Border Conflict

There are over 50 border conflicts between different nation-states. For example,  Japan-Russia fought, USA-Mexico border conflict, India-Pakistan border conflict, UK -Argentina border conflict, India-China border conflict, Turkey-Greece border conflict, Vietnam-China border conflict, Ecuador-Peru border conflict etc. All those countries that have border conflict/wars never cut-off diplomatic and economic relationships.

USSR troops invaded Etorofu island, Kunashiri island, Shikotan island and Habomai islands after Japan accepted the surrender of the Allied Powers of World War II. Russian Federation has occupied northern islands of Japan since then. Russia has built military base, houses, schools, shops and seafood processing plants there. But South Sakhalin and the Kuril islands also have not been defined as the Russian Federation’s territory yet, exactly, since the Treaty with Japan at San Francisco (1951) didn’t define about the South Sakhalin and the Kuril islands as Russian’s belongings.

Russia and Japan never sign peace treaty after second world war because the occupation of these Japanese islands by Russia. But the trade volume between Japan and Russia in 2013 was $33.2 billion. Russia exported $19.6 billion worth goods and it imported $13.6 billion from Japan.  Djibouti earn about $1.1 billion from selling port services to Ethiopia per year. If we were taking 70% of these income about $770 million a year from 13 April 2002 after our border is drafted by the court by opening our ports for business to 2015 that we should be earning about $12 billion and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for our citizens. $12 billion income in 14 years for a country that has £3.3 billion GDP and for government that had $2.16 billion expenditure in 2015 is huge money that make big difference in wellbeing and living standard of our people. But PFDJ is not about caring wellbeing and living standard of our people. PFDJ is about creating Eritrean national cultural identity among the nine Eritrean ethnics.

We liberated 97% of our land in 1977 when USA withdrew its support for Ethiopia. Then we have to retreat to Nackfa when Sovien Union intervened in 1978. Then we survived by fighting Soviet Union and Amhara in Sahil with TPLF side by side. We defeated the Amhara/Ethiopia when Soviet Union collapsed. The world accepted our national sovereignty because TPLF led Ethiopian government accepted it.  We learn one very important strategic points from our history that Ethiopia couldn’t stand by itself or couldn’t build and sustain institutions without heavy foreign aid. Ethiopia couldn’t defeat backward clans and sub-clans based Somalia without heavy direct foreign military, diplomatic and financial help.

If PFDJ concern was Eritrean territorial sovereignty, mistrust of TPLF or threat of military invasion that after the 1998-2000 war should rebuild our army and economy, and neutralizing Ethiopia supporting countries by creating strategic alliance with Western countries specially with USA and with China. Despite unpredictability of Isaias Afewerki that between 1993 and 1997 USA and other Western countries had close military, security and economic relationship with Eritrea than with Ethiopia. Ethiopian government survival depends only on Western specially USA support.

After the 1998-2000 border war PFDJ declared operation Warsay Yikaalo, ወፍሪ ዋርሳይ `ይካኣሎ that is new national governing manual and doctrine. Operation Warsay Yikaalo has nothing to do about Eritrean territorial sovereignty or liberating Eritrea’s occupied territory by Ethiopia or about deep mistrust of TPLF.  Operation Warsay Yikaalo is about creating Eritrean national cultural identity among the nine Eritrean ethnics by brutal social engineering and protecting Ethiopia national unity by dismantling ethnic based federalism and chapter 39 of Ethiopian constitution. Ethiopia is not the enemy of PFDJ. PFDJ enemies are Tigrigna national identity and Tigrigna nationalism. The meaning of independence and sovereignty for PFDJ is protection to use whatever means to achieve its goals without being accountable. PFDJ isolated Eritrea to do whatever wanted to achieve its goals without any external influence or pressure. PFDJ called it isolationism freedom to decide freely ነጻ ዉሳነ. PFDJ doesn’t believe and do self reliance. It reject foreign aid because it wanted freedom to decide and do anything it wanted. Sadly PFDJ decisions are only about creating Eritrean national cultural identity.

The border war number one goal was to do coup d’etat within PFDJ. Under operation Warsay Yikaalo that any General or Colonel who is head of one region or administration has unlimited power to kill, to legislate, to judge, to govern, to imprison etc.  If Eritrea build its economy, army, democracy and created strategic alliance with Tigray people and Western countries Ethiopia survival country will depend on the relationship has with Eritrea.

For now, there is no border issue between Eritrea and Ethiopia because it decided by court as final decision. We know exactly where our border is. Our border will be demarcated and respected only when our army and economy is built, and after we neutralize Ethiopia sponsors and supporting countries by creating strategic alliance with Western countries specially with USA.  It is stupid and madness to waste precious life of our youth, our time, our resources fighting zombie countries that have no hope and capacity to develop whatever,  who are populated and led by backward corrupt tribes and clans and who are entirely financed by foreign power.

        Our problem with Ethiopia and Djibouti is a problem with USA and France. Our problem with USA and France is we are poor and they are rich who impose regional political order that advance their national interests. If we build our culture, democracy,  economy and army or our soft and hard power we will impose a political order in Horn-of Africa that will advance our national interests. We will earn USA, France, China etc respect and we will forced them to deal with us only when we became regional super power financially, socially, technologically, culturally and militarily.

We will be horn of Africa regional super power easily because the history of our civilization proved we have the capacity to build and sustain effective and efficient institutions that bring result. Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia and Djibouti have no own historical and cultural capacity to build and sustain effective and efficient institutions that bring result.    Demarcation is not an urgent issue for Eritrean Tigrigna people. For now our priority is addressing the existential threat we face from PFDJ then we need peace and stability to restore our national cultural identity and to rebuild our economy, army and democracy.

TPLF/EPRDF government never has a plan to invade Eritrea after 2000 because TPLF/EPRDF live in a glass house. People who live in glass house don’t throw stones to other people house because their glass house will collapse when they throw them back. TPLF/EPRDF couldn’t advance or achieve any political objective by war except bringing disaster for itself.

TPLF/EPRDF couldn’t recover its unity, dynamism and energy that lost in 1998-2000 war let alone to start new war. After 1998-2000 war TPLF/EPRDF became one man show. Now it is worse because TPLF/EPRDF show is a dead man show. TPLF/EPRDF couldn’t produce a single leader like Meles Zenawi that can create and articulate ideas by reading and understanding national, regional and global geopolitics. Any political organization or movement success and future depends on its capacity in producing many high quality leaders.

Eritrea has no eminent threat from TPLF/EPRDF government. Eritrea existential threat is PFDJ not TPLF/EPRDF government. PFDJ use border demarcation, occupation and military invasion threats effectively because TPLF/EPRDF is happy to be a useful idiot for PFDJ games. TPLF/EPRDF can advance, achieve its political goals and divide PFDJ and Tigrigna people by withdrawing from Badme, by demarcation the border and by not making military threats. There is no political, economical or security interests of Tigray, Ethiopia or TPLF/EPRDF that advanced or achieved by not demarcating the border, making military threats, occupying Badme except massaging ego of idiots, losers and delusional like Gebru Asrat, Siye Abraha and their few disgruntled and confused supporters.

Tigray people is our people. Tigray land is our land. Just we are divided in to two by Amhara and Italian conspiracy. Like any people in the world that we have the right to self determination on how to govern ourselves and to decide about future and place. Tigray people has legal and peaceful right to decide when ever wanted to be part of Ethiopia, independent nation-state or to rejoin Eritrea in order to reunited Aga’azian.  Tigray people will never betray and abandoned their own national economic and security interest, land, identity, history, values and traditions.

If we restore our Tigrigna national cultural identity, build our economy army and democracy that who know may be our ancient border will be restored in  Alwha አልዉሃ. God know may be soon the fake border of Badme that created artificially to divided us will be dismantled. And there will be no war and hate between Tegaru and no war any more in the land of Tigray. For over 1000 years, we fought our enemies in our land but if we united any possible future war will be in enemy land. I love, trust, and respect Tigray people because it is my people.