I am hopeful that all the tough talk that is coming out of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Anan's and the Ethiopian-Eritrean Boundary Commission's offices directed at Ethiopia, the non-compliant party in the dispute over the border with Eritrea, would soon translate into a tangible stringent measure against the guilty party. For the first time ever since the case was turned over for legal resolution has Ethiopia been singled out as the party obstructing justice. This move will undoubtedly help regain our confidence and strengthen our faith in the international justice system. Eritreans had been betrayed in the past and we are not about to go through it again.

It is about time that the wrongdoer is exposed and punished. As Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has rightfully and recently stated that the Ethiopian leaders should not only be told :"Enough is Enough" but, I strongly believe that they should also be sanctioned for failure to comply with the International Court Order. It is to be recalled that the court had issued its ruling in April last year and the demarcation process on the ground is supposed to start soon. The Ethiopian regime, which is increasingly becoming unpopular among its people, is accused of attempting to hinder or stall the process.

The guarantors of the peace agreement signed in Algiers, Algeria, by Eritrea and Ethiopia in December 2000 following a two-year catastrophic war between the two countries include the United Nations, European Union, African Union and the USA. So much money, time and efforts have been put into the process to date. UN peace keepers have been successfully patrolling the area inside the Temporary Security Zone.

The guarantors have a legal and moral obligation to see to it that the process is completed to the end and to ensure compliance by the concerned parties to the court ruling. In this case, it is clear as attested by the Border Commission that Eritrea is fully complying while Ethiopia is not. Therefore, we are demanding that the guarantors take all the necessary stringent measures against Ethiopia, the non-complying party.