The
Unification of Ethiopia & Djibouti will be of
Paramount Historical Significance
Ghelawdewos Araia, PhD
December
17, 2014
The
unification of Ethiopia and Djibouti would be a
historical reaffirmation of the genetic linkage of
the two peoples. I argue that the peoples of
Ethiopia and Djibouti are genetically and
historically inextricably linked together, not
only to imply that their respective countries are
geo-politically intertwined, but also to undergird
the common heritage, historical experiences, the
oneness of cultural ethos, same language, and
linguistic semiotics shared by the two peoples on
either side of the Ethiopia-Djibouti border. The
two main ethnic groups that make up Djibouti are
the Afar and Issa, whose ancestral homes are in
Ethiopia. Wherever they may be, all Afar people
claim Awsa, Ethiopia as the birthplace of their
ancestors. Likewise, all Issa (a Somali clan)
strongly believe that their original home is Ugaz
(in greater Dire Dawa, Ethiopia).
Due
to historical circumstances and superimposed
imperial hegemony, the peoples of Ethiopia and
Djibouti have gone separate ways and were divided
by artificial boundaries, and as a result they
evolved discrete national identities. Put
otherwise, same ethnic groups found themselves in
different nation-states, as it was experienced by
many African nationalities, most notably the
Fulani and Mandingo of West Africa.
In
order to further understand and appreciate the
genetic and historical connection of Ethiopians
and Djiboutians, however, I like to briefly
outline the making and evolution of the two Horn
of Africa countries. It was in Hadar, Ethiopia
that Denknesh or Lucy was found in 1974 by
paleontologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray. It
was also in the same Afar triangle that the
160,000 year-old man or Idaltu (“old
man” in the Afar language) was found by a team
of UC Berkeley paleontologists, led by Tim White.
Our own Berhane Asfaw of the Ethiopian Rift Valley
Research Service also found the fossil of a
seven-year-old child.
It
was also in the same region that the homo sapiens
would emerge and populate our planet earth by an
‘out of Africa’ exodus. Eighty thousand years
ago, the first group of homo sapiens would walk
from present-day Afar/Awash valley region of
Ethiopia toward Djibouti and then crossed the Red
Sea into Yemen. These early ancestors of humanity
did not sail on rafts; they simply walked through
the then shallow Red Sea, and once they migrated
out of Africa, they never came back to their
original homes. But, those who stayed behind would
populate the continent under different
nomenclature such as eastern Kushitic, central
Kushitic, southern Kushitic, Semitic Ethiopian,
Egyptian, Beja, Omotic, Berber, and Chadic, a
classification that I borrowed from Martin Bernal.
There
is no doubt that the great great-grandsons and
daughters of Denknesh were hunting and foraging in
the Horn of Africa and later some of them had
become sedentary agriculturalists and others
trans-humans; the former, who were collectively
known as Abyssinians or Habesha, would later find
centralized state systems and a formidable kingdom
and empire known as Askum; the trans-humans,
especially the Afar, to this day, continued their
pastoral mode of production.
At
a time when Aksum became a mighty empire during
the reign of Aphilas (circa 270 CE), it conquered
Hijaz, which is in present-day Saudi Arabia, and
during the reign of Kaleb (first decade and half
of the 6th century CE), Aksum
incorporated Yemen as part of its empire and the
Ethiopians were the hegemon on either side of the
southern Red Sea. At the southern inland outflanks
of Aksum, however, there were other mini-kingdoms
or quasi states known as Hadya, Dawaro, Bale, and
Ifat, and the latter was located in present-day
Djibouti.
The
above mini-states were mostly led and administered
by sultans, but they were threatened by Aksum and
later by the Zagwe Dynasty medieval Ethiopia.
However, during the third quarter of the 13th
century, when Yekunoamlak restored the Aksumite
lineage, the Sultanates had gathered momentum and
during the reign of Amdetsion (1314-44), they had
become contending forces in the region. By the
first half of the 16th century, when
Galawdewos (1540-59) reigned as king of Ethiopia,
Jihad was unleashed unto the Christian kingdom by
Ahmed Gragn whose origins is believed to have been
from Ifat, then popularly known as Adal.
In
the 19th century, and as pointed out
above, European imperial hegemony would change the
geopolitics of the region forever. Ethiopia would
find itself on a very shaky ground but would
survive the European colonial onslaught; Djibouti,
however, would fall under French hegemony and
would become the colony of France.
It
is against the above backdrop that we must now
examine Ethiopia’s interests in Djibouti during
the heyday of the Scramble for Africa (partition
of Africa by European powers) and also during the
reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. In the first half
of the 19th century, the Sultans of
Afar and Somali had ruled over the Gulf of
Tadjoura (also known as Obock), but they will soon
vanish in the face of European colonizers. The
French signed treaties with the Sultans in 1883; a
year later, the British signed the Hewett or Adwa
Treaty with Emperor Yohannes, by which Ethiopia
would have control over the Bogos, Massawa, and
highland Eritrea. Two decades earlier, the
Italians had already bought Assab from the Sultan
of Afar. In all these political theater and
stratagem, it was Emperor Menelik, who had an
interest in Obock that was tricked by the French
who initially promised him an access to the sea.
On the contrary, beginning 1887, France
consolidated over what is to become French
Djibouti Territory.
During
the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, although
Ethiopia successfully incorporated Eritrea and
enjoyed access to the sea through the ports of
Massawa and Assab, it still pursued interest in
Djibouti. This interest in Djibouti, perhaps
emanated from the strategic location of Djibouti,
but the idea was inspired by Menelik’s vision of
railroad that links Djibouti and Addis Ababa.
In
1959, the Government of Ethiopia signed an
agreement with France and “Ethiopia was provided
with the privilege to exit its goods through the
Port of Djibouti without paying any customs
duties. The French Government promised that it
would make it easy for the Ethiopian Government to
realize its presence in the Port of Djibouti.”1
Moreover the Ethiopian Government of Haile
Selassie had embarked on many diplomatic ventures
in order to make the Bal-el-Mandeb under the
jurisdiction of international waters so that
Djibouti would not fall to Arab or Somalia
influences after it gained independence. Ethiopia
presented this proposal at the Second Law of the
Sea Conference in Geneva in 1960. Nevertheless,
Ethiopia’s wish did not materialize. In
desperation, thus, Ethiopia came up with another
proposal, this time presented directly to
President De Gaulle when he made an official visit
to Ethiopia in 1967. The Emperor asked De Gaulle,
“what he intends to do with Djibouti,” and to
his delight, De Gaulle replied by saying, “we
will conduct a referendum, and if the people want
independence, we will leave and if they want to
stay with France, we will form a home rule”
(i.e. sort of an autonomous Djibouti but with the
suzerainty of France).
Ethiopia
would not mind Djibouti’s independence, but it
preferred “Djibouti’s association with
France” in order to ward off Arab influence and
Somalia’s irredentist claims. By a twist of
historical irony, the people of Djibouti voted in
favor of “association with France” in 1958 and
1967. The latter referendum was manipulated and
influenced by Ethiopia, and as Seyoum Haregot
succinctly puts it, “in the late 1967…the
former Ethiopian ambassador to Mogadishu, Ahadu
Sabure…was sent as consul general with a rank of
ambassador to Djibouti, to coordinate Ethiopia’s
efforts in the general referendum. In addition,
high-ranking officials with the rank of
vice-minister were appointed as governors of the
districts contiguous to Djibouti to assist the
people in those areas in participating in the
referendum. The leaders of the Afar and Issa were
mobilized to help this endeavor. Ethiopia’s
Afars and Issas were sent across into Djibouti to
vote “yes” by the thousands. In case the
“no” vote prevailed, Ethiopia prepared a
special force to occupy the territory.”2
By
1977, a third referendum was conducted and the
overwhelming majority of the people of Djibouti
(close to 99%) voted for independence and Hassan
Gouled Aptidon was elected as the first president
of Djibouti. By this time, Ethiopia was embroiled
in the post-1974 Revolution, followed by civil war
and Red Terror of the Derg military rule, and the
country was completely derailed from its ambitions
on Djibouti and its desire to have access to the
sea. Moreover, Ethiopia would lose the ports of
Massawa and Assab following the independence of
Eritrea in 1991/93 and seizure of state power by
the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF) in the same year.
In
the wake of the complicated global scenario of the
early 1990s, including the collapse of the Soviet
Union, geopolitical and demographic changes in the
Horn of Africa (the birth of new nations of
Eritrea and Sudan), it is understandable that
shifts of alliances and interests would ensue in
the region. In the midst of all these, Ethiopia
would continue to strive in the quest for port
services on the sea. In order to ease the demands
of shipments of goods, including Ethiopian
products for exports and other products for
imports, the country has created a dry port at
Modjo, but this inland port would not completely
satisfy Ethiopia’s trade transactions,
especially now when the country’s economy shows
promises and hundreds of international investors
have chosen Ethiopia as their favorite venue for
trade and partnership. In this context, thus,
Djibouti remains a vital sea outlet for Ethiopia.
The
unification of Ethiopia and Djibouti in any form
(federation, confederation, special economic zone
etc) would be a historical achievement for both
countries and peoples, both in terms of political
stability and economic development.
When
I read the news story on the unification of
Ethiopia and Djibouti on the Ethiopian Reporter,
I was gratified to witness the proposal of
unification coming from the Djibouti leadership,
and that story has served as inspiration for the
writing of this essay. According to the Ethiopian
Reporter (Amharic), the current president of
Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelle, is believed to have
said, “If it is the wish of the Ethiopian and
Djiboutian peoples, we have to translate the
unification into action”; “the peoples of
Ethiopia and Djibouti were intertwined long before
the construction of the railway; the two countries
are friends and there is no sector where they have
not cooperated; we don’t feel any difference
between the peoples of Ethiopia and Djibouti.”3
This
is not the first time Mr. Guelle has entertained
the idea of his country’s integration with
Ethiopia. Back in 1998, when he was the Minister
of Defense and Security, in an interview with Efoyta
magazine, he said, “The authorities in
Djibouti would make every effort to expand the
horizon of mutual cooperation and support between
Ethiopia and Djibouti to the extent of political,
economic and social integration.”4
It
seems to me the time is ripe and conducive for the
integration of Ethiopia and Djibouti and the
reunification of the same people on either side of
the border. There may be some lingering Arab
interest in Djibouti, but this time, for all
practical purposes, it is not going to be to the
detriment of Ethiopia’s national interest.
Beginning 2011, dramatic political changes took
place in North Africa and parts of the Middle
East. Following people’s uprisings, Tunisia,
Libya, and Egypt witnessed, at least, regime
changes short of fundamental structural changes.
Iraq and Syria, the erstwhile enemies of Ethiopia,
also encountered major political instability, and
other Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and the
Gulf Emirates have shown interest in investing in
Ethiopia, and they seem to have made a departure
from their previous negative outlook on Ethiopia.
The
above significant changes, by default, have
created enormous advantages for Ethiopia and
Djibouti in such a way to realize the fruition of
their common agenda. On top of this, as pointed
out earlier, President Guelle’s vision seems to
have echoed the distant past of the genetic and
historical connection of the two peoples, and this
is not surprising at all. Ismail Omar Guelle,
after all was born in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia and he
belongs to the Mamassan sub-clan of the Issa. He
was actually born in the original home of all Issa,
the Ugaz, where his umbilical chord was buried,
and driven by his instinct and his intelligence,
he wants to come back to the home of his
ancestors.
Ethiopia
should reciprocate by embracing the Djibouti
initiative, not only by connecting Addis Ababa and
Djibouti via the new railway, currently under
construction, and providing free water supply, but
also by furnishing all necessary tools and
mechanisms in order to expedite the unification of
the two countries. However, while Ethiopia seize
the moment of integration, it should be done in
stages so as not to falter as in hurriedly and
haphazardly done projects. It is also advisable
that both countries initiate cultural exchanges
and dialogue in order to solidify their good
neighborly relations, and ultimately realize an
effective vehicle for integration. Moreover,
people-to-people relationship must be promoted in
the form of student exchange programs; interactive
dialogue of women, teachers and professors, union
and business leaders, religious leaders and civic
leaders, artists, writers and authors,
entrepreneurs, and professionals in many fields
including medicine, agronomy, and engineering.
The
cultural dimension of integration would further
promote mutual understanding and trust between the
two peoples and also cement their relationships,
which, in turn, would pave a smooth road for the
political and economic integration.
Finally,
it is the two peoples and governments of the two
countries that could decide what kind of
integration they would like to forge, and in my
opinion the Governments of Ethiopia and Djibouti
should jointly organize a panel of intellectual
experts in the fields of sociology, anthropology,
and intercultural communication for the cultural
aspect of integration; conflict and conflict
resolution to once and for all eradicate
differences among the people (as recently was done
between the Afar and Somalia regional states of
Ethiopia); political science for an in depth
analysis, theoretical framework, and policy in
regards to the nature and characteristics, as well
as structure of the union regime; economics, for
micro/macro and overall development agendas;
political economy for domestic, regional, and
global economy and the would be status and role of
the two countries vis-à-vis globalization etc.
For
the union of Ethiopia and Djibouti, all it
requires is vision, commitment, and will!
Notes:
- Seyoum
Haregot, The Bureaucratic Empire: Serving
Emperor Haile Selassie, pp. 170-171
- Seyoum
Haregot, Ibid, pp. 172-173
- Ethiopian
Reporter
(Amharic), December 14, 2014
- Addis
Tribune,
May 8, 1998; See also “Ethiopia-Djibouti
Relations to Union” by Abdifatah S. Ismail
in wardbeernews.com (Roob Doon Forum)
All
Rights Reserved. Copyright © Institute of
Development and Education for Africa (IDEA), 2014.
Dr. Ghelawdewos Araia can be contacted for
educational and constructive feedback via dr.garaia@africandiea.org
|