Blame game before border talks

2006-05-16 23:14

Asmara - Arch-rival Horn of Africa neighbours Eritrea and Ethiopia traded accusations over their contested border on Tuesday.

Both countries said they would attend the London meeting of an international boundary commission on Wednesday.

They blame each other for current tensions that have raised fears of a new war.

The charges come a day after the United Nations security council gave Ethiopia and Eritrea until the end of the month to ease the situation, or face possible sanctions and the downgrading of the UN peacekeeping mission monitoring the border.

The commission is meeting as part of a United States-sponsored initiative to salvage the 2000 peace deal that ended Ethiopia and Eritrea's two-year border war - in which 80 000 people died - and prevent a new conflict.

Ethiopia has refused to accept a binding border demarcation issued by the commission in 2002.

This has infuriated Eritrea and led it to impose restrictions on the UN peacekeeping mission.

Cabinet chief to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Yemane Gebremeskel, confirmed on Tuesday, for the first time, that Asmara would be present at the London meeting.

'Our policy is a peace policy'

But he downplayed hopes for substantial progress, maintaining that Ethiopia alone was responsible for the deadlock.

The commission awarded the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea. While Ethiopia has said it accepts the demarcation in principle, it has demanded revisions.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his country wanted peace and would not start a new conflict but would "show" Eritrea the folly of a new war if hostilities started anew.

Meles told his parliament on Tuesday: "Our policy is a peace policy.

"If there is going to be any war, it is not going to be because of us but because of the Eritrean government. We will not be the ones to start it.

"If they want to start (one), we'll show them that there is no way that they can do it.

'War is not a good thing for them'

"If they opt for war, though, we would have to show them that war is not a good thing for them."

The Ethiopian foreign ministry said it had sent a high-level delegation to London headed by an ambassador, but expressed little hope of solid results.

The ministry's Salomon Abebe said: "Ethiopia is going to the meeting with an open mind, because Ethiopia believes in peace.

"But Ethiopia is not very optimistic that the result of the meeting will be fruitful because of the rigid behaviour of the Eritrean government. They don't want peace."

On Monday, the security council postponed a decision on whether to downgrade the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Unmee) by two weeks, pending a possible breakthrough in London.

But Yemane said a March meeting of the commission had produced no results and insisted that the primary issue was Ethiopia's rejection of the border delineation.

- AFP