Feature - A symbolic step to peace

It was a small step towards a lasting peace. But as members of the UN Security Council team walked for the first time across the symbolic Mereb River Bridge linking Ethiopia to Eritrea, they realised the enormous gulf that still exists. The complexity of Horn of Africa politics and the bitterness that divides both countries was marked by the noticeable absence at the bridge-crossing ceremony of a high level Ethiopian delegation. And just some 100 km away at Senafe in Eritrea, the 15 members of the Security Council witnessed the tragic human cost of the bloody two-year border war where tens of thousands lost their lives and over a million people were forced from their homes. Thousands of Eritreans are still living in shabby tents almost 18 months after fighting between the neighbouring countries, which started in May 1998, was brought to a halt. In the border villages of both countries, tens of thousands of mines remain in the ground, claiming new victims – many of them young children. For Ambassador Ole Peter Kolby of Norway, who heads the UN Security Council mission and whose country will hold the Council presidency next month, the visit to the Mereb Bridge at the weekend was very symbolic. "This is a physical bridge, but there is also another bridge, and this a bridge between minds," he told a ceremony at the bridge on Saturday. He said he hoped the people of the two countries "can build this bridge" and a "common future". He has underlined the importance of mine clearance and returning displaced families to their homes. Yet, deep scars and mistrust pervade the mindset of many, and tensions are rising ahead of the ruling by the international Boundary Commission in The Hague which will decide where the official border lies. In Tigray – the border region in Ethiopia hardest hit by the war and where some 300,000 people were forced from their homes during the fighting – senior local officials said they would not accept the loss of what they considered Ethiopian territory. "We shall not accept any decision that attempts to alter the reality on the ground in the face of clear solid evidence," said Solomon Enkway, Speaker of the Tigray Regional Assembly. "Once more we await justice but we will not be bound by any unjust decision that is based on appeasement and compromise." "As you might know we have done everything possible to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict," Enkway added. He said Ethiopia had accepted every aspect of the mandate but accused Eritrea – which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 - of "frustrating" key parts of the peace process. According to Enkway, Ethiopia had produced "solid and incontestable" evidence to the Boundary Commission and was looking forward to the final decision, which is due in March. "We are confident if the law of evidence is working that we shall get all that is ours," he said, ahead of the Mereb River ceremony. He pointed to ruined villages like Zela Ambesa – one of the most hotly contested areas - which was razed to the ground during the fighting and where thousands of people still remain homeless. "These are Ethiopian territories and remain Ethiopian," he said. "There is no force that can change this reality." The Mereb River ceremony, where high-level government officials from both sides were due to meet, was billed as a major confidence-building initiative and designed to calm tensions like those rising in Tigray. UN Special Representative Legwaila Joseph Legwaila who heads the UN’s Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said the bridge was an important gateway to peace. "The Mereb River Bridge is more than just a transport communications facility," he said. "It has tremendous symbolic significance for the people of the two countries. Whereas the Mereb River represents a natural barrier between them, the bridge is a means of uniting the people of the two countries." But UNMEE sources said the non-attendance of senior Ethiopian officials was an "effectively delivered snub" and designed to impress upon the Security Council their anger at alleged misdeeds by Eritrea. "It is significant that they did not attend," one senior UN source told IRIN. "We invited several high-ranking generals but they said they had other commitments."

Tinsh Ghebreekin in Senafe

Meanwhile, in Eritrean territory, the UN Security Council visited the Senafe displaced people's camp, 130 km from the border, in the heart of the demilitarised buffer zone. In this camp, Tinsh Ghebreekin, longs for lasting peace so that she can return to her village. Her life has been shattered and her home lies in ruins. Each month she receives 15 kg of food aid to help her survive. "We were forced from our village by the Ethiopians," she told IRIN. "I had to grab my grandson who was seven days old and just run. Now my life is much worse. I live on food handouts and we have nothing. It is the people who have suffered. "War brings nothing. But for things to be as before, is impossible. There is still too much hatred," she says. For Kolby, whose mission took him on a whirlwind tour of both countries' capitals and to the TSZ, the commitment of both countries' leaders to accept the decision of the Boundary Commission is a promising step. "Now there is a future," he said as he crossed the Mereb River from Ethiopia into Eritrea.