Eritrea/Ethiopia: US firm on unequivocal acceptance of ruling

By TED

Asmara, Eritrea, 8 Dec 2004 (AFP, Eritrean Radio) - US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Donald Yamamoto held bilateral talks with Eritrean President Isaias Afeworki on Tuesday, 7 Dec 2004 in the capital Asmara, a presidential spokesman said. This was the first visit to Eritrea by a top US official since Ethiopia�s unveiling of the �Five-point attack, by any measure and standard, on the Algiers peace accord� on 25 Nov 2004, whereby Ethiopia offered to accept the border ruling in principle instead of unequivocal acceptance as stipulated by The Algiers Agreement that ended the border war.� Yamamoto�s reaction subsequent to Ethiopia�s latest announcement was �the US position remained the same on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border issue and that he wanted a decision of Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) to be implemented�.

A US embassy official in Asmara declined to comment on the outcome of the meeting by saying �We leave it to the Eritreans to comment on the talks between Yamamoto and the Eritrean President, because they are the hosts". Accordingly, on 7 Dec 2004 Eritrean Radio reported that �During the meeting, Mr Yamamoto said that the US government remains firm on its last January statement on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border dispute, which stated the boundary commission's ruling as final and binding and that it should be implemented without any preconditions�.

The statement that was issued by the US Dept. of State on January 21, 2004 said� �The Algiers Peace Accord, ending the Ethiopian Eritrean conflict, must be respected without qualification. Both Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to accept unequivocally the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission�s decision as final and binding. The United States expects each government to uphold its commitment to abide by this agreement. The United States urges both parties to implement the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission�s decision peacefully, fully and without delay. As the process moves forward, communication directly between the two countries will be imperative.�

The United States is one of the few members of the international community not to have commented on the Ethiopian proposal. "Making noise doesn't help around there," the embassy official said in Asmara on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, Eritrea�s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed it as �hollow in practice� �and a �flagrant violation of the Agiers Agreement� and called on the international community to compel Ethiopia to adhere to the Algiers Agreement.� And in an official statement released on Tuesday, Eritrea�s president, Isiais, rejected it, saying that "Eritrea will not accept any alternatives to the EEBC's decision."