Eritrea's annual trade and cultural festival opened at the Asmara Expo
center on Saturday with over 80,000 people attending the festival on
its
opening day. The festival was preceded by an evening of cultural
entertainment on Friday at Asmara's Cinema Odeon. The annual festival
highlights progress in trade and industry while celebrating Eritrea's
rich
cultural heritage. This year's exhibition is expected to draw hundreds
of
thousands of Eritreans over the next week.
"Ethiopia Is Still on War Path," Foreign Ministry
Senior Foreign Ministry official Tekeste Tesfamariam has commented,
in a
phone interview with ERINA, on the decision of the TPLF government
to
release military officers of the Mengistu regime. Mr. Tekeste said,
"The
recent decision to release these generals and air force officers is
part and
parcel of the TPLF's preparations for war. It has also the elements
of an
appeal to fringe opposition groups in Ethiopia who never accepted Eritrea's
independence. Abay Tsehaie, senior TPLF Politburo member who sits in
the War
Council, has openly told a small audience of TPLF supporters in North
America that the war was never a border dispute and that it would continue.
So, as the regime braces for war, it needs to woo support from all
quarters
and hence the release of these Derg officers."
Asked about recent claims coming from the government in Addis Ababa
that
Eritrea could not be trusted, Mr. Tekeste said, "It is clear that they
are
looking for ways to sabotage the peace process. I think it's absurd
for them
to claim they cannot proceed because they don't trust Eritrea. Indeed,
we
have no reason to trust them either but, as is clearly stated in the
preamble to the Technical Arrangements, the plan is guaranteed by the
OAU as
well as the UN and the international community at large."