Love can win hearts, and we have seen a great deal of it today

Ethiopia and Eritrea agree to normalize ties in historic breakthrough

ADDIS ABABA, canada goose uk shop Ethiopia Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed traveled Sunday to Eritrea, once a bitter adversary, and agreed to normalize ties after an unprecedented summit.

canada goose outlet in usa The rapprochement between canada goose store the two neighbors could have far reaching consequences for improving the stability of the Horn of Africa, which is home to several conflicts and environmental http://www.canadagoosesalesus.com crises. canada goose outlet in usa

The two nations, sworn enemies for two decades, fought a brutal war from 1998 to 2000 in which at Canada Goose online least 70,000 people were killed. In the intervening years, the two sides have clashed repeatedly and supported rival rebel movements.

Abiy was hugged by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki at the airport in Asmara, the buy canada goose jacket cheap Eritrean capital, and they smiled and laughed as they strode past a uniformed band and honor canada goose clearance sale guard.

canada goose outlet new york city The friendly welcome set the tone for the visit; the two men were shown several times on Eritrean state television smiling together before Canada Goose Parka announcing at an evening banquet that relations will be normalized. canada goose outlet new york city

canada goose outlet parka The two countries will reopen embassies, restore flight links and allow direct telephone calls. Landlocked Ethiopia will look to start using Eritrea’s Red Sea ports. canada goose outlet parka

canada goose outlet Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, facing camera, is welcomed Sunday by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki at the airport in Asmara, Eritrea. (ERITV/AP) canada goose outlet

canada goose outlet canada “We have agreed to open up embassies in our respective countries, allow our people to visit each other’s cities, and allow our airlines and ports to operate freely,” Abiy said. “Love is greater than modern weapons like tanks and missiles. Love can win hearts, and we have seen a great deal of it today here in Asmara.” canada goose outlet canada

canada goose outlet nyc Abiy, who came to power in April and has already turned Ethiopia’s stagnant political scene on its head, has frequently preached about love and unity in his speeches in Ethiopia. canada goose outlet nyc

canada goose outlet online The convoy of vehicles that carried him from the airport through downtown Asmara was swamped by loudly cheering crowds that spilled onto the road and slowed the cars to a crawl. canada goose outlet online

goose outlet canada “Peace is everything; it is health, development, education,” an elderly uk canada goose outlet man wearing a turban and sunglasses told Eritrean uk canada goose state television the morning of the visit. “Everyone buy canada goose jacket in the world loves peace.” goose outlet canada

canada goose outlet online uk “The Eritrean people have today got the chance to express their true love and emotion canada goose uk outlet for Ethiopians,” Isaias said at canada goose outlet the evening banquet, according to news agencies. “We can imagine that the decision the prime minister of Ethiopia took was not a simple one. But we can assure you we will face the future together. We will work as one.” canada goose outlet canada goose online uk

canada goose outlet reviews The change in relations has stunned observers. canada goose outlet reviews

official canada goose outlet Hallelujah Lulie, a political analyst specializing in the Horn of Africa, said the two countries had come to the realization that the status quo no war, no peace could not continue. As Eritrea’s relations with the West and Arab countries improved, cheap canada goose uk it also became more canada goose coats on sale open to rapprochement. In Ethiopia, the accession of Abiy, who represented a break from the canadian goose jacket party that conducted the war with Eritrea, also made it easier to find an end Canada Goose Jackets to the stalemate. official canada goose outlet

canada goose black friday sale Hallelujah added that mediation over the past month by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have increasingly close ties to Eritrea, probably helped create the breakthrough. canada goose black friday sale

“It will radically redraw the geopolitical map of the Horn of canada goose clearance Africa and East Africa,” he said. “The rivalry between Ethiopia and Eritrea was reflected in canada goose black friday sale conflicts in South Sudan, Somalia, even sometimes up to Chad.”

[Eritrea breaks silence, responds to Ethiopian overtures, will send delegation]

canada goose outlet toronto factory Nearly 30 years ago, when Eritrea was a province of Ethiopia, the future leaders of the two countries were comrades in the Canada Goose Outlet struggle against Ethiopia’s communist dictatorship. But after the overthrow of the dictatorship and Eritrea’s declaration of independence, relations soured despite close cultural and linguistic ties. canada goose outlet toronto factory

canada goose outlet black friday Abiy broke the deadlock between the two countries June 5 by accepting the 2000 peace agreement that ended the war, which would involve ceding territory still held by Ethiopia. canada goose outlet black friday

canada goose jacket outlet Events moved quickly after that, with Isaias accepting Abiy’s overtures as a “positive” move and sending a delegation led by his foreign minister to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, a week later. canada goose jacket outlet

canada goose outlet store The normalization of ties notwithstanding, the complex process of returning disputed territory and figuring out what happens to the people living there lies ahead. canada Canada Goose Online goose outlet store

For much of the past 20 years, Eritrea has been focused on canada goose factory sale its conflict with Ethiopia, with substantial spending on its military and indefinite mandatory military service that has led hundreds of thousands of Eritreans to try to immigrate to Europe.

canada goose outlet sale The end of the conflict could open the way not only for the end of mandatory conscription in Eritrea but also a return to democratic provisions in the constitution that were suspended, including elections canada goose outlet sale.