Eritrea's patience 'runs thin'
2005-11-21 12:20
Asmara - Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has blamed soaring border tensions with arch-rival Ethiopia on a political "crisis" in Addis Ababa which is stoking fears of a new war to divert attention from problems at home.
In a rare interview broadcast on national television at the weekend, Isaias downplayed the imminent risk of renewed conflict with Eritrea's southern neighbour but reiterated that Asmara's patience with Ethiopia was running thin.
"Statements about the resumption of imminent war between Eritrea and Ethiopia are the invention of the TPLF and its collaborators designed to divert (attention from) the prevailing internal crisis in Ethiopia," he said.
The TPLF is the former acronmym of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) which has launched a major crackdown on opposition groups after disputed May elections.
Isaias' comments, summarised in a statement by Eritrea's information ministry, came as the UN Security Council prepares to vote on what diplomats say will be a tough resolution expressing deep concerns about the potential for a new war.
The president, who has defended restrictions imposed on UN peacekeepers on the Eritrean side of the border, said such a move would be a "waste of time" given the world body's failure to press Ethiopia on accepting a binding border demarcation as part of a peace deal that ended a bloody two-year border war.
"Talks on the part of the Security Council alleging that 'since war is inevitable, (a) tough resolution should be adopted on the two countries, and that since Eritrea has banned UNMEE helicopter flights, an even more tough resolution should be directed against it' represent nothing else but a pure 'waste of time'," he said.
UNMEE, the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, has said its border surveillance ability has been cut by more than 60% since early October when Asmara banned its helicopter flights and limited ground patrols on its territory.
Isaias said Eritrea's "patience cannot continue for an indefinite time," repeating demands for Ethiopia to fully accept the 2002 border ruling which was part of a 2000 peace deal that ended the war.
"In the event such a situation remains unchanged, the Security Council bears full responsibility for any ensuing consequences," he said.
"In view of the fact that sovereign Eritrean territory is still under foreign occupation, its right of self-defence is legally and morally ensured under the UN Charter," Isaias said.
UNMEE last week reported increasing movement of troops along both sides of the border where it said the situation "remains "remains tense and potentially volatile".