Abstract
This chapter examines the Eritrea-Ethiopia relationship from 2000 onwards. It examines some of the factors that make the conflict intractable as well as factors that facilitated the rapprochement. It analyses the consequences for Eritrea of the war itself and of the no-war no-peace situation that followed. It also examines the challenges facing the rapprochement. The two years’ war ended with the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement in December 2000. The end of the war was however replaced by a no-war no-peace situation leading to a relationship at war footing that lasted until July 2018. Although the rapprochement has redefined the Eritrea-Ethiopia relationship in general, the relationship with the northern regional State of Tigray remains the same and that has impeded the implementation of the July agreement, particularly the aspect of the border issue. While Eritrea is waiting for the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Badme, Prime Minister Abiy is facing un-surmountable challenges in delivering his commitment because the regional government of Tigray has rejected his authority casting doubt on the future relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The chapter contends that the relationship between Eritrea and Ethiopia depends very much on the internal stability of Ethiopia and Abiy’s (the federal government’s) ability to impose his authority on the regions, particularly on the Tigray region.
The author is a Senior Researcher and Associate Professor at the Nordic Africa Institute.
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Notes
- 1.
Trivelli 1998.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
Asrat 2014.
- 5.
Negash and Tronvoll 2000.
- 6.
Trivelli 1998.
- 7.
Bereketeab 2009.
- 8.
- 9.
Bereketeab 2009, pp. 127–128.
- 10.
Asrat 2014.
- 11.
Last 2004.
- 12.
- 13.
Berhe et al. 2019, p. 86.
- 14.
Ibid.
- 15.
The SAWA Defence Training Center is a military academy in the Gash-Barka region of Eritrea, where the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) recruits and national service conscripts are sent for basic military training. Since 2003, all local secondary school pupils are required to attend their 12th grade at an institution near the SAWA Center to ensure that they meet their mandatory national service obligations (see Human Rights Council, Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, 4 June 2015, A/HRC/29/42, A/HRC/29/42, notably pp 5-14, and Connell and Killion 2011, p 461).
- 16.
- 17.
Bereketeab 2018.
- 18.
Bereketeab 2007.
- 19.
Bereketeab 2018.
- 20.
See Greppi and Poli, Chap. 4.
- 21.
Abbink 2017.
- 22.
Ibid., p. 165.
- 23.
Ibid., p 236.
- 24.
Ibid.
- 25.
UNSC Res 1907 (2009), 23 December 2009, S/RES/1907. See UNSC, Security Council Imposes Sanctions on Eritrea over Its Role in Somalia, Refusing to withdraw Troops Following Conflict with Djibouti, Meetings Coverage, 23 December 2009, SC/9833, https://www.un.org/press/en/2009/sc9833.doc.htm. Accessed 11 July 2020.
- 26.
Cited in Habte Selassie 1980, p. 39.
- 27.
- 28.
- 29.
Woldemariam Y and Yohannes O (2007) War Clouds in the Horn of Africa, https://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article24685. Accessed 10 July 2020.
- 30.
Bolton 2007.
- 31.
Abbink 2017, p 148.
- 32.
Bereketeab 2019.
- 33.
Ibid., and Schemm P (2018) Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn Resigns amid Political Turmoil, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ethiopias-prime-minister-resigns-amid-political-turmoil/2018/02/15/ad3fc10a-1246-11e8-9570-29c9830535e5_story.html. Accessed 11 July 2020.
- 34.
Bereketeab 2019.
- 35.
Eritrea—Ministry of Information, Interview with President Isaias Afwerki Part I: Regional Issues, 15 February 2020, http://www.shabait.com/categoryblog/30145-interview-with-president-isaias-afwerki-part-i-regional-issues. Accessed 10 July 2020.
- 36.
Ibid.
- 37.
Tigrai Online 2020 Deputy President of Tigrai, Dr. Debretsion Gebremichael’s serious call for Ethiopians and Eritreans, http://www.tigraionline.com/articles/debretsion-speech-lekatit.html. Accessed 9 July 2020.
- 38.
Ibid.
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Bereketeab, R. (2021). Development in the Relations Between Eritrea and Ethiopia from 2000 to Nowadays. A First Assessment from an Eritrean Perspective. In: de Guttry, A., Post, H.H.G., Venturini, G. (eds) The 1998–2000 Eritrea-Ethiopia War and Its Aftermath in International Legal Perspective. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-439-6_30
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