MPs urge transparency on Ethio-Sudan border issue

By Kirubel Tadesse [Capital] | July 1, 2008

Opposition parliamentarians demanded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to clear the ambiguity that is floating around on the Ethio-Sudan border issue while the Ministry presented its ten month report on June 24, 2008.

Bulcha Demeksa, chair of Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) told MoFA Minister Siyoum Mesfin that the public and the parliament do not know the details of the memorandum of understanding the government of Ethiopia and Sudan signed.

“All the ongoing Etho-Sudan border issues will be cleared if the government becomes transparent on the matter. Why isn’t a copy of this agreement available to us?” questioned Bulcha.

Though copies of the memorandum were not distributed to the members, Minister Siyoum explained the memorandum’s theme.
“The singed agreement details that no farmer of both countries would be displaced from their plots in any possible demarcation,” responded the Minister.
Lidetu Ayalew, chair of Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP- Medhin) pointed his finger on the state owned media for not clearing the uncertainty while its foreign counterparts were covering the issue in detail.

“The Ethiopian Television (ETV) always reports on government related issues in a rather tiring routine but the Ethio-Sudan border issue didn’t make it to their program list despite the huge coverage foreign media gave it. The news was first ushered by the foreign media which chewed it in depth and then got the local media’s, ETV, due attention,” Lidetu wondered why there was a silence in government media during weeks the report swapped abroad.
Other MP’s like the Coalition of Unity and Democracy’s (CUD), Legesse Biratu, forwarded to the Minister their suggestions for resolving the ambiguity deepening into the public, they proposed for selected representatives to visit the border.

“A group composed of political leaders, elders and other parts of the public should deploy to the border and report back to the public via the House,” Legesse forwarded as a possible resolution for the border issue transparency climax.

According to MoFA’s report the Ethio-Sudan border was delimited as per 1902 and 1907 agreements signed between Ethiopia and Great Britain, then colonial ruler of Sudan. As per the 1902 agreement, a British national, Major Gwynn, had demarcated with some changes he disclosed in his report. After 1907 agreement, Gwynn also demarcated the delimited parts of the border in 1909. His demarcation was not in accordance to international standard [conducted by stating descriptive topographies, putting stones and other mechanisms] as the pervious two Ethiopian regimes had tried to re demarcate the border. In 1962 one group of experts conducted a survey that suggested the government endorse the Gwynn demarcation as it was found that it didn’t violate Ethiopian interests. Accordingly, the Imperial Ethiopian Government had an exchange of notes with Sudan in June 18, 1972.

MoFA in its report affirmed the statements of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi which explained that no demarcation has been started and no pillar has been put between the two countries border. So far various committees set up at different levels were conducting feasibility studies. According to MoFA, the remaining task is to re-demarcate the border as per the Major Gwynn demarcation which had followed the 1902 and 1907 agreements made between Ethiopia and Sudan.