The Claims Commission of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled on 28 April 2004 in favor of Eritrea's claim that Ethiopian soldiers or other persons encamped following cessation of hostilities on the land surrounding the excavated ruins of the Aksumite period city site of Matara (also known locally as Belew Kelew) blew up the hawulti, or stele, the most famous artifact from the Matara archaeological site, which contains probably the oldest extant inscription in the Ethiopic language and script, sometime during the night of 30-31 May 2000. The complete text of the ruling can be obtained in PDF format at the PCA website's listing of Recent and Pending Cases. Following is a summary of the ruling.

The Eritrean legal team demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Claims Commission that the destruction of the hawulti, "an object of great historical and cultural significance to both Eritrea and Ethiopia," was a deliberate and wanton act which took place during the occupation of the site by Ethiopian military forces, despite the Ethiopian claim of lack of "knowledge about the damage inflicted on the stela." The fact that Ethiopian forces were in control of the area legally obligated Ethiopia to provide for the safekeeping of this invaluable artifact and the entire archaeological site, and failure to do so makes them legally responsible for the damage, even though no individuals responsible for the damage have been identified, and no specific order for the action has been discovered. Expert evidence presented by the Eritrean legal team satisfied the Claims Commission that the hawulti "was felled by an explosive of a military type fastened at its base, and that an encampment of Ethiopian soldiers was quite near" at that time.

The Claims Commission held that the felling of the hawulti was a violation of customary international humanitarian law; deliberate destruction of historic monuments is specifically prohibited by several international regulations and protocols. In principle, the appropriate remedy should be monetary compensation, which should be determined during the subsequent damages phase of the proceedings; this will involve the process of assigning a monetary value to the hawulti.

The Eritrean legal team had also asked for an official apology from Ethiopia, but the Claims Commission dismissed that request as not being an appropriate remedy for such a claim. When information is available on the next stage of these proceedings, they will be posted here.

How the News First Got Out

News about the status of the Matara site had been uncertain following the hostilities which led to its occupation by Ethiopian forces, but rumors suggested that there was significant damage. According to the first reliable information that began filtering out early in 2001, the hawulti had been knocked out of its base, and was lying horizontally on the ground, in an unknown condition. The process of clearing landmines from the area and establishing the UN presence in the Temporary Security Zone prevented more substantial information from coming forth for several months.

On 18 May 2001, the Eritrean news service Visafric posted an article which was reprinted the following day in the Eritrea Profile, reporting the destruction of the hawulti. The article included a photo of the upper part of the monument as it appeared when it was standing, and an indistinct photo showing what appeared to be a part of the monument lying broken on the ground, as well as quotes from Eritrean cultural officials. Click here to read the text of the article.

Sometime later, I received information confirming that the hawulti had been shattered, most likely by explosives, and almost certainly by some element of the occupying Ethiopian army. In addition to Eritrean officials, international experts including representatives from UNESCO visited the site to record the extent of the damage and develop plans for conservation and ultimate restoration. The lower part of the monument was shattered, and the remaining upper part was lying on its back on the ground. Fortunately, the inscription was intact, and there appears to be little new damage to the upper part of the monument.

While on a less vast scale than the destruction of the ancient Buddhist statues by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the deliberate vandalism of the Matara hawulti must be condemned as an affront to all of humanity. Such destruction of historic records of peoples and cultures is unabashed compassionless behavior, and must be seen as a wanton attack on each of us, and the heritage of us all.

Organizations and individual donors have contributed funds which are being used to help protect the site from further damage. With the release of the border commission report, the Matara area has returned to a peaceful state. It appears that there was far less damage than was feared, except for the hawulti itself.

It remains my hope that with the establishment on the ground of a permanent and secure boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and with the support of all those agencies and individuals who are working to protect and preserve this and other historic sites in both countries and elsewhere around the world, this and all examples of the immense diversity and creativity of humanity will be safe for posterity.

Left: photo of fallen Matara hawulti, taken by an Eritrean Cultural Heritage Secretariat photographer in 2001. This view looks toward the top as viewed from the broken lower end While nearly all of the monument below the historic inscription has been smashed, this photo clearly shows that the inscription itself remains intact, and there appears to be no substantial additional damage to the upper part of the hawulti. Center: view of hawulti as it formerly stood by the road near Gwal Saim. Click to see other views. Right: photo of fallen hawulti from Destroyed Stele at Matara by Richard Greenfield, posted on shaebia.org, looking from the top toward the broken lower end, showing Yosef Libsekal examining the damage. Click here to view the archaeological rendering of the monument drawn nearly 100 years ago by the German expedition which shows the scale of the hawulti next to a person, and the relative height of the inscription.

Following is the text of the article originally posted by Visafric on 18 May, 2001, and reprinted by Eritrea Profile the following day. Some statements in this article represent opinion rather than verified fact, and while there can be no disagreement with the verifiable aspects of this article, and the damage of such historical artifacts under any circumstances is totally reprehensible, opinions contained in the article are not necessarily thoseof the author of this website.

Ethiopian army destroys world heritage

Visafric
May 18, 2001

The Ethiopian army has destroyed Eritrea's oldest standing structure dating back to the third century A.D.

The wanton destruction of the stelae, considered to be one of the oldest in the region, has shocked area people and archaeologists.

Ethiopian soldiers used tanks to run over the stelae, breaking it into pieces, an eyewitness told a Visafric reporter who was one of the first people to visit the site at Belew Kelew near Senafe just 25 km from the Ethiopian border.

The destruction was only discovered recently as fear of landmines had kept people away. The area is one of the last places from which the occupying Ethiopian army withdrew after the signing of the peace agreement between the two countries in Algiers last year.

"This is crime against culture," said Dr. Naizghi Ghebremedhin, Head of Cultural Heritage Preservation office. Mr. Gebremedhin was at a loss for words and could not hide his anger at the destruction of one of the country's oldest heritage.

Eritrea's Minster of Tourism, Ahmed Haj Ali, was equally enraged at what he said was the wanton destruction of a world heritage by an ill disciplined army.

"This heritage does not belong to Eritrea alone but the whole world. This is one of the links to our past," Mr. Ali said. "The world should take action. Especially the UN and UNESCO should take proper action against Ethiopia for the distraction."

An elderly man who used to guard the historic area said he never thought that the Ethiopians would destroy such a heritage. "War is war, but destroying such a monument is Unacceptable. This heritage in Belew-Kelew is the mother of civilization and the cradle of Axumite kingdom."

National Museum of Eritrea staff, Rezene Russom, described the destruction as " barbaric" adding that the destruction shows Ethiopia's border war included plans to destroy Eritrea's cultural heritage.

The Belew-Kelew area holds many of Eritrea's historical legacies with several ancient sites still to be excavated.