Eritrea hails unity with Ethiopia on landmark visit
Eritrea has pledged to resolve its dispute with Ethiopia, less than a week after the nations declared an end to two decades of conflict.
In a historic visit to Addis Ababa aimed at cementing peace, Eritrea President Isaias Afwerki arrived in the Ethiopian capital on Saturday just five days after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited Eritrea as part of a peace process aimed at ending years of violence and animosity between the neighbours who were once part of the same nation.
Abiy and Isaias shared laughs and hugs at an official lunch on Saturday as the Ethiopian leader said his counterpart was beloved, respected and missed by the Ethiopian people.
“We are no longer people of two countries. We are one,” Isaias told political and cultural figures gathered in a palace built during Ethiopia’s imperial days.
Isaias started his three-day visit at Addis Ababa’s airport, where he and Abiy strode down a red carpet.
The two leaders on Monday signed a declaration declaring an official end to the war.
Eritrea was once part of Ethiopia and comprised its entire coastline on the Red Sea until it voted for independence in 1993 after decades of bloody conflict.
The move left Ethiopia landlocked, and the deterioration of relations after the outbreak of the war in 1998 forced Addis Ababa to channel its foreign trade through Djibouti.
The two countries showed little sign of rapprochement since the signing of the Algiers peace agreement in 2000 after a conflict which left 80 000 people dead before settling into a bitter cold war.
Analysts say the surprisingly rapid burying of the hatchet was possible only because of Abiy’s ascension to the post of prime minister in April.
As part of a whirlwind set of reforms, Abiy announced last month Ethiopia would abide by a 2002 UN-backed ruling and hand back disputed border territory to Eritrea, including the flashpoint town of Badme.
However, Ethiopia has not announced the pull-out of troops from the area.
Abiy then paid a historic visit to Eritrea, where the two leaders announced the re-establishment of diplomatic and trade ties that could mean big benefits for both nations, and the wider Horn of Africa region.
Eritrea, one of the world’s most isolated nations, has pursued policies that have hamstrung the economy by scaring off investors, including an indefinite military conscription programme the UN has likened to slavery.
Amnesty International said on Saturday that the newfound peace should be a catalyst for change in Eritrea, where thousands of people, including rights activists and opposition politicians, are languishing in detention simply for expressing their views. –