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POLITICS: Ethiopia, Eritrea Under International Pressure to Normalise Ties
By Sonny Inbaraj
ADDIS ABABA, Sep 19, 2003 (IPS) - International pressure is mounting on Ethiopia
and Eritrea to normalise ties, three years after the end of a bloody war,
following the UN Security Council's renewal of the six-month mandate of its
peacekeeping mission in both countries.
The Security Council resolution, passed late last week, that renewed the
mandate of UNMEE - the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea -
called on the two warring Horn of Africa nations to settle their differences
through dialogue.
In his report to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
said Ethiopia and Eritrea would have to come to terms with the fact that
they "are destined by geography to remain neighbours, and that normalisation
of relations, while difficult, will be to the great benefit of both
countries and their peoples."
Annan also added UN resources were scarce and peacekeepers were needed
elsewhere in Africa.
The Ethiopian-Eritrean war between 1998 and 1999 was the biggest in the
world at the time, clearly surpassing the Kosovo war in the number of
casualties, troops involved and displaced civilians. The number of dead and
wounded was estimated at 100,000 with an involvement of about half a million
troops and the displacement of about 600,000 civilians.
As at the end of July, UNMEE had 4,000 UN troops, including some military
observers deployed in a 25-kilometre wide buffer area, called the Temporary
Security Zone, or TSZ, between the two states.
"The pressure is certainly on (both nations) and hopefully we should be
able see some momentum," said George Sommerwill, UNMEE's deputy
spokesperson.
"Pressure, too, is coming from the donors and it is in the interest of
all parties that some form of dialogue takes place soon," added Sommerwill.
But the heart of the matter is the border town of Badme, where the war
first started. The town is currently under Ethiopian administration, but
under the ruling by the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC) - made
in April last year - the town lies in Eritrea.
Both Ethiopia and Eritrea committed themselves to be bound by the
decision of the EEBC in the border demarcation between the two countries, as
spelled out in the Algiers Agreement which ended the war in Dec. 2000.
After being postponed twice, the demarcation of the 1,000-kilometre
border is scheduled to begin next month.
A crucial meeting between senior Ethiopian and Eritrean military
officials, under the auspices of the Military Coordination Commission and
chaired by the Force Commander of UNMEE, was held on Wednesday in Kenya's
capital Nairobi.
"The peace process is now at a crucial stage but the peacekeeping
mission, although so far successful, was worth nothing without demarcation,"
said UNMEE Force Commander Major-General Robert Gordon in a statement, made
available to IPS.
But the EEBC decision has not gone down well with Ethiopia and the loss
of
Badme has been taken quite badly.
In his report to the UN Security Council, Annan cited incidents in August
in which "Ethiopian militia pointed their weapons at UNMEE patrols in
response to advice not to enter the TSZ."
Annan stressed that "even more important" than curbing the incursions was
that the two sides "proceed with expeditious demarcation of the border."
In Addis Ababa, however, opposition parties are threatening to stage
demonstrations against the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's ruling and
have accused the government of Meles Zenawi of giving away Badme.
"The decision of the Boundary Commission does not serve the interests of
Ethiopia in general and the border-inhabiting Ethiopians in particular,"
said Beyene Petros of the newly-formed United Ethiopian Democratic Forces.
"This decision does not guarantee peace," Petros told reporters.
But the United States and Japan, two of the largest donors in the region,
have started to turn the screws on Ethiopia.
Washington foots more that 500 million U.S. dollars in the UN Mission in
Ethiopia and Eritrea's peacekeeping costs and is fed-up with delays in the
border demarcation.
U.S. Congressmen are proposing a resolution calling for economic
sanctions against whichever country that blocks progress towards peace. The
Ethiopian embassy in Washington is clearly worried, and has issued a
rebuttal of the resolution.
Meanwhile, a senior adviser to the Japanese Foreign Ministry said both
Ethiopia and Eritrea would have to work out their own problems first before
approaching Tokyo for help in post-conflict development.
"We do not understand the situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea fully,
because it has a very long history. But they have to work out the solutions
on their own before they ask us for help," said Keitaro Sato, the ambassador
in charge of conflict and refugee-related issues at the Japanese Foreign
Ministry.
"Our message to the people or governments is that it is futile for them
to fight. It is our firm stand that we cannot help a country that is
involved in conflict. That is the case, for instance, with Sudan where we
have stopped development assistance to that country for a long time," Sato
told 'The Reporter' weekly. (END)
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