Press Statement
TPLF's Untenable Diplomatic Conduct

It is to be recalled that, in flagrant violation of the letter and spirit of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the various agreements between the Organization of African Unity and Ethiopia as host country, Ethiopia has carried out the following:

* Expelled all Eritrean diplomatic and technical staff in June 1998;
* Picked up all local staff from their homes and off the streets and deported them;
* Encircled the embassy premises and residence with round the clock 'security' watch;
* Prevented visitors, with the exception of other accredited ambassadors, from entering the premises;
* Denied the Eritrean ambassador and his deputy freedom of movement;
* Declared Eritrea's Permanent Representative to the OAU persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 24 hours. Upon his departure, security forces searched the ambassador and his briefcase at Bole Airport and confiscated documents of the mission;
* On 11 February 1999, armed agents of the government of Ethiopia forcibly entered the residence of the ambassador. They ransacked the place and took away employees of the embassy.

Now, after perpetrating all these crimes, the Ethiopian government has alleged in a press statement dated July 1, 1999, that the Eritrean government has seized Ethiopian Embassy property by "confiscating documents sent in a pouch by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Embassy."

The TPLF's intentions are again thinly veiled. One week away from the OAU Summit in Algiers at which Eritrea's legitimate grievances regarding Ethiopia's violations will be discussed, the TPLF is throwing in another decoy. The government of Eritrea has never in any way hampered the Ethiopian Embassy or infringed on any of its inherent rights, whereas in Ethiopia, Eritreans have been denied any consular rights or protection.

Addis Ababa is issuing these claims to further "muddy the waters." No one should be misled. Ethiopia's violations must receive the unfettered and direct attention they merit.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara, 3 July 1999