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Ethiopians demand explanations on land giveaway to Sudan

Posted on , Updated on by Elias Kifle

OPEN LETTER TO THE ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER MR. MELES ZENAWI
[በኣማርኛ, pdf]

Mr. Meles Zenawi,
Prime Minister
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
August 8, 2007

Mr. Prime Minister,

The characteristic peculiar to our country, which distinguishes it from other countries, is the fact that it played an exemplary role in fiercely defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity at the time when powerful foreign powers were on the rampage to subjugate most lands on the globe.

Indeed, there have been periods in our history where our country had land mass many folds more than of the present one and trade relations and influence extending into the interior of the then neighboring Nubian Empire. This glaring history has been attested by innumerous literary works of ancient and modern scholars, both foreign and local origins.

Virtually, all Ethiopian governments prior to that of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front ( EPRDF ), although rightfully criticized for their autocratic and repressive leadership style, decidedly took preserving the unity and territorial integrity of the nation as their primary undertaking. Under their leadership, and largely because of it, our country repulsed powerful invaders such as the Ottoman Turks, Egyptians, Italians and Mahadists.

And it has now become the historical burden of this generation to carry on the great tradition of keeping the territorial integrity of the nation as the best way of commemorating the sacrifices of our forefathers. However, recent international media coverage of giving away another part of our country in the making is in circulation.

On July 4, 2007, the Sudan Tribune, under the title ‘Eastern Sudan farmers get back disputed lands from Ethiopia’, wrote, “A joint Sudanese-Ethiopian committee would start today to hand over agricultural lands to residents of more than 17 Sudanese villages located in eastern Atbara River along the Ethiopian-Sudanese border.”

The Sudan Tribune further reported that the governor of Al-Gadarif State, in eastern Sudan, Abdelrahman al-Khidir as saying, “… technical arrangements have been finished and a committee of seven experts from each side would give the Sudanese farmers their lands, pointing out that his government is ready to append these farmers with the current agricultural season. …with the end of the committee’s work which might last for a week, the lands would be back to their owners…that the final operation of border re-demarcating which might conclude after the autumn season would put an end for all kinds of security breaches and instability situation in the area.”

This clearly states that handing over the territory is already in advanced stages, and yet the Ethiopian government has not made any public statement of denying or sanctioning the report. It is extremely difficult to believe what type of package deal could make your government hide behind the screen of secretly negotiating and carving out a piece of our land to a foreign nation; and it is viciously wrong to keep the Ethiopian people in the dark on such most ominously crucial issue.

Not surprisingly, traumatized echoes are becoming progressively louder over this issue, inside and outside of the country, and at a time where the public is highly skeptical over anything that goes to the credibility of your government in preserving national unity and territorial integrity.

Ethiopians today are clamoring so desperately for answers to this crucial issue and we, groups of concerned Ethiopians, earnestly request your government to provide detailed account to the Ethiopian people regarding the alleged negotiations and the handing over the North Western part of Ethiopia to the Republic of the Sudan.

Respectfully,

Groups of Highly Concerned Ethiopians

CC
1. The Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2. Amhara Kilil Administration, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
3. Beneshangul-Gumuz Kilil Administration, Assosa, Ethiopia
4. North Gondar Administration, Gondar, Ethiopia
5. South Gondar Administration, Debretabor, Ethiopia
6. All Ethiopian Opposition Political Organizations

7 thoughts on “Ethiopians demand explanations on land giveaway to Sudan”

  1. Asking such a thing from Meles (Legese) Zenawi is like the Jews of World War II writing a letter to Hitler asking him to explain why he’s putting them in concentration camps and destroying them!!!

    How shameful and how ignorant they are of this Eritrean Agent who has dedicated his life to destroying Ethiopia from within. The gullable and naive people of Ethiopia always ALWAYS pretend he is one of them, but he IS NOT!!

    Downfall of Ethiopians is believing Meles Zenawi works for the interest of Ethiopia WHEN NONE OF HIS ACTIONS, NONE, SHOW HIS INTERESTS ARE ONLY FOR ERITREA AND PROTECTING ERITREA!!

    Wake up naive Ethiopians, be brave! Stop wishful thinking and act, get organized, you are being destroyed NOW!!

  5. zenawi is a mercenary who has discarded the Ethiopian flag as a piece of rag, and considers that Ethiopia is a fictional state 100 years old. He has been mocking our people, our history ever since he marched to Addis with his rag tag ethnic militia. He has been consistently undermining the Ethiopian identity, inciting people against one another and setting in motion inter ethnic wars, instilling hatred and enmity among people who have lived peacefully for generation. Without any concern for the well being of the country and Ethiopian national interest, he handed Aseb, to the shabia on a platter. Ethiopia with its 80million people became the largest landlocked country for the first time in its history. and now he is doing it again, handing over part of our territory throgh the back door to Sudan.

  6. IT IS NOT ABOUT TIME Negarit, It is longtime passed and expired time. We today’s selfish Ethiopian gave authority for this ugly mercenary to trade and sell out piece by piece our country to the higher bider. His devilish plan, deeply dividing the Ethiopian peoples worked marvelously for him thanks mainly:

    The executors who believed him when he told them I’m proud of being from you,
    the Golden people of Tigray, this individual actually leading an Ethiopia with a
    population over 70 million and he call one group GOLDEN and the others !!?? God
    knows what in Meles’ all shrouded being. Does this sound familiar as the Arians the
    superior human beings? These Golden people namely the Tigray according to Meles,
    being easily foolishly fooled, manipulated, victimized and corrupted, conspired
    against their own country and their country men and women and children.
    These are the peoples where so many their own ancestors died to defend this country
    called Ethiopia. During these 17 years of Meles even though the province of Tigray
    benefited a big deal au detriment of the others provinces, still their kids get
    slaughtered and bombarded because of the ill-fated politics of this mercenaries. And
    who rushed to save the Tigreans, as usual the rest of the country, their brothers those
    Meles declared and warned they’re going to kill all the Tigrayean with machete
    referring to Rwanda genocide.
    Where with one voice the population responded to him NOT IN ETHIOPIA.
    He is the one who committed several state sponsored crime in different part of the
    country that can be seen or comparable as Rwandan genocide
    But the sad thing, nothing of his over due atrocity clear evidence about his identity
    not enough for the Tigreans to rise against this murderer and join their Brothers and
    Sisters to save the people and the country. Still the big majority of the Tigreans and
    some hodamlaku still stand behind him to prolong the suffering our people and the
    realization of:
    HIS ULTIMATE GOAL OF MR. MELESSE THE NAZI BREAKING
    APART OUR ETHIOPIA.

  7. hi you guys,

    Do not ever think that the ethiopia you know still exists. Meles’s plan of blkanizing ethiopia has already been in operation and it is only a matter of time before we see the full swing unless something dramatic is done by ethiopians, both inside and outside of ethiopia.

    i think, it is time to be proactive rather than reactive, just as meles himself is. let us use our brains, as he does, to counter its sessionist moves to stay as a nation.

    We badly need smart strategists to do this job. otherwise, he will continue to fool us.

    Let us think smart and act now or never!

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