One could really hardly identify who is an Ethiopian and who is a Sudanese among those who reside around border areas following the longstanding people-to-people as well as bilateral ties Ethiopia and Sudan have set up since long back. In the era of regional integration by which all African states would come to firm ally for common good, border skirmishes between any of the two continent’s states is a disgraced stance. This is perhaps because of two fundamental reasons when it comes to Ethio-Sudan disagreement.
First, any kind of confrontation can be locally addressed following the willingness of both parties. Second, African solutions to African problems has to be well respected and put it to practice as it has helped the continent attain agenda 2063. Hence, there are various mechanisms Ethiopia and Sudan can use to resolve the border dispute without resorting to conflict.
This writer talked to Mohammed Hamid, a historian graduated from Mekele University. He said that Ethiopia and Sudan can continue with two-pronged negotiations, involve third-party enablers or mediators, or make use of international intercession if all other avenues fail. “A 1,600-km long shared border, Ethiopia and Sudan face issues regarding the Fashaga Triangle, a decades-long-disputed border without hard demarcation. The two countries have had appreciated and constructive relations within the Horn of Africa despite the recent border issues,” he said.
Without overemphasizing, he stated Ethiopia has a great relationship with Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan despite the unfortunate borders situation recently created. These countries have to develop the spirit of garnering fruits out of the cooperation and the creation of a grow-together spirit throughout the region.
Reminding the strategic bilateral ties and multilateral ties by which Ethiopia wants the relations to flourish in various trade, development, and investment and security areas Mohammed said the association trajectory in the horn of Africa is now changing for good. For example, Sudan has gained a lot out of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which would preserve it from flooding, increase irrigation, and provide cheaper electricity.
Interestingly, as to Mohammed, relations between Sudan and Ethiopia reached their warmest when Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D.) flew to Khartoum in June 2019 to encourage pro-democracy protesters and the Sudanese generals to come to agreement on a civilian government following the overthrow of long-term ruler Omar al-Bashir.
Another very important aspect is the case of trade. Free trade agreements (FTA) can cover entire regions with multiple participants or link just two economies. Under these agreements, parties enter into legally binding commitments to liberalize access to each other’s markets for goods and services, and investment. FTAs also typically address a range of other issues such as intellectual property rights, government procurement and competition policy, he underscored.
According to Mohammed, since November 2020 tensions have escalated between Sudan and Ethiopia about a common border. The area in question is around Al-Fashaga, between Sudan’s eastern province of Al-Qadarif and Ethiopia’s Amhara regional state.
On the on hand, Ethiopia also claims other elements are fuelling the dispute and Sudan is purely provoked to serve third party interest and Sudanese military representatives, claims Ethiopian farmers have been expanding their farmland into Sudan with the support of local militia, which is not benefiting the two countries at all on the other. These sisterly counties are expected to prefer growing together to developing rivalry out of which neither is benefited.
Frankly speaking, said Mohammed, a potential border war could destabilize not only the two countries but also the entire region. In addition, how the issue is handled and its outcome will have serious repercussions for political transitions in both countries. According to Mohammed, it has to be well recognized that a political accord is needed to de-escalate the dispute. Beyond bilateral negotiations, both governments also have to engage their own constituencies, as de-escalation will not be possible without the consent and willingness of both parties.
As to Mohammed, most of the border area between Sudan and Ethiopia has been delimitated through various treaties between Ethiopian emperors and Britain, the colonial power in Sudan. However, there has been a lack of clarity in some parts, including the Al-Fashaga area, which should receive due attention.
“Each country has also exploited the shifting geo-political context, its own internal strength and the stability of the other to extract concessions regarding the area. However, what needs to be done is leaving supporting each other’s armed opposition groups and engaging in confrontations aside Ethiopia and Sudan shall maintain their long standing history of people-to-people relations and smooth bilateral ties as no one benefits out of the border chaos and turmoil,” he urged.
Sudan is facing almost daily protests against the ever-increasing high cost of living. The alliance that is expected to allow Sudanese to overcome their differences and form the transitional government is getting weaker each day. Similarly, Ethiopia is experiencing a level of internal instability it has not seen for decades. The trying situations in the two countries have to be dealt with by their own citizens internally and this does have a spillover effect to the border peace and stability.
He also cited that the African Union (AU), through the AU Commission Chairperson’s Special Envoy to Sudan Mohamed Hassan Lebatt, who visited Khartoum in February 2021, has called on the two countries to defuse tensions and find a political solution. However, the special envoy currently does not have a mandate to engage in mediation between the two countries. Either way, without the express consent of the two countries the continental body will not be able to do much to resolve the dispute. The two countries matter the most.
In clear terms, said Mohammed, it is up to Ethiopia and Sudan to reach a political accord that can pave the way for mediation at either the political or technical level. This will require gaining internal political support for the negotiations in both Ethiopia and Sudan. It might be enough to de-escalate the situation and prevent it from becoming another destabilizing factor in either country.
Surprisingly, he said, Sudan was supportive of the Renaissance Dam, which of course can be beneficial to Sudan in terms of electricity, reducing flooding, enhancing irrigation. However, in the last couple of years Sudan has taken a more assertive stance, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed once said skirmishes along the Ethiopia-Sudan border will not break the historic ties between the two neighboring countries. Yes, their bilateral tie has to be well maintained as there are no two countries much closer than the case of Ethiopia and Sudan, he highlighted.
“Mainly, Ethiopia and Sudan are expected to build a new type of relationship and continental order through collaboration instead of opposition. True, they have to develop cooperation instead of competition, solidarity instead of greed, strong social relationships instead of meaningless consumption as well as compassion instead of indifference. These two great countries had better work cooperatively to devise lasting solutions to the problems as it is important to develop a relationship of trust and come up with mutually beneficial options for settlement. The most important factors are the nature of the dispute and the goals each side seeks to achieve as a result of it. When Ethiopia and Sudan come to the forefront to settle disputes via round table discussion, every problem becomes as light as a hay,” he said.
BY MENGESHA AMARE
The Ethiopian Herald May 22/2021
