ETHIOPIA AND THE ITALIAN COLONIES
Snt,—Professor Bentwich does not like my suggestions for the disposal of Eritrea ; but he also very seriously misrepresents them. In respect of the flattish semi-desert Muslim tribal areas, contiguous to the Sudan and homogeneous 'with its tribes, my suggestion is to transfer them to the Sudan. They have never formed part of Ethiopia (in spite of the oft- repeated myth to that effect), though they were sometimes claimed and constantly raided by the Negus. Keren, which should be similarly transferred, is equally non-Ethiopian and non-Christian, and its Inhabitants, town and tribe alike, very strongly prefer this proposal to the prospect of rule from Addis Ababa. In respect of the Eritrean Plateau, I have suggested that this, together with Massawa, its natural port, should be transferred to Ethiopia and placed under the Emperor's sovereignty. He would thus enjoy the completest use of his port of Massawa (although it has not been under Ethiopian rule, for one moment, since the early sixteenth century). At the same time, I cannot think it wise or humane to hand Asmara and the other modern and fully civilised towns of the Plateau, together with their European-standard public services and their habituation to law and order, to the savage anachronism which is Ethiopian rule in the adjacent Tigria province today. If, therefore, some member of the United Nations (which, Imperialist or not, I should much prefer not to be Great Britain) can be found to administer for some years the Eritrean Plateau and the Tigria on behalf of the Emperor and with his name and authority, it would be a solution with almost every advantage. It will, however, not satisfy those who hasten to support every Ethiopian claim, however absurd, and seem to take too little thought for the welfare of the inhabitants themselves. Regarding Somalia, I favour the proposed "United Somalia," but only on the condition that everybody will play. If they won't, it is useless to pursue it. But in no event should I approve the attachment of the Muslim Ogaden to Ethiopia, who conquered it only in the last years of the nineteenth century. Here, too, I suggest that the preferences and well-being of the inhabitants should prevail over purely dynastic
Previous page
