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Shabait.com (Asmara)

Eritrea: May 13 - the Day the TPLF Embarked On a Suicide Mission

14 May 2008

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editorial

Ten years ago on May 13, 1998 the TPLF regime officially declared war on Eritrea.

In their overall history, the Eritrean people have frequently been victimized by Ethiopian leaders. However, contrary to the objectives of Ethiopian leaders, the Eritrean people staunchly prevailed while the Ethiopian leaders themselves faced demises one after the other. Moreover, foiling every attempt and conspiracy for their annihilation with superb military skills, the Eritrean people were able to demonstrate that no force can ever obstruct the existence and continuity of a free people and nation.

There is a well known saying that goes "those who long for war don't really know about wars." Ethiopian leaders always hastily get involved in wars wherein they face humiliating military defeats and failure, for they don't know anything about war. Ten years ago, bursting with its own sense of power and disregarding all initiatives for mediation and peaceful solution, the TPLF regime had only time for warmongering. Following repeated humiliating defeats, the TPLF is now calling for 'peace talks or dialogue' in an attempt to dodge the implementation of a final and binding decision.

At the time of the TPLF regime's sudden declaration of war, the Government of Eritrea, well aware of the destructive consequences of war, had patiently and repeatedly called for a peaceful solution to the problem. On 14 May 1998, the Eritrean Cabinet of Ministers convened an urgent meeting during which it made it abundantly clear that a border dispute could only be resolved through legal and peaceful means and not through the use of force. Furthermore, the Cabinet called for the troops of both sides to temporarily withdraw from the border area and for the UN Cartography Department to delimit the border according to colonial boundary treaties.

However, unaware that war could only lead to ultimate demise, the TPLF closed the door to peaceful initiatives and sought to deceive and incite the Ethiopian people into war. The regime used the media to broadcast all kinds of propaganda that could serve its purpose and even sent out messages that encouraged ethnic differences and hatred. To foment hostility between both peoples, the Ethiopian media were even relaying to the Ethiopian people messages such as 'the Eritreans are disrespectful to Ethiopians, they call you names and want to compromise Ethiopian economy so that they can enslave you.'

Furthermore, in deporting Eritreans residing in Ethiopia and ransacking their property, the TPLF committed a crime unparalleled for its cruelty in the history of the world.

Believing that the Ethiopian people could be lured into war at the prospect of owning ports, the TPLF leaders strengthened their propaganda campaign in this direction. "We will give you good news within these two weeks; we will shortly be in control of the port of Assab," thus stated Dr Tekeda Alemu, the then Deputy Foreign Minister, speaking before Ethiopians residing in Washington DC. In a message particularly intended for the Tigrayan people, another TPLF official, Dr. Adhana, speaking on the Ethiopian Television on May 20, 1998 said: "Our borders will stretch to Tessenei in the north and the coast of Erafaile in the East." Following in the footsteps of TPLF propaganda, in the editorial section of its September 12, 1998 issue, the Addis Ababa-based newspaper, Addis Tribune, wrote that it would be a great victory indeed if Ethiopia could secure a port by the end of the war.

The primary objective of this overzealous propaganda campaign was to incite the Ethiopian youth into war frenzy while the TPLF gambles with their lives. Unlike today, when truth has become clear for everyone to see, the Ethiopian people have so far been deceived and fallen victim to the regime's propaganda. Nonetheless, the Ethiopian people have so far been only fooled once and thus the shame now lies only on the TPLF; but if they were to be fooled once again, the shame will certainly be on the Ethiopian people. Hence, it is the hope and expectation of all those who desire peace that the Ethiopian people have learned a valuable lesson from the experience of the past 10 years, for they had been the main victims of TPLF adventurism.

Today, there is not a trace of the TPLF's bravado and repeated boasting as was the case in May 1998. All that futile bravado has been replaced with failure and humiliation. In declaring war against the Eritrean people-to whom the regime owes its very existence-the TPLF made a strategic blunder. In seeking to defeat and destroy the Eritrean people, the clique had instead put its future in a very precarious position. Now, ten years later, after being dealt repeated military blows by Eritrea and facing hostilities both from inside Ethiopia and outside, the TPLF is counting away its final hours.

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