sacrificed to obtain our freedom. Is easy to cast judgment looking from outside to within.

Thanks for calling a spade a spade (i.e., this state of affairs is largely thanks to the the US trading Ethiopian regional support for pass on disregarding its international legal obligations), but your solution is vulnerable. Point 4 calls for demarcation of undisputed areas, followed by the familiar plea for 'dialogue'. Leaving aside for a moment the imbalance inherent in that priority of demarcation (the only areas that are 'undisputed' are those that transfer land from Eritrea to Ethiopia because Eritrea accepts the decision and Ethiopia does not), the Eritrean government will simply never entertain a solution that will subject it to the Death by a Thousand Cuts that a negotiation of the remaining areas would entail. The boundary, as the EEBC has publicly and unambiguously stated, is the boundary. It was determined acording to a fair process agreed by the parties. That Ethiopia now dislikes the result does not provide a basis for enforcing a negotiation absent a fairly large and tasty carrot that does not appear to be on offer. Why in the world would the Eritrean goverment (and, trust me, I am not an apologist for it) cede the legal certainty it has for negotiation, a process which has never resulted in any thing other than a knife in its back? As the saying goes, I may be paranoid, but am I paranoid enough. I think Eritrea will simply throw its lot in with Iran, and, in the light of history, it's not terribly difficult to figure out why.

The international community should not waste time, money and effort on inconsequential nitwits. I would arm them with deadly nuclear bombs, a piece each, to assure their mutual destruction. The world is a better place with out them.

Ethiopian Woman

Saba. Did you realize that you will be destryed too. I guess you did not think of that.

The analysis of the author is non-sense . he has been proven wrong in the past.

Alas! What a comment by Saba...How come you judge the fate of innocent poor Eritreans and Ethiopians to death for the sake of war loving..antipeace bunch of vagabonds who failed to serve their conscious and their people? We stand together..our hands stretched towards God almighty...who can bring an end to history of war and famine...and makes people once again. PEACE TO ETHIO AND ERITREA...

bravo bravo you have done your job very well if the world have more of like you it would not be like this now keep it up please for the sake of the people

Please, try to answer the people's cry for bread instead of declearing war. Think about more than 4.5M kids who are suffered from malnutrition. If you ignore them, and go to war, i think the war won't be on Eritrea, but on these kids.

It seems to me, the same 'Western' government, who made the final decision on the border, and are supposed to define and establish the border;Have there own interests, which do not coincide with Eritrean's or Ethopian's. They need us to be confused, fighting, defending ourselves and surviving, because then they are in control from the backstage. By East Africa plunging into war, it's not benefical for any African Country, it's only an opportunity for outside countries to take advantage. As war makes alot of money for the seller. So I hope they wake up and realize, that they are not helping any African country at all, only pretending to help, and stirring between neighbouring countries, delaying and providing fertile ground for another long war to flourish in. This saddens me to the core of my being, and so something must be done before it's too late. The border must be marked and respected, for both countries to move on, develop themselves and help their own citizens have rich, fruitful lives. As a people without a Nation are nothing, but a Nation with no people, can never be a nation at all. From Gnet, a proud Eritrean lady. UK .

Africans quit fighting the whiteman's wars and proxy wars and let's get our house in order

After reading this article, I am getting confused and hesitant about the authenticity of this article. I seriously question if it is written by Mark Schneider, appointed senior vice president of CGO. If this article is truly written by him then I have to say that the international community and its affiliates are profoundly disrespecting the Algiers Peace Agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia. One main reason for the Stalemate So far has being the reluctant attitude of the international community to resolve the conflict rather than Ethiopia’s incompliance or Eritrea’s refusal for dialog.

Ethiopia has better and more important issues to worry about. The border conflict between two countries has brought many piece of good fortune to Ethiopia. It strengthened and rebuilt the drowsy and dissolute Ethiopian army. It brought Ethiopia recognition in international community and produced wealthy and powerful international allies. It unified Ethiopia that once had come apart as a result of the much hated federalism incorporated by the government. Eritrean independency was translated as a living example to all Ethiopians what federalism means. This was scary and agitating for Ethiopians and freedom to Eritreans. (Eritrea may not agree on this but the government of Ethiopia perception about Eritrean independency is a result of referendum rather of a long 30 years struggle for independency.) Having mentioned those few examples if Ethiopia is to evaluate the consequences of the conflict and the stalled peace agreement it will find advantageous to stay dormant and incompliant as long as it can. There is no need to abide by the ruling?

If there was any sort of reward or recognition for abiding by the Algiers Peace Agreement, I bet Ethiopia would do everything it can just to win it. However, since there is none of that, Ethiopia has discovered a way to win this political game by refusing to accept the ruling and by winning the heart and mind of international community. This article clearly demonstrates this by providing suggestions that implies logical, desire of the suffering people, and according to the Algiers Peace Agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia. I suggest you to read the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Africa Report N°141 written on 17 June 2008. Here is the link http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5490&l=1

Some of the recommendations provided by CGO that will prolong the conflict and demarcation of the border are:

(a) Disengagement of troops from the border, including withdrawal of Ethiopian troops to behind the EEBC line and withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the TSZ;

(b) Normalization of bilateral diplomatic, political and economic relations;

(c) An end to each country’s support for the other’s opposition groups;

(d) promotion of internationally supported cross-border development projects; and

(e) physical demarcation of the EEBC border coordinates, except where pragmatic adjustments are mutually agreed as necessary, with full im¬plementation of the outcome of the dialogue process contingent on completion.

We know now that none of this is going to make Eritrea to accept the desired dialog because they are not aligned with the Alger agreement. This sound more like what Ethiopian would suggests and desire. Therefore, Eritrea probably is going to refer to article 15 which says “The parties agree that the delimitation and demarcation determinations of the Commission shall be final and binding. Each party shall respect the border so determined, as well as the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the other party. “ Therefore, the conflict will be going on and the suffering of the affected people is going to continue.

We should give Ethiopia credit on succeeding to implement their political agenda on the mind and heart of the prominent organizations that is playing significant role in building political opinion on the international community arena. Excluding internal political issues, we should also pay respect to the Eritrean government stand because it displays integrity, high moral standard, and unwavering strong desire to comply and demand others to do so with international laws. The only organ that is contributing suffering, political misery, and financial crises for those two poor countries and regional conflicts and turbulences is the international community. The leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia , influential internal all kind of organizations and individuals have lost their ingenuity to a false hope, temporary solution, phony alliance, and never lasting promises given by the international community. Consequently, they have become an expectant of support without any type of accountability for the events and actions executed in their countries.