Eritrea questions 'legality and relevance' of US mission

Eritrea questions 'legality and relevance' of US mission
Matthew LeeAFPJanuary 12, 2006
NAIROBI -- Eritrea on Thursday said it doubted the "legality" and "political relevance" of a US diplomatic mission being sent by Washington to ease simmering border tensions between it and Ethiopia. In a statement published on the information ministry website, Asmara said it would only welcome initiatives that force its arch-rival neighbor to accept a binding 2002 border demarcation that resulted from a peace deal that ended their bloody 1998-2000 war. "Now, when almost four years have elapsed, the government of Eritrea cannot countenance ... other 'diplomatic' efforts or 'mechanisms' that will substitute legality, the respect of the rule of law and the implementation of final and binding decisions," it said. "The government of Eritrea reaffirms again that such endeavours will only entail further delay and suffering and will not consequently have any legality and political relevance," the statement said. The ministry maintained that Eritrea would recognize initiatives "focused at bringing about an appropriate resolution to the fundamental issue" but gave no indication that that upcoming US mission would meet that criteria. Eritrea has repeatedly warned that new conflict is looming because of the stalemate and has harshly criticized the United Nations and major world powers for allowing Ethiopia to maintain its stance. The United States said this week that Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer and retired Marine general Carlton Fulford would visit Addis Ababa and Asmara by mid-January in a bid to jumpstart efforts on implementing the border demarcation. The US announcement came as the UN Security Council weighs options for the future of its peacekeeping mission on the border which has been severely hampered by restrictions slapped on it by Eritrea. Asmara has not responded to council threats to impose sanctions on it unless the restrictions are lifted. Asmara imposed the restrictions on the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which include a ban on helicopter flights and the expulsion of UNMEE's US and European personnel, in response to what it believes is the world body's refusal to force Addis Ababa to accept the delineation. Ethiopia has demanded revisions to the border ruling from an international panel despite agreeing to accept its decision when it signed the peace accord that ended the 1998-2000 war after the loss of some 80,000 lives. In recent months, tensions have soared along the border with UNMEE reporting troop movements on both sides, although on Wednesday it said the situation had calmed slightly. "Some positive developments have been seen in the border areas [with] no big movements of troops within the Temporary Security Zone," UNMEE force commander Major-General Rajendar Singh told reporters. "There was not a formation of military build ups, no tanks or heavy artillery movement was observed," he said. "The tension has reduced in the previous days." Singh said some additional armed personnel had been reported on the Eritrean side of the border but that Asmara had denied they were regular army troops.