(1) The state of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea is over. A new era of peace and friendship has opened. “We expect much more from this peace agreement. If we see it intermittently, it has been more than two years, so we should have seen many of the fruits of the peace agreement. But what happens on the ground is actually the opposite,” Selam said. The 2018 Eritrea-Ethiopia Summit (also in 2018) was a bilateral summit held in Asmara, Eritrea, from 8-9 July 2018 between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and officials from both countries. The Ethiopian and Eritrean governments have concluded the following joint agreement, which reflects the aspirations and aspirations of their peoples: “It is important to remember that there is no formal peace treaty between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Border controls have been reintroduced. Discussions on economic cooperation and port use have stalled.
With the peace pact, Ethiopia can now use the Red Sea ports in Assab, southern Eritrea and Massawa in the north. Ethiopia currently spends more than $1.5 billion a year on the use of Djibouti`s ports. The Eritrean industry will have access to Ethiopia`s 100 million consumers (the second largest in Africa). Despite the peace agreement and reforms already underway, the Somali regional state still faces major challenges, including the realization of the conflict and support for the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims and veterans. What is peace beyond the statements of these two leaders and the applause of the Western diplomatic community and its allies in the region? It was one thing for Ahmed Abiy to marginalize the TPLF. It was another thing to expropriate Tigray (and thus Ethiopia) from part of its territory, which could provoke (without even addressing the question of the status of the population). Indeed, the border between the two countries has been closed for a year and is only open sporadically and very localized until spring 2019. Only a daily flight between the two capitals allows us to say that the connections are maintained, provided of course to be able to pay for a ticket and get a seat on this plane. Peace, of course, but peace of and for the elites.
People living in the affected areas are the first to be forgotten in such a celebrated moment. Peace is a crowning achievement at the beginning of Mr. Abiy`s tenure, who has already overseen an impressive reform since taking over Africa`s second most populous country in April. The reality is much darker than most American and European chancellors want to admit. After the assassination of a popular singer, Abiy Ahmed appeared in military demonstrations of fatigue on national television; The Internet was cut off for more than a week and the media were banned, while politicians who were among its leading allies were fired and even imprisoned. The authoritarian tendencies of the period 2001-2018, when the TPLF led Ethiopia, were rightly denounced by Abiy Ahmed, who today drew inspiration from them without any particular emotions, no doubt the support of Washington, London and Paris (as well as Beijing) and the aftermath of international organizations such as the IMF or the European Union.
