Eritrea: Prez Afewerki accuses Ethiopia of preparing for war

BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Jan 03, 2005

Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki has said Ethiopia has two alternatives: to move out of "occupied Eritrean territory" or start another round of war with Eritrea.

Addressing a lengthy news conference to mark the New Year, broadcast live by Eritrean radio and TV at 1700 gmt, Isayas accused Ethiopia of preparing for war.

"The military preparation in Ethiopia has not been seen before as it is now. It is difficult to give a military explanation to the preparations. As I have mentioned earlier, the weyane [Ethiopian government] is probably looking for a pretext. It has no other alternative. It is only war the weyane can hide under. It has only two alternatives: either it has to accept the rule of law, accept the agreements, comply with the decision and give a chance to those who will implement the decision or pull out of the land it has occupied. This is the only alternative. The other alternative is war..."

Isayas also said the USA has not played its role in overseeing the Horn peace process.

"In fact, our relationship with the USA is two-faced. As I have mentioned on several occasions, when we talk of the international community, we are not talking about something abstract. International community means America. When we say the international community has not carried out its responsibility we mean that America has not carried out its responsibility.

"We want America to play a constructive role in the world for the mutual interest of our region..."

Source: Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, Asmara, in Tigrinya 1700 gmt 3 Jan 05