Urging US Congress to pass the bill H.R. 2760

By now, most of you in the US congress know about the letter written by the Ethiopian Prime Minister to the UN Security Council. Eritreans who are residents in the State of Maryland categorically reject the letter and its contents and urge the United States Congress to do the same by passing the bill H.R. 2760 co-sponsored by US Representatives Tom Lantos (D-California), Donald Payne (D-New Jersey), Edward Royce (R-California) and Elliot Engel (D-New York) that calls for the speedy demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia Border.

The independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) has delivered its final and binding verdict, and both countries must abide by the decision and allow the speedy demarcation of the border. What the Ethiopian Prime Minister is proposing is illegal, and Eritrea can not be party to such illegal and irresponsible acts.

Badme was and has always been sovereign Eritrean territory and the Border Commission has re-affirmed that fact. The US Congress should not take the Prime Ministers threat of war lightly. Ethiopia launched three successive offensives which resulted in the death of over 123,000 Ethiopians and 19,000 Eritreans. The Ethiopian invasion of sovereign Eritrean territories resulted in the destruction of infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and churches which Eritrea is trying to repair and rehabilitate. The international community can not allow that to happen again.

Ethiopia has violated the terms of the Algiers Agreement repeatedly and now had decided to reject the EEBC ruling further undermining the peace treaty. Clearly the time has come for the international community, and specifically the guarantors of the Algiers Agreement, to shoulder their responsibilities. Eritrea, which has scrupulously respected the Agreement, accepted the border decision, and shown tremendous restraint and patience.

We, the undersigned members of Eritrean community ask you to spare the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia by acting courageously and passing H.R. 2760 denying Ethiopia the resource to wage another war.