Reflections on the Conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea
by Ayalew Kassahun (Item one)

The crisis between Ethiopia and Eritrea is complex.  Its eruption has
bewildered and dismayed Ethiopians and foreign observers alike.  Many
questions have been raised since the Eritrean regime triggered the crisis
by invading Ethiopian territory at the beginning of May, 1998, without any defensible cause.  In this part of the reflections on the crisis, an
attempt is made to find answers to a limited number of questions, such as:

-Was it possible in the first place to anticipate that the EPLF (Eritrean
Peoples' Liberation Front) would be unpredictable and aggressive upon
assuming power in Eritrea?

-If the EPRDF (Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front) know the inherent characteristics of the EPLF, why did it trust a government of such an unpredictable group?

Yes, the EPRDF from its days of the armed struggle was aware of the
anti-democratic nature of the EPLF. The EPRDF also understood that the EPLF would come out victorious alongside the Eritrean people in the struggle for independence. This was a popular cause. On this issue, the evaluation of the EPRDF concerning the EPLF leadership was correct. During the armed struggle, the EPLF was a tactical ally of the EPRDF but was never a strategic ally. It should be recalled in this respect that both fronts had a common enemy, the Dergue. The struggle for independence the Eritrean people and its leadership together. Therefore, the EPLF and the EPRDF, as tactical allies against the Dergue, cooperated in defeating their common enemy. After independence, the two fronts took over the administration of their respective countries.  It turned out that each side adopted an approach that was different from the other.

The EPRDF Approach

In Ethiopia, EPRDF inherited a war ravaged economy.  It understood that a command economy could not bring about economic progress for the country.
With the realities at hand and with the full participation of its peoples,
the EPRDF together with other democratic political organizations
established a transitional government and embarked upon a transitional
period whereby economic policies and strategies were drawn up and
implemented. The core of this strategy was rural based. The transition from command economy to free market economy was not an easy one.  It had to take into consideration internal and external factors. This led the EPRDF to come out with policies and strategies that elaborated the role of domestic factors with carefully synchronized external inputs.  The EPRDF strongly believed that without grass root participation, economic development would not succeed. After numerous studies and evaluations, the EPRDF was successful in the implementation of its economic reforms. The transition from command economy to people based market economy began bearing fruit.

The EPLF Approach and Its Insanity

Eritrea which is a close neighbor to Ethiopia, however, did not have the
vision to put into place such economic policies and strategies in
accordance with its own realities. Nevertheless the EPRDF did its level
best to cooperate in various economic fields with the EPLF. It hoped that

the Eritrean Government would understand  that it would be beneficial for
both countries to work closely in a spirit of mutual cooperation and mutual interest.

On the contrary, instead of dealing with its neighbors and other forces on
an equal footing, the EPLF chose to use the language of  force to achieve
its objectives. Internally, anyone who held a different view from the
leadership was crushed. EPLF's inherent behavior would not allow it to
accommodate differences. This in turn gave birth to an atmosphere of
mistrust and fear among the various sectors of its population. This was
also true for the army because the EPLF had a network of agents that also installed fear and mistrust within the structure.

Peace, democracy and development could not flourish in such an atmosphere. EPRDF understood this from the beginning but chose all the same to work with the Eritrean Government as long as it did not abuse its privileges.  It believed strongly that internal problems should be solved by internal forces and not with intervention from outside forces.

Since Ethiopia and Eritrea would benefit from working together, EPRDF
hoped that the EPLF leadership would understand that and come to its
senses. What the EPRDF could not imagine was that it had a suicidal
neighbor. Anti-democratic, anti-people, yes but suicidal no. Ethiopia with
its large population , its unity and historical background was well known
to everybody.





The Aggressiveness of the EPLF

How could one imagine that Eritrea, a small country with inadequate
resources, commit aggression against Ethiopia? The EPRDF knew the inherent behavior of the EPLF but did not at any time consider EPLF as insane and suicidal.

Why did Eritrea commit aggression against Ethiopia? It must be pure envy that motivated the EPLF regime to act in such an insane way. It could not achieve what was achieved in Ethiopia. It could not also deliver on the empty promises it had made to the people. When Ethiopia was busy fighting against poverty, the EPLF was busy provoking its neighbors and internally crushing what it viewed as its opposition. The EPLF did not understand or speak the language of the people but only its own language of force.
Therefore, it could not come up with policies and strategies to achieve
economic growth but kept on following a course that has eroded the trust
and confidence of its people and neighbors.

In conclusion, while the Ethiopian government was waging war against
poverty, Eritrea was busy demolishing whatever potential it had. Far from
building its war ravaged economy the EPLF kept on sliding deeper and deeper into problems that were getting out of hand. If  the Eritrean government was not suicidal, it would never have waged war against a neighbor which has a comparatively stronger economy, a much larger population known for its unity when it comes to foreign aggression. For the EPRDF to imagine that the EPLF would behave in such an outrageous fashion was not possible.


It can be truly said that the EPLF is indeed suicidal. The Ethiopian
peoples and their leadership should not in any way be troubled by the
insane behavior of the Eritrean regime. The  EPLF should be driven to its
grave if it chooses not to withdraw from occupied Ethiopian territories.



 September 7, 1998