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friction, gńing ris« intcr a lii 10 policc measures of reprrs-sion in J co polkkal pcrsccutioru whkh could jcopar due the intcrnal tranqui!lity of Eihiopia and peacc ind sceu-rky in chic pan of the world.

Economic situatton in Eritrea

219.    The economic capacicy of Eritrea md its pos-sibilibes of development have becn one of the most ditcussed poinis ind have, ic the simc timc_v served is i pobtical instrument for (be support of one er anothec

' pohey in favour of i $Jven solution of the problem.

220.    Thu*. thosc who suppon the Uruonist ciuse have passionately cxiggem:ed the bid siruation, in order to irrive it the conclusion thit the ccrritory cinnot it present md will nevcr be iblc to become self-supponing from the ekonomie point of view. On the other hand, thosc who suppon the prindple of indrpcndcocc havc ilso exaggcraccd the fucuie possibilincs of Erkrci ind hive issertcd, ilso passionately, that the country will be ablc to ichieve ccmplcte economic indępendence in i short period.

221.    Both views arc exaggeraced ind both ire er-. roneous.

222.    There is, however, one undeniible fict: thit, it present, there hirdly cxuts i country in the world whkh could be u id co be cconomically independent. “The idea of economic incerdcpcndcnce his alrcady replaccd the old concept of self-suifidency.

223.    On the other hand, it is very difficulc, .and would be erroneous, to judge the economic capaary of Eritrea in the Ught of the pcesent situation only, without takmg into consideradon the fact thit che cjrisung cir-cumscances are abnormaL

224.    Whcn the Secood World Wir stancd, a floui-ishing ccooomy hid alrcady beto initiated in Eritrei with the dcv<lopmenc of importanc agricultural, industrial md mining aańrities. Evcn if it is truć (hal the war produccd other industrics in the economic life of Eritrea, it ilso obstructed the progressivc coune of the methodical de-velopment whkh had been initiated. To this ckcumstancc could be idded anoihe/ no less import ant. During the list dccidc nothing his becn done towirds the economic improremeot of the territory, whereis much his been done to the conuary. It nuy be pointed out, by wiy of examplc, thit prosperous enterprises, fuch as the culciva-«von of cocton, havc becn abmdoned; the morę imponmt gold mines havc becn closcd, dcsuoycd, or dlsmantled; the frec dcvtlopment of the growing of tobacco md other pitna his becn hindicappcd. AU this his becn due to idministrative aaion, to which must unfonuAitely be idded sonie other dccisive fsetors, such is: (a) the unccr-tainty regirding the futurę disposal of the ccrritory; (b) political agitacion bearing on the simc subject;

(e)tcrroristicictivicicsind the complrte lici of security for lite ind property, whkh have broughi about the ibindonment of imporunr agricultural md induscrial actiriries, hindicipped transport, and caused unrest chroughout the country; (d) the continuom eaodus of Italians, which his been, in che main, due to (cl abovc.

225.    Among the abmdoned agricultural farms, it is enoogh to mcncion those of coffce which, in 1940, promised to raeet the local rcqułrcmcnts witki n i shon time. The ptesent harvesc is less tłun one-third of thar of 1940, noc to speak of the abaodoncd young planu which, today, could be in fuli production.

226.    It is ilso iraporunt to memico, as a funher factor, char the complete lack of bank credks for agricul-turę, manufaemring and tradc his greatly hindered the tcooofnic dcvelopment of the territory. The role thit crcdh plays it present in the economic life oi my country, incktding the morę advanced ones, is weil known.

227.    !c should ilso be considered char, sińce the present Adminmcring Power in Eritrea is iwerested in a cetuin political solution of the problem md hopes that ar least a pan o i that urritory may be idded to its possessioas, it .should not be surposing that far from improving the existing condirions, that Power Ls not even • concemed about their deccriorarion, for the morę thar Eriircm economy suffers, the morę probabilitics there would be for that Power co carry out its political plam.

221. Any cva|uacion that may be madę of the present Eriucan economy, that did not ukc into accoucu the cirewnstances and faaors bricfly oudincd abovr, would givc an erroneous pinurc of the siruation md would lead «o an estunation, also erroneous, of the futurę pottibibties.

229.    Most of the infonnation on the cconomk sinurion of the territory rcceivcd by the Commśssion emanates from the Ericish AdmUstradon and obsśously tends co suppon the polkicil posicioo of the Eiińsh Govcmment with regard co the problem.

230.    In the present abnomul ci/cumstances, the economic siruation of Eriuea is not only bid bur dtterio-rates from day co day. This situadon U noc capable of dunge so long as the problem of che disposal of Erierca remains unsoked.

231.    I( ii uue that dimacie condirions of the territory are not the most favourabic for easy Urgc*scalc agricultural devdopmcni. Rainfall Ls comparativel/ scanty and in some arras is insuffident for farming. There is no river thar flows continuously, with the eaccption of the Serie—which in piaccs seo*cs as the frontier between Eritrei and Ethiopia. Howevcr, the land is not bid gen* crally speaking, and, in vicw of the topography of the country, the possibility of stortng rain water for irrigation is vcry considerable and could be carried out compara*

tidy ccooomically. Irrń^cion by canaU wouk) ahu bc possiblc, using ihc water of numerous seasorul stream^— a system which was bepm be for e the Second World War, with sitisfacfocy resuks.

232.    Thus, ihouęh k is noc possiblc to incrcasc the rainfall in a shon period of timc so long as gradual and extcnsivc plans o(re-afforestarion are not carried out. it is at least possiblc and ielativcly easy, through the in-creased storage of rain water for krigarion and the use of the scasonal running streams to the same end, to incrcasc progressivcly the percentagc of cu!civatcd bnds, not only for sohing the defidt m the production of grains (one-siath of the consumpcion), but cven for maincaining some reserves for cxport.

233.    The main agricultural products of Entrea are grain, \*egeuble-fibrts, coffce, tobacco. cotton. ritras fruits, tropiejI fruiu, md others. This k one of che few piaccs in the world where the dum palm exists, the nut of which is uscd for the mmufaaurc of bunons, akohol, and oil for soap and catile fodder. The skin of the nut coAcains tannin in industrial quantitia and the ihell is used as fuel. From the palm leaves are obrained fibres of eacellent qualify for marinę topes. and raw materiał for che manufacturc of paper.

234.    Cattle brceding is a considerable* source of wealth in Eritrea on accouni of the dairy and meat produos and the industry and caport of skins. This importanc item in the economy of the territory b a ho affecicd by the insufficent rainfall of the country. The cattle are foreed to migratc lwice a year for pasnire. Any mcasure uken towards storing rain water would alleviate the siruation, with consequent progras for this im pomne industry, which, raorcover, is a truły popular source of wealth, sińce cattle brceding is not concencratrd in big farms, but is the patrimony of ihc indriidual Eritrean.

235.    The agricultural production suristics are in-complcte and insuffident and have noi the real valuc whkh is gcnerally attached to statistia, sińce the present condirions arc not normal, as has atready been pointed oul

236.    As regards the minerał wealth of Eritrea, one Principal fact should be cmphasiied: there is not suffident informanon to form an idea of its cxtene, qualky and value.

237.    The faabest known conceming mining is that numerous deposits of go!d exist both in the highlmds and the lowlands. In 1940, the output, whkh was begiruung to rcach a steady lord, amountrd to 17,000 ounces, with Łtcat probabilhies of inaease. The main mines were dc-Kroytd, dowd or dknuntled and during sereral >tart there '♦as no yield. The gold mines havc also been greatly dfected by tcrrorisric actiriries and the lack of security in *he cAinoy. In 1949, the production was only 2,800 ounces.

25$. h is aUo known tha r there are Jcpouts of iron. coppcr. mc Ul. mica. asbestos and other minerals. Tracą of manganese, ricaniucn, magnesium and chromium have been found. but the avaibblc iniormation. in generał, is cvtremdy detident. In some cascs, it has been said that either the materia! is not of good ąuiKry, as for etample, nickel, or that ks locatlon is difficulc of access.

239.    There are also deposits of ults of sodium md potassium, of kaolin and feldspar, which arc used in local manufacturc*. There is a great dral of marbfe, and. although ic seems that there is no coal, ligrutc of Iow quality has been found.

240.    h is also known chat. during the list year* of the Italian regimc, driUings wctc madę co locate oil in the Dahlak lslar.Js o(t Massawa, but. due co the war, rhoie prospeetingł were not completed, and no report is aviil-able regardmg the rcsults. On the other hand. the exist-cnee of sediments of the Mioeene Agc on the coasc north of Massawa has been confirmed, buc no drilhngs have

r becn madc.

241.    WhileitcannotbesatdthatEritrcaisYcryrich in minecals. neither can it be said that ii is poor. Know-Icdgc about mining in Efiirci and the Information avail-ablc on which to basc a judgement are eatremcly deficient. It is a fact, however, that mining is practkall)* an uncrplored field.

• 242. Eritrea has semaj hundred kilometra of eaist ind an imponant archipelago in the Red Sca—one of ihe richest seas in the world. The fu bing industry and • the cxp!ottarion, ic generał, of the marinę weahh offer a very ample and promising field for ihc economy of Eritrea. There are atready some Industries, such as fish meal, oils, sea-shell products, mothet-of-pearl, wuils, coral md pcail, with immense possibiliries of devdopmcnr.

243.    Geographically, Eritrea includes iwo com-pteteły different regions: the highlands of Hamasien, Scrae and Akcie Cuaai and the western and eastem lowlands. Both region* arc complementary to each other cconomieally by the divcrsity of their animal, vegeiable and minera! products, by the interchange of industrial raw materials, by the diffrrences of climatc and sea son and by the fackiries afforded by one to the other for ihe scasotul migration of cattle. It should also bc poćnted out that both regions are linkcd by eacellent highways and ra ilwayi.

244.    Eriuea has a considerable number of Industries whose importancc is bascd mainly on the good qus!icy of their products. The Industries in Eritrea vary greatly, as can bc judged by the foUowing: chcmkal products, prcscrvcd mcats, butter, chccsc. fnh, f«sh mcak bccr, wines, liquors, alcoho!, glassware, chinawarc and porcclain, matchcs, paper. medkkul and pharraaceurical products, (eather goods, dum-palm and mothcr-of-pearl

Document 4    *9

SS THl UStJlD NATIONS AND TH£ INDŁFINDENC1 OF tXTTXŁA