Eastern Sudan farmers get back disputed lands from Ethiopia

Wednesday 4 July 2007 05:00.

July 3, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — A joint Sudanese-Ethiopian committee would start today to hand over agricultural lands to residents of more than 17 Sudanese villages located in eastern Atbara River along the Ethiopia-Sudan border.
The agricultural lands remained a source of dispute for more than 100 years.
Governor of Al-Gadarif State, in eastern Sudan, Abdelrahman al-Khidir told Akhir Lahzah that this step came as an implementation of 1971 agreement which stated re-demarcation of the border between the two countries.
He added that technical arrangements have been finished and a committee of seven experts from each side would give the Sudanese farmers their lands, pointing out that his government is ready to append these farmers with the current agricultural season.
He said that with the end of the committee’s work which might last for a week, the lands would be back to their owners.
He explained that they have formed 17 cooperative societies in addition to other previous societies in order to support the farmers within the framework of the agricultural campaign on one hand and to consolidate the Sudanese land on the other.
Furthermore the governor called for dealing with the border issue with a good spirit between the two countries, adding that people should look at the border issue as an area of integration not of conflicts.
He explained that the final operation of border re-demarcating which might conclude after the autumn season would put an end for all kinds of security breaches and instability situation in the area. [Source]

Comment: About a year or so ago I commented on a similar article from Sudan Tribune in which the online magazine reported the possible handing over of Ethiopian territories to Sudan. I am outrageous today as I was then. I don't understand what this people (the TPLF) are thinking. They have no regard to securing the sovereignty of the nation that they control. What I found striking from the above article is found in the last paragraph, "He explained that the final operation of border re-demarcating which might conclude after the autumn season would put an end for all kinds of security breaches and instability situation in the area." So, the TPLF is willing to go as far as giving chunks of Ethiopia's fertile lands to the Sudan for the sake of preventing the operation of Ethiopian opposition/rebel groups inside Sudan and in order to stay in power as long as they can at the cost of Ethiopia!