President Isayas reminds Algeria to implement Eritrea-Ethiopia border ruling
Source: BBC Monitoring Africa
Publication date: 2003-11-23


Text of report by Eritrean radio on 23 November

President Isayas Afewerki has sent a message to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika regarding the demarcation of the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia and obstacles it encountered.

The head of the Middle East and north Africa desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Muhammad Umar, delivered the message to the Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem on 22 November. After giving detailed account of the decision by the [Eritrea-Ethiopia] Boundary Commission [EEBC] and the weyane [Ethiopian] regime's rejection of the ruling, President Isayas said as a guarantor of the Algiers peace agreement, Algeria, in collaboration with the other guarantors and the international community, had a responsibility to implement the ruling by the EEBC.

President Isayas made it clear that if the weyane regime would not respect the agreement it signed, the guarantors of the agreement had a responsibility to get action taken against the weyane in accordance with Chapter 7 of the UN.

Ambassador Muhammad Umar told Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem that Eritrea was proposing the relocation of the African Union's HQ from Addis Ababa because of Ethiopia's violation of the very organization's charter.

Saying he would deliver the message to President Bouteflika, Mr Abdelaziz Belkhadem pledged that his country would make continuous efforts for the implementation of the final and binding decision by the EEBC.

Reports we received from Algeria indicated that the two officials also discussed the bilateral relations between Eritrea and Algeria and agreed that a joint committee would be set up to promote the relations.

Publication date: 2003-11-23