Argaw Ashine
19 August 2009
Addis Ababa — An international panel has ordered both Eritrea and Ethiopia to pay each other damages for the 1989-2000 border war which left more than 80,000 killed.
The commission set up by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague awarded Ethiopia slightly more than Eritrea, and blamed the breakaway nation for invading Ethiopian-held territory and starting the conflict.
The Court decision leaves Eritrea with $11m more to pay to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia won damages totalling $174 million. Eritrea is to receive more than $161 million and $2 million to individuals.
The two nations claimed the compensation for deaths, ill treatment of prisoners and civilians and the destruction of property during their 1998-2000 bloody border war.
Both sides accepted the awards and Ethiopia says Eritrea must pay it the $11 million difference.
Ethiopian foreign Minister says the ruling is another evidence that Eritrea started the war by invading Ethiopian territory.
After an international tribunal awarded the small town of Badme to Eritrea, Ethiopia refused to accept the ruling and call for a peace dialogue to end the dispute. Eritrea also refused the peace dialogue.
In 2007, Eritrea also expelled UN peacekeepers from Asmara and accused UN of siding with Ethiopia.
The border between the two countries is still in dispute and tens of thousands of troops remain entrenched along the border.
Ethiopia has repeatedly called for adjustments in the implementation of the new demarcation and maintains troops in disputed territories.
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Come on people. Why do we always continue lie to ourseves ... This decision was par at best at it was the war. We were told that we won the war, Badme, destroyed Shaebia, democratic election, economic growth, pumber ha and on and on.
Ethiopia with all it is current influence and super-power alies could not even put a little dent on the self-alienated shaebia nation. Sorry my people, no one won here, but Ethiopia was clearly a big looser in all honesty. And we all are to be blame for cheering the war and hate-mongering for the past decade... in short we have been played and we allowed it.
As hard as it is to admit, we are two families now... let us move on and make peace.
This may be a good opportunity to accept all the losses ... accept all the courts decision and I mean all of it here including the full border marking, and make the best efforts to bring the two people to work for a better future.
I agree fully with the first comment. When has Europe ever been a center of justice and social progress? Africa should build its future upon its past, Africa has the richest history in all of the world. Why should Africans look to Europe who has dominated and subjugated the world through violence and racism as an arbitrator of justice?
This is insane!
Worse than the problems (serious though them may be) that exist between these two African antagonists, is folly of allowing historically evil europeans to sit in judgment of Africans!
Africans SHOULD NOT be helping to give credence to the european injustice system and its application across the planet.
The historically beastly europeans DO NOT possess the human virtue to sit in judgment of anyone! These creatures are KNOWN criminals, and are ONLY out to further european evil domination across the planet, which WILL destroy the planet!