Eritrea/Ethiopia: Security Council snubs Ethiopia�s sham plan

Commentary

22 December 2004, EDNews � When the UNSC took up the Eritrea/Ethiopia issue on 21 Dec 2004 it certainly was not because it was so bothered by the non-existence of Eritro-Ethio relationship, which has been broken since the start of the border war and is persistent to-date because of Ethiopia�s �refusal� to accept the decision that settled the �border� dispute thereby eliminating the mutual respect of territorial and national sovereignty as minimum requirement for bilateral relations, but to counter Ethiopia�s sham 5-point plan to derail the Algiers Agreement.

Ethiopia�s �Five point plan to destroy the Algiers Agreement� was delivered with sugar-coating. And the UN Security Council countered Ethiopia�s sham plan the same way it was delivered: Sugar-coated. In a press release issued yesterday, the UNSC first welcomed the plan for its sugar-coating (Ethiopia�s commitment to resolve the �dispute� peacefully and only peacefully, to pay the well overdue commission fees, and to appoint field liaison officers) but then destroyed the plan itself by reiterating its unwavering commitment to the Algiers Agreement and its firm support of the Boundary Commission and its final & binding ruling, and by appreciating Eritrea�s continued support of the Commission�s final & binding decision.

Having said that, the press release also stated that the Security Council is now looking forward to the beginning of the border demarcation as decided by the Boundary Commission, established by the Algiers Agreement as the mechanism for a peaceful resolution of the boundary dispute and stressed UNMEE�s important role in supporting the final and binding decision of The Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC).

Security Council�s call for normalization of relation is a standard inclusion of every such press release or statement as long as it is lacking. Hence using it as a storyline is only a lame attempt to obscure the main message of the press release, which is: UNSC telling Ethiopia to adhere to the Algiers Agreement thereby politely damping Ethiopia�s �5-point plan to destroy Algiers�. Moreover, calling for normalization of relation is preposterous because it is the direct consequence of Ethiopia�s persistently adamant non-compliance with the Algiers Agreement (Ethiopia�s flagrant defiance of the border ruling). Had Ethiopia accepted the ruling unequivocally, then the groundwork for normalization of bilateral relations would have been long established for unequivocal acceptance of the boundary decision in words and deeds is tantamount to respect of Eritrea�s territorial and national sovereignty as the minimum for such relations. Thus, if the international community is serious about normalization of relation between those two nations, then it must compel Ethiopia to accept the border decision unequivocally; that will do it?

That being said, UNSC�s action is a no-action because it is inconsequential and constitutes quasi a �back to square one� position: Continued state of stalemate/no war, no peace state. It is time for UN/UNSC to stand up to its treaty obligation to ensure strict adherence to Algiers and �make the last call for compliance with the Algiers Agreement or else to face the consequences.