Opposition criticises peace agreement

The Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP) has said that the peace agreement signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea will damage Ethiopia’s interests. In a statement released to the Ethiopian media on 12 December, the EDP opposition party said if negotiations were going to be based on the 1964 Cairo Declaration and the arguments between Ethiopia and Italy (of 1900, 1902 and 1908), then the chances to “regain our control over a sea outlet would be gone forever”. The party chairman, Dr Admasu Gebeyehu, told journalists that his party held Prime Minister Meles Zenawi responsible for the loss of the seaport and the secession of Eritrea.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the critical ‘Tobia’ newspaper said the government and ruling party of Ethiopia had “wilfully renounced Ethiopia’s legitimate claim to a sea outlet”, and that Meles was “unwilling to champion the national cause”.

Diplomatic sources in Addis Ababa told IRIN that criticism of the agreement “reflected a certain opinion on the ground”, particularly on the part of the hardline Amhara groups which vehemently opposed Eritrean secession from 1991. Such groups were vocal in their opposition to Meles until conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea erupted in 1998, when they threw their political and financial weight behind the government, the source said.