Badme: An unfinished business or a ‘Barren Land’?

By Kaleab Tamene

To the surprise of many the Ethiopian government has changed its stance concerning the decision of the boundary delimitation commission at The Hague which was entrusted with the task of resolving the border conflict between the two countries which led to the fratricidal war three years ago. The Ethiopian government in a letter it wrote to the UN Secretary General has rejected the commissions ruling saying the decision was unfair. That was the dead-end; I said. It was no wonder to me as the once Marxist gang has a good record of being a political chameleon in the face of the world. I would, instead, argue that the question of Badme is not a question of a “barren land” as many chose to say. Badme, in my opinion, is a won and then lost treasure that symbolizes the determination of the Ethiopian people in the face of a full blown aggression. I say Badme is an issue on which the Ethiopian government,for once and for all, lost the very people it was supposed to serve and exhibited its political and diplomatic nakedness. It’s an issue which marked the beginning of the end of a regime which has failed its people on every front.

Can I say Badme is nothing when I am looking at the compatriots who lost an arm or a leg? Can I say the issue of Badme is not a priority when I am thinking of the tens of thousands of Ethiopians who fell in combat? Can I say Badme is a political nightmare when I daily witness the farmers who turned out to be beggars due to a disability? This would be tantamount to saying that they died for an unjust cause.

I feel like backing off at this juncture as the war was a war of greed; a war that flared up when two good friends betrayed each other. It was a war that engulfed the whole nation when two uncompromising gangs chose defiance rather than reason. It was a war imposed upon us when the rules of the jungle overcame commonsense. Why then would; someone; in his right mind call it a just war? That is a dilemma.

It disappoints me; on the other extreme; to hide the fact that a conspiracy-whatever its cause and manifestation-led to an act of an aggression. Aggression should be averted whatever its cause as long as it is carried against a sovereign nation.

The human element of the Badme story, among other things, justifies the fact that the issue of Badme is of a prime importance. The Ethio-eritrean conflict was a big tragedy which sarcastically ignited the national feeling that was gradually being subdued and buried among Ethiopians thanks to ethnic politics. That was; in part; a miscalculation of the Eritrean side. They thought the balance of power of their foes on the other side of the border would be easily tipped off if they could manage; somehow; to engage the leadership in Addis in some kind of border skirmish with a little or no legal or historical foundation. It was a classic mistake by all standards as it would have been the end of their tyranny had it not been for a ‘too considerate’ Ethiopian leadership. The Ethiopian defence force was in a position to crush the Eritrean military machine. With the war being won by the Ethiopian side the leadership chose to betray the very people who brought about the victory. They took the matter to a secret chamber where a set of identical brains decided on the fate of a steadfast people only to reward them with immeasurable pain and shame.

They ought to discuss matters in public to honour the precious lives that were lost to secure that costly victory. The road to be taken at the negotiation table should have been deliberated upon or at least the results be communicated to the general public. The cards should have been laid on the table; I must say.

I wouldn’t even contemplate the idea of the leadership dragging the poor Ethiopian souls to yet another bloodbath just to give this worthless leadership yet another chance to betray us again. How long should our leaders play on our national sentiments to prolong the reign of their dictatorship?

The time has come for the leadership in Addis to give room for a fresh set of ideas, a new set policies and a new direction to the problems that are confronting the country. These are the ideals of a ‘democracy’ that they are telling us about after all. They shouldn’t make matters worse. Badme is an unfinished business.