(By Ethio Asnesaw)
Documents collected by Enzo Antonio Cicchino
The project touches three issues that are considered by us between the main points to be solved:
• the territorial link between the two colonies;
• the disarmament of Abyssinia;
• exploitation of mineral wealth in areas not controlled by Italian.
The problem of spatial conjunction between the two colonies could also be postponed to a later date. However it must be kept open. We will have to discuss whether and how to raise and if, without prejudging the question in its largest territorial dimension, either to ask now the conjunction.
The problem of disarmament instead must be dealt with immediately, albeit by way of amendment to the draft of the five for the regime of assistance to Abyssinia. The problem of mining of other regions might also be solved in margin trading with some precise agreement with France and Britain, which should get the approval of the Negus.
I. territorial Exchanges
As regards the points touched by the project is observed:
a) Tigré. You have to get to have all the Tigré as we occupied in 1896; Alternatively the whole region from us busy today; We can smoothly ensure special arrangements for Aksum with
certain guarantees for Coptic worship; is a concession that costing little to us can give us some advantages in return given the exaggerated importance that you want to attach to this matter of
Aksum.
b) Dankalia. It is not clear which is the area reserved to us; You should get a line from South of Macallé go to reach Lake Gum in French Somaliland, leaving our territory the Biru and Teru. It is not excluded that this request could be justified in the diction of the franco-British project that speaks to confine South Dankalia italiana Aussa glue. For the Aussa then, demonstrating good
intentions to submit, you should seek independence. The draft franco-British talks border adjustment while it is necessary to speak of border fixation.
c) frontier between Somalia and the Ogaden. Here too it is necessary to speak of fixation and not border adjustment. You can get in property around the Basin of the rivers that flow towards
the Italian Somaliland. The request however opinion justified doesn’t have much chance of being upheld. Need however to negotiate.
d) access to the sea for Ethiopia. It is clear that on this balancing account is based around the project system. As far as grants both serious and tricky it seems they can ask for the suppression. Although the assignment of a port and a strip of land – in absolute property – can appear more appropriate when both made in Italian territory because better controllable and tomorrow more easily can be suppressed, on the other hand such a concession Ronde more evident the compensation system. ….. (Read more, pdf)