BBC reported today that The International Tribunal seating at The Hague ordered Eritrea to pay Ethiopia millions . In fact, Ethiopia and Eritrea were ordered to pay each other damages for the 1989-2000 border war, but the verdict leaves Eritrea with $10m (£6m) more to pay. The ruling covers compensation for businesses and goods lost and villages destroyed during the bitter conflict.
No question came to my mind… like if the amount would fit the damage as the title of the news seemingly made it that Ethiopia has been awarded a big chunk of money. Then, surprise sparked on my eyes as I read the entire news. The report states that, “…Ethiopia was awarded $174m, while Eritrea got $164m - a net payment to Ethiopia of just over $10m.”
BBC has also reported that Eritrea has already accepted the ruling of the tribunal. Surprised? I am not, and don’t be. What is $10 Million for the entire damage Isayas caused to Ethiopia and Ethiopians? He caused:
•The death of innocent Ayder School kids,
•Death, migration and untold sufferenace of Ethiopians at the border (mainly in the present day Tigray) and in Eritrea,
•The death and causality of tens of thousands of members of the Ethiopian Defense force,
•Loss of goods worth hundreds of millions dollars owned by the Ethiopian business community and government enterprises stocked at Masswa and Assab Ports,
•Death and sufferance of the famine/draught-stricken Ethiopians who lost their assistance as he confiscated the entire humanitarian aid, and etc.
It is nothing. Period.
BBC doesn’t say, however, if Ethiopia accepted the ruling except mentioning Don Pickard’s disappointment with the ruling, attesting that the ruling does not reflect “the level of damage suffered by Ethiopia during the war.” Mr. Pickard is reportedly the chief legal adviser to Ethiopia in this matter.
Ethiopia has already started compensating Eritreans
The trio-Eritreans currently ruling Ethiopia (Bereket Simon, Sibhat Nega and Meles Zenawi) have already ordered their servants to allow Eritreans return to Ethiopia, reinstating to their former jobs held before their mass exodus to Eritrea and returning their bank savings with interest and properties. Of course, Ethiopians who were hired as replacements as the Eritreans were deported would yield their jobs to the Eritrean returnees. Who cares for Ethiopians…when it comes to the Trios?
Win-win situation for Eritreans
According to the international tribunal in The Hague, the Eritreans damage is about $164m. The Meles regime has already declared that it would pay/compensate whatever amount Eritreans lost. That means they will be able to dip twice as oppose to Ethiopians who suffered similar incursion and lost $174m, by the Tribunal’s account. To add insult to the wound, The Hague Tribunal set off the amount of damages each country caused, awarding Ethiopia $174m and Eritrea $164m, a net payment to Ethiopia of just over $10m.
Therefore basically, the net damage paid to the Ethiopians who lost their lifetime savings and properties on top of their loved ones will be $10 million where as Eritreans will be compensated $164 million, in full, thanks to Meles, Sebhat and Bereket. Basically, Eritrea won its case again.
This is an insult to the parents and children who lost their loved ones at Ayder School, the Ethiopian Defense force, the people of Ethiopia in general, the people of Tigray in particular, who suffered the most during the 1998-2000 war.
As we all know, the war is far from over. Both countries still have “troops remain entrenched along the border, over its bleak mountains and deserts.”
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