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The
Horn, the List and the Risks
New York Times Editorial - October 17,
2007 (Corrected
October 19, 2007)
Eritrea
and Ethiopia seem well on their way to starting yet another
destructive war. Tensions between
the two Horn of Africa countries have hovered near a boiling point
ever since Eritrea wrenched its
independence from Ethiopia. In the late 1990s, the two fought a
vicious battle over an inconsequential border town that left
100,000 dead.
The treaty that ended this last bloody war included a new border
drawn by the United Nations. With a
November deadline for the border about to go into effect, Ethiopia
is balking at the deal after seven
years of dragging its feet. Eritrea, also no innocent victim, has
violated the treaty, sending troops into
the demilitarized zone.
The Bush administration has been very cozy with Ethiopia since
Ethiopian troops ousted a radical
Islamist government in Somalia last year. And officials have had
some success pushing Ethiopia to do
the right thing, gaining the release of some political prisoners
in July. Now the administration should be
using its influence to press Ethiopia to recognize and demarcate
the border and talk with Eritrea to lower tensions.
Washington has considerably less influence in Eritrea. At the
moment President Isaias Afewerki - who makes most of the decisions
- is refusing to talk to American diplomats. But instead of
looking for other
ways to reach out, the Bush administration has threatened to list
Eritrea as a state sponsor of terror.
Eritrea has some very frightening friends. It has given safe haven
to Islamists from Somalia and has
shipped weapons there, fueling the civil war. The list of terror
sponsors is a very blunt instrument (no
state has yet been taken off it [Correction: Iraq and Libya have
been removed.]), and one that is unlikely
to alter Eritrea's behavior any time soon. There is, however, a
very immediate danger that Ethiopia would see Washington's
decision to list Eritrea as a green light to attack its neighbor.
What the administration needs to do now is press Ethiopia to
respect the treaty. If something isn't
done quickly, we fear many more Eritreans and Ethiopians will die
for no reason. There is time to
put Eritrea on the list of terror sponsors if it doesn't clean up
its act.
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