Eritrea not pleased with
Tony Blair’s visit to Ethiopia, Sudan
ASMARA, Oct 6 (AFP) - Eritrea on
Wednesday criticised British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visits this week to
Ethiopia and Sudan, saying the trip was "insulting Africa's
intelligence".
Blair's visit to Ethiopia is
"insulting Africa's intelligence" because Addis Ababa "refuses
to abide by the law", Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed told
AFP in an interview in Asmara.
The Ethiopian government in
September 2003 rejected a ruling made by the independent Eritrea- Ethiopia
Border Commission (EEBC), which demarcated the two countries' common border
after they fought each other between 1998 and 2000.
In 2000, they signed a peace
accord under which they promised to respect the EEBC's demarcation.
Blair's visit to Addis Ababa
"is a good example of how some big powers look at Africa," Abdu said,
adding: "Shame on Prime Minister Blair."
The British prime minister's visit
to Khartoum was also a "shame" because Sudan is "a very
dangerous country with a big background of terrorism".
Khartoum accuses Asmara of giving
material support to rebels in Darfur, a region in western Sudan where the
Sudanese government and allied Janjaweed militia are currently fighting the
Sudan Liberation Movement (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)
rebels.
Eritrea has strongly rejected the
accusation.
Unlimited, high
