Ottawa Eritreans have mixed reactions to Ethiopian PM's Nobel Peace Prize

Some members of Ottawa's Eritrean community say they'redismayed by the decision to award the prime minister of neighbouring Ethiopia the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Friday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was announced as the winner of the prize for his efforts to"achieve peace and international cooperation"with Eritrea.

Abiy helped negotiate anagreement to enda 20-yearstalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea that followeda violent border war.

Following the peace agreement, air traveland phone calls were permitted between the two nations and the land border was temporarily opened.

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Despite those initial gestures of goodwill, some local Eritreans say nothing has really changed for their familiesin the region.

"When the news broke that he won the Nobel Peace Prize, I was in shock. I don't think he's the kind of guy who should be praised at the international level,"said Efrem Berhe, an Eritrean youth activist.

"Saying that he made peace in Eritrea is very inaccurate, because there is no peace."

Berhe's parents are still living in Eritrea, where there are stllrampanthuman rights violations. There is no freedom of religion, freedom of information or freedom of the press.

Since the peace treaty, Eritrean President IsaiasAfwerkihas also closed the border at the town of Zalambessa.

"Abiy is making an alliance with the Eritrean dictator, but not with Eritrean people," Berhe said.

"To put it bluntly sleeping with a brutal dictator does not constitute peace building."

Years of border issues

"Abiy accepted the peace agreement, but he is not pushing to demarcate the border," said YohannesDrar, a social worker at the Royal Ottawa Health Centre.

Before Drar came to Canada, he fought forEritrean independence as a freedom fighter.He thinks the NobelPeace Prize is positive news for Ethiopia, but not his home country.

"After Eritrea achieved independence, it came under a dictatorship," said Drar. "Now, we are like the North Korea of Africa."

For Drar, a clearly defined border between Ethiopia and Eritrea is the first step toward establishing Eritrea's sovereignty and alasting peace.

Abiy has not acknowledged the human rights violations going onin Eritrea, Drarsaid, adding he hopes the award will shed light on the ongoing situation in his country.

More peaceful candidates

As for Berhe, he wishes the Nobel Peace Prizecommittee would have acknowledged reformers like the Eritrean groupnicknamed "The G-15," whichfirst called for an open dialogue with Ethiopia in 2001.

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"It feels one-sided," said Berhe. "If you're really concerned about the border conflict, how about [recognizing] the other side?"

Nevertheless, Berhe hopes the prize will putmore pressure on the Ethiopian government to completely withdraw from Eritrean territory.